I can’t express in words how much I loved this book!

It only took 10 pages to know this was going to be a 5 star diamond in the rough book.

Kimberly Lemming knocks it out of the park in her debut. Cinnamon is such a wonderful MC. She’s hilarious, clever, capable of holding her own, honest, loving, and so so so easy to root for. Even though insta-love is one of my least favorite tropes, I instantly fell in love with her, and Fallon as well of course.

As we go on their quest to defeat the evil witch who cursed all demon kind, Cin and Fallon flirt, fight, f%#k, and find all sorts of fun friends along the way. The banter is spot on, the action is suspenseful but doesn’t drag on, the pacing is just about perfect, and the world building isn’t ever overwhelming.

If you’re looking to get out of any kind of reading slump, or just looking for a fun easy read, please read this book. Cozy fantasy at its best!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for any advanced copy of this upcoming rerelease.

I thought this was such a fun, cute, silly read. I ate this book up in one sitting, while giggling and kicking my feet in the air the entire time. Kimberly Lemming is a fantastic author who really understands the need for relatively low-stakes, high comedy, fantasy romances. I immediately purchased book 2, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series. Kimberly is now an auto buy author for me!

I absolutely LOVED this book, it was so fun and sexy. I immediately bought book 2 and can't wait for book 3 to come out, I hope there are going to be many more in this series!

This was my first monster romance and it was the absolute best book to convince me to read more like it. This book was funny, cozy, and hot as hell.

I appreciated the banter and the adventure subplot. The main romance was really cute and I love any story with convincing enemies to lovers trope and forced proximity. A lot of the characters had great depth, especially Cinnamon. The backstory about her sister was important insight into her character and motivations.

My few complaints come in the cheesy character naming that matches their profession and the middle had a little lull. Otherwise this was a highly enjoyable read.

I absolutely loved this book!

As someone who really enjoys some cozy fantasy with some spice, this was right up my alley! This book is truly such a joy and such a blast to read!

I loved stepping into the world of spice farmers and sexy monsters. Kimberely's world building is truly so vivid and I was having a blast envisioning the story in my head. The plotline throughout was so unique and I was engaged the entire time, waiting to see what would happen next!

Cinnamon is such a strong and lovable protagonist. I loved getting to see her relationship with Fallen blossom and that spice was truly INSANE.

Overall, this is such a fun and quick read with the perfect amount of action and spice to keep you coming back for more! I can't wait to read the rest of this series!!!

Thank you Kimberley Lemming, Orbit, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

So cute and cozy! And a little spice too!

Want to read the rest of the series now that I’ve had this little taste.

If you want a quick read that is going to make you giggle and swoon this is totally it. This book is fun, cute, cozy, and hot. I definitely want more of the characters and the world so will keep reading anything Kimberly writes.

4.25 ⭐

3.5/5

This was another fun, silly romp (since I read them out of order and started with book 2). I really enjoy this fantasy world and how over the top and cheesy the books are. They're aware of the cheese and embrace it (sometimes literally, since this MC also gets drunk and declares herself the Cheese Queen).

The points system was adorable, but under utilized; I would've loved to see that concept become more of a feature in this novella.

I'm definitely looking forward to more stories in this universe! It's just good, stupid fun.

Having read all of them:
Of the 3 so far, the second book is far and away my favourite and even one of my top books of 2023, and then I think I probably rank the third book just ever so slightly above book one. But honestly? They're all such a fun time.

“I turned to see a giant cheese wheel wrapped in paper, followed by more neatly wrapped packages of cheese laying on my side of the bed. One rectangle of cheddar was bitten into. I looked past Fallon to see his side of the bed was also occupied by various cheeses. “Why is the bed covered in cheese?” “You don’t remember?” Fallon put his arms behind his head and settled back down. “Last night, you demanded we bring you cheese and then stated that you were the cheese queen.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from this book because of how silly and fun it is. This book brings such a cute romance and lots of spice. Fallon is hot and chivalrous and obsessed with Cin. Cin is passionate and hilarious. I went into this expecting just spicy romance, but there was so much more to this book. It is packed full of adventure and Magic. The humor is definitely very silly and corny but that's one of the things I love about it.

I loved this book so much! I love fantasy but sometimes want to read something cozy and fluffy, and this was perfect for that while still having those fun fantasy elements. Cinnamon is such a fun main character and the romance between her and Fallon had me giggling out loud with their banter and it had the perfect amount of spice without being too over the top. The cast of characters are so charming, the adventure is entertaining, and the fast paced nature keeps you hooked the entire book. This book was so fun!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Orbit Books for this arc!

4.25 / 5 stars!

