Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the eARC and leave an honest review.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book. It was full of adventure, hilarity, and love - both for family, friends, and a badass protective demon. It was a quick read that was such a joy to go along. I can't say I've read anything like it in the best way possible.

The story follows a spice farmer named Cinnamon who unwittingly saves a demon - thinking he was just an abnormally large human. She and said demon learn the goddess the humans follow is a false deity and was senselessly harming all demons to keep her hold on the human realm. This kicked off the journey to destroy all of the false goddesses phylactories - basically horcruxes. The journey they go on leads to many friends, marriages, and murder.

You'll absolutely love this if you're into spicy monster books. This may not be a favorite for you if you are not a fan of the insta-love trope - although I do think this book does a fantastic job of not making the love connection super instant. It's more of a one-sided insta-love and one has to come to terms with their feelings.

This is found family, shifter romance, cozy fantasy bliss!!! I absolutely adore Cinnamon and Fallon. This story provides all the fun of an epic fantasy voyage while also tapping into shifter fated mates dynamics. I loved my first trip into Boohail and can’t wait to continue the series!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Where is my amazing demon???

This story was way cuter than I thought it would be. Cinnamon was extremely adorable and Fallon was the perfect enemy turned husband. The humor and the banter was top notch. I usually do not laugh out loud in books but this was one of those books that made me laugh out loud.

I did not expect the erotica elements in the book but that was a nice surprise. I genuinely cannot wait for more from this author.

Super quick read and very lighthearted romcom novella that features insta-love. Sometimes the humor got a little too much for me (😂I'm sorry, I really really have to be in a specific mood for this brand of romcom and I wasn't there), but god damn, the spice was worth it and Fallon's dirty talk was SO ON POINT. 🥵 I'm excited to read the upcoming books because I really like the characters that were introduced!!

I had a fun time reading this cute story following the cutie Cinnamon after she accidentally freed, befriended (and perhaps beloved) a cutesy fire demon. The story was a cozy, humorous misadventure full of fun additional demon friends!

Nope, nope nope. I have no idea who wrote this but of nonsense, but I definitely wasn't going to finish this one.

2.5, squarley in the middle on this one. It's light and silly, which is great. But the characterizations constantly felt just a little off to me. Motivations were too squishy and the writing wasn't really for me. I like a good joke, but this was jokes and jokes with some violence that just got glossed over and right back to jokes and sexy times. The tonal shifts and flat characters didn't work for me.

Unfortunately I don’t think this series is going to be for me. It didn’t really work as a shorter story in my opinion - it needed more world building and character development. I didn’t find the relationship to be super believable and neither of the MCs really stood out to me. Modern slang always throws me off in books as well especially when the MC is a farmer who doesn’t even have running water.

It definitely wasn’t all bad though, it was a fun & fast paced story and there were some funny & spicy moments. There were also some redeeming side characters - Felix was much more appealing to me than Fallon. I don’t think that’s enough to make me continue the series though.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Reader's Copy of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming! Glad to see it get a mainstream publication!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will be honest - I had high expectations for this story; I thought it would be a fun, quick smutty read. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of world building and character development -- everything seemed rushed and the characters lacked depth. The writing was sort of stream of consciousness - I felt like I was reading a college student's first draft of a short story or essay.

I definitely thought the names were clever and the beginning started off strong and was captivating, but as the plot developed it started to fall apart a bit for me. It was hard for me to feel invested in the characters or what was going on.

With that being said, this wasn't terrible and I think some people would enjoy this especially young adults going into this with no expectations! The romance was so incredibly rushed - even moreso than most romantasy books that I read. I got the feeling the author was trying to replicate the Katee Robert style of writing.

I would be interested in reading some other titles from Kimberly Lemming and see if I like them a bit more.

All Cin wants in life is to have an adventure free existence working her family farm and possibly getting a cat. However, that plan quickly goes awry when Cin drunkenly saves the demon, Fallon. He’s roped her into her very own quest to rid the land of the evil witch enslaving demons. What could go wrong?
Lemming has written a wild and wicked adventure tale with That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon. The book delivers on exactly what it promised - a hilarious, smutty adventure filled with hot demons. Fallon is a demon that knows what he wants. I loved that this book didn’t take itself too seriously including making jokes about the character names. Let me tell you Cin is a girl after my own heart. She just wants to chill, and she thoroughly appreciates well seasoned food. I also really loved the cast of characters picked up along the way during Cin’s quest, especially Felix. I can’t wait for more of his character in the future. I enjoyed the plot pacing as well. The story kept moving along even if Cin and Fallon took detours here and there. It was a great mashup of a Dungeons and Dragons level adventure with sexy, demon smut. Overall, this was an incredibly fun read and a nice break from some of the heavier fantasy books I’ve read. I highly recommend checking it out.

***4.0 Stars***

Overall,
A very fun and charming tale. This was a great romantacy comedy that hit all the right spots. A very fun and enjoyable ride. The plot is in the title. Its cozy and funny and ill definitely be continue reading what this author does next.

Cover,
I honestly liked the self published covers more, but the art in this is beautiful in its own way.

Recommendation,
If you are looking for a short to the point story that is fun and doesn't take itself to seriously i would recommend this to you.

