I really wanted to like this book but it fell flat of the mark for me. It felt very juvenile and a “he said she said type story telling”. Not a lot of dragons and I can’t even say it was tension build up. It was like reading a high school journal/diary. It took till 80% before they finally realised their feelings it was a tad underwhelming. 2.5 stars

I liked it more than the first book. The characters were more likable. The only thing that annoyed me was the amount of times Lavinia mentioned how she HAS to find the love of her life before winter (this was mentioned upto 20 times in this book!). The miscommunication trope created a lot of drama for this book, and I was totally here for it 😂 The mention of all desi foods were as always the best!! I got so many new dish ideas lol

Thank you to Avonbooks for the early ARC. I loved this book as much as the first however, I did find some parts repetitive. I loved the characters, Lavinia and Theo and it was great to go back in their childhood to see how they became close. It was also good to continue with the rest of the characters developments.

The dragons are still lovable and mischievous, and love that Saph, Aiden and Sparky are a little family unit now.

I’d love to see more about Saph becoming a dragon rider, and hope to see more live develop in book 3.

A cosy series which will have you smiling throughout.

If you’re looking for a cosy, sweet, small town romance set in a world where dragons exist - this will be perfect for you :)

This is purely a romance story between two people, their individual struggles, hopes and dreams. It is very light-hearted, really! I read this book in just under three days - quick and easy read!

Some themes: small town, cosy romance, childhood best friends, opposite family trope, bakery (and mentions of sooo many tasty treats!), dragons in a modern setting

If you’re looking for a heavy fantasy book - this won’t be for you. The dragons are mentioned, but not much other lore is revealed unlike really deep fantasy novels, so keep that in mind!

Spice level: 🌶️/5 - mentions of it, slight descriptions, but not a lot and it doesn’t go into detail :)

The only reason it was a 4/5 personally was because there were moments of the miscommunication trope, which could be easily avoided since they were adults, BUT this could still be your next 5/5 read!

Thank you to Avon Books UK for this cosy EARC, I loved every second I spent with it 🥰

First, thank you so much for the eArc and for being a prestige member of The Baby Dragon Club 🤭🤎

"If he lived a hundred lives, he'd find her in every one; the way sailors unerringly found the North Star in the night sky no matter the century."

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Would I recommend to others?: YES! This book is a friendship to lovers trope with found family, cozy fantasy and romance. It is about finding love in your favourite person and loving them just the way they are. It is about seeing your favourite person as the perfect person in the world and not wanting to change anything about them.

Long Review:
The Baby Dragon Bakery is book two in The Baby Dragon series and I know I have yet to write my book one review but in summary: I LOVED it, finished it in 24 hours and would have been less if I didnt have to deal with life and responsibilities

Book Two or The Baby Dragon Bakery was just as GOOD and I LOVED it too. I loved getting to go through the experience with Theo and Lavinia, watching their friends-to-lovers trope thrive and oh boy, did Aamna take us on an adventure and a roller coaster hahah

This book is perfect for Autumn or Fall theme, which is around when it will be released and I think it will be a new Cozy Fantasy, Romantic Comedy Favourite:
"She loved the cafe's fall menu and all the fall flavours."

Lavinia definitely gets a lot of character development and we see her struggle with relationships, dealing with the fact that she may have to live her adult life alone, with no partner like she grew up seeing with her family. Not only that, she has enforced a timeline on finding a partner in order to meet someone and embrace the same life her parents have built for each other:
"In her mind, because Lavinia wanted a love lik her parents', she needed to follow a similar timeline."
"She loved love! Even so, loneliness echoed through her, a dull ache. She yearned for that desperately."

On the opposite end, we have Theo, who grew up alone with his parents never truly paying attention to him and always making him feel like he was the problem. He was put in a terrible position and ultimately, his parents made him feel like he was unwanted and they did not embrace nor love him as parents should. Throughout the story, Theo admires Lavinia and her positivity and it is like she is his little sunshine:
"In a way, he admired how hopeful she was, the positive outlook she had. It was a beautiful way to look at the world. He could be too pessimistic; he sometimes wished he had more wonder."
"He knew if he fell, there would be no one there to catch him, so he was always twice as careful. What if - in being so careful - he had missed his chance?"

Lavinia & Theo met when they were young and have built a friendship that has them together and keeps them going. Theo is a part of Lavinia's family and is just as close to her parents and brother. Together, they have found love, friendship and more in each other:
"It was like he was a part of her, and every time he was gone, there was an undeniable sense of something missing, but whenever he was with her again, everything felt right, how it was supposed to be."

