There was a lot I liked about this book! The illustrations, the fantasy elements, the cozy feelings were all great. I just don't think there was enough substance to really flesh out the story. It felt very surface level.

I loved the art style and the simplicity of the plot (adventure.) The cover is what drew me in and you could tell that Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree was the inspiration for this author.

I enjoyed that the storyline followed two individuals who were excited to see the world in its diverse way. The downfall of this book was it's dialogue though. While sometimes it flowed nicely, sometimes what was being discussed felt out of place. I wish that for some of the big dialogue moments, there was a lead up instead of the blunt statements that were made. I likely won't purchase this book (potentially the author) due to the issue with dialogue. This will absolutely resonate with somebody but I am not the audience for that.
I typically love a book that explores different perspectives of the world but this felt blunt. It felt out of place in the setting of this story.

The theme of friendship and acceptance was beautiful though!

A short fantasy quest comic, probably good for middle grade readers. Sweet and simple both in story and in art.

This was a delicate and successful approach to conservation for kids. It offered realistic solutions in a fantasy setting. It also had a fresh discussion of gender and the fey world. Kids looking for optimistic, fun fantasy that is LGBTQ-friendly and thoughtful will love this one.

An adorable story that fits in with the cozy fantasy trend happening right now.

A journey for special ingredients turns into a mystery as the duo investigates mysterious disappearances and learn about friendship and preserving nature.

Highly recommend for fans of whimsical things like Stephanie Garber or Howls Moving Castle.

"The Baker and the Bard" is a cute and cozy read, reminiscent of "Legends and Lattes." The art is beautiful and the adventure story is driven by friendship and kindness. Though I enjoyed the graphic novel, it was a very fast read. The simplicity and content made the book read more like a Children's graphic novel and the characters felt underdeveloped. If this is one in a series, the author may have intended to leave room to grow, but the novel doesn't quite work as a stand-alone.

First, thank you so much for allowing me to read the arc for this book!

I thought this was a cute and cozy read with beautiful illustrations. I loved the Legends and Lattes feel but as an artist I always appreciate beautifully done art. It was super quick, but I honestly would’ve loved for it to be longer with some more detail to the various situations that occur don’t feel random.

Here were a couple things that weren’t clear for me:

1. We meet the character but get no background on them or their relationship besides Juniper being a baker and Hadley being a bard. As it turns out, Hadley is a delivery person for the bakery so that must be the relationship on how they know each other (maybe?).
2. They go on this adventure together and Hadley wants to seek out adventure for their music, but this never gets resolved. The end of the book has Juniper and Hadley as a travel cart bakery and doesn’t even look like Hadley is doing any music.
3. As much as I love a good coming out story, I REALLY wish there would have been background on Hadley having these thoughts and issues in the first place. It just seemed like a random and very personal conversation to bring up with a stranger you just met.
4. Background would also be important to understand where the magic comes from. Some people have it but others don’t. Is this due to their race of being?

It was still an adorable book though and I enjoyed the read! I would consider changing the tags for this one to a lower reading level though, it seems more children and graphic novel versus young adult, but that’s just my opinion. 🙂

I wanted to like this one more than I did like it? Despite its fantasy trappings, this was very slice of life or junior adventure. Not what I was expecting from a tittle marketed as YA.

The story is ok. The art is ok. I'm sure I'll have readers who will enjoy this, but for me it fell flat.

This is… fine? I’m honestly surprised it’s categorized as YA because it read very, very middle grade to me. Definitely appropriate for seven-year-olds and up; I don’t think the vocabulary was that difficult, either.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

thank you to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a review!

okay so every single page in this book is so cute. not just the story pages, literally EVERY PAGE. i was obsessed with the croissants on the acknowledgements before i even knew which character was which.

i mean this book was exactly what i wanted for it. cute characters go on a cute cozy adventure. if you look up cozy fantasy in the dictionary there might as well be a picture of this book next to it. i was also pleasantly surprised by the romance, as i seriously wasn't expecting it at the beginning!

very cute graphic novel, enjoyable, "rainy day while wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fireplace" type book. please let me go fly on giant butterflies

Such a freaking delightful debut graphic novel by Fern Haught! This cozy adventure follows baker Juniper and bard Hadley on a journey to forage magical mushrooms. With beautiful illustrations, this sweet jaunt through a fantasy forest is a gentle tale about protecting nature, chasing your dreams, and supporting your friends.

