Unfortunately I DNF’d this at 44%. I really tried my best to keep going and felt I gave it a good chance but I just wasn’t enjoying it.

I feel this book and storyline had really good premise and it sounded like a perfect cosy fantasy.

However I found the pace extremely slow and repetitive in a lot of areas. Descriptions were often repeated, character profiles were repeated and some dragon moments/ scenarios also repeated.

I felt that the writing style was a little more juvenile than I expected, in the sense that, if the book had the curse words and romance elements removed, it’s would be much more suited as a Middle Grade story and definitely not YA. Because of this, the romance and adult feelings the characters portrayed felt very out of place.

I did not feel very invested in any of the characters. Although I could sympathise with them and their losses, they just didn’t have an impact on me and because due to the slow pace and repetitiveness, it was easy to become frustrated and lose interest. I did however appreciated the Muslim representation in this story and found this very refreshing. I also got the impression that Aiden was perhaps neurodivergent? Suffering with socially anxiety and unable to gage social cues or meanings in human interaction. I appreciated this, though would have preferred the other characters have been more empathetic and supportive of his quirks and struggles, rather than berate him and labelling him ‘weird’ - adding to the stigma and unwarranted shame for being different. Perhaps his family and friends had some growth in this area, but as I did not finish the book I am unsure of this happened.

The world building was sweet and whimsy though and did achieve that cute cosy vibe. I also loved the fusion deserts/coffee described in the cafe -they sounded amazing and made me want to eat them for real life!

Overall it had very good potential, but I just felt it was poorly delivered

I tried so hard to love The Baby Dragon Cafe by A.T. Qureshi. I wanted to because the concept was brilliant. Who wouldnt want to read a cozy coffee shop fantasy about a cafe with dragons and a little bit of romance? However the book for me, fell flat. The writing felt disjointed and I was, frankly bored through a lot of it. It was kind of a slog to get through and that was really disappointing. All that being said the relationship between the main characters, Saphira and Aiden was well developed in a nice slow pace. There was minimal conflict which I liked but did kind of seem ridiculous in the grand scheme of things. The book definitely did not lack in the charm department but it could have used a little bit of excitement.

Classic cozy comfort fantasy. Writing is very character focused. The story has similar vibes to Legends and Lattes, but with very chaotic baby dragons.

This book is cozy, but that’s about it. There’s no substance at all and I didn’t care about any of the characters. The concept is good but the execution was poor.

Thank you for this ARC I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline. To be honest though, I didn’t care for the writing style.

Very cute read and the PR to hype the release up was very well done.

Perfect for fans of cosy fantasy such as A Tempest of Tea.

Thank you so much @avonbooksuk for the e-arc.

Saphira owns The Baby Dragon Cafe and after losing her grandmother and no other family, she works hard to keep The Baby Dragon Cafe running, but with money being tight and dragons setting things on fire, it's hard on her.

When Aiden, a local gardener from a Drakkon family comes into her café and asks if she'll help train his baby dragon and pay her, she agrees, as she's always wanted a baby dragon to look after and she wishes to call one her own one day.

Saphira is quite independent, strong and happy. While Aiden is introverted, anxious, and a bit grumpy. It shows both sides of a family, big and small, grief and loss and the feeling of belonging.

This was so cute and so cosy!! I really enjoyed it!! Sparky the little black baby dragon, with purple eyes, bringing Saphira and Aiden together 💜 and the gorgeous little place of Starshine Valley!

this book is three tropes stacked on top of each other, disguised in a trench coat as a cosy fantasy. it’s technically a cringy romance featuring dragons.

the start of this book was very intriguing. i was fascinated by the baby dragons, although the it was short lived. i soon became annoyed when i realised they were written with the personality of dogs (with a little extra accidental violence). i eye rolled every time “draggo” was mentioned.

the only major plot event in this book happens at the start, and involves the coffee machine. it’s resolved a few pages later (coincidentally, a rich guy came along).

the romance itself was strange. it was insta lust/love at its finest. there was no tension, longing or anything like that made it feel deserving.

the ending was really weird as well, everything seemed to have happened all at once. it was anticlimactic and honestly just boring.

literally nothing happens except some check box tropes and some insta love. i started it for the baby dragons and i finished it because i have a strong determination.

A cozy, magical story with sweet moments, but the repetitive narrative and slow pacing made it fall short for me. Charming, but not fully engaging.