What a fun book. This story does not take itself seriously, so you shouldn't either. The FMC is like the best friend we all want. This is the second book I read by Kimberly Lemming, I will probable read everything she writes. Her books are the perfect refresher to break up all these epic serious fantasy serries I read.

This is more of a 3.5 than a 4 for me, but I (scientifically!) round up. I enjoyed this one, but it was very surface level for me. The book's central conceit is that it is a sword and sorcery fantasy written from the first person perspective of Cinnamon, a "spice farmer's daughter." (Her brothers are Cumin and Chili.) She lives in a world protected from demon incursions by a benevolent goddess. Only, as it turns out, Demons are pretty nice and the goddess is actually a horrible necromancer. When Cin discovers this, she reluctantly sets out on a quest with the demon she saved, Fallon. Along the way they free lots of other demons and fall in love.

I liked:

The sendup of epic fantasy tropes;
Reading from a BIPOC character's perspective;
The sheer silliness of it all.

I was a little more meh on:

The dozens of times Fallon tells Cin to be "a good girl";
The low stakes paired with some relatively gory violence;
The absolutely nonsensical world building.

I completely understand why people enjoy this one! Pick it up if any of the above sounds fun to you.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Disclaimer: this book may just not have been for me, though I don’t think it’s terrible. I am not a huge romance reader and I love fantasy, so I think this was too kitchsy-romance and not enough detailed fantasy for me.

I definitely appreciate the diversity representation and how different this is from your normal fluffy spicy rom com. If you’re into that kind of story and looking for a quick read, this may be great for you.

A fluffy, cozy (steamy at times) adventure! Fallon and Cin have such a fun dynamic and their banter is so amusing. There are definitely times in this book where it felt like small details were overlooked in favor of the bigger picture but the book still stands strong as long as you don't read too far into everything. I found the plot to be interesting and I enjoyed how they had a set mission (the chalices), this made the plot easy to follow and allowed the reader to focus in more on the relationships between the characters rather than just trying to understand what was going on. I will definitely be picking up more books by Lemming!

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

This book was ridiculous in such a fun way! This felt like a romcom on crack haha.
We follow a spice farmer named Cinnamon who, during a drunken walk home, stumbles across a demon. What follows is a journey to take down an evil witch and save a bunch of enslaved demons. Oh and a bit of a steamy romance mixed in as well.
I really enjoyed reading this one. It was super fun and I enjoyed a lot of the humor that is throughout the book. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes at time but I don’t really fault the book for that as I knew there was some spice in it going into it ( I mean the cover itself kind of hints it will go into that territory 😂). Besides that it does always kind of through me off in fantasy books when the characters use modern slang or phrases which hurt my enjoyment a tiny bit.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something light and fun!

Thank you to the author, @orbitbooks_us and netgalley for this arc in return for my honest review!

Check out That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon on January 2nd 2024!

I, for one, totally love a fun fantasy romance (or romantasy as the kids are callin’ em these days) and this looked like it would fit the bill. Once I got past the cringe-y names I actually had a great time reading this. I mean, the main character’s family owns a spice farm and her name is Cinnamon… and each sibling has a spice related name like Chili. The dialogue is also fairly modern, which could be a little divisive but I personally didn’t mind it all that much after a few chapters - it sort of just faded into the background.
The title of the book describes how the story starts - Cinnamon is returning home from a big celebration in town rather on the drunk side, and inadvertently saves a demon. The demons are feared enemies of the humans and reside in a cold land to the north, but Fallon the alarmingly large and handsome demon quickly dispels the misinformation. The demons are trapped and in the thrall of a lich, who the humans have been worshipping as a goddess and he needs Cin’s help to destroy the phylacteries in each of her temples. So the pair set off on a whirlwind quest to do just that.
This book has plenty of plot to go along with the romance, which ensures that while the book has some spice, it’s not just a smut-fest the entire time. Mind you, this is a light, fun story so the plot isn’t heavy and the worldbuilding isn’t really all that detailed in this installment. It's pretty cheesy, but I enjoyed it for what it was and I think the synopsis and even the title pretty accurately represent what you’re in for with this story.
I’m undecided if I’ll continue on with the rest of the trilogy which will be releasing in February and March 2024, but I admit to being curious about them. They’ll be focusing on characters that have already been introduced, hence my curiosity. Overall, I thought That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon was a cute, predictable romantasy though I think you should already be a romantasy fan if you’re thinking about picking it up. Don’t pick this up if you’re strictly into fantasy with few romantic elements and god forbid you’re a grimdark fan - you would only have yourself to blame for your disappointment!

I have had a few #booktok mutuals recommend this book to me, and I just hadn't gotten the chance to read it yet, but when it became available on NetGalley, I immediately grabbed it. It was clearly a sign it needed to be tossed to the top of the list. I'm so glad I did! This book is an absolute delight and adventure (LOL).

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon is a light-hearted and romantic fantasy novel, and it will leave you laughing and smiling the entire time at all the situations that happen.

And if I had to be upset about anything, I wish it was longer so we could not feel as rushed because the main cast is amazing. Plot and world are amazing, and this isn't the only book in the series, just the only one I've read, so I'm excited to see if they build off each other and expand this world. The book's steamy/spicy scenes were also well-written and 10/10. Overall, I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a short, fun, and romantic adventure novel.