Love this audiobook! It was both sweetly adorable and extra spicy. The half giant MMC is the mushiest of cinnamon rolls who will endear himself to you and the FMC is a feisty, metal working elf on the run. Lots of fun in this story!

Magical
Romantic
Comedy
Cozy & fantasy

Dual narration - Evan Elliot & Sarah McEwan
Well narrated and performed. Wish it was duet style but I still enjoyed the book.

This was a fun and cute listen. I found it very enjoyable. The writing was easy to follow and intriguing. Just the right amount of world building without getting too overly complicated. Cozy, romantic, fantasy. Always love a strong and sassy FMC! Definitely recommend this one!

I am real into this cozy fantasy with some spice.

It felt like vibes from Ella enchanted the movie plus some open door romance.

Elekki is an elf with metal magic that’s quite unpredictable-she is a traveler and sells her jewelry at fairs. When some creep tries to take advantage of her a very large half giant comes to her rescue. Not that she needed it. They pair up when they learn the creep is a lord that puts a bounty on them.

Super cute. Low angst. Somewhat spicy.
I enjoyed it.

Narrators are good

Thanks to netgalley and forever grand pub for an eARC and hachette for an alc

When a fiery magical jewelry maker and a gentle half-giant with a soft heart find themselves on the run from the law, chaos—and maybe love—ensues. Elikki’s chaotic magic and sharp temper land her in trouble, and sweet Barra, who’s just trying to live a quiet life, gets pulled into her storm. What starts as a getaway becomes a journey full of cozy inns, unexpected intimacy, and a slow-burning connection. Along the way, they find more than safety, they just might find themselves.

⸻

💫 Tropes & Vibes 💫
✨ Found Family
💜 Grumpy/Sunshine (but she’s the grump!)
🧙‍♀️ Chaotic Magic
🏃‍♀️ On the Run
🏡 Cozy Fantasy
📿 Magical Crafting
🍲 Shared Meals & Soft Moments

———

Elikki is that girl 👏🏽 bold, independent, and completely in charge. I loved seeing a more dominant and assertive FMC paired with our sweet, cinnamon-roll MMC, Barra (seriously, he’s like a giant Labrador retriever in the best way 🐾💜).

Elikki’s got some serious trust issues, but Barra is the one person patient and kind enough to help her work through them. I adored his supportive family and how naturally he fit into her wild, chaotic world.

This was a cozy, magical, and slightly spicy little escape—complete with instant love, whimsical vibes, and a short but satisfying adventure.

And the narrators? Phenomenal. They really brought the characters to life and made this an even more enjoyable listen.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ALC!

Cute little spicy fantasy romp. Little bit instalove. Sassy and strong female main character, sweet and shy male main character. Instant attraction between the two. Dual POV which was nice in the audiobook, with different narrators. Quick read you can devour in a day.

This book is perfect for the cozy fantasy lovers. Especially ones that love spicy romance. Elikki only needs herself at the end of the day. She doesn’t want to rely on anyone. Romantic attachments are short term and on the fly. That is until she runs into Barra, a shy half giant. When they get tangled up in quite the skirmish, they end up on the run together. 

I enjoyed this book. There was a good balance of humor, action, and romance. I didn’t feel very connected to Elikki or Barra. We got to know some details about them, but they weren’t deep enough for me to latch onto. I liked the found family aspect that was being built. I’m interested in future books in this world. 

The audiobook was high quality. Both narrators did a good job at embodying the characters. I was particularly fond of the would-be bounty hunters. The narrator did a great job at making them sound goofy. I highly recommend the audiobook!

What a fun reverse grumpy/sunshine fantasy romance. The main characters are both so adorable in their insecurities and fear of falling too hard. Unsurprisingly, they both fall the hardest and help each other bloom. I also loved the found family vibes they have.
The narrators did a great job enriching the story and providing interesting voice acting that doesn’t distract from the story.

3.75⭐️ So this is the epitome of cute. It’s a cozy DnD like jaunt through the woods. I did this as an immersion read with thematics ARC and the audio ALC and I’m glad I had the audio for a few reasons. Now it didn’t overly make me enjoy the book more from a plot perspective as I think you can have the same experience no matter the format for this one. But it helped with the pronunciation of the FMCs name!

The audio did help draw me into the book as I have had the physical ARC for a hot minute and despite living the description and the genre, it just wasn’t pulling me in when I tried reading it several times. But finally when the audio became available to just at requesting it to help out and it worked.

It’s a duel narrated low stakes fantasy adventure narrated by Evan Elliot and Sarah McEwan. They both did a great job with the material. The stand out was that they both spoke at a great swift pace that is fitting with how you would listen to a story in “real life” in a conversation. But thankfully it could also be sped up and the tone and understandability was preserved. I listened at 2x speed so I could more easily follow along with my eyeballs.

It’s a relatively short book at under 300 pages especially for a fantasy. But as o said above it was cute and cozy. It is a romance but full disclosure it’s a variation on “insta love” with little support behind the romance other than forced proximity . It’s more insta attraction as their physical relationship does take a little time to unfold as they make their way through the forest. It does have a lot of description about certain unique magic system things which was a nice touch, especially the jewelry metal working the FMC does.

To be forthright, I still don’t exactly believe the romance. It’s just seemed like a convenient plot device for the full bodied FMC to get a partner that is just as unique and of course is has a larger than typical appendage that of course she can handle unlike most women.

There is spice for sure but if you look at it in the spectrum of spice it’s very light and vanilla so it’s a good middle ground for those that want a touch of it without being too descriptive.

