kimwritesstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
First look at that cover? Isn't that a hot cover? Like damn, maybe I need to save a demon.
This book was a fantastic late-night read. I read this clutching my pearls and my glass of wine. I had a few gasps and giggles as I read this. Was it a little on the nose? Sure, but the thing I loved about the author is how self-aware she was. This book knows what it is and leans into it. It's a fast-paced romance fantasy novel with terrible names. I mean, Cinnamon Hotpepper is a ridiculous name, but that made me love it even more.
Cinnamon, or Cin for short, is in her mid-twenties and lives on her family's cinnamon farm. She gets drunk at a local party celebrating the departure of the goddess's chosen hero. On her way home, she is almost mugged by a local ruffian. Instead, Cin turns the tables by throwing apples at him and chasing him through the trees. When she pauses to continue the chase, she hears a person who is trapped under a nearby landslide. When she rescues the stranger, it turns out to be a demon. She runs for her life and makes it safely home, but not before beating the demon with a cinnamon branch.
In the morning, said demon intrudes on family breakfast. It turns out that the cinnamon she hit him with broke him from a spell and that the goddess all humans worship isn't a goddess at all, but an evil witch. Fallon, the rescued demon, asks Cinnamon to join him in destroying the witch. Of course, she goes and what ensues is a fun sexy romp in taking down the evil witch.
Seriously, this was a fun book. I could not put it down. The only reason it wasn't a 5-star read for me is because I really didn't like the names. Again, Cinnamon Hotpepper? It just pulled me right out of it. There were also a few times the book could have benefited from heavier editing. A few times, sentences ran into others and it jumbled the structure. I had to go back and read things a few times.
Favorite scene? Without spoiling, it was when Cinnamon, who is naked in a river with a demon, spins and kills a crocodile. HOT AF.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!
This book was a fantastic late-night read. I read this clutching my pearls and my glass of wine. I had a few gasps and giggles as I read this. Was it a little on the nose? Sure, but the thing I loved about the author is how self-aware she was. This book knows what it is and leans into it. It's a fast-paced romance fantasy novel with terrible names. I mean, Cinnamon Hotpepper is a ridiculous name, but that made me love it even more.
Cinnamon, or Cin for short, is in her mid-twenties and lives on her family's cinnamon farm. She gets drunk at a local party celebrating the departure of the goddess's chosen hero. On her way home, she is almost mugged by a local ruffian. Instead, Cin turns the tables by throwing apples at him and chasing him through the trees. When she pauses to continue the chase, she hears a person who is trapped under a nearby landslide. When she rescues the stranger, it turns out to be a demon. She runs for her life and makes it safely home, but not before beating the demon with a cinnamon branch.
In the morning, said demon intrudes on family breakfast. It turns out that the cinnamon she hit him with broke him from a spell and that the goddess all humans worship isn't a goddess at all, but an evil witch. Fallon, the rescued demon, asks Cinnamon to join him in destroying the witch. Of course, she goes and what ensues is a fun sexy romp in taking down the evil witch.
Seriously, this was a fun book. I could not put it down. The only reason it wasn't a 5-star read for me is because I really didn't like the names. Again, Cinnamon Hotpepper? It just pulled me right out of it. There were also a few times the book could have benefited from heavier editing. A few times, sentences ran into others and it jumbled the structure. I had to go back and read things a few times.
Favorite scene? Without spoiling, it was when Cinnamon, who is naked in a river with a demon, spins and kills a crocodile. HOT AF.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, and Sexual content
nic55's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
This book could've become corny so so quickly, and the title and first few pages made me nervous. But I'm happy to say that this was SO good. I was surprised by how well-developed the fantasy elements and world-building were, especially given the book's shorter length. After a few jokes and lines that didn't really hit for me, the rest of the book was genuinely funny and I loved the dialogue. Cinammon's inner thought process especially grew on me. Fallon was hot af, with the perfect mix of alpha-ness/care-taking/slight obsession....and their banter??? The chemistry?? The smut scenes?? Yes ma'am. Honestly, there are romance books that take double the amount of pages to achieve the same quality. It's hard to balance quirky and sexy, but this book did that really well.
