This was short, sweet and delightful. I am so happy I got to receive this ARC. Most of the story had a good flow but parts felt a little forced, creating forced character development instead of natural character development. I do hope to see more of these and how the writing develops.

Humorous, cozy, and inclusive—Fern Haugth’s debut is the perfect afternoon read with a cup of your favorite hot drink and a bag of cookies. The soft color palette and casual line art combined with a well-paced and wholesome plot, had me burying myself deeper into my couch ready to have a good-feel time. And good feelings were had aplenty! While simple at its core, the adventure still brought fun moments as we follow Juniper and Hadley. The laters antics and the exasperated fondness of the first, had me chuckling and happy-sighing at their very obvious chemistry. Lastly, the gentle lessons in gender expression and nature/animal conservation were rather pointed, but nonetheless appreciated. I hope this story is equally loved by many and we get a chance to read more of Juniper and Hadley’s adventures, or even follow other characters in this wonderfully cozy fantasy world!

Such a sweet and fantastic graphic novel debut!

The Baker and the Bard is as straightforward cozy fantasy that follows two bestfriend as they venture to find a secret ingredient for a special bakery order only to be caught in a social problem in their neighboring fey town.

I love the illustration and the art style in this graphic novel - fits the cozy fantasy storyline about feys doing an errand only to end up being mediators in a ecological destruction. The pacing of the story also suits the narration since what happened on this book is a mix of character-driven and plot-driven scenes.

Again, this one just felt a bit short and character development could have been improved but it was still able to deliver the message in the end.

GRAPHIC NOVEL & COZY FANTASY & QUEER!!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows these are some of my favorite genres to read. I am super excited to read more queer cozy fantasy in 2024. This is a very short & easy to digest story. Very colorful & very engaging. I almost wish it was longer only because I wish we had more graphic novels like this.

Thank you the author, the publisher, & to NetGalley for a copy of the Arc.

Such a cozy, heartwarming and wholesome little story showcasing queer characters and a lot of representation. I enjoyed the whimsical artwork and really wished the novel to be longer. I hope we will see more of these characters and author in the future!

The Baker and the Bard follows the story of Juniper, the baker and Hadley, the bard as they went on an adventure to get the special mushroom ingredient needed for their customer's order.

The characters are mortals and feys and some of them can do magic. It also features non-binary characters. I loved how heart-warming and adorable all their interactions were. And it was fun seeing June's and Hadley's differences and their dynamics.

It talks about friendship, accepting one's identity and gender, and taking care of animals and their habitat. I loved how warm and open they were in tackling these.

The art is so pleasant to look at, with its mostly light and warm colors. I especially loved the mouth-watering food illustrations. It was easy to want to get lost in its pages and be inside its beautiful world. There was also a recipe and bonus character sketches at the end which I appreciate.

Overall, The Baker and the Bard is a quick, light-hearted, cozy read that I finished in one sitting and definitely enjoyed. I would love to have a physical copy of this on my shelf just so I can adoringly look at its beautiful illustrations again. I would definitely read if there will be more about these characters and this world. I recommend for those looking for a cozy read with pastries and music and beautiful friendships.

I liked the concept of the story, but the artwork lacked refinement. There were things like anatomy mistakes that distracted me from the story. There are a lot of great YA fantasy graphic novels out there with great artwork, and this felt more like student work to me.

A cozy fantasy adventure? Yes, please! This was a quick read for me that felt like a warm blanket. What a pleasure to read. I look forward to continuing to follow Fern Haught's work.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

Low-stakes cozy queer fantasy graphic novel about foraging some special mushrooms. Super cute. I wish the artwork was a little more refined, but it's still very good with interesting character designs.

A lovely cozy story with unbelievably beautiful art. A must read for all who like legends and lattes.

“To all the kids who talked to the birds and filled their pockets with pebbles at recess” 🥹 this book already had my heart with just that quote. When I read legends and lattes I was saying I wish it was a graphic novel and that’s almost what this was like! It’s a very cute and sweet story and the graphics are very pretty.

A cozy, inclusive fantasy brimming with heart. Initially I wasn't sure if it would grab me, but it quickly did and I found such a warm, sweet world with lovable, adorable characters. Thistle the fey and their companion critters absolutely stole the show for me. Perfect for fans of the Tea Dragon Society.

I really enjoy reading MG comics. I am not sure who wrote the blurb, as “The Tea Dragon Society, Legends & Lattes, and Animal Crossing” are an odd pairing. Tea Dragon is the only one I would agree this, and I think this book feels flat in comparison. The characters were great as friends, and the switch from not talking about a crush to kissing with no communicating didn’t work for me, especially in a middle grade book. The plot felt rushed and didn’t need to be that simple for a MG audience. The art was colorful and charming, but the lack of background seemed a little too simple in a few places and faces also could feel flat. Also, I had an ARC so this may change, but the font kept bringing me out of the story.

The Baker and the Bard is a heartwarming and inclusive story. In this cozy narrative, responsibility, friendship, problem-solving, and empathy are all championed. It would be perfect for fans of The Tea Dragon Society or The Mothkeepers.

This was a very sweet and wholesome adventure story. Full of bright and fun illustrations, cozy magic and queer characters, I can see this finding its way into many favorites shelves. For me, I most appreciated the illustration style- I found the artwork absolutely adorable, and the character designs were super fun (I will say I struggled with the rules of the world, as the difference in design between mortals and non-mortals was almost nonexistent). I also would have loved to get a bit more of an understanding for how the magic worked, and if this volume could become a series I think that is definitely something that could be explored more; as it is right now, the magic sort of came out of nowhere for me but was fun nonetheless. My final comment on the story is more of a personal peeve, but I don't understand where the romance came from. I feel like more stories deserve queer platonic friendships and if it does evolve into something romantic, I would much rather see that grow and develop on the page rather than BOOM! They're kissing now! It just felt abrupt and out of the blue. In the end, though, most of my criticisms while reading were very personal and nitpicking, and this graphic novel is a lovely debut and I look forward to seeing how this artist and author develops in the coming years, as it is clear they're extremely talented already.

I want to start by saying ,I am not the target audience for this book. However it was so cute. The art style is whimsical and the non binary representation made me wish I was a kid.

I would recommend this to younger kids or parents. This is such a wholesome read!

This graphic novel follows two friends on a journey to find a special glowing mushroom for a baking recipe. Along the way they get entangled in some side missions in a nearby town and begin to discover that maybe they like each other as more than just friends.

I appreciated the tone of this story. It was very cozy and slow-paced. The art was cute, though not very detailed, which I didn't mind. There was not a lot of text as the illustrations moved along much of the story. I also really liked the queer rep. One of the main characters is non-binary and learns to accept themselves more on their journey. There are also a couple of sapphic side characters.

I would have liked the graphic novel to be longer though. I felt that the story was a bit rushed and I would have appreciated more time to see the characters develop. Maybe there will be a second volume. The ending was wrapped up, but it was left open for another I think.

For fans of The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill and Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen. The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught delivered a thrilling, but heartwarming, adventure with a wide variety of representation with the characters. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a beautifully illustrated, feel good, adventure with characters you'll love! This book was received via NetGalley.

This graphic devil is the epitome of cute and cozy. It's a queer fantasy with a little adventure element and honestly just a very wholesome read.

This graphic novel was very sweet and written well for a younger age group.

It was not one that grabbed my attention, and didn't keep my interest well, but I believe it will be a fabulous read for students!