I treated myself to this one with some of my birthday money, after it was recommended to me by one of my book blogging buddies – and I’m so sorry that I cannot recall who! If you do remember my gushing over it, feel free to come and nudge me in the ribs and I’ll namecheck you…
BLURB: Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance. But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…
REVIEW: This one is a solid delight. I absolutely loved it. Mona is such a superb protagonist – having been orphaned and then looked after by her aunt and uncle, her life is jogging along quite nicely. But then the appearance of a dead body in the bakery upsets everything. And from then on, Mona’s life becomes a lot more complicated.
The setting is a medieval city state where most of the subjects are just about coping, though there is widespread poverty. I believed in the world, the politics and the way prejudice against folks with magical ability had been subtly stirred up – it was nicely done. But what makes this book really stand out is the magic. Or rather – Mona’s magic… It’s a joy. Both funny and completely believable, the way Mona’s desperate efforts to save the day made this a gripping read so that I stayed up far too late to discover what happened. And I’ve been mourning the loss of this world ever since I stopped reading it. I even dreamt about it…
I also liked the depth of the supporting characters – as well as Mona’s anger at the adults’ inability to sort things out, so that it’s down to her. Such a natural reaction, but one I don’t see all that often in these sorts of adventures. I very much hope that Kingfisher finds that her lovely heroine won’t leave her alone – and that she, too, misses Mona. Because I’d love to read more about this gutsy, quirky teen.
10/10
Brainfluff 
This sounds wonderful! I need to read more Kingfisher, I do love her quirky sense of humor😁
I’ve now read two books by her and I love her quirky humour, too. This one is a delight:)).
I just love the title 😉
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? And I got into a bit of trouble this afternoon when Himself came home and read my blog – and reminded me that HE was the one who found this book and recommended it to me:)).
This sounds so fun! I definitely have to give this a try.
It is great fun – as well as being genuinely gripping. I read waaay into the night because I couldn’t put it down – and though I didn’t mention it in the review – this book made my list of Outstanding Reads of 2020…
That sourdough starter as a familiar sounds like a very intriguing detail… 🙂
I know! Think of Hector the black cheese in the Tiffany Aching series and you have an idea of what the sourdough starter gets up to:))).
This sounds fun. I don’t know why, but whenever I see the cover, I always think it’s a cookbook and ignore it, lol smh. I’d like to check it out. I didn’t like the Twisted Ones, but I really want to try more by this author.
Lol… I can see why you might think that! But it’s MUCH more fun than a cookbook, Zezee:)).
Sounds like a great read and thanks for the review!
Many thanks for stopping by my travel and photography blog – much appreciated.
Testing! I don’t think any comments I’ve left on your blog for the past week have been coming through 😦
They weren’t! I’m hoping I’ve fixed it, but I will be keeping an eye out to ensure your comments don’t end up in my Spam folder – grrr! Don’t know what glitch decided THAT was a good idea!!
I haven’t read this author yet but The Hollow Places and the Twisted Ones are on my list already.
Lynn 😀
I believe she writes under a pen name for her darker stuff, which I’m probably going to avoid for the duration. But there is a respectable backlist of other enjoyable-looking reads. I also loved Swordheart.
So many I want to read and too little time to read!
I know! I want two clones! One to do all my reading and one to do all my writing…
I cannot wait until I get to hear what ye think about Minor Mage.
x The Captain
Thank you, Cap. I am lining it up for later this month/early Feb:))
Hooray!!!
x The Captain
:)))
Ooo this sounds great fun! Glad you enjoyed it, SJ 😊
OH MY GOSH THAT COVER. A Slayin’ Gingerbread Man with wizardry and wonder involved? SOLD!
(So long as it doesn’t go into that Gingerdead Man territory. Yes, that’s an actual movie starring Gary Busey and I pray you never experience it, lol.)
Oh no! This is much more fun than that – think of Hector, the Black Cheese in the Tiffany Aching stories and you’ll be closer to what’s going on here:)).
LOL got it 🙂