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3.49 AVERAGE

klopes27's review

3.5

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator was great and made the listening experience better for me. It was a dual POV which I prefer in most books, I do wish the MMC had a male narrator but that’s just my preference. The story was cute and definitely had me feeling the fall vibes. The descriptions really had me feeling the autumn mood and was a nice fall comfort read. This is definitely a great cozy fall romance that I would recommend to get you in that fall season. The little side mystery was perfect too with the setting and I really enjoyed the reveal of it at the end of the book. 

Tropes
🍁 second chance romance
🍁 small town
🍁 little bit of a slow burn 

Rating: 3.5⭐️     2.5-3🌶️

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Graham for letting me read an early copy. Cannot wait for book 2.
* Looking for a cozy small town book for this autumn, look no further!! The Cinnamon Spice Inn is such a cute book and gave me all sorts of feelings. It heavily reminds me of a series I love to watch every fall, total coincidence that it reminds me of it, but man did I love it. Harper is fantastic at building the imagery and it makes you feel like you are watching a movie as you read on.
*Spoilerish*
This book is somewhat spicy, but it doesn't feel like they rushed the characters into it. Now they did have a past, so I think that is why it didn't feel so rushed? I do wish if there was a little bit more on forgiveness and trying to build up a foundation again, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this book. The only thing that really frustrated me, was the back and forth. It felt way too much. But again, I could be picky.

Things to note, this is NOT an enemies to lovers. I would classify it as second chance. Madison has a problem with running from her problems yet blaming others. Very frustrating. There was little to no communication and that is HUGE when it comes to relationships.

Breaking this down, if you want just a book to read that gives you feelings, and you take it like a holiday movie, its good.

amandagilinsky's review

3.0
lighthearted medium-paced
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No

The falls vibes definitely made the book. I’d love to re-read this book this fall. 

I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope and that was definitely a main point between the two main characters. The supporting characters were great and I’m excited to read their stories in the future. 

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. 

 Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the audio eArc in exchange for an honest review! 

This book is definitely worth adding to your fall TBR! I adore the cozy fall vibes, and this book delivers the quintessential small town feel. 

I actually really enjoy a sprinkle of miscommunication in my romance, and the beginning of this book had me thoroughly enjoying it despite second chance not being my usual trope of choice. I thought her determination to save the Inn, and his stepping up to help was great, and their reconnecting had me giddy. 

In short, the MMC is a poster boy for wholesome book boyfriends. He notices details, he is staunchly loyal and quietly romantic. But honestly, he deserves better than the FMC, who is so anti-communication it is actually painful. It made parts of this book super hard to read, since she avoided talking about absolutely everything. 

added_to_my_tbr's review

4.5
emotional mysterious medium-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: Complicated

What a cute fall read! This small town romance has all the fall vibes, exes finding their way back together, mystery letters, and a cozy inn that needs fixing up! There are a couple of spicy scenes and lots of tension! I loved the narration of the audio, it was very well done. Highly recommend to fans of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe series! 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

The Cinnamon Spice Inn by Harper Graham - 3.5/5 stars (ebook), 4/5 stars (audiobook)

This cozy small-town romance delivers exactly what it promises: Gilmore Girls vibes with plenty of autumn atmosphere and steamy scenes. The second-chance romance between the coffee-loving city girl and laid-back handyman explores what happens when former childhood sweethearts reunite after a breakup caused by miscommunication - with her return to fix her family's legacy inn providing the perfect forced proximity setup.

As my first contemporary romance, I wasn't sure what to expect, but Graham creates a charming small-town setting that feels warmly familiar. The fall vibes are perfectly captured, and there's definitely plenty of open-door spice for readers who enjoy that element.

However, the heavy reliance on miscommunication - both in their past breakup and current interactions - became frustrating for me. I found myself wanting more substance and more personality from Zach (besides being sexy).

Andi Eloise's narration in the audiobook was engaging and added an extra half-star to my rating. While this was a solid debut into the genre for me, I think I'll be seeking out romance with more complex plotting going forward. Perfect for cozy fall reading if you're already a contemporary romance fan.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Bookouture for the eARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.
emmymk's profile picture

emmymk's review

3.5
hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book has everything you need for an autumn RomCom: The small town girl living in New York who comes homes to help family, the grumpy ex who stayed, pumpkins & chilly autumn air, toffee apple lattes, meddleing town folk & and miscommunication. 

A bit slower than your usual RomCom but a lovely autumn read. 

Thanks to Netgalley & Bookouture for this eArc 
_beckywilson_'s profile picture

_beckywilson_'s review

4.0
lighthearted medium-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: Yes

First, thank you to NetGalley, Harper Graham and Bookouture for the eArc opportunity! 

The best way to describe the experience of reading this story would be… Autumn Spicy. The writing style made me long for the autumn season, and gave all the vibes and feels of the season. Genuinely the descriptions of everything that people associate with fall, was so good in this book that it made me remember why I’ve always loved the season and excited for the weather to turn. 

The characters and the plot did give me Gilmore Girl vibes (Luke and Lorelei love story vibes, with a lot of side characters like the townspeople in Stars Hollow), and the overall storyline is pretty standard contemporary romance with second chance/miscommunication tropes. 

Was this overall a good time? YES. Would I recommend this if you’re looking for a sweet and straightforward romance story? Also, yes. 
emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

I loveeee the fall vibes and writing style, very cozy, cutesy, mysterious, and sometimes spicy 🍂🍁

Even though I guessed who the letters were from, I loved the idea of it and loved who they were from. It was very very sweet. 

What I could not stand about this was the miscommunication!! Hello just talk to each other I beg and plead. Literally everything, for SIX YEARS, could have been resolved if you just spoke to each other 😃 EVEN IN THE END. DID WE NOT LEARN? 

The narrator also did a good job, though I was confused because I thought it was supposed to be dual narration (according to NetGalley). It would have been a lot better with another narrator. 

draisaitl's review

4.0
lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I was first drawn in by the title and the cover, and this book definitely brings the autumn vibes I was expecting from them. The writing is veryyy descriptive (even describing the FMC’s clothing sometimes), which really does set the autumn tone and paints a detailed picture of everything going on. This also helps with the worldbuilding of Maple Falls, the cute small town this story takes place in. 

However I do think the writing was overly wordy at times, especially with their inner dialogues I think it got kinda repetitive like they kept thinking the same things again and again. Also, because so much of this story is about misunderstandings/miscommunications I think it really would’ve been better told from one POV. I think instead of so much repetitive inner dialogues I would’ve liked to see more character/plot developments, I really liked the mystery aspect and I think that would’ve been cool to see more fleshed out.

But overall this was an enjoyable, cozy read, definitely setting the mood for autumn coming up, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from this author and getting to come back to Maple Falls!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.