Bingo 15 :White
Notice the color of the title text? And few splashes of said color elsewhere? Ok then. However, if you want to be more creative about it, white is often represented as the absence of color, which could be argued to be a metaphor for the total absence of substance in this novel. So, there’s that too.
Now to be absolutely clear, the absence of substance is exactly what I needed when I picked this up. I needed a palate cleasner from something that turned out to be waaaay darker than I had thought, and this absolutely works. It’s fluff, cozy, devoid of a lot of meaning, predictable, and also vaguely fun and entertaining.
The trope include: baking competition, the roomies (sunny and grumpiness incarnate both represented, yet naturally end up a close trio), the total long shot (Arleta is human and has zero magic in an elven-dominated world and competition), the scary head judge, the love interest and the odd instant connection/kind of lack of reason for it but then it all gets explained and maybe works out…), the baking descriptions (and yes a few recipes in an appendix), the mishaps and behind the scenes looks, the backstory, the rivalry with the most likely to win, the high stakes (Arleta would love to open her own shop, but has zero funding), a few plot twists, and a generally happy ending for all who deserve one.
If you think about this too much, there is really not much here besides stringing together a lot of tropes. Why does everyone who needs to love Arleta always do so (eventually, at least), what is so “magical” or special about adding herbs or spices to your baking, why is Theo personally going around escorting competitors to the competition, etc….
But if you just want cozy, kind of predictable with a few minor twists, low stakes-ish fantasy, that has baking in it, this is your read. Verdreth and Ervash are the cutest most supportive couple and parental stand-ins ever, Faylin is fun when present (talking cat, enough said), and there is both victory and defeat for Arleta in the end, and it’s the right ending for everyone. Even with the general lack of character or world building, even much plot beyond GBBO rip-off with fantasy creatures (and really, that’s almost not the story anyways), it’s the fluffiest of fluffy coziness. Like marshmallow. Or meringue.