Well this is just the cutest, coziest fantasy book I have read. It’s pretty low stakes and chilled out, the story flows and I loved the personality of Sparky! Saphira has worked herself to the bone to keep her cafe running despite the little baby dragons inevitably causing chaos 🙈 Aiden was just lovely to saph and I really enjoyed his family dynamic which to him in his eyes was more complicated than in reality. I’m really looking forward to the next book that’s for sure ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a cute, cosy read and was just so sweet! I did really enjoy how easy it was to read and I adored Sparky. I just felt the pacing was off in regards to the romance. It felt really rushed and was moving too quickly for how short the book was. I appreacited that this touched on the subject of classism but there was nothing to follow it up so was left with thinking it was a little bit pointless.

I did like the brief description of food in this and I loved that Aiden was a man that could cook.

Perfect for fans of The Dream Harbour series by Laurie GIlmore.

A very enjoyable and fun book. I incredibly enjoyed the characters, the story and the writing.
I found the conversation between the two MC to be a bit stiff at times and not flowing well but I still had fun reading this.

A lovely, adorable, and very cosy read that is perfect for fans of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, or even The Spellshop!

The vibes within this book are immaculate, and I found myself really enjoying getting to know all the characters. The relationship between Saphira and Aiden was simply lovely, Aamna Qureshi perfectly balanced the progression between them throughout the book and it left me very happy with the overall feeling and experience of reading this book.

Sparky was the star of the show, I love that he brought Aiden and Saphina together. And I also love that The Baby Dragon Cafe lived up to everything I wanted to be and more.

A beautifully woven tale and one that I can't wait to continue with future books.

Perfect for you if you enjoy the following tropes:

- grumpy x sunshine
- fake marriage
- cosy warm vibes
- baby dragons !!!!!
- small town feeling

There has been so much hype and fanfare over this book I couldn’t wait to read it!
The idea behind it was so good however the book it’s self just lacked so much! There is no fantasy beyond cute baby dragons, the storyline talks about things that could be amazing but the writer doesn’t actually take it anywhere. The plot is so basic and the writing is also really basic.
The book is basically just a romance and even the romance aspect isn’t great. So many issues and problems with the FMC and MMC that are just skipped over.
It just felt really flat! the potential is there with things they talk about however again they are not explored or expanded on which is disappointing.
If you don’t read much or are new to reading it would be a good book to start with.
There are also plans at the back of the book to expand to a baby dragon bakery and a baby dragon bookshop, not sure if I would give them a chance!
🌟🌟🌟

Release Date - 16th January 2025

Scorched and gnawed skirts are a small price to pay to be surrounded by baby dragons. And Qureshi knows exactly how to write the most adorable dragons. It’s such a shame that this strength is so entwined with its flaws. One that I do think it manages to mitigate. However there really is no escaping that despite how often it tells you that the Sterlings are one of the most esteemed Drakkon families, a family with dragon carers and even stables, Aiden neglected his baby for months.

It’s unsurprising that he has to be prompted to apologise to his dragon. It’s unsurprising that he was more sorry his behaviour upset Saphira than his dragon. One of the elements that I did enjoy most was the domesticity of Aiden and Saphira’s arrangement. And I will say that Qureshi does come to paint a wonderful portrait of the three of them as a family. However I can’t help but feel that if Sparky had been a dog rather than a fantastical creature that Aiden would rank closer to characters who kick dogs than swoonworthy romance heroes.

The prose is heavy on exposition. Not in itself necessarily bad though I’d rather experience the world than have it told to me. It ultimately feels like a pop-up book. The shallowest gesture at a world. The arc of the romance ultimately is prized over its reality. Aiden’s job, for instance. It’s important in that it sets him apart from his family but suddenly it all but disappears from the narrative and he spends every day at the cafe. And ‘in a world where dragons flew through the air, nothing was too far out of reach’ was so frustrating. It’s not special. That’s an everyday occurence.

I don’t like to quote so much at once but in this instance it’s demonstrative -‘With a start, Aiden realized he was home, standing in front of his door. Sometimes he got so deep in his own head, he forgot about everything else around him. Usually he enjoyed the winding road that led up to his cottage, taking in the sight of all the leaves returning to the trees, the buds that would soon bloom. But he hadn’t noticed any of them today, he was so lost in thought‘.

The first sentence comes after pages of the world building and yet again re-explaining the circumstances in which Sparky came into his care. We know he’s walking somewhere because the chapter tells us as much when it starts, itself immediately following him leaving Saphira. The second sentence is just a repetition of what we, the readers, have read and know to have happened. The third fully does not matter and only belabours the point. The fourth yet again is just a repetition of what we, the readers, have read and know to have happened. The only thing in this paragraph that matters is that he’s arrived at his house.