This was sweet, cute, silly, weird, funny, and DIRTY. A great quick read. I like all the important and heavy topics that came up in this light hearted novel and how they were handled. I did enjoy the first half more than the second half, I think the cheesy lines may have become a bit much as I kept reading further into the book (and during the sex scenes, there weren't many but still, plz stop lol) but I'll still absolutely read the rest of the series!

Thank you to Orbit Books for the free eARC, this is my honest opinion, and honestly I read the indie print of this book a couple of years ago and promptly bought it after reading it, and this version is just as good and I have this pre-ordered already.

I love Cinnamon and Fallon, a dynamic pair with shenanigans galore in this adventurous madcap romp to kill a "goddess" with demons, humans, and all manors of interesting side characters. I loved the little differences (slightly expanded scenes, some additional scenes in areas), but that the pacing and slightly delirious attitudes of the characters remained because this is a fun book to read at its core. I love the spicy aspect, but also the "touch her and die" moments that Fallon has when faced with Cinnamon doing her thing.

Highly recommend for the monster lovers, for the lovers of silly D&D style writing, and for the girlies that dream of getting out and having an adventure. 4 out of 5 stars, and 3.5 out of 5 on the spice level.

Thank you so much for the ARC.

I’d been hearing wonderful things about this series since its indy debut, so when I saw it pop up on NetGalley I was so excited. It seemed like it would be a short, fun read.

I am so disappointed to say that I did not like this book. I had to force myself not to DNF it several times (it seemed like such a waste with it being so short.) It did have some cute moments, but for the most part I just didn’t care. I feel like there’s a tendency to really hype up monster romance books that aren’t pure smut, and I think this may be one of those books. It really just seemed…ok, and not like this wonderful love story people are claiming.

I’ve read a lot of fanfiction in my time. I’ve read a lot of bad self insert fanfiction. And this feels like that. The modern language in a fantasy world, the male characters all being obsessed with the female main character, her being able to handle everything despite no history with it. It all gives self insert “I went through a portal and woke up in my favorite series!” to me.

The strangest part for me was the modern language. Why the hell is the main character saying “kinda sus”? (Which, by the way, was a strange choice. A male character is trying to rob her and wants her cloak. She proceeds to point out the flower detailing on it and says it “seems kind of sus” that he wants it - which seems to be the “seems gay” usage of sus. Not a huge fan of that line.) Every time one of these popped up it took me out of it so much. Though, at a friend’s suggestion I tried the audio for some scenes and it definitely stood out less - so that is worth considering when picking this one up. (I listened while reading and did notice that the audio currently available has some differences from the trad pub audio, so keep that in mind as well.)

Also what’s with the cut and paste format of “man and woman fight - man says terrible thing about woman - monster attacks man to defend woman”? It happens three separate times and none of them felt necessary.

Maybe I just don’t get it. I tried to just see it for what everyone said it was: “a fun little fantasy that isn’t that serious.” Maybe if you can do that you’ll like it more. But I just couldn’t do it. I hope others will like it more than I did.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved A Demon is a hilarious and action-packed adventure! Cinnamon and Fallon meet when he is trapped under a supposed goddess’ power and freed by her family’s spices. Unbeknownst to the villagers, an evil lich has been gathering power under the guise of a benevolent goddess. As Fallon and Cinnamon work together to destroy her, Cinnamon starts to rethink her no-adventuring policy. Can Cinnamon and Fallon find true love on their adventures?

This book was so much fun! Lemming’s writing is so witty and genuinely makes me laugh out loud. Her characters are relatable and swoonworthy. Cinnamon’s love for cheese and her family made her an instant favorite for me. Fallon is an excellent villain and his interactions with Cinnamon are filled with delightful tension. As they battle the conniving lich, there are excellent side characters and funny dialogue. I would highly recommend this book for readers who like cozy fantasy, lovable characters, and hilarious writing.

Thank you to Kimberly Lemming, Orbit Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

Thank you to Orbit publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This book is a treasure. After I kept reading passages out loud to my husband over and over, he finally said, "Jenny, I'm sold, please don't spoil the entire book for me." It was just so funny and damn relatable. For any fantasy lover who would rather stay home while eating cheese and drinking wine than setting out on adventurous quest, Cinnamon is the fantasy heroine for you. She is sassy, intelligent, loyal, wears skirts with hidden pockets for snacks and is not afraid of lusting after a morally gray demon-dragon shifter. Cin very reluctantly must leave her hometown to save the kingdom from an evil witch who is controlling magical creatures after she accidentally (and very drunkenly) saves a demon from the witch's control. Along the journey of her quest with the demon, Fallon, the duo spends time getting to know each other while 'collecting' additional friends who assist in the magical endeavor. I love a band of misfits, and knowing this found family will continue into additional books in this series is so exciting. For the critics who think the 'language is too modern' or 'some plot points were unbelievable' you have missed out on the simple notion of letting a book just be entertaining. However, this book is absolutely open door spice and includes a few trigger warnings readers should heed with the author's note before reading. For me, this book was a delicious escape and I can't wait to read the next book.

