Brace yourselves for another yummy installment of the Baxter Family Bakery series! We return to the Arcadia Valley Romance collection for book 1, Muffins and Moonbeams by Elizabeth Maddrey!
about the book
Muffins and Moonbeams by Elizabeth Maddrey
Malachi Baxter is happy to hide in the background and manage the business-end of the family bakery. He’d much rather live in the online world of computer games where he can explore the galaxy and no one has to know he’s deaf.
Ursula Franks designs websites during the day and spends her evenings battling alien races online where relationships are easy and uncomplicated. When she agrees to design a website for the local Community Supported Bakery, she has no idea that Malachi is the real man behind her online persona’s best friend and her own secret crush.
As the two work together on the website, they uncover an attraction, but will they be able to put aside past hurt and insecurity to find love?
my thoughts
After reading the prequel novella for this Baxter Family Bakery series, I couldn’t wait to get to know these Baxter brothers who are so close-knit and take such good care of their sister! I was also looking forward to more delicious food! So I dove in with my high expectations and wouldn’t you know it, I got a story even better than I had hoped for!!!
I have to say, Malachi is the brother I most wanted to get to know better. His sister claims he is the most compassionate of the three and he is also deaf. I have not been around many people who are deaf (and none who have been deaf from a young age) and I don’t have any brothers (only sisters) so I’m always eager to learn more about people groups or situations I haven’t had the opportunity to be exposed to in my own life. Seeing the small Arcadia Valley community through Malachi’s eyes while he overcomes both average and uniquely deaf challenges is enlightening.
Ursula has taken hermit into the 21st century. I’m impressed and part of me is a little jealous of the amount of time she is able to spend in her home with only her cat to worry about. Ursula might argue that her online gaming companions qualify as socializing but no. Y’all, sometimes getting along with people is just hard and overwhelming and even painful. I’m not condoning hiding from the world, I know we need relationships and they are worth the time, energy, and occasional suffering but I’m just saying, “I get it!” Anyone else?
All the bread, muffins, cookies, and gourmet food in this book make me so hungry! Oh, yummy! I can almost taste it! While I don’t see myself joining any online gaming communities anytime soon, it was interesting to learn about what others find so appealing. While this is the first novel of the Baxter Family Bakery series it’s also the third book in Arcadia Valley Romance. Learn more about this unique multi-author project and get a peek at the first line for each prequel novella in Love Grows in Arcadia Valley!
I requested the opportunity to read and review this title through the author. The opinions expressed are my own.
about the author
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who loves a good happily ever after. She began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back.
Though her practical nature and love of computers, math, and organization steered her into computer science at Wheaton College, she always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time. This continued through a Master’s program in Software Engineering, several years in the computer industry, teaching programming at the college level, and a Ph.D. in Computer Technology in Education.
When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity. She lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys.
Baxter Family Bakery series
also available
Arcadia Valley Romance
Taste of Romance series
Readers, let’s talk about our favorite bakery treats! Are there any computer game fanatics here?
Faithfully Bookish 
I agree with you! I was anxious to read this next book, and I was glad it was about Malachi. It also made me hungry!!! I really enjoyed this book, and am already looking forward to the next one. Great review!
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Thanks, Becky! I’m glad you enjoyed the book, too!
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