Perfect for fans of:
- Practical Magic
- Soothing baking shows
- Delicious treats and the found family trope
The Heartbreak Bakery follows agender Syd, who accidentally bakes residual bitterness over a break-up into a batch of brownies at Syd’s place of work, The Proud Muffin—and suddenly everyone who eats them, breaks up with their partners. Desperate to fix the mistake, Syd teams up with the cute bike messenger Harley to revert the consequences—and might just fix Syd’s own heart in the process.
The premise of this book was so sweet. Magical brownies that make people break up and a baker and bike messenger banding together to fix the damage with even more delicious treats? Really, this is as wholesome as it gets. The Heartbreak Bakery also marked the first book I’ve read with an agender protagonist who prefers no pronouns at all.
I loved the setting of the story. The Proud Muffin, Syd’s place of work, felt like such a wholesome and safe space for Syd and all the other workers and customers. There’s tons of diversity represented there and it’s clear that this bakery means a lot to the community. The Proud Muffin feels like the found family trope if it were turned into a place, if that makes sense.
Also, there are some amazing recipes in here! I’m an amateur baker at best but some of the recipes Syd makes I will definitely try out for myself (though where to get a sprinkle of forgiveness, that’s the question) because let me tell you, you do not want to read this book without some snacks or otherwise your stomach will just growl forever.
As we follow Syd and Harley and get to meet Austin’s citizens, you can’t help but fall in love with love as you watch people mend broken fences and reunite in the sweetest ways.
The only thing that nagged at me in this book was part of the romance. Syd has only just broken up with Wy, and it was a bit jarring to see Syd and Harley flirt and well, more, only two days after the end of a three-year long relationship. but Harley is such a wholesome cinnamon roll that that single fact almost makes up for it. And Syd and Harley are just cute together and thus…make for the perfect romance recipe (excuse the pun).
If you’re looking for a fluffy, wholesome read about magical baked goods and the bisexual agender teen who creates them, topped with a sugary sweet romance and fun recipes, The Heartbreak Bakery is for you!
The Heartbreak Bakery is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 12th 2021.
Will you be picking up The Heartbreak Bakery? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.
Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.
