Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ida_reads_77 's review for:
The Cinnamon Spice Inn
by Harper Graham
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Cinnamon Spice Inn by Harper Graham is a cozy fall pumpkin-spice romance. It follows the story of carpenter Zach and food critic Madison, high school sweethearts who had a falling out when Madison moved to New York. In this book, Madison is back in their small town trying to save her family's Cinnamon Spice Inn with the help of Zach and the town's people. It's a small-town-community romance with fun and caring characters.
I enjoyed the vibes in this book, especially the food. Cinnamon rolls with apple butter continuously appear. And the characters are always meeting in the local café, chocolate shop, or the inn's kitchen. I also liked the premise: a carpenter and a food critic set in a small town with many community characters.
I did not enjoy the plot as much as I had hoped to. If you don't like the miscommunication trope, then this book is not for you — and I don't like this trope. Every problem between Zach and Madison revolves around miscommunication and poor explanations. They first broke up because Madison wrongly interpreted Zach was cheating on her and Zach assumed she was avoiding him when her phone was on airplane mode. These miscommunications keep happening throughout the book, and by the end, I didn't want them to be together because they communicated so poorly. I considered DNFing many times because of these frustrating simple miscommunications. I wish it had a more complex plot and conflict.
While I liked the characters' backgrounds, they weren't really expanded on — and I love character depth. Madison is a food critic, but she never discusses what exactly she did in New York or how she became such a highly acclaimed food critic. We also don't learn as much about the emotional connections between her and Zach, her and her mother, and her and her father. Her father is almost a background character even though she returns to the small town specifically to support him.
I loved the vibes and setting of this book, but I missed a lot of depth that you can find in other fall romances. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy:
- small-town romances with community relationships
- fall, Halloween, and pumpkin spice vibes
- low spice romance
- miscommunication trope
Thank you to Bookouture and Harper Graham for this ARC!
2.75 stars
I enjoyed the vibes in this book, especially the food. Cinnamon rolls with apple butter continuously appear. And the characters are always meeting in the local café, chocolate shop, or the inn's kitchen. I also liked the premise: a carpenter and a food critic set in a small town with many community characters.
I did not enjoy the plot as much as I had hoped to. If you don't like the miscommunication trope, then this book is not for you — and I don't like this trope. Every problem between Zach and Madison revolves around miscommunication and poor explanations. They first broke up because Madison wrongly interpreted Zach was cheating on her and Zach assumed she was avoiding him when her phone was on airplane mode. These miscommunications keep happening throughout the book, and by the end, I didn't want them to be together because they communicated so poorly. I considered DNFing many times because of these frustrating simple miscommunications. I wish it had a more complex plot and conflict.
While I liked the characters' backgrounds, they weren't really expanded on — and I love character depth. Madison is a food critic, but she never discusses what exactly she did in New York or how she became such a highly acclaimed food critic. We also don't learn as much about the emotional connections between her and Zach, her and her mother, and her and her father. Her father is almost a background character even though she returns to the small town specifically to support him.
I loved the vibes and setting of this book, but I missed a lot of depth that you can find in other fall romances. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy:
- small-town romances with community relationships
- fall, Halloween, and pumpkin spice vibes
- low spice romance
- miscommunication trope
Thank you to Bookouture and Harper Graham for this ARC!
2.75 stars