From cold rivalry to hot cocoa and warm hearts.
Jez, a grumpy fennex, wants nothing to do with the cold, snow or bustling winter games descending on the charming town of Adenashire. She’d rather curl up for a nap. But a drunken boast lands her smack in the middle of the festivities and, even worse, fake dating her friend, Taenya, a woodland elf.
Plagued by chronic fatigue and past heartbreak, Jez has long guarded her heart. Not to mention she has a secret she’d rather not share. Yet, Taenya’s warmth and patience begin to melt her icy exterior. Together, the two women tackle challenges (from ice sculpting to scavenger hunts) and their pretend relationship sparks genuine feelings.
With the unwavering support of her friends, and amidst the cozy, festive cheer of winter, Jez discovers that love and acceptance are within reach, even for those who would rather hibernate in the shadows.
Escape to Adenashire for a heartwarming tale of friendship, romance, resilience, and the magical spirit of the season.

My Review:

The Adenashire series has been cozying up to each of the friends who ‘conquered’ the legendary Langheim Baking Battle since the first delightful book in the series, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic.

At the delicious end of the Baking Battle, although Taenya won the competition, it was the fellowship of Arleta, Doli, Taenya and Jez that collectively walked away with the real prize in that contest – each other’s lifelong friendship.

So they all followed Arleta back to her home in Adenashire. Both because it sounded charming, AND because each of them – except Arleta of course – had a strong desire to make a fresh start somewhere far away from the homes they sorta/kinda ran away from to enter the Baking Battle in the first place.

They’re all adults, so they didn’t EXACTLY run away from home. But they didn’t exactly not, either. They each wanted to start over, on their own, outside the influence of well-meaning but overbearing and VERY influential families who loved them but had made it entirely too clear that they’d be more acceptable if they followed in the family footsteps and remained under the family thumb.

The second book in the series, A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons, is the dwarf Doli Butterbuckle’s discovery of her happily ever after. That the dwarf falls in love with a librarian who happens to be a gargoyle just added to the story’s charm – especially for this reader.

This third story circles back around to the actual winner of the Baking Battle, the elf Taenya, and the other remaining unmatched member of the Baking Battle fellowship, grumpy fennex Jez. Who begins this entry in the series even grumpier than she usually is.

It’s not merely winter, but it’s winter in Adenashire and the Yule Games are just about to begin – much to Jez’ EXTREME consternation.

As a desert creature, Jez simply hates winter. It’s cold. It’s really, really cold. It snows. The paths ice over. And did I – or rather Jez – mention that it’s COLD?

As if that’s not enough to make a fennex grumpier than usual, Adenashire’s Yule Games are a really big deal, drawing vast numbers of visitors to the cozy little town to either participate or spectate – or speculate – on which team will win the Games this year.

Jez has made very firm plans for this year’s Yule Games. She’s planning to hide her antisocial self inside the bookstore for the entire length of the Games, staying out of the way of the crowds that have invaded her sanctuary, clogging up every street and all of her usual haunts.

That the increased crowds are making her secret and oversensitive ‘scent magic’ so reactive that she’s constantly bombarded with headaches and chronic exhaustion couldn’t possibly be influencing her mood. At all.

Which is why it’s a complete, not so much surprise as outright shock, when a drunken Jez refuses to back down from the challenge of some blowhard, out-of-town Games participants to not just participate but actually win at the side of the elf she’s trying to pretend doesn’t make her feel better just by entering the room.

And that’s how Jez and Taenya decide to take that bet, not just to participate in the Games, but to fake-date their way through the competition. They’ll still be friends – just friends – when the games are over, won’t they?

Sure they will.

Escape Rating B: It may be a bit early for OUR holiday season, but I couldn’t resist the coziness of Adenashire this week. The earlier books this week had plenty of dark moments – although not the same kind of dark – and I was looking for something light and cozy. Places don’t come much lighter and cozier than Adenashire.

(Although Thune in Legends & Lattes and Tawney in Tomes & Tea absolutely are right up there with it, along with Shady Hollow. Also, we’re just at the beginning of fall, and it got hot again around here. The descriptions of Adenashire’s picture perfect chilly winter sounded delightful in comparison.)

The thing I enjoy about series like Adenashire is that it’s a nice visit with friends. I start out wanting to see how everyone is doing. The chance to catch up with the ‘gang’ is ALWAYS worthwhile no matter what else is happening around them. That there’s a lovely story to sink into while catching up is the icing on a very tasty cake. (They’re all bakers. ALL the cakes are tasty. Do NOT read this series while hungry. It comes with recipes!)

The romance this time around is a bit low-key. It takes Taenya and Jez the whole story to admit that they’re in love with each other. Jez has a bit of a case of the “I’m not worthies” of the “I screw up all my relationships” variety, so her part in that is figuring out that her friends accept her as she is – and that Taenya loves her as she is. Also that nobody’s perfect, no matter how together they appear.

Jez’ variety of this particular romantic tangle was interesting in its own way, as she’s suffering from the magical equivalent of chronic fatigue syndrome. Her magic is overwhelming when she uses it (everybody smells all the time, after all) and painful and debilitating when she suppresses it. Her attempts at self-medication have had their own consequences, which is how she gets herself into this mess in the first place.

The games were cute and very winter-appropriate, but what gave the story that extra bit of zing was the little touch of infuriating irritation at the blowhards that tempted her into that bet. Jez was sure that they were cheating the whole way – but she’s naturally suspicious to begin with. Because cozy fantasy tends to be refreshingly light on violence and other forms of criminality, the discovery of what those ‘blowhards’ really were manipulating turned out in the end to be a surprising and delightful bit of business after all of Jez’ signature grumpiness.

