I received a gifted audiobook. All thoughts are my own and voluntary.

This wasn't for me. I really debated rating it lower but settled on a 2.

Great start in new series. Can't wait to try more!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free audiobook!!

DNF @50%

This one just really didn't work for me. I decided to DNF at 50% when I realized I had no attachment to either of the characters- I just didn't care about them at all or the plot. Let's be honest, there was absolutely no chemistry between the two of them either.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ALC of this book

I got this because it sounded good and I was not disappointed, I enjoyed the characters and the pace of the book even though I would have liked the romance between the two main characters stretched out a bit more. The story had a nice flow and the spice level is minor because we concentrate more on the times spent seeing them become close even though we do get told they liked each other way before now, for a quick read this is a good story and we do see some themes like family to stubborn to change, the divide between magical creatures/people the pain of previous pain & how to deal to move forward as well as love has no discrimination.

3,5 ⭐️

This was a lovely, adorable read .. i had so much fun listening to this cozy supernatural story. I would recommend it for anyone interested in a relaxing listen

4⭐
A quick, cute & cozy romantasy between a human - an innkeeper dealing with magical pests causing costly havoc at her inn - and an Orc - a brew master attempting to make a trade deal with a human who detest magical creatures.

What could go wrong? Lol.

If you like:
*Romantasy
*Fake Engagement
*He Falls First
*Enemies to Lovers (technically a "former bully")
*Magical Town/Creatures
This is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a good palate cleanser. I've slowly been dipping my feet into monster romance, trying to read a little bit of everything and this one was so spot on for me. I will say - I wasn't a fan of the past bullying, especially given the reasoning. I dislike the trope and whole idea of young boys being mean to the girls they actually like. It's tiring and not exactly something we want to promote. But regardless, I did enjoy the groveling and genuine ask of forgiveness because, of course, people change and evolve from where they were as young ones. I overall enjoyed this one and will probably read the author's backlist and read more about this world where monsters and humans co-exist!

A cocktail that mixes Legends & Lattes vibes, a Shrek-like character, and a magical world. The story is a low-stakes romantasy with medium spice levels, following the classic grumpy-meets-sunshine trope.

The protagonist is striving hard to keep her aunt's legacy alive and ends up being helped by an orc brewmaster. They can each solve the other’s problems through a mutually beneficial ruse—but of course, it turns into much more!

The one thing that will carry you through the story is the charm of the characters and the low-lying tension between them. There isn’t much going on plot-wise, but it’s an easygoing, fun partnership that’s enjoyable for a one-time read. I’m not sure it left a lasting impression, but it’s a good pick if you're in the mood for something light and different.

This was SO CUTE. If you're looking for an easy, fake dating, second chance, cozy fantasy romance, this is what you need. In my opinion, this makes the perfect fall read! I love a good redemption story, and the groveling was 🤌. Thank you, netgalley, for this audio! I so enjoyed it!

Ugh I loooove a fake relationship trope! This was such a fun read! I enjoyed how we got bits and pieces of the past from both mc’s. I will be continuing this series! I can’t wait to get more from Elderberry Falls!

So cozy and cute! The cover is adorable and I think it accurately depicts Mariah and Thorak so well. This is a feel good paranormal monster romance with the perfect amount of spice and relationship building with a side of plot. SNUFFLES 😍 ugh. I cant say enough.
The narrators did a great job! I felt every single emotion and already want to listen again.

3.5 stars

I love a fake dating story! Plus monster human romance 😍 this was a fun short read with good spice 🥵

I did feel like overall the plot fell short. I don’t mind a miscommunication trope but the third act break up + miscommunication was dragged on a bit longer than needed. I did like the way everything was resolved though.

For being 10 years out of high school they sure do think about things that happened in high school a lot more than I think is normal 😅 it also sounds like the Elderberry Falls is small so I find it hard to believe Mariah and Thorak haven’t had any interaction prior to him going to the Inn.

Aside from those things it was a fun quick read - I see this is a series I will check the others ones out!

Thank you NetGalley, Tantor Audio, author Cora Crane and narrators Jack Calihan and Rose Dioro.

Honestly, this for me was a good audiobook listen while I was working, didn't require much brainpower to follow the story line and gave some entertainment, as well as several sexy scenes that made me pause and listen for a moment.

Was the story line without fault, no. Was the story terrible, also no. Would I go back and physically read it, probably not. But as an audiobook for entertainment I felt it did it's job.

The HS bullying I felt was an odd choice and could have been done differently, but wasn't wholly offputting.

The human monster dynamic is one I always enjoy and I think stayed well in the normal tracks.

What I did really enjoy from the book was the commentary on speciesism and how this town is a safe haven for all. But I do feel like that felt a little disjointed when part of the plot was how humans are treated poorly. Had a lot of potential, but needed perhaps a little more buffing to get it right.

If you loved Legends and Lattes but were missing a more romantic aspect and some spice then this book is going to be for you!

Mariah is the innkeeper at the Moonflower Inn which she inherited from her Aunt. Thorak is the owner of Orc's Anvil a local brewery. Both characters know each other from high school where Thorak was Mariah's bully, singling her out because she was the only human in a school for magical beings. It wasn't spite that caused Thorak to bully Mariah, it was the fear of becoming a social pariah because Throak was actually enamored with Mariah. After years of not seeing each other Thorak ends up visiting Moonflower Inn to speak to a potential business investor staying there. Both Mariah and Thorak find themselves in sticky situations leading them to come together and put on a fake engagement to help one another achieve their goals. Through spending time together per their agreement Mariah finds herself falling in love with Thorak ( Who was already therte and always had been) . Together these two face prejudice, work through past traumas and choose love above all things.

