Holy smutty dungeons and dragons! I loved this cozy fantasy adventure that read like a D&D campaign that was crewed with smutty minded comedians. Cinnamon was just one of the best fantasy female main characters I’ve read. But Fallon, hot damn, did he light a fire. The only complaint I have is it was too short. I would have gladly read more about their travels and more of about their companions. In any case it was a great read and I definitely recommend it to any one looking for something cute and enjoyable!

I love you Kimberly Lemming! Thank you for the chance to read your masterpiece. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read the it!

My parting line is a quote, “I am the cheese queen.”

This book is absolutely delightful! There is nothing I didn’t love about it. It’s refreshing to have an author and book know exactly what they are intending to be and nail it! Cinnamon is spunky and relatable and I want to be her friend. Fallon is charismatic and my favorite color, morally grey. That mouth on him! Alllll the tingles when he told Cinnamon exactly what her future holds in that cart outside of Wandermere. Why oh why doesn’t he have a brother for me?!

The entire cast of characters is fun and their developing dynamics keep you fully invested. The banter is truly magical. The quest that Cinnamon and Fallon is on had me rooting for them wholeheartedly.

I immediately ran to check Kimberly Lemming’s catalog and devoured her short stories set in the same world of Mytheglin. I hope she keeps us laughing with these characters for a long time.

Tropes/Themes:
-MF cozy fantasy romance
-Demon hero x Human heroine
-Quest-based plot
-BIPOC author & heroine
-Singular POV (heroine)
-Book #1 in an interconnected standalone series

*Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was an entertaining read! It definitely leans more cozy fantasy with a dash of romance, so know that going in so you have realistic expectations. This book didn’t take itself too seriously, and I liked that the comedic/quirky themes held true throughout the whole book. Fallon was such a solid hero, equal parts golden retriever & touch her and die vibes.

I tend to not gravitate towards funny cozy fantasy, but I can definitely see why this book has such a huge fan base.

CWs for loss of a sibling

Super cute and cozy romance between a demon and a human. The book is set in a cozy medieval world with markets and supernaturals. It was a cute plot and a nice easy romance. An enjoyable read.

This book was a delight, especially if you’re dipping your toes in fantasy, I put this in cozy/fluffy fantasy with some heat 🌶️!! I first listened on audiobook and Cin’s narration was perfection ugh she was so entertaining. There are not enough hyped fantasy books with BIPOC MCs and I need more like this 👏🏽

Solid 4 out of 5! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A hilarious black female lead who isn't the butt of the joke? Sign me up! Cinnamon is a no-nonsense, get it done woman working her own business when her kind heart results in her accidentally saving a demon. Shenanigans and adventures ensue, with lots of equally awesome additions to the world saving pirate crew.

A perfect cozy fantasy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the opportunity to have this arc. I LOVED THIS BOOK! The story is cute and intriguing, but the characters had me laughing so hard. I’m so excited to read the rest of the books from this world!

This book has been recommended to me a ton, so when I saw that Orbit was traditionally publishing it, I was excited to request an ARC. As an important disclaimer - if you don't like modern jargon and humor in a fantasy setting, you're just not the reader for this book. But if you want fantasy creatures, an adventure, and some very smutty sex, you've found the right book!

It did take me about 20% of the book to start enjoying the FMC, but she did something surprising that really made me buy into her right before the plot really took off! I found the romance to be funny, loving, and really really spicy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for granting me access to an ARC of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for allowing me to read this early!

I had originally read this series when it was self published and was so excited when I heard it got picked up by Orbit! The characters, world building and plot are amazing for such a small book! I was happy to see that there was some additional editing but the core vibes of the story remained. With a sarcastic writing style and amazing poc main characters, Kimberly Lemming will go far!

Thank you SO MUCH Kimberly Lemming, Orbit Books, Orbit and NetGalley!

I gave this a four star review because half stars aren't a thing. In reality, this read more like a 3.25-3.5 star read for me, but I went ahead and bumped it up because honestly, the FMC is just so relatable. I, too, would prefer to stay home and avoid any kind of adventure (for the most part), although with my dog instead of a cat (cats are still welcome).

This is a weirdly cozy fantasy and I think I actually struggled with it while I loved it at the same time? I am unsure if I wanted more fluff for my romance side, or more polishing of the world-building and magic for my fantasy side. Maybe the latter - I love a strong fantasy world. The modern language/attitude of our FMC really made me happy at times because SAME GIRL, but also felt almost opposed to the setting and the fantasy aspects of story? Maybe this is what I found most disconcerting?

Enter Cinnamon, a spice farmer in a small fantasy town who just wants to live her life peacefully. I got mad Louisiana/Cajun vibes with a dash of mountain folk thrown in (which I LOVE) because it reminds me of home a bit. She is doing her thing, teaching a no-good-wretch a quick lesson (while drunk) when BAM, DEMON.

And now Fallon is here. My demon guy is a regular ol' hottie. Long dark hair, super tall and muscular..we love to see it. Things between them are touch and go for a bit (for REASONS), but you can see that Fallon's tune changes rather quickly about our girl Cin (and what's not to love?).

Shortly after their meeting, the adventure really begins (and I mean it just starts in immediately - hitting the ground running). I can't quite put my finger on what keeps this from being a true four stars for me - when I think about it in pieces, I love it. If I examine it in its entirety though, something just doesn't sit quite right for me.

I definitely enjoyed it, and would read the next installment because we've already met the character and I think they are LOVELY. All-in-all, I think I'd like to see it fleshed out more I guess? But it was a totally fun romp and Cin was definitely the star of the novel.

