The following is a guest post from author J’aime Wells. Make sure to meet her at the bottom!
Now that cozy fantasy is so popular, a lot of bakers are showing up in fantasy books. What could be cozier than combining magic with baking, right?
Well, maybe! Sometimes life gets pretty dark, even for bakers.
Here are seven fantasy books with bakers. Iโve given each book a cozy level, ranking them in order from โzero cozinessโ to โmaximum coziness.โ
For me, a book is cozy if:
- Itโs a smaller-scale story (no saving the realm from dark lords).
- Thereโs a sense of โsafetyโ in the story world (nothing really awful happens).
- The character arcs are about discovering home (and friends or found family).
- The settings are comforting (like bookstores, coffee shops, andโyesโbakeries).
Just to mention, the cozy level isnโt my rating for the book overall. I enjoyed all the books on this list, dark or cozy.
My favorite baker-themed cozy fantasy books:
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Technically, I suppose Sunshine is a vampire romance, though the romance tropes are few. Heroine Rae (nicknamed Sunshine) works as a baker for a coffee shop. Her cinnamon rolls in particular sound amazing. Her job and nickname, however, are the only cozy things in this book. Terrifying things are constantly happening to Rae.
And as far as the romance goes, well, when Rae describes the vampire sheโs forced to spend time with, she says that โthe sound of his laughter made me want to throw up, and that in sunlight he lookedโฆwell, dead.โ Reader, she eventually sleeps with him anyway. Voluntarily. Yeah, I donโt know, itโs complicated and strange, but so suspenseful that I couldnโt stop turning pages. Big trigger warnings on this book, for violence, blood, and open door sex scenes with a dead guy, adding up toโฆ Cozy level: zero
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
A Wizardโs Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
This wonderful YA fantasy about a young person stepping into her power and taking on an adult role is similar in some ways to Terry Pratchettโs Tiffany Aching books. Many reviewers do call this book cozy and adorable, but Iโm afraid I have to disagree. Our teen wizard/baker protagonist Mona is drafted against her will into a frighteningly important role in a war to defend her city. Iโve read this twice and cried at the same moment both times.
Itโs a higher-stakes story on a city-wide scale, about a YA theme of coming of age in a dangerous world. And yet Kingfisher skillfully slides in so much charm and humor, that I think thatโs why readers remember the book as cozy. For example, I have to give the book a few cozy points just for Monaโs two sidekicks, the loyal gingerbread man and the cantankerous sourdough starter. Still, overall, Iโm going to sayโฆ Cozy level: low
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
The House Witch by Delemhach
The main plot of The House Witch is about a magic-user whose powers are strongest in the home. Finlay is an ideal cozy fantasy protagonist, who would prefer NOT to go off on any quests or battles, thanks. For more cozy points, this book has a lovely found family among the kitchen staff, lots of cooking and baking, and a magical cat.
However, the subplots lean towards the very-not-cozy, including a difficult pregnancy, sexual harassment, flashbacks to child abuse, and an incident of gay bashing. The two sequels get even darker, with a full-on war in the third book. If you donโt mind these tone shifts, this series is a lot of fun, with memorable characters. I enjoyed how the protagonist appreciates the strong women he is surrounded by, including the love interest, his mother, and a co-worker in the kitchen. Letโs sayโฆ Cozy level: medium with warnings
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
The Bakerโs Apprentice by Jโaime Wells
Thatโs me! Iโm placing my book here in the middle of the list. The Bakerโs Apprentice is a coming of age story about a young man who wants to be a wizardโs apprentice. As you can probably tell from the title, that doesnโt work out, but magic and adventure find Hanno anyway. The story has gentle humor, themes of friendship and loyalty, lots of baking scenes (though some areโฆstruggles, lol) and no particularly heavy subjects that I would place a trigger warning for. But the stakes get a little higher and more dangerous than in the next two books on the list, soโฆ Cozy level: medium
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree
I donโt need to introduce Legends & Lattes, do I? This book practically invented cozy fantasy. Itโs about a coffee shop! And the baker for the shop is a cute little critter named Thimble who makes the most heavenly sounding cinnamon rolls. Whatโs not to love?
Bonus shout out to the prequel Bookshops & Bonedust, which features a baker as love interest: Maylee, creator of the best buttery biscuits anyone has ever eaten.
Both of these books have themes of friendship and sweet romance, along with comforting settings. They take place in โsafeโ worlds where you know the characters will come through (mostly) unscathed. But they each also have a villain, who brings some conflict and peril for the good guys, making them just slightly less cozy than the next book, soโฆCozy level: medium to high
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
Dragons and Dumplings by Laura Greenwood
This sweet story explores a friendship with the hint of a potential to become a romance in the future, while they wait for a dragon egg to hatch. Evie is a highly relatable character for me. She doesnโt like crowds, noise, or scratchy clothing. She canโt wait to get away from formal events, preferring to spend time in the kitchen baking with her best friend. The description of making dumplings is so lovingly detailed that I wanted to jump into the story and eat them.
This book has the least conflict of anything on this list. Thereโs no real villain and no violence or danger; the story is just about the friendship gradually shifting, about Evieโs relationship with her family โ and about waiting for a dragon egg to hatch. The ending is a bit unresolved (a sequel is out now).ย Cozy level: high
Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph
I hope that somewhere in this list you found some fantasy baking with just the right balance of darkness and sweetness for your taste!
Meet the Author
Jโaime (she/her) lives in the state of Washington with one husband (New Zealander), one doggo (Miniature Pinscher cross), and one cat (three-legged). She reads anything thatโs not too scary, and writes cozy fantasy and science fiction. Find her online at https://jaimewells.com/.
p.s. Itโs pronounced just like โJamie.โ
More About Me
- 6 Cozy Fantasy Books About Bakers - November 16, 2025
- Review: Making Friends Can Be Murder by Kathleen West - November 13, 2025
- What We Read in October 2025 - November 8, 2025