Of course the story ends in a happy ever after for all concerned, as well as a marvelous bit of news that is sure to be at the heart of the next book in the series, A Fellowship of Curses & Cats. Arleta’s ‘Fated’, Theo, is planning to open a cat cafe next door to Arleta’s bakery – under the ‘supurrvision’ of his magical feline friend Faylin. What could possibly go wrong?

We’ll certainly see later this season!

A human, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bake-off…
In the heart of Adenashire, where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, Arleta Starstone, a human confectionist works twice as hard perfecting her unique blend of baking and apothecary herbs.
So when an orc neighbor secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Elven Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma.
Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, this human will need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.
While competing, she'll set off on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships and romance, while questioning whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize.
Escape to for a delightful cozy fantasy where every twist is a treat and every turn a step closer to home.

My Review:

It sounds like the start of a joke, that opening line in the blurb, “A human, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bake-off…” It’s not a joke at all, it’s the start of a heartwarming cozy fantasy – even if it’s not quite correct in the particulars.

The elf strides in, the dwarf bounces, a fennex skulks in and the human rushes in at the very last second, still not convinced that she belongs in the contest or has even half a chance of making it past the first round.

The elf, the dwarf, and the fennex ‘belong’ in the competition because they all have magic. Although the Langheim Baking Battle began as a competition for elves and there are still plenty of people around who believe that the tone has gone WAY DOWN since they started letting in members of other magical races.

It’s not that entry is technically restricted to those with magic, but everybody ‘knows’ that non-magical bakers like Arleta Starstone somehow never make it into the contest. They must not be considered good enough. Or the game is rigged.

Of course the game is rigged, and Arleta knows it. Because it’s part of the story of her whole entire life that no matter how good her confections are, she’s always going to get the worst spot in the local market and she’s always going to pay the most for it and her potential customers are always going to expect her to discount her prices because ‘everyone’ knows that magical baking is ‘better’.

Whether it is or not. In Arleta’s case, it’s definitely not. Winning the Langheim Baking Battle would prove that to everyone who has ever looked down their magical nose at her – even if they’ve had to look up to do it.

But Arleta has been beaten down too much for too long to even think she has a chance. However, her ogre neighbors, her unofficial adopted fathers Verdreth and Ervash, are certain she has an excellent chance if she just puts herself in the running. So they do it for her.

And with the help of a little bit of unintended misdirection, she gets in. And then proceeds to try and get herself out. But between her dads pushing her from behind, and a very handsome elf encouraging her – and facilitating her participation with travel and transport – she can’t quite make herself refuse.

Although she keeps trying all the way to Langheim. And once she’s standing on that stage, adding her little bit of special savory goodness to the sweetest of recipes, she has all the chances she needs to make it to the top.

With more than a little help and encouragement from the friends she makes along the way.

Escape Rating B: This first book in the Adenashire cozy fantasy series (there are at least three more!) is definitely one of those “book baby” situations. As in, if either Legends & Lattes (or Can’t Spell Treason without Tea) and The Great British Bake Off had a book baby, it would be A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic.

And it would be delicious. There would also be delicious recipes in the back – because there are.

This first entry in the series has a bit of heavy – but delicious – lifting to perform in order to get to the sweet, gooey, tasty center of things. As the series opener, there’s the intro to this fantasy world and especially to Arleta’s home village of Adenashire. Then there’s the plot centered around the Baking Competition, which is where Arleta’s new friends – and the main characters of the other three books – get introduced. And last but absolutely not least there’s the romance between Arleta and the literal elf of her dreams, Theo.

The world Adenashire inhabits is a place where magic is what makes the world go around, and anyone who doesn’t have magic is definitely considered lesser. Humans CAN have magic, some do, but Arleta doesn’t happen to be one of them. So Arleta faces prejudice at pretty much every turn and she’s internalized all those feelings of being ‘less than’ to the point that she expects to be trodden upon at every turn.

The Baking Competition is a chance for her to get out of that mindset – if she can. And it’s a hard slog every step of the way that is not helped by the voice in her head telling her that she it’s wrong to accept help from anyone. That we don’t know where THAT voice originated gave me fits and explains the B rating. It’s not that feelings like that don’t happen to plenty of people and don’t cause internal strife and dramatic tension, it’s rather that they don’t come completely out of nowhere and Arleta already had more than enough pushing her down without piling that on. (YRMMV – your reading mileage may vary)

The competition – and all of the baked in tension of those shenanigans – is lots of fun with lots of stress for everyone. Anyone who loves cooking and baking contest shows is going to find that part a hoot!

Then there’s the romance, which is as sweet as Arleta’s baking while also playing back into the baked in prejudices of this world AND manages to check off a whole bunch of the more fun romantic trope boxes along the way and fill them with flowers. And a cat. Mustn’t forget Faylin because that cat won’t allow that for an instant.

All in all, there’s a LOT to savor in this story. Including those recipes in the back. There’s a recipe for Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies that I’m planning to try. I loved the setting and the setup, enjoyed the baking competition but probably not as much as someone who is really into those shows, adored the group of found family that gathers around Arleta in spite of herself AND finds its way to Adenashire afterwards. I was looking for a sweet treat of a fantasy and this definitely satisfied that craving, so I’ll be back with the next book, A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons, because I can’t resist either part of that combination!