Overall Enjoyed it for the vibes. It was a good cleansing book that you can just sit back and enjoy without really having to think too much.
I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary Physical ARC from Forever Pub and subsequently the audio ALC from Hachette Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My general rating system is below. Since I primarily read ARC books I rate according to how I think like minded readers will receive the book. I will round up or down depending on many factors and try not to let my personal wants affect a books ratings.

⭐️ Hated It but pushed through as so don’t DNF ARCs I have received.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, content issues, poorly edited.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but it had something that stopped me from rounding up. Usually the book may have much more potential than what was given. I recommend it but with reservations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Really enjoyed it or think others will. These are solid reads that I definitely would recommend for a variety of reasons.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! These are books that remain rent free in my head for well after unfinished the book. It can be for a variety of reasons from being very well written or just the vibes that captured my mind. These books are also ones I would probably read again.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio | Forever forbthe free arc copy, ebook and alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I tried read ming this My eyes and for me I am obsessed with the narration. I love the 2 narrators, I love their voice snd pitch it was exactly what I thought they would sound like.i love this monster romance so so much.i thought it was fresh fun and perfect summer read and whewwwwwww that spice be hitting...

Suggest giving it a try if you read open door monster romance.

5/5☆ fun and hottttt

A cozy romantasy with an elf that that makes jewelry and a half-giant that is a cinnamon role….sign me up.
In A Tale of Mirth & Magic we have a curvy world traveling elf, Elikki, that just wants to sell her jewelry that she makes with her magic. When she is in a town one day and has a bad run in with a customer who very difficult she is in for an adventure.
Barra is a half-giant. He is also purple, he stands out. He is also a huge cinnamon role and just a genuine nice guy. He is on travel for the family business when he comes across Elikki in the town and helps her out. It doesn’t help that he definitely is attracted to her.
What comes next is them running away from the town and their adventure begins. Going from town to town. Spicy time and all the stuff in between I found this to be a quick fast read and just a genuine good time.
I really liked both of their characters. Elikki is very independent , she doesn't feel like she needs help from anyone and I love that about her. Barra is just to sweet you might get a cavity. He helps people and it is hard not to fall for him.
Now I got to listen to this in audio format and I think that Evan Elliot and Sarah McEwan did a fantastic job at the narration. This was a dual narrative format and I think that was perfect for this book. I really liked both narrators. I am familiar with Sarah and her audio books are always top notch. Her pacing is fantastic and easy to understand. This is my first experience with Evan and I would say I really liked his narration! I would more than happily listen to another audio book narrated by him! I think both narrators came together very well for this book and matched each other perfectly.

Thank you to Hatchette Audio for the complimentary copy all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a cozy romance, with a sassy FMC, cinnamon roll MMC, and some size difference look no further! I had such a fun time with this book. Elikki cracked me up the entire time and I loved her confidence and sass. I love that she was unashamed of her personality and her body, almost as much as I love how much Barra adores those things about her. Barra is quite simply adorable and must be protected at all costs. End of story.
The plot was nice and light with a few moments of actions. It’s a short read that will make you smile and I do believe this left room for a series to continue, which I am all for.
Sarah McEwan and Evan Elliot did a great job in the narration. They both were fun with their tones and easy to understand. I particularly liked Evan’s voice. It’s very soothing. I will probably be looking up other audiobook by both of them I’m the future.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC opportunity! My opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the alc. super cute romantasy with a body positive mfc, and when she meets a shy half giant and sparks fly. She’s very flirtatious and he’s not picking up the cues
She town selling her jewelry and when someone tells to steal from her people turn on her and he steps up Anna helps her, they then become travel companions with benefits, but he cannot do one now stands and she doesn’t do relationships. While traveling bandits try to abduct her due to being wanted, cause the person that tries stealing from her is the prove’s shady brother and now he’s claiming she attacked him.
He wants something more and feels something more for her and don’t know how to approach it when she won’t talk about it.

This was a cute, on the run from bounty hunters, cozy fantasy w/ spice 🌶️

Whilst I did enjoy it, I just didn’t feel like I was able to really connect w/ the characters. It was a bit too fast paced for my liking, but other than that I was just left wanting a bit more— I’m all for a cozy fantasy, but I need something other than what this gave.
If romance is going to be the only focus, other than some inner turmoil, I need it caked on HEAVY 👹 I wanna be swooned off my feet.

The journey was def fun though. I enjoyed all the inns, delicious food, & the spice. All while Barra works out if he’s ready to allow himself to love & to be loved on 👀 And Elikki being the force of nature she is to be able to depend on someone for once.

In the end, who doesn’t enjoy some good food & spice between a half-giant & an elf!! I wish it was a full on duet though ‘cause it kills me every time a male narrator has to do the FMC scenes 😭😭😭
Evan Elliot & Sarah McEwan did an amazing job though!!

Looking for your next book boyfriend? In a world of Shadow Daddies, I raise you this Golden Retriever gentle giant (literally! He is a half-giant.)

This is an adorable cozy fantasy romance. The story opens with the FMC, a feisty female elf who is a metallurgist/saleswoman by day and a minx/party girl by night. When she staves off a would-be violent encounter with a con man, she meets the MMC – a large lavender skinned, honey haired half-giant who is just passing through. They meet later in a tavern (of course it is a tavern) and their adventure together begins. Filled with magic, family, and some spicy scenes, this one is sure to please every fantasy romance lover.

The narrators are PERFECT for this fiesty elf and sweet teddy bear half-giant. They really brought life to these characters.