This is a very fun and easy romp of a story. I enjoyed the character dynamics and the way the author wove southern black culture into this fantasy world. It added a great touch of personality and made this a unique story.

I’m not sure if this is *supposed* to feel like a cozy fantasy, but since I found the stakes were always pretty low and the plot pretty slow moving and not exactly thrilling, then I’d say this is a solid cozy fantasy if someone is also looking for dirty dirty romance mixed in.

While I wasn’t obsessed with the story and I don’t think there’s anything crazy amazing going on, I enjoy the way this story was told and had a good time reading it. The narrative voice was fun and the romance was, while simple, the highlight of the journey.

The Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon was such a fun and entertaining fantasy romance. I loved Cinamon as a character. She is so relatable and a complete badass. I also loved the chemistry between Cinamon and Fallon and the banter in and out of the bedroom made this book all the more enjoyable. As soon as I finished this book, I immediately requested all the books that were available in the series.
If you are looking for a fun and spicy fantasy adventure, this book is for you.

The re-published version of That Time I got Drunk and Saved a Demon will be out on January 2nd.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the opportunity to review That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This was such a fun and swoon-worthy read! I wasn’t too sure how well I would adapt to the world, but the writing style made it very easy for me to immerse myself in the world. The main characters were also very relatable and unique in their own ways. Not to mention that the romance had me turning the page left and right! I couldn’t get enough of it! This read is definitely a top favorite of the year and I highly recommend this story to anyone who is a fan of fantasy, enjoys light humor, and a steamy romance!

Genre: cozy paranormal romantasy
(yes I just made that up, but tell me I’m wrong)

Cinnamon Hotpepper is just your average goddess worshipping family oriented drunk gal yearning for a little adventure. She accidentally saves a *demon* from one of the local boys playing at bandit, and winds up learning that her goddess Myva isn’t so grand and actually is out to mess with anyone who doesn’t worship her - like Cinnamon’s demon, Fallon. Thus, Cinnamon finds herself on an adventure with Fallon, who is in fact a very attractive demon she realizes…

I’m really glad books like this exist, and are being taken seriously enough to be picked up by traditional publishers. This is the updated and slightly expanded version to be released by Orbit. It’s utterly bananas, and also incredibly low stakes. There’s swashbuckling and dragons and evil goddesses, and yet, the tongue-in-cheek prose feels like a drunken romp across a fantasy world. It’s a mood.

I don’t know what was expanded from the original edition - the original ebook is listed at 182 pages and the Orbit edition is listed at 336 - but I did find parts of the story to drag. I felt that it spent a little too much time poking fun at the paranormal and fantasy genres while not quite pulling off the conceit. Lemming does lean all the way into her bananas worldbuilding, which I truly appreciate. Non-fantasy readers will likely find it thoroughly amusing, while fantasy readers will appreciate the detail she gives to a variety of aspects from the system of worship to the names of the characters.

It’s unclear to me whether or not I’ll read the rest of the series, but I absolutely think this will appeal to a lot of readers looking for some low-stakes plot, mild worldbuilding that isn’t confusing but also leans into its goofiness, and spicy romance.

It was cheesy. Really cheesy. Like I don’t think I could take this book seriously..ever. The language used is modern but it’s not a modern setting..it’s just all quirky lol. The names, the jokes, the everything.

Okay I heard this book was funny but I wasn’t sure what to expect. Imagine a demon is randomly thrown together with a sassy Louisiana-esque woman with way too many funny come backs.

This was seriously wacky and had a surprisingly good amount of world building for such a satirical story. The chemistry between Cin and Fallon was very well written and he was definitely a swoon worthy morally grey character who is secretly a cinnamon roll.

I had way too much fun reading this, I’ll definitely be checking out the next book!

are you looking for a genuinely hilarious, wholesome fantasy rom-com with loads of nachos, god-killing, and liberation? would you like to see more black women in fantasy getting their happily ever afters with hunky dreamboats willing to die (or kill!) for them? did you think haku from spirited away looked pretty sick (as a dragon)? sprinkle in some good world-building and a d&d-esque quest, and that time i got drunk and saved a demon certainly delivers.

It was exactly what I wanted - a raunchy romp through a high fantasy sphere with some lovable demon rascals thrown in. Cinnamon and Fallon have instant chemistry and a dire quest that thrusts them together (before they start thrusting together, eyyoooooo). I enjoyed how it turned the classic "demons are evil, gods are good" narrative on its head and had a great time reading it. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series, if only because it got a bit too into the fantasy part in the sex scenes but overall a good time.

*Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This was such a nice easy read for December. It was a cozy, fluffy read with just a tad of gore. It’s a smutty fantasy that feels slightly modern. It did throw me off a bit with the modern language/slang and modern day references. It felt like I was time jumping. I didn’t really enjoy that.

Cinnamon is a damsel in distress and Fallon is her hero. Sometimes you just need a book like that to escape with. Yes, there were potholes. Yes, there were some issues I had with the storyline. But I didn’t hate it. It’s exactly what I needed.

This was adorable. I don’t normally like modern vernacular in my fantasy books, but it worked with this book, and especially this heroine. It felt authentic. The fact this story was about a black heroine, was an even better delight. This story was sweet without being saccharine. It was the perfect palate cleanser and I feel like the timing of me reading this book greatly influenced my enjoyment. This book wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t trying to be. Upon looking at it, I had an idea of what I would be getting, and while I was slightly right, it also surprised me. What fun!