Midsummer's Mayhem

Once there was a girl who loved to bake. She baked cookies and pies, cream puffs and brownies, and cupcakes most of all. Baking was what she knew and loved. But the girl felt that no one truly understood her.

There are middle-grade books that I really enjoy, and then there are ones that make me feel like I'm probably too far away from the target audience and why don't I read something else instead. For the first 5 chapters or so, I thought Midsummer's Mayhem was an example of the latter. I almost DNFed it once, to be honest. To get a bit ahead of myself for a moment: I'm glad I didn't! But the beginning was sort of... chaotic. Too many things kicked off all at once. Songs from the woods! New neighbors! Tension between sisters! Baking contest! MC's Dad behaving weirdly! Stage play! My, what do I even focus on? It felt like trying to unravel a spool of thread, except there are multiple threads there, each of them bright and alluring, but they all tangle together.

However, about 1/3 into the book things started tying together more and more, and the plot became quite easy to keep track of—and pretty compelling at that. The story turned out to be whimsical and fun, with a strong focus on family, friendship, and, of course, baking. So much baking. Every cookie and cupcake description was amazing and made me crave something sweet. The entire fae plot was pretty exciting at times, and the faeries themselves were just the way I like them: beautiful and weird and toying with humans. Good thing their tricks come with clauses that make it possible to win.

Oh, and without spoiling anything: I just really, really liked the ending.