The Baker and the Bard 🎶🍞

Juniper the Baker, Hadley the Bard, and Fern the snake are set off on a merry adventure for a missing baking ingredient, but their journey quickly derails into a side quest as they discover a mystery plaguing small town farmers and their crops.

Such a cute and quick read with beautiful imagery, this was the perfect book to read wrapped in a blanket with a warm cup of tea. This graphic novel contained found family, found friends, romance, and of course delicious baked goods (including a recipe at the end)!

I wish the magic system and world building were described in some detail but the story primarily relied on visuals over wordy storytelling, which is absolutely fine for a children's or young adult novel.

I would highly recommend this graphic novel to young adults and fans of LGBTQAIP+ Fantasy.

Received as an ARC from NetGalley.

I loved reading The Baker and the Bard. It was the cozy fantasy vibes in graphic novel The story was so cute and I loved the characters. The only thing that I struggled with is wanting the magic system to be more flushed out.

Geared towards younger readers or gentle souls, this graphic novel is so sweet and inclusive. It lightly describes and explains non-binary gender and quite possibly neurodivergence. As an Enby with ADHD, I felt very seen and understood! This would have been such a wonderful thing to have when I was a little one. Reinforces positive thinking when mistakes are made or one notices differences in themself from others.

The art is glowing, the characters have great show of expression, and the overall fantasy setting is just great!

Thank you to @NetGalley for sharing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a beautiful and cozy graphic novel. The art work is so relaxing and the story line is sweet and well paced. I found this to be a very quick read and I think this would make an amazing rainy spring day even more fantastic.

In this story you are following two people on a journey to find a specific mushroom to complete a pastry order for a mysterious client. We find our two heros getting into a side journey in addition to this and making new friends.

I loved the diversity and the acurrate non binary representation . At the end of the book there is even a recipe . I love when books do this!

Thank you net galley for this arc. This graphic novel is an adorable queer story about a bakery and fey. The relationships between the characters weren’t flushed out though and there really wasn’t any conflict to the story. It’s a quick and easy thought for someone looking for something cozy and sweet.

Very cute and cozy aesthetic. I really love YA books that focus on friendship and I find myself recommending them out a lot. I think this fills a great little spot for our teen readers.

This was a charming graphic novel. The illustration style was really beautiful. You started to get a sense of these characters and by the end of the book but I wish there friendship went a bit more in depth. I also wish the story went a tad bit deeper emotionally. It is extremely light hearted and again, for that a simple graphic novel it was good but I think it had the potential to be a bit longer a bit more well rounded. They two main characters are going on this adventure but the adventure felt like it could have just gone a bit farther. It was all too quick.

The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught is a middle grade-YA cozy fantasy graphic novel. In some ways, it's a younger version of Legends & Lattes, although there are some major differences. First of all, I appreciate the adorable illustrations and think that they will be beneficial in drawing young readers through the story. I love the ways that the characters are unique and we can see glimpses into their personalities through both the illustrations and the dialogue. However, the story would be much better if certain parts were written just a little differently. Most notably, there is a discussion about gender that comes about relatively abruptly. I appreciate the way the conversation was handled, BUT I feel it would have been more fitting if gender had some role in the story prior to that conversation. I do love the way the author wrote the romance between the two main characters...it was very sweet and simple, which is perfect for the intended audience. Overall, I believe that the book is very cute and I would recommend it to young readers that enjoy graphic novels and/or are asking for "romance" books.

A sweet read excellent for introducing children to cozy fantasy, graphic novels, and nonbinary identities. While adult readers won’t get much out of it, children need books of their own to make other identities part of their world. We need more books like this to help shape a world where everyone is welcome.