Aamna meshes two people who grew up in different environment: one in an environment that enriched her, allowed her to become herself and provided her with examples of how to grow. However, Lavinia maintains her humanity because no matter how perfect your environment is, you are always going to have insecurities and we see these insecurities seep into her friendship & then relationship with Theo. On the contrary, you have Theo, who grew up in an environment that was toxic and placed doubt, pressure and lack of self confidence in him. Because of this, he appreciates Lavinia even more; however, he lacks the confidence to believe that he is right for her and ENOUGH for her.

And them coming together? The slow yearning, the roller coaster that Aamna takes us on to get these best friends into lovers was a whole emotional ride:
He loved her. He loved her so much that it physically hurt. There was no denying it or running from it."
"She was all he thought about, every moment of every day. He wanted to be around her constantly , and it was obvious, so glaringly obvious that he was in lover with her. He knew that these feelings had been deep inside him for a long time, taking root and growing, and now he was overcome by them."
"She was in lover with her best friend and everyone knew but him."

Its the way Lavinia converts Theo into a destiney, fate beliver:
"He had never believed in things like fate or being written in the stars before, but now, there was no doubt in hismind that there were invisible strings at work. How else could he have gotten so lucky to have her in his life? It was nothing short of a miracle."

And the way they completed each other? The way they shielded each other from other insecurities and filling in the gaps only life leaves in you:
"It was liberating. She didn't need to pretend anything: to be mature or serious or toned down. She could be silly because that was how she had always been around him; he knew her. He knew her completely. There was nothing to worry about. She felt utterly loved."
"With her, he could be himself. Growing up, Theo never knew who he was because his family never liked who he was, so he always tried on different hats, trying to gain their approval (not that it ever worked.) But with Lavinia, he felt his truest self. He liked himself best when he was with her."

This is a beautiful story of insecurities, friendship, love and finding your destined person to make you a better person and I enjoyed the journey so much, I cannot wait for book three already!

Thank you to Avon Books, Aamna and Netgalley for this early eArc in exchange for my honest review. Please keep in mind that all the quotations are from an eArc and may not reflect the final book.

LOVED this.

Just as good as the first book.

The dragons still provide the cute factor and the rest of the cast provide the romance.

Brilliant.

A true comfort read.

This was the most perfect sequel to The Baby Dragon Cafe! I really did love it! This book follows Lavinia and Theo and their blossoming friendship that isn’t without its dramas. The characters felt perfectly flawed yet not unlikeable but with plenty of traits to love. Going into this I knew I would love it as I studied Bioveterinary Science at Uni and Lavinia is at Vet school but I didn’t expect to be kicking my little feet and squealing at how adorable this was throughout! Calahan is a perfect gentleman through this whole story and I did really like him! Overall a fabulous read with so much to love 💖

4.25⭐

Book 2 in The Baby Dragon series was just as cosy and joyful as book 1 and I really did enjoy it just not quite as much as the first book.

Again really likeable characters, appearances from great side characters and the cute baby dragons of course. Theo & Lavinia have been best friends since childhood recently Lavinia has developed a bit of a crush on Theo and after an almost kiss at Saphira & Aiden's engagement where Theo seems to pull away she realises she needs to focus on finding the one like her parents did by the time they were 24.

Theo & Lavinia were what i think of when a partner brings out the best in you and also supports you, there is quite a bit of miscommunication which is probably why it scored a little lower but it does keep you wanting to turn the page.

I cant wait for the next book as I have a feeling its a favorite enemies to lovers....

Thank you Avon Books & NetGalley.

I was a huge fan of the first book, and couldn’t wait to read Lavinia and Theo’s story. This is the second book set in Starshjne Valley, and although the first book isn’t necessary to understand and enjoy this book, I recommend you read it!

This was such a cute, cosy autumnal read. As always, I loved the dragons (I want one so badly). Theo and Lavinia friendship was beautiful, and I enjoyed learning more about them, their passions and their families too. I loved the relationship Lavinia had with her family!! I’m a massive fan of the friends to lovers trope

A very easy to read fast paced book that you don’t want to miss out on!!

I cannot wait for the next book 🐉

Thank you NetGalley and Avonbooks for the early copy of The Baby Dragon Bakery!

This book is about two best friends who are both secretly in love with each other but don't actually realise.
I was really hoping it would be another cute fun read like the Dragon Cafe, but I really struggled to like the main characters. Lavinia has this idea that because her mother met the love of her life at 24 she must do the same and she obsessed over it. Theo's parents are awful people and his self confidence doesn't exist.
There are some very cute moments between Lavinia and Theo and their friendship past and present. As well as with Lavinias family especially her little brother who really steals all the attention.
I personally do not like a 3rd act break up, but that is just my opinion.