I have to read all the other books Kimberly Lemming writes because I had so much fun with this one! Also, maybe need to dip my toes more into fantasy romance???
This book could've become corny so so quickly, and the title and first few pages made me nervous. But I'm happy to say that this was SO good. I was surprised by how well-developed the fantasy elements and world-building were, especially given the book's shorter length. After a few jokes and lines that didn't really hit for me, the rest of the book was genuinely funny and I loved the dialogue. Cinammon's inner thought process especially grew on me. Fallon was hot af, with the perfect mix of alpha-ness/care-taking/slight obsession....and their banter??? The chemistry?? The smut scenes?? Yes ma'am. Honestly, there are romance books that take double the amount of pages to achieve the same quality. It's hard to balance quirky and sexy, but this book did that really well.
I have to read all the other books Kimberly Lemming writes because I had so much fun with this one! Also, maybe need to dip my toes more into fantasy romance???
imskylow's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Very fun and lighthearted. Also nice and spicy. Isn’t mindblowing but definitely an enjoyable quick read.
marissaisbooked's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly I’m not sure what I was expecting going in to this, but this was so much fun! It’s funny, witty, and spicy (🌶️🌶️🌶️/5). I’m such a sucker for good banter.
megatza's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mbomersheim's review against another edition
3.5
This was such a fun spring break read!
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming is a cozy, fantasy romance following our main character, Cinnamon, as she gets roped into a quest with a demon, Fallon, to destroy a false goddess. I went into this book knowing virtually since it initially piqued my interest due to the original title, so my expectations weren’t too high; however, I was pleasantly surprised! There are a bunch of witty one-liners that are quite memorable, and the characters are likable.
Also, I said that this book was cozy, but let me clarify that it is still quite smutty. Things go from 0 to 100 very quickly, which isn’t bad but is something to note. Overall, this book isn’t a great romance, it isn’t a great fantasy, and it definitely requires the suspension of disbelief, but it is good enough in both genres that it’s enjoyable. It was a light, fun beach read, and I plan to read the next book in the Mead Mishaps series very soon.
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming is a cozy, fantasy romance following our main character, Cinnamon, as she gets roped into a quest with a demon, Fallon, to destroy a false goddess. I went into this book knowing virtually since it initially piqued my interest due to the original title, so my expectations weren’t too high; however, I was pleasantly surprised! There are a bunch of witty one-liners that are quite memorable, and the characters are likable.
Also, I said that this book was cozy, but let me clarify that it is still quite smutty. Things go from 0 to 100 very quickly, which isn’t bad but is something to note. Overall, this book isn’t a great romance, it isn’t a great fantasy, and it definitely requires the suspension of disbelief, but it is good enough in both genres that it’s enjoyable. It was a light, fun beach read, and I plan to read the next book in the Mead Mishaps series very soon.
alcea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
hike_and_hearth's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. This one was a hard one to rate.
On the one hand, it was a really unique and interesting plot. There were also some laugh out loud funny parts IMO, and the characters themselves were super fun (including the villain of the story)!
All that said, I did start to get a little bit bored in the final couple of chapters. I was ready for all the loose ends to be tied up and the story to conclude. So I almost rated this 2 stars. But the plot was so fun and unique, I ultimately decided it deserved an additional star just for that alone.
As mentioned by other reviewers, this book is spicy. And I mean smutty spicy in a big way. I didn’t mind that but some readers may not be into graphic love scenes. You’ve been warned.
On the one hand, it was a really unique and interesting plot. There were also some laugh out loud funny parts IMO, and the characters themselves were super fun (including the villain of the story)!
All that said, I did start to get a little bit bored in the final couple of chapters. I was ready for all the loose ends to be tied up and the story to conclude. So I almost rated this 2 stars. But the plot was so fun and unique, I ultimately decided it deserved an additional star just for that alone.
As mentioned by other reviewers, this book is spicy. And I mean smutty spicy in a big way. I didn’t mind that but some readers may not be into graphic love scenes. You’ve been warned.
dryerlindt's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a cute fun read. Had nothing major going on and there was a lot of smut but over all it was one that enjoyed and had a god time reading. An easy way to dip into fantasy.