Book Review: No Whisk, No Reward
No Whisk, No Reward by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This short prequel is a nice little read that cleverly accomplishes four important jobs.
Job One: It served as my introduction to Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mysteries series and her protagonist, Juliet Capshaw. Everyone has a backstory in life, and now I know how Juliet got to this place in her life.
Job Two: The author has demonstrated to me that she cares enough about her characters and settings to invite us in to take a look around at what she’s created. She’s invested in her writing, which makes me want to invest time in reading her stories.
Job Three: If for any reason the characters and worldbuilding didn’t appeal to me, I’ve only invested a small amount of my reading time with them. (Spoiler: They appealed.)
Job Four: When I read Meet Your Baker, the first book in the series, I’ll already be pre-invested in Juliet Capshaw and her world. I won’t waste storytelling time settling into a new-to-me world. I can hit the ground running and simply enjoy the adventure from the get-go!
Well done, Ellie Alexander. I enjoyed the prequel and the Bakeshop Mysteries are now on my to-read list.
Lori Alden Holuta
Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.
