The Confectioner's Guild (The Confectioner Chronicles, #1)

by Claire Luana

Wren’s eyes had narrowed. “Thank you for showing me to my room. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve had a trying day and should get some sleep.” “Want me to tuck you in?” He’d leaned back on his elbows, the collar of his striped button-down shirt opening slightly to reveal a V of tanned flesh. “No, thank you.” He had stood in a flash. “Good girl. I’ll see you in the morning for your first lesson.”

"want me to tuck you in?" "no" "good girl" WHWHAT WHAT DID I MISS

“See you this afternoon, chickadee.”

oh no not the chickadees

“Hale will bed anything that moves. I don’t think it was ever more than a fling to him.”

uh WHAT. HALE. WHAT.

“Why were you so…?” Wren couldn’t articulate Hale’s behavior. “Rude,” she finished, knowing that wasn’t quite right. “Naw,” Hale said. “I was perfectly polite.”

hale is always polite, except when he's rude. :)

“Ouch, this bird has talons,” he said, pressing a hand to his broad chest in mock affront. He drew closer to her with a mischievous grin, threatening to overwhelm her with his size, his bright smile, his sculpture-fine features. “It’s all right, Wren. I like it when they bite.”

alr alr, ill admit, that was kind of a good scene

“Are we going to cook today, or are you going to waste the whole morning with sad attempts to stroke your male ego?” “Oh, that’s not the part I’m attempting to get stroked—” “Hale!” she shrieked, punching him in the shoulder with all her might. “Enough!”

uh why are we stroking his male ego anyways.

You remember the signal, if you have something to tell me?” “I remember.” “That’s my girl.” And then he was gone, leaving her alone with an armful of flowers and a stomach full of butterflies.

"that's my girl' bro my butterflies would start butterfly-ing too if someone said that to me

The last man, Beckett, was fair-skinned and fair-haired with watery blue eyes, a plump mid-section, and clammy-looking sausage fingers. This was Marina’s father? She looked nothing like him. It was a mystery how he had snared a woman beautiful enough to produce an offspring as lovely as Marina.

well thats mean. don't dis the sausage fingers

“Welcome to the world of the guilds, my swan,”

why a swan. why anything but a wren.

“At least I presume, as you remained sitting silently as a field mouse.” “Running out of bird metaphors?”

real. why is hale so obsessed with calling her birds.

“Not so, my little whip-poor-will.

BRO. I THOUGHT WE WERE OVER THE BIRDS. I HAD TO USE THE DICTIONARY FOR THIS ONE. WHAT'S A WHIP-POOR-WILL.

He’s so sure of his victory that he’s already demanding to move into Kasper’s office.” “Ass,” Hale said.

"ass" :) what a kind man

Wren took the letter, folded it, and tucked it in the bodice of her dress. Hale raised a roguish eyebrow. “Lucky letter,” he joked.

damn. even though there are so many good scenes with hale and wren, i feel like we all saw it coming that she would end up with lucas.

“Tell me about it,” Wren said. “But I discovered something!” She pulled the crumpled letter out of the bodice of her dress. Lucas raised an eyebrow and a grin flickered across his face. “Lucky letter.”

yep. this is what i mean. we all saw it coming.

And then she realized what it was. Kindness. She was unaccustomed to such human kindness. “Do you not like it?” Olivia asked, unsure. Wren shook her head, trying to gather herself enough to speak. “I think this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” she said softly. Olivia threw her arms around Wren in a hug. “I’m glad you like it.” “I love it.”

awww. i don't think anyone talks abt olivia enough. shes so nice

Wren looked down with more than a little awe at the drape of the velvet over her body. A field of teal and ruby flowers undulated over the golden field of the fabric, soft and mesmerizing. “I feel half-naked.”

*beautifully describes dress with beautiful adjectives and leaving us feeling like this is a good dress* "I feel half-naked"

Willings grabbed her arm suddenly, drawing her near to him, digging his nails into her flesh. “Listen here, you little harlot…”

HEY HEY HEY. TAKEN UP WOMAN HARRASMENT HAVE WE? no, idk if anyone agrees with me, but i absolutely hate willings, and it's not just this scene either. who even uses the word harlot anyway. it's 2025.

