5/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️
4/5 🎧

I loved everything about this book! From the rom com aspect of this fantasy novel to a black lead female character to the MC falling first. I loved it all!

Fallon is a Demon that needs help in his attempt at revenge and he meets Cin one night and recruits her to help him with an exchange of keeping her family safe.

I chuckled the whole time and loved the chemistry and banter between the two of them. I also loved how kind and thoughtful Fallon was towards her. He’s such a good partner for her. I really enjoyed reading their story and seeing it play out!

The audio was good too! The narrator did a great job and I enjoyed listening to it 😊

DNF @ 20%

Interesting premise that I was super excited for. However, the writing style didn't work for me. And the world building was borderline confusing/weird.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 1/2/2024

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Cinnamon is a spice farmer (yes - yes she is). She gets really drunk, saves a man who turns out to be a demon. She must then go on a mission with said hunky-demon to free the demons and humans from the goddess.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: This book was not for me, but might be for you.

It was — not good. It’s only 180 or so pages it manageable to finish. But I almost put it down and had to talk myself into picking it back up.

The prose is — also not good. The plot is thin and unravels incredibly fast. The pacing of the whole book feels rushed and…off. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cutesy.

However, I have issues that start early on. Cin uses the word “suss.’ Which is something that I apparently cannot deal with as I’m still annoyed by it. The best friend is a cheese monger and her name is “Brie.” There’s a lot of things like this in this book.

There is a bit of fun banter between the main characters. Cin is a funny and sharp black woman, which I love, Fallon may be hot, but is just a mediocre shadow daddy and Cin is just an okay lead female character. Fallon’s character feels the most incomplete IMO. The overall book and the rest of the characters felt really incomplete. There is little to no world-building, no real character development.

There are a few open-door sexual scenes in this book, but overall it’s really not overwhelming on the sex. But the insta-attraction hits you immediately.

I really don’t think I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Kimberly Lemming. I received an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is SO GOOD. Kimberely Lemming is brilliant. This book has it all! Action. Adventure. Comedy. Tragedy. Banter. Wit. Sweet. Spice. I love that everything starts off with Cinnamon getting too drunk off of wine. Because, I get it. I definitely think that the book could label as "cozy" but with some spice mixed in.

Cinnamon is a whole ass mood. Fallon is amazing. All of the supporting characters are fantastic. The relationship between Cinnamon and her family is wholesome and relatable. The friendships made along the journey were funny and endearing.

I was actually laughing out loud at parts. I've never highlighted or annotated before but I did during this book. There were so many funny saying or parts that I wanted to remember.

For me, this book is not only a must-read, it's a must-recommend. I will absolutely be reading every book in this series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Was this a literary masterpiece? No, did I enjoy it, absolutely!! So many LOL moments.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re an anime lover and you liked fruit of evolution, this series is very similar. Just add some really hot spice into it. This is extremely funny and has some ridiculous Moments like all good anime does. This was such a fun read. I would recommend to anyone who needs a little fluff and fun. This is no deep philosophical book. This is just a fun adventure story full of laughs and good times of the spice variety.

This is a silly fun and quirky fantasy romance. Cinnamon is a spice trader and happens on one drunken night to accidentally cure the curse on a devastatingly handsome demon. Hijinks ensue.

I had a fun time reading this. I loved the diverse characters. I really liked the silly and whimsy aspects of the novel. I think tons of people will absolutely love this. This is by no means a super intricate high fantasy with super high stakes and crazy magic. Honestly, the worldbuilding is pretty light and magic isn’t explained in great detail. I found myself wanting more. More worldbuilding, more character development, just more, but I think that is more of my own fantasy preference than a fault with the book. However, I do plan on continuing the series.

I think people who enjoy Assistant to the Villain but wanted spice will heavily enjoy this. It’s fast, fun, and the spice is well seasoned.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. This being sent to me has no impact on the content of my review.

3.5/5 stars

Cozy fantasy romance perfection. The combination of humor and Cinnamon's down to earth/take no shit attitude makes this such an easy and enjoyable read. All the forced proximity our MCs deal with on their quest makes it easy to see why they fall in love and we fall in love with them. Fallon is so swoon worthy and a perfect match for Cin. This was such a fun read and I can't wait to read more!

This book was fun and very unique! I haven't read a book like this in a while and it was perfect for a palette cleanser. The perfect book to curl up with that gives you all of the cozy vibes.

The characters are diverse and have great personalities. I didn't meet a character I didn't like. Cinnamon and her no nonsense attitude had me hooked. All hail the Cheese Queen! Fallon was the perfect morally grey cinnamon roll Villian we all love.

The setting was really nice too. You start off in Boohail with its forest/bayou were you then travel to a few unique places. They really set the place as we're going along on this quest.

Absolutely recommend and can't wait to read the next one!

NetGalley ARC review
When I first started reading and I saw Cin had contemporary language I was like how TF is this going to work? Perfectly that’s how and I apologize for ever doubting the author. This was fun, this was spicy, this was satisfying and silly. 😝

This book was so much fun to read. The plot isn't the most unique idea, but the characters made this story. There were so many times I was laughing out loud. The smut scenes weren't too bad either. Cinnamon is a spice farmer who happens to get drunk one night and on her way home saves a demon who was caught in a landslide. Little does she know he's a demon until she gets him free and he attacks her. After whacking him him upside the head with a cinnamon branch Fallon wakes up from the spell he is under. Cinnamon learns the goddess they have been worshipping is actually an evil witch who made the demons go mad. Fallon enlists the help of Cinnamon to travel the land destroying pieces of the witches heart to release the demons from her grasp forever. On their adventures sparks fly. If you're looking for a quick fun rom com I defiantly recommend this book. Can't wait to read the other books in the series.
4.5 stars

Thanks Netgalley and orbit books for this ARC. 3.5 ⭐️🌶️🌶️🌶️I really enjoyed this book! Cozy fantasy with some spice. The characters are so loveable and relatable. I love that the main character is a spice merchant named Cinnamon, so cute. This book was action packed and hilarious. I do wish it was longer, it felt a little rushed. I wish we had more time to develope the relationship between Cin and Fallon. Overall really enjoyed this book and I will be reading the full series.

