Book Review :: The Baby Dragon Bakery by Aamna Qureshi

The Baby Dragon Bakery by Aamna Qureshi
ISBN: 0008742936
Series: The Baby Dragon #2
on 28 August 2025
Genres: Cosy, Fantasy
Pages: 328
Goodreads

Will it be a recipe for romance? Or a friendship up in flames?

Lavinia has it all. A loving family (complete with adorable pet baby dragon). A place at university training to be a magical animal vet. And a part-time job at the enchanting Baby Dragon Cafe. The only thing she doesn’t have is her one true love: Theo.

Theo is the local baker and her best friend. On paper, they’re perfect: he’s funny, she’s witty. He’s sweet, and she’s a little salty. That’s why they’ve been friends for as long as they can remember. They’ve never been without one another – and it’s clear to everyone that they’re meant to be.

Everyone except Theo. Because when Lavinia finally makes her move, he pulls away.

Lavinia is devastated. Has this friendship gone up in smoke? Or will Theo finally realise that he wants them to be more than friends?

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What is The Baby Dragon Bakery about?

Lavinia’s life is pretty close to perfect. She has a loving family, an adorable baby dragon as a pet, a place at university training to become a magical animal vet, and a part-time job at the Baby Dragon Cafe. Honestly, she’s doing great.

The only thing missing? Theo.

“Remember, in life, if you’re largely discontented, it’s usually time for something to change.”

Theo is her best friend and the local baker. They’ve grown up together, they balance each other out, and everyone around them is convinced it’s only a matter of time before they figure it out and fall in love.

Everyone, that is, except Theo.

When Lavinia finally admits how she feels, he pulls away, and suddenly the one relationship she’s always relied on feels fragile. Hurt and confused, Lavinia is left wondering if she’s just burned the most important bridge in her life, or if Theo is brave enough to admit he wants more too.

My thoughts on The Baby Dragon Bakery

I read The Baby Dragon Café and adored it. It was such a sweet story, with baby dragons and an adorable setting.

I was excited to read The Baby Dragon Bakery, as the second book in this series, it was … okay? I enjoyed it, for the most part, but I did feel like it was missing a lot of what made the first one really hecken’ cute.

We first meet Lavinia and Theo in The Baby Dragon Café, as Lavinia works with the main character, Saphira. So we already knew about Lavinia and Theo’s friendship from book one, which was actually really nice to step into and have them as the main characters in this, the second book.

It’s beginning to feel a little like the Dream Harbor series, in that there are multiple books all set in the same place but are focused on a different set of characters.

While the whimsical vibes were definitely there in this book, it just didn’t hit the same as the first one.

Perhaps it was because I didn’t gel with the characters as much, or because there were fewer baby dragons in this one (which was part of the whole charm of book 1!), or I just don’t vibe with the miscommunication tropes … it drives me insane, actually.

“If he lived a hundred lives, he’d find her in every one; the way sailors unerringly found the North Star in the night sky no matter the century.”

Whatever it was … I did enjoy reading it but it definitely began to fall flat about halfway through.

I did like catching up with some of the characters from the first book, like Saphira and Aiden, and there are some other repeating characters too, and overall it was a fun read.

There’s another book on the way, called The Baby Dragon Bookshop, which honestly sounds more appealing to me (perhaps the café and the bakery were too similar in setting??), following another set of characters, so while I didn’t like book 2 as much as book 1, I think I’ll still pick up book 3 when it’s released in 2026.

Have you read The Baby Dragon Bakery? What did you think?