Thank you to the Baby Dragon Club for the copy of this book.

3.75/5

Cosy. Autumnal. Cutesy. Cheesy. Friends to lovers. Wholesome.

This is going to be the perfect autumny read this year. All the food in this book had my stomach growling, I could've devoured it all tbh. The baby dragons were cute. The story was fun, although towards the end it did feel a little rushed, and conversations felt a little more teenager than adults (but that's just my opinion). I think people are gonna love this book.

I thought the romance was cute, and Theo getting jealous had me blushing (oops). I loved the characters new and returning. Lavinia's family are the sweetest. The settings are cosy and you just want them to be real so you can try all the delicious treats and drinks.

I read this in one sitting too. So get your blankets, reading areas and drinking mugs prepared for August for a wholesome, autumnal, romantic read.

I loved this!! Loved diving back into Starshine Valley and getting to see familiar and new characters. I loved Theo and Lavinia’s relationship and I like how their story and dynamics were different to the first book.

Thank you NetGalley and Avonbooks for the early copy of The Baby Dragon Bakery!

This book follows on from the previous book baby dragon cafe and let me tell you this can only be described as warm chai latte in a mug so cosy and heartwarming -like you've wrapped a story in a soft blanket and handed it to someone on a rainy afternoon.

It follows the relationship between Theo and Lavinia will they won’t they vibes. I loved reading about their friendship, and how they navigated this in the story for something more. This book was super cute but also explored family dynamics, acceptance and feeling worthy. I especially loved all the South Asian elements in this book to the names of the pastries and characters.

#thebabydragonclub

I love being part of The Baby Dragon Club!

Thank you so much for the ARC! I think I loved this even more than book one and I loved that a lot! I love how Starshine Valley is such a friendly place, where everyone helps each other. I love how compassionate Suki is with Theo. Theo is a cutie who I think is really relatable, he has low self esteem because of his parents and I really feel for him to have parents like his. I also really like how Lavinia's parents have taken in Theo as their own over the years.

I love how Lavinia and Theo are with each other, friends from a young age, always being there for each other and picking each other up when needed. It's nice to have someone to confide in, tell everything to and be themselves with. I love this for them!

I'm super excited to see where this series goes in book three and I love the characters so will definitely read! The dragons are still cute and they are growing up and becoming more mischievous. I like that Saphira and Aidan are still in this book too, a good friendship circle.

A huge thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for this EARC, I absolutely adored The Baby Dragon Bakery!

A cosy romance full of twists, turns and dragons!
I loved the journey through Lavinia and Theo’s friendship/relationship and actually preferred this book to the first as the characters felt much deeper and more padded out, although the ending was as I expected, it was never dull or predictable as it followed the two main characters and their growth through the book.
Can’t wait to read the third instalment!

4.5 ⭐️

First of all, let's me be clear here: I'm a member of the Baby Dragon Club!The Baby Dragon Bakery is the sequel to the bestselling The Baby Dragon Cafe and although reading the previous novel is not at all required in order to enjoy Bakery, I'd suggest that you do so, to enjoy the full creation of the Starshone Valley and all of its inhabitants. Both books are slow-burn romances and there are no villains in these relationships, just characters that you will love and be cheering on. As with Cafe, The Baby Dragon Bakery is an absolutely scrumptious tale of love, friendship and believing in yourself and true love. And of course, with lots of little dragons and the odd, baby griffin and chimera!
I look forward to returning to the joyful, positive world of Saphira, Aiden,, Sparky and now Lavinia and Theo and their friends.
Oh and erm any chance of sharing some of Theo's amazing sounding recipes?? Pretty please!!

This book was the perfect sequel to The Baby Dragon Cafe! I absolutely loved the tension and yearning between Theo and Lavinia, the flashbacks to childhood memories of them two really were the best and helped develop the reader understand their relationship better!

I love and appreciate the little details of South Asian culture slipped into this book, from the amazing food descriptions to the mother daughter relationship between Lavinia and Beena - (the hair oiling scene made my heart melt)!

At times I did feel that conversations could be more developed between Theo and Lavinia, with the writing style being a little simplistic. In addition, the ending was rushed and I felt as though issues were being addressed on a surface level basis.

But I still really enjoyed this book! If you’re looking for a cosy book that feels like a warm hug, then look no further. I’m excited to read about the next characters storyline in Sunshine Valley!

Thank you to Avon Books UK for the ARC and for letting me be part of The Baby Dragon Club!