This book was a great read from start to finish! There were some swoon worthy moments, I laughed out loud, and may have shed a few happy tears. I loved the world building and the banter between characters. This book started off as a cozy fantasy but became a sappy and slightly steamy romance! It does sound like the next book in this series is going to be about Mariah's best friend Ecco and although I am super interested to see how that goes, I hope that i get to see a little more from these characters because I don't think their story is done yet!
I recieved an ARC of The Orc and the Innkeeper, in exchange for my honest review. This book is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

I strongly think the cover was made with AI, after searching through the author's account looking for the cover artist and I couldn't find it. I don't want to support any AI usage.

This was a huge miss. I thought it would be the cute and cozy sweeping tale. But in reality it was a bully romance with okay smut scenes. I hate enemies to lovers romances, or even worse bully romances. Bully romances to a point do work when trying to make us hate the guy. (It succeeds.) But that wouldn't be super hard because he such a jack ass. The relationship is half-baked at best. The FMC can't even properly take care of her Inn. So double failure. Just wish more time was spent making this book better.

This cozy fantasy romance has a lot of charm and some delightful banter, but it didn't quite sweep me off my feet. The setup is promising—an overworked innkeeper facing magical chaos and an orc brewmaster with a reputation problem teaming up in a fake engagement? That's classic rom-com gold with a fantasy twist.
Rose Dioro gives the innkeeper a spunky, endearing voice, and Jack Calihan brings a nice gruffness to Thorak that fits his broody, reluctant-hero vibe. Their narration works well together, and there's definite chemistry in the audio performance.
Where the story falters slightly is in its pacing and development. The emotional tension between the leads sometimes gets overshadowed by repetitive inner monologues and predictable misunderstandings. The conflict surrounding prejudice between species is touched on but not thoroughly explored satisfactorily. And while the pest infestation is a fun and quirky problem, it often feels more like a plot device than a real threat.
Still, there's plenty to enjoy—humour, heartfelt moments, and the unique spin of fantasy tavern life. It just doesn't quite dig deep enough into the romance or the world-building to leave a lasting impression. If you're looking for a light, low-stakes escape with orcs, ale, and a sprinkle of magical chaos, this might still be worth a listen.

I went in hoping for a cozy monster romance, but The Orc and the Innkeeper just didn’t land for me. The concept was solid small town vibes, fake engagement, orc brewmaster with a broody past. But the execution? Rough.

Let’s start with the audio. I usually enjoy audiobooks, but Jack Calihan’s narration was a major mismatch for this one. He has that older tone that might work for grandpas or fantasy wizards, but absolutely not for steamy romance scenes. It pulled me out of the moment every time, and not in a good way. The female narrator was fine, but she couldn’t save it.

As for the story itself, I could’ve overlooked the slow pacing and underbaked romance if the characters had won me over, but no dice. Mariah came off selfish and frustrating by the end, making emotionally reckless choices and still accepting $20k like it was nothing. Thorak had potential, but the whole “I bullied you in high school because I secretly liked you” angle felt lazy and outdated. That’s not romance. That’s therapy bait.

Also, if I had to hear the word “cozy” one more time, I was going to throw my phone. Repetition kills vibe. Show me the cozy, don’t just tell me about it every five pages.

The last straw was the miscommunication trope, which is already my least favorite. When done poorly, it just makes the characters look immature, and this one was no exception.

I can see this working for readers who want very low conflict and aren’t picky about depth or narration. But for me, it was a swing and a miss. Not sure I’d continue the series, but I’m open to trying the author again in print format, minus this narrator.

Special thanks to @NetGalley and @TantorAudio for the audio copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.25 Stars

This was cute! I thoroughly enjoyed the short cozy fantasy by Cora Crane. This was a perfect palette cleanser between some of my longer and darker fantasy reads.

Read this is you love:
- Low stakes cozy fantasy books
- Fake Dating
- Groveling MMCs
- Shrek vibes
- Bully Romance

Thank you to Tantor Audio, Core Crane, and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

The Orc and the Innkeeper is a cozy fake dating fantasy romance. Mariah is a human innkeeper down on her luck and Thorak, an orc, is her old high school bully. They run into each other again when Thorak is trying to secure a business deal for his brewery with a guest at the inn. The human man Thorak is trying to convince to sell his Orc made ale wants reassurance that Thorak’s company has humans involved with the process. Thorak has to quickly make up a lie that his fiance is a human who he discusses business with. Mariah overhears this and thinks Thorak and her can work together to help both their businesses. Mariah will be fake engaged to Thorak if Thorak agrees to pay an enormous cleaning bill for the inn that she can’t afford at the moment. They agree and, while having to act like they are in love, learn more about each other and start to heal wounds from their past.

The book is set in the fictional town of Elderberry Falls. Elderberry Falls was one of my favorite aspects of the novel. The world is so cozy and feels very similar to something like Legends and Lattes. This world full of all creatures has coffee shops, cute inns, and breweries. There is even a pet pig named Snuffles. It was so easy to picture this world, and I can see myself picking the rest of the series up when I need a cozy escape.

I really enjoyed Mariah and Thorak’s relationship. They were very honest with each other about the past. Their characters felt realistic to the world they grew up in. Them being separate species was another hurdle they had to deal with in their relationship, mostly from others. A lot of characters had opinions on whether they should be together as different species. I appreciated that it wasn’t a problem for the main characters and they worked hard on getting other characters to see that as well.

I listened to the audiobook of The Orc and the Innkeeper, and I really enjoyed it. We had two narrators which I loved. They both were great and sounded perfect as Mariah and Thorak. I would recommend the audiobook, and it’s a quick audiobook! This is such an easy read when you are looking for a comforting and quick listen.