Review | The Confectioner's Guild by Claire Luana
A magic cupcake. A culinary killer. The perfect recipe for murder.
Wren knew her sweet treats could work wonders, but she never knew they could work magic. She barely has time to wrap her head around the stunning revelation when the head of the prestigious Confectioner’s Guild falls down dead before her. Poisoned by her cupcake.
Now facing murder charges in a magical world she doesn’t understand, Wren must discover who framed her or face the headsman’s axe. With the help of a handsome inspector and several new friends, Wren just might manage to learn the ropes, master her new powers, and find out who framed her. But when their search for clues leads to a deep-rooted conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, she realizes that the guild master isn’t the only one at risk of death by chocolate.
If Wren can’t bring the powerful culprit to justice, she and her friends will meet a bittersweet end.
This is a book that really grew on me, though it was a bit of a mixed bag. It starts off as a rather sweet story about a confectioner who is falsely accused of murder, but quickly becomes darker as her backstory is revealed and the plot progresses. By the time the story climaxes, there’s torture and weird relationship dynamics that had me questioning whether this book is really YA.
Part of the problem is that I was never sure what age any of the characters were. The MC seems to be 16 (is she? I’m not sure...) but she drinks and gets herself into light sexitimes situations with (maybe?) much older gentlemen without it seeming like a big deal. One of the main chaps at the guild comes off as an old man, but is later revealed to me only about thirty, but someone else is supposed to be the youngest person of that rank and they’re in their thirties (I think). That person in turn seems to be in a sort of relationship with a guy whose age is never stated, but who has a brief romantic connection to the MC. If he’s in his thirties too, then it feels weird for him to be smooching a 16 year-old. Maybe I read the book wrong and just didn’t understand, but either way I was mightily confused.
That aside, I thought the plot was really well constructed and the story was engaging. I was initially put off by the fact that the MC instantly fancies the first two guys she meets, but I actually liked the way she developed a platonic relationship with one - that dynamic worked really well for me. The main romantic relationship wasn’t quite right for me, though. The kissing scenes felt a bit awkward and abrupt in places, like they needed a bit of extra polish. I also would have liked a little more foundation for that relationship - it was pretty instant.
But I think the strength of the plot is what really carried this book through for me. The MC was engaging and mostly sympathetic, and at its heart the book is a murder mystery. That’s where the author really excelled in her storytelling. There was a brief moment where it went a bit off the rails in the climax (the MC’s plot to expose the villain publicly was just never going to work and I’m not sure why she ever thought it would), but the author brought it back and I was satisfied at the end, despite a few threads that didn’t quite connect.
The world building was altogether decent as well. It made me interested in the wider world. There was a bit of infodumping of backstories into dialogue, but it wasn’t ubiquitous, and it was generally more subtly introduced.
As a British reader, I found the food-related Americanisms a little challenging in this book, e.g. the MC was eating ‘biscuits’ with clotted cream and jam. American biscuits might look like English scones, but they aren’t the same thing. Little gastronomical details like that grated on me.
Altogether, this was a fun read. I’m not sure that I liked it enough to read the sequel, but I’m sure there are plenty of people out there for whom it would be perfect.
Recommended for: Fans of murder mysteries and cake!
Disclosure: The Gin Book Club received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. This in no way affects the content of this review. This review is provided voluntarily and contains our honest opinion.