Sweet, spicy, and quirky! If you're looking for something with the charm of "Can't Spell Treason Without Tea" with a little bit more cinnamon, welcome to the world of Mead Mishaps!

A cult classic in its indie publication, I was thrilled to find out this was up for request (thank you Netgalley and my ever kind friends at Orbit!). I am not a spicy reviewer so this will focus primarily on the fantasy plot:

Cinnamon lives in a sleepy village and wants nothing to do with adventures or chosen one prophecies. After this year's heroes are chosen, it's time to kick back and drink while those suckers are off on a grand adventure. On the road home, a poorly attempted mugging gone wrong leads her nose to nose with a demon in the brush. Armed with only her namesake, cinnamon, she breaks the spell the demon was under which unravels not only her religion but her retirement from dreaming of grand adventures. As her and her new demon set off to break the spell that have been driving creatures mad for years, a sweet and spicy journey may just be what Cinnamon needs to get back on that (flying) horse.

Thumbs up: I thought this was a fun read! It had a good amount of plot aside from the sections of spice to move the story along. If you're a fan of the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy and even Bookshops and Bonedust, this will be a solid recommendation for you!

Thumbs down: There were some plot point resolutions that left a few holes in the story. Without spoiling too much, Cinnamon flipped flopped and was a bit paper thin as a character. Overall, it was a good read.

Was it a nail biter? I think if you're looking for something snarky and fun, this could be a great edition to your romantacy collection! 3.5/5

I picked up this book expecting a quick, lighthearted fantasy romance, and it definitely delivered! I recommend going into this book with realistic expectations of what can be accomplished in less than 200 pages and not taking it too seriously, as there isn't time for significant world building, character development, etc. Knowing that, I found this book to be entertaining and quite funny - I actually laughed out loud a couple times.

One thing that did bother me was that the FMC went from refusing the MMC's advances to loving him almost instantaneously, so kind of confused where that came from.

For what it is, this book is a perfect quick read!

3.75 Stars
I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and funny with a pretty low stakes adventure. While I didn't feel the most connected to Cin and Fallon as main characters I really enjoyed their banter and the characters they meet along the way are a hoot. This is a short and sweet read that doesn't take itself too serious. I look forward to reading more of the Mead Mishaps series.

Boy, was there a lot going on here.

This “cozy” fantasy follows Cin (Cinnamon…because she’s a spice trader…) as she ventures with a demon, Fallon, on a quest to kill the false goddess enslaving the demons. The synopsis doesn’t give much away, but I found there isn’t much to give away after all.

For a fantasy, the world was flat. The plot is very character driven, so I understand the need not to focus so heavily on the background, but some sort of building to understand the plot would have helped this quite a bit. Cinnamon is finding out that her supposed goddess is actual evil and ventures off with a stranger to kill her based on one story from a demon, the suppose “enemy?” Where is the build up? Where is the evidence? Is there suppose to be a plot at all other than boring smut?

I struggled with the modern language used. I’m all for modern language in fantasy if done well, but this was not. It was over the top and totally threw me out of the story. It felt like trying to be funny, but it somehow wasn’t funny to me. Neither Cinnamon nor Fallon were strong characters, either. I didn’t buy their love story. There was no buildup to their romance, just lust then smut. Which wasn’t even great smut? It was the same scene repeated over and over with minor changes. These characters have no chemistry and go from enemies to frenemies to basically married in about a chapter.

I was really hoping to like this one, and while it had potential, it really missed the mark for me.

A demon man?? With horn?? And he's a dragon?? Sign me tf up. What a babe. Not only was this spicy but it was so heart warming and cozy!! I loved the shit out of this little book and can not wait to get my hands on a physical copy and I've been dying to ready the next one!!

I liked it! Cozy isn't my favorite genre, but there was enough action that it kept me engaged.
I think it was hyped up so much that it was a bit of a let down in that regard, and I kind of wish I had been able to go into it a little bit more blind in order to appreciate the quirkiness of it all.

This is a fun and humorous romance in a sort of enemies to lovers trope. It is fantasy and the main character is a normal-ish spice farmer just trying to live a crazy life drinking and eating. One night after a good drunk she wanders into a demon who proceeds to chase her until she thwaps it with a branch of cinnamon tree and gets away. What she doesn't realize is she's changed her life for good as well as signed herself up for a perilous quest around the world to save it. This is a fun book but not overly deep or at all complex. But the humor is good, the characters somewhat relatable and it has a HEA instead of a cliff in the end. I enjoy a book like this in between books that involve too much thinking and analyzing. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for letting me read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the ARC of this book!

I was automatically OBSESSED with this book. While it was a fantasy it had a lot of modern themes that made it extremely easy to follow. The banter throughout the book is HILARIOUS.
Cinnamon is an all around MOOD the entire time. Her pocket snacks? Ass whooping alligators? BUCKETS OF NACHOS? I loved it.
Fallon is a SWEETHEART and the hair washing scene was absolutely adorable.

LOVED the read and will be reading more from this author.