 |
| image copied from Goodreads |
Full disclosure, this fall has been much busier than I anticipated. I've been traveling each month quite a bit to be with my mom as she battles cancer. She's doing very well and is halfway through her treatment plan. But being on the road so much has meant that I've had lots of time to listen to audiobooks to make the drives more enjoyable. So, rather than review The Baker's Man by Jennifer Moorman as I'd originally considered. Today, I'm going to review the latest audiobook I listened to that also has food as part of its theme with The Baby Dragon Cafe by Aamna Qureshi. It's a cozy fantasy that was just what I needed this time of year amidst the usual holiday busyness and the additional travel to be with my mom.
Saphira is a kind and relatable character, following her dream to open her own cafe and be around the dragons that she's always loved. It is also a way for her to cope with the grief of losing her grandmother, the only family that Saphira had. But opening up her business to baby dragons and their riders has been much more difficult than she realized. It costs much more in upkeep to have a cafe where some of the clientele can be a fire hazard. Despite loving her unique business and being a popular spot in town for people to come and get their coffee fix or a chai latte, Saphira is hanging on by a thread. One that seems about to snap. Enter reluctant new baby dragon owner, Aiden. He and his baby dragon Sparky have been struggling to bond since Sparky hatched. In fact, Aiden's baby dragon doesn't seem to like him at all. But Aiden is determined to find a way to make it work as Sparky is the last gift Aiden ever received from his brother before Danny died in a tragic accident.
Saphira and Aiden meet by accident, and Sparky is instantly enamored by the cafe owner. Saphira it seems has a natural way with both animals and people. Aiden immediately decides to enlist her help by hiring her to train Sparky after hours at the cafe. With the money he is offering that could enable Saphira to make some much needed repairs at her business, yet again, and the chance to be around an adorable baby dragon one-on-one, it doesn't take much for Saphira to agree. However, the arrangement is an unorthodox one. In Starshine Valley, only those from dragon-rider families are usually allowed to train and closely interact with dragons. Saphira is definitely not from one of these uppercrust families. But she is a natural when it comes to interacting with Sparky and understanding what he needs in terms of guidance.
I have to say that while I did like both Saphira and Aiden, Sparky the baby dragon stole the scenes for me every time he was in them. As a character, Qureshi somehow made this mythological baby seem real and engaging. Sparky is both intelligent and sweet with attributes all his own. I wouldn't say he could be compared to real-life animals of any kind completely. Instead, Qureshi develops him with characteristics similar to any baby animal pet, curious, energetic, sometimes willful, while also giving him many traits that a baby dragon would have. I loved that about the story and her characterization. In addition, the romance that develops between Saphira and Aiden is a slow-burn one. They start out as friends and then blossom into something more. I appreciated the fact that it is obvious that Saphira is inspired by the author's own Muslim and Pakistani cultural background. Aiden too has diverse characteristics of his own. Though it isn't given a label, he comes across as a neurodivergent individual who seems like he could be in the autism spectrum in some way. But despite his initial gruffness and reluctance to participate in Sparky's training from the start with Saphira, she remains determined to help them bond, but patient with Aiden as much as she is with Sparky. The class system in this story is also clear and well developed. While it adds conflict and tension for the characters to overcome, it isn't insurmountable and gives both Aiden and Saphira additional dimension to their story and what they learn to accept about one another.
Since I listened to this as an audiobook, I'd be remiss in not mentioning how well I thought the voice actors did in narrating for each character. The slight inflection that voice actress Ash Raju gives to Saphira hints at her cultural heritage, and also conveys her warm and caring personality. While Hunter Johns, who narrates for Aiden, manages to highlight his neurodivergence by adding in brief pauses in his speech and thought patterns in the narration. It is just the right amount to give his characterization the clues for the listener to understand that Aiden doesn't always process the world in the same way as everyone else. It makes his character a very empathetic one as he struggles not to be overwhelmed by social settings or by processing emotional or visual cues from the other people he interacts with. Add in the charm of the setting, a village surrounded by mountains where dragons fly high above, a cafe where delicious coffees, chai and baked goods are offered and of course the adorable baby Sparky and this is a warm and cozy story I found it easy to sink into. I warn you though, The Baby Dragon Cafe will make you long for a baby dragon of your own.
On the menu for next month, I'll be reviewing a couple of mysteries. One will be a historical mystery romance by Mimi Matthews and the other will be a cozy fantasy mystery that takes place in a festive town in the North Pole. Both the cover images and blurbs are copied from Bookshop.org. Until then, for those who celebrate American Thanksgiving, I hope you have a very happy one! For those gearing up for the holiday season, I hope you enjoy this time to spend some extra time with family and friends.
Well removed from London’s more curious eyes, the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies strives toward one clandestine goal: to distract, disrupt, and discredit men in power who would seek to harm the advancement of women—by appropriate means, of course.
When intrepid newspaper editor Miles Quincey starts to question the school’s intentions, the Academy appoints Penelope “Nell” Trewlove, one of their brightest graduates, to put this nuisance to rest. An easy enough mission, she supposes. Or it would be, if Miles wasn’t so fascinating—too fascinating to resist—and if Nell’s visit to London didn’t perfectly coincide with the murder of one of Miles’s reporters.
When the inexorable claws of fate trap Nell and Miles in a compromising situation, they agree to an arrangement that will save their reputations while enabling them to investigate the story that led to a man’s death, as well as the surprising chemistry between them . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment