For fans of Legends & Lattes and House of Frank, The Alchemist Baker of Rosen is a cozy queer fantasy where the stakes are the community’s, and the romance is sweet and queer. If you like cozy fantasy with baking in it, this is that.
A Tales of Valdaes Standalone Novel
Set 200 Years Before Mosswood Apothecary
A grandmother’s old recipes.
A city on the hunt for magic.
And bread that makes things better.
Erik never expected his grandmother’s old baking secrets to change anything beyond keeping his neighbors fed. Working quietly in Master Garrick’s shop, he uses hints of magic to stretch meager supplies, ever since the city’s tension with refugees worsened. It’s nothing grand, just a few prayers and simple etchings, but it’s enough to ease hunger in Rosen’s struggling harbor district.
When a licensed mage appears at the bakery door, Erik fears his careful balance is crumbling. But as word spreads about this miracle bread, he discovers something unexpected: a community beginning to form around his kitchen table. From Master Garrick’s gruff protectiveness to young Theo’s eager friendship, Erik finds himself building the very thing he thought he’d lost—a place to belong.
The old ways his grandmother taught him are stirring something deeper than simple heating sigils, and Erik must decide how much of himself he’s willing to share. Because sometimes the most powerful magic isn’t about changing the world—it’s about feeding the people who matter, one loaf at a time.
The Alchemist Baker of Rosen is a cozy fantasy novel about food, community, and magic. It is set in the world of Mosswood Apothecary two hundred years earlier and can be read on its own. The magic Erik uses to feed his community is forbidden, feared by a city guard too stuck in its ways to help the poor.