read_game_stitch 's review for:

The Cinnamon Spice Inn by Harper Graham

2.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The Cinnamon Spice Inn is a Hallmark movie in book form, so if you're looking for a cozy, familiar romance story for the Autumn/Fall season, you'll find it here. There's frequent spicy reminiscences and fantasising before the fantasy becomes reality! The audiobook is well narrated by the sole narrator, Andi Eloise. The audiobook listing does say that there are two narrators, but looking it up on Audible suggests that the male narrator is only part of a duet-narration bonus chapter, which seems to be missing from this ALC.

All that being said, I thought that the plot was a bit too familiar, to the point that I could predict the whole plot from the start, and the plot was too reliant on miscommunication, both in the past and in the present. It felt like there wasn't any character development because it was the exact same issues in the present as there had been in the past. Miscommunication is my least favourite trope but I might have overlooked that and the predictability and given it a higher rating if I'd been rooting for the main characters to get together, but unfortunately I didn't like Madison as a person. Zach came across much better, but Madison wasn't very likeable - for example how she dropped all of her best friends from home as soon as she ended things with Zach and didn't even reach out to Zach's sister Emily when their mother was ill. It's one thing to dump your long-distant boyfriend after a miscommunication, but another to intentionally drift off from all of your friends as well.

This one wasn't for me personally, but it could be a hit for readers/listeners who like second-chance, small town cozy romances with spice, and don't mind the miscommunication trope as it is very prominent.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Listener Copy from Bookouture Audio and NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.