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cozysabie 's review for:
When the Baker Met the Dragon
by Lila Appleton
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
"He's different when he is alone with me. He's not the gambler, the flirt, the wild dragon shifter. He's just Cyrus and he's perfect."
"She smells like springtime, gently floral and sweet like her spirit."
GENRE: Cozy Romantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75/5 - rounded to 5 in platforms that dont have half star rating
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: If you are looking for a sweet cozy romantasy that is a standalone in this series, then yes! It is the perfect, quick read for someone who wants to just read a feel good book with deep meanings (all cozy fantasy have deep meanings, in my opinion) AND Kaya and Cyrus are just so cute together! This is a monster cozy romantasy with spice and mature content so make sure to look at the trigger list if you need to beforehand.
Long Review:
This Cozy Romantasy has one of my favourite elements in cozy books: multiple type of mystical creatures in the book. One of my favourite Familiar in this book is a Maplecat, which in this book is unique from the Maplecat breed we have in that
"They look as though they are covered in autumn leaves, but when you get close, you see each leaf is made of fur and its incredibly soft."
And not only that, the Maple cat (Sio) has occasional moments where he can talk! A talking cat in a book is always so fun to read about and enjoy
This book is a shy FMC with a player/flirty MMC. We see that they have a great dynamic between them and they already have an established friendship that has been going on for years. However, in the usual way, the FMC has protective best friends (we love them) that warn her to stay away from the MMC and this causes a little bit of a tension throughout the book as they both want to give their relationship a try but they are scared of multiple things
"Kaya, you're a stable hard-working woman who doesn't like to drink and play cards. You're unique in his world. I adore Cyrus, but he is what he is. A player. He would never remain loyal. He would hurt you."
Now, let's discuss the MMC. So Cyrus is a dragon shifter and he was raised by his adopted, non-dragon shifter parents. He doesn't know anything about his birth parents and he thinks he was abandoned. The journey of him finding out more about his own kind if an important theme in the story. Another important element is that Cyrus believes himself to be not good enough for Kaya and Sio (talking cat) advises him that
"She (kaya) deserves to make that choice."
Meanwhile, Kaya thinks that Cyrus, who is wild, loves a party and is always playing a game of card could never settle down in the life she enjoys, which is a quiet one. The dynamic between them slowly develops as they both try (and fail) to hide their feelings from one another
"After all these years, I'm an expert at stealing your pastries, Kaya" I laugh.
"You're a menance."
"I'm your menance."
And one of my favourite elements of cozy fantasy is mentioned in here: Slow living! This is not a main part of the book but is mentioned in order to motivate Kaya to take a break and to unlearn the habits she picked up from living with her parents, who always forced her to work and be afraid of being lazy. Due to this, she has never taken a holiday (does this sound familiar to anyone else?). Cyrus is always encouraging her to take a holiday and that she does not need to earn her breaks
"Of course. You are an expert. An Artist. But perhaps you don't allow yourself to be selfish once in a while, to do something just for you."
"You don't have to earn time off, Kaya. You deserve pleasure and relaxation just because you exist."
I truly enjoyed this cozy romantasy book and I'd highly recommend it as a feel good book. Thank you to the Author for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.