“I hate him,” Olivia said with a hiss.

i don't know who we're talking about, but me too

“He’s a good confectioner and a good diplomat, and I’ve learned a lot from him, but…” Lennon looked up and down the table to make sure the man wasn’t near. “He’s kind of an ass.”

yeah i don't think anyone talks about lennon enough either. i feel like lennon is a nice guy. i would want to be friends with him.

He looked at her with a spoonful of soup halfway to his mouth and paused. “What?” “I’m glad you sat next to me.” “Me too.”

awwwwwwwww. such cutesy scenes. like ARGHHH lennon is my fav character <333

“You, Wren, look good enough to eat.” She groaned, letting out a little laugh. “Not the bad sexual puns again!”

yeah hale. no bad sexual puns. this is a bad-sexual-pun-free area

“He vouched for you. That means if you’re found guilty, he’s found guilty. If you die… he dies.”

IK. LIKE OMG I NEARLY DIED WHEN I READ THIS. this was actually so sad when we all realized how cutesy lucas was.

He was everywhere, and she found herself falling into a universe that was only the feel and the smell of him—like fresh laundry dried in sunshine and spring breezes. He lifted her off her feet, spinning her and setting her down on the dining room table. The table rocked beneath them, and Lucas reached out to steady them. A bottle fell and shattered on the floor. They broke apart and Wren let out a careless laugh. Until she saw the label of the bottle. Destrier’s Reserve. The bottle from Kasper’s office. They had just destroyed the evidence.

ok so i was lying in bed reading about how lucas smells like laundry and wind when suddenly. OH NO I JUST DESTROYED THE EVIDENCE WHILE KISSING LUCAS. GUESS WHO ALMOST JUST DOOMED BOTH OUR EXISTENCES

“My mother didn’t raise me to let a lady sleep on the couch.”

yeah i hope not. i don't think anyones mother raised them to force ladies to sleep on couches.

“I’m wounded, my little egret. I thought we shared everything.”

here we go again. i guess i'll just add this to my list of birds. how many birds does hale know?

Stick with us, chickadee. We won’t steer you wrong.”

i think hale is running out of things to call wren. i don't personally think there's anything wrong with calling a girl their first name. let me know if you think otherwise.

But you have to catch a few flies before you make the bees fear you.” “This metaphor… is getting confusing.”

yeah you lost me at the bit where the flies meet the bees

You deserve a place in this world. A place where you can be safe, and whole, and happy. Never apologize for insisting on it. For fighting for it.”

what wise words. mistress violena isn't actually as bad as i thought she was going to be. she's philosophical so that's a pass from me.

“No. Because your life matters to me. I’ve found it a very precious thing that I’m not interested in going without.”

AHHHHHHH OMG LUCAS IS SO SWEET IN THIS SCENE. i can't believe he only said this once we were 67% in with the book. and no that was not intentional. but still. AHHHH <3333333

His lips left hers and he wrapped her in an embrace. “You are without a doubt the sweetest thing the Confectioner’s Guild has ever produced,” he murmured into her hair.

OH MY DAYS. THAT WAS A BAD PLAY ON WORDS BUT STILL. NO ONE CARES. THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

Something new, that she wanted to savor like a dark chocolate peanut butter truffle.

why a dark chocolate peanut butter truffle. idk, it's just so specific

“Poison’s a funny thing,” he said. “Like a woman. Every formula is different. They demand to be known, to be understood. Each has telltale signs. A smell, a taste. A color and viscosity.”

uh. EXCUSE ME? every formula is different. a different smell, taste, colour and viscosity? i beg your finest pardon? can someone tell me if i interpreted this right.

The sound of Pike’s laughter followed her down the hall. She was out the front door before she realized what Pike had said. “Go get her.” He had known.

honestly, i quite enjoyed the scenes with Pike in them.

“Better living with regret than dying without,” Penelope said. “Your honor won’t keep you warm in the grave.”

yeah i didn't think so

“All right,” Killian said, shoving off the wall. “Tearful goodbye time is over. I have places to be, people to torture.”

what a ugly saying. i doubt anyone actually says that in real life.

“You’re an ass,”

that is correct

Sleep didn’t come easily.

i think i've heard this before somewhere.

Wren sagged in relief. Bless the fat little man.

it's hardly a blessing when you're calling him a fat little man.