I’m genuinely so sorry that Qureshi didn’t get an editor because I can’t fathom how this happened otherwise. There needed to be someone who said trust your readers. We can remember what you told us the chapter before. We can remember what you told us the chapter before that. It isn’t only the repetition, however. It often says the same thing in the same way and isn’t paced well. Saphira’s relationship with her mother is clearly set up but is forgotten for a large swathe of the book only to be thrown back in in quick succession just before it becomes relevant again. The paragraph was the worst example of this but I’m surprised that this book wasn’t at least a dozen pages shorter.

I do appreciate that Aiden didn’t keep secrets from Saphira for long. The last thing this book needed was something else to drag it out. As partners, they tend to work really well and it was lovely to see them interact that way. Even if he leaves her helplessly in the dark at times. I’m so glad that Qureshi didn’t feel the need to throw in a third act break up for the sake of convention. What she did include was genuinely very sweet and worked perfectly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for this review copy. I leave this review voluntarily.

This was an enjoyable and wholesome story, I loved Sparky the dragon and the slow burn romance. The characters were all likeable and I enjoyed their growth throughout the book, I hope to read more by this author.

3.5/5 ⭐
1/5 🌶️
CAWPILE: 41/70

Tropes:
- introvert x extrovert
- dragon training
- cafe
- <spoiler>fake dating</spoiler>
- <spoiler>one bed</spoiler>

Recommended To:
Lovers of low stakes, cozy romance and those who seek out hella good vibes over depth.

My Thoughts:
(Book 1 of The Baby Dragon series) Okay, to get it out of the way, yes the dragons were sooooooo cute. I loved Sparky with my whole heart i swear to god. This was an extremely cozy weird but in my opinion it lacked a lot of depth. Which isnt necessarily vibe, especially when you want some feel good smiles and a warm heart :) it is perfectly low stakes, deliciously slow burn, and so sweet it might give you a happy little toothache. Aiden is a cutie pie and Saphira was like a big heaping pile of cherries on top.

The characters are not very complex, but there was a little bit of character development. I dont think it was anything amazing, but its there. Their internal problems weren't really a focus of the story.

The conflict is where my CAWPILE rating kinda dipped a little bit. It it meant to be a low stakes read and its really good at that, butttt i did find myself a little bit put off at how easily everything was resolved. The easy solutions and lack of permanent consequences made me not really care about the conflict happening.

I would call the writing style pretty standard, though at time a little bit jilted and awkward. I wouldnt say theres anything amazing or bad about it, but the type of style that flies under the radar as you get lost in the story and giggle at the characters. And thats a good thing, imo.

Triggers:
(past) parental death, (past-ish) illegal racing, money issues, minor classism

Spice:
Slow burn and high tension. woooo boy the tension was tensioning and made me tense but in an intensely good way. the brief touches, the almost giving in, the instant attraction but reluctance to act on it, MWAH chefs kiss it was done so well. The part where they finally bone is sweet and simple, not explicit and closes the curtain when they start to get busy. the spicy chapter is <spoiler>chap 24</spoiler>

Special Notes:
-29 chapters, very short, third pov
-took me about 3 hours to read this one
-arc read, comes out Jan 16th

I requested this because of the dragons, but there is practically nothing else going for this book.

The writing was awkward (sentence structure) and bland (in its entirety), making me wonder if it's undergone any editing beyond basic spelling and grammar. Definitely better than the other NetGalley ARC I just read, but still astonishing that this is considered publishable. I FIRMLY believe the author can do better than this, because this read like a first draft.

The characters were one-dimensional, to the point that the "conflict" in the last twenty pages (not even kidding) is described to us as the result of "something they had talked about once". If this was to be the dramatic (albeit low-stakes) ending of the story, some foreshadowing or something would have been appreciated; there really needed to be more solid buildup in order for this to hit the way it was intended to. It came out of nowhere and disappeared within the same chapter.

I DID like how their friendship was an important part of the story, but the rest of their relationship (and every relationship) was so inconsistent that I couldn't even really appreciate that.

There were some potentially interesting plot points, especially with illegal dragon racing and Sparky being one of the most-trafficked breeds, but that also went nowhere. On that note, I can say this book did genuinely surprise me: all of the little things dropped about potential plot points or conflict ended up not being important at all.

While I was excited for the concept of this book I felt disappointed in the execution. It had good cozy fantasy elements and feel-good romance at the helm, but I found the characters flat and the writing repetitive. I always enjoy a cute animal companion and so was happy with Sparky and the small world building enough to situate the characters. I did not feel invested enough though for the plot to be compelling.

I am happy this book was written as there is a need for cozy feel good content with diverse leads. This was just not the book for me.

This book was heartwarming. A book you want to cosy up with whilst reading. With baby dragons and a slow-burn romance it’s an easy read that truly makes you feel good