This was such a fun read!!! The banter, the spice, the characterization—it was all just a blast! Cin's perspective was hilarious and so relatable, and Fallon has been added to my list of book boyfriends (which is gaining an alarming number of non-human men). Honestly, I don't have any criticism for this. It's the perfect mix of fluff and spice and comedy, and it made the perfect pallette cleanser in the midst of my heavy fantasy reads of late. I'll definitely be diving into the rest of the series!

I’ll be honest, I definitely requested this one purely based on the unique title and the cute cover. Both were unlike any book I’d seen before, and after reading the synopsis, I was looking forward to reading a romantic fantasy with a heavy dose of comedy, ala some of T. Kingfisher’s work. Alas, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s hard to say whether it was a book problem or a me problem or a combination of both, but this will be one of those books that I think needs just the right reader to land perfectly.

For one thing, while the book is definitely high fantasy in its world-building and magic, it was very modern in its language, both the dialogue and some of the narration. And when I say modern language, I’m not talking about standard English (a qualifier that you do actually have to make for some fantasy that calls back to older forms of English, or formal English, or what have you). No, this is modern English in that there is tons of lingo thrown all over the place. And this is where I find one of my first points about the narrow lane for readers who will enjoy this book: this is a romance book that is heavy in the “adult themes” of its romance, but on the other hand, the jargon and lingo used is very much on the younger side. It’s not a comfortable pairing. I suspect that many of the adult readers who will enjoy the romance of this story might be put off by some of the ridiculousness of the language. And, honestly, I’m not sure it’s a great example of the use of the lingo even for younger audiences. It just felt corny and try-hard much of the time.

And this points leads right into my second major struggle area: I didn’t connect with the humor at all. Most of the jokes landed with a thud, and rather than laugh, I caught myself rolling my eyes more and more. At its best, humor is not only funny but endears the characters to the reader. Here, the humorous “takes” from our main character had me rapidly losing all respect for her and becoming increasingly annoyed by her choices. At one point, Cin makes some “snarky” remark about how books always have “bandit rapists.” And while I get what the author was trying to do with this meta level of awareness, the scene itself doesn’t go any further in unpacking this trope than using its inclusion as another moment for Cin to say something “witty.” It’s not subverting a trope if you just threw it in there to make your heroine seem clever for recognizing that it’s a trope in the first place. Then, later, there are other moments where horrific violence occurs, and Cin is written as just not really caring about all of the consequences? Throughout it all, she simply became pretty unlikable.

Beyond that, I was uncomfortable with the romance itself. I wasn’t expecting a “fated mates” romance, and those are my least favorite, so that’s just a personal preference thing. But due to this nature, you never feel any true connection between these two other than lust and the fact that they are simply “destined” to be together. On top of that, the book strays hard into dubcon (dubious consent) territory. Now, I’m not a hardliner on this front, as I wouldn’t say that one character kissing another character without directly asking before is dubcon or anything like that. I think if you stray too far down those lines, the entire romance genre becomes fairly unworkable. That said, this book went way further than that. And, again, I know that some readers enjoy these types of romances, but not only do I personally not, I thought that this sort of romance sat uncomfortably against the “cozy,” “humor-centric” story that the marketing presents it to be (cover, title, even the book description itself). So, again, I think there may be a mismatch between readers and books.

Overall, I was really let down by this book. While some of these complaints are definitely personal preferences (and if they’re your jam, you may in fact enjoy this!), but I also think there are some serious quality issues with the lingo and the comedy aspects of the story. It simply wasn’t funny most of the time and instead read as very cliché and as if it was trying way to hard to be cute and quirky.

Rating 6: The humor landed with a thump and the main character became increasingly annoying as the book continued.

This one was a fun read! Although I was pleased to see this one snatched up by Orbit (and look at that gorgeous new cover!), I’m not sure the ARC has been through the type of edits that the original book was in need of — typos, etc. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been mad if this series featured the same couple for more than one installment — it feels like we barely got enough time with them together — but for the entertainment the story offered, it was a nice diversion.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun romp with witty dialogue and some great spicy scenes. I really loved the dynamic between the main characters and the plot was fun as well. This was a wonderful little palate cleanser and I look forward to reading the next books in the series.

This was really, really bad. Lots of editing mistakes (was this even edited?), flat characters, tone issues (teehee funny hyena! Whiplash to men having their heads and arms ripped off) and the insta-love was super unbearable. I also hate the "mated" trope with a burning passion. The modern-day language in here and the alligators really took me out of the story and had me imagining a crackfic of a dungeons and dragons campaign. The spice was fine but I loathe the way that the MC gave up on her "1000 points" deal with the love interest and gave him 900 points in one go. You could have done major work there.