Synopsis:
From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller and viral TikTok phenomenon, The Pumpkin Spice Café, comes a brand new spicy romance set in Dream Harbor. The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is a cozy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!
When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can’t understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just needs someone to help her out.
Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he’s been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!
Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…
Review:
I’m glad I decided to give Laurie Gilmore a second chance after not loving The Pumpkin Spice Café. I’ve read all of this series that is out so far and the lowest I’ve rated the others is four stars. The Cinnamon Bun Book Store was a solid five star read for me. I read 90% of the book in one sitting and I have zero regrets about doing so.
Firstly, I thought this was going to be an autumnal read. The cover screams autumn to me, so you can imagine my surprise when I started reading and it’s set at the height of summer. I didn’t mind this though. I liked the summery activities they got up to.
Speaking of activities they got up to, they did A LOT. I always forget just how spicy these books can be. I think The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is the spiciest of the series, but I could be wrong. It felt like there was a lot of it going on, but it didn’t detract from the story at all. These scenes don’t feel like they’re just thrown in there to get more people to read the book, they actually add to the plot and character development. Hazel genuinely becomes a more confident person who isn’t afraid to ask for what she wants any more because of this connection she’s building with Noah. Spice with a purpose is great. Spice just for the sake of it is fine, but I like some depth if it’s going to be happening every other chapter.
I think Hazel and Noah have been my favourite couple so far. There’s something about how straight forward they were with each other that I really loved. Yes, there’s some miscommunication, but that comes with the genre. Noah was very open with how he felt about Hazel and honestly, we love a man that falls first and harder.
I was convinced for a while that Noah was the one leaving the clues in the books for Hazel, but it’s actually cuter that it wasn’t him. He was up for doing anything if it meant spending time alone with her. I doubt the person that did leave them (no spoilers here) had any idea that most of them would end with Hazel and Noah getting together. They were really fun though. The very first one at the fair was probably my favourite.
I finished this book weeks ago now and for some reason haven’t reviewed it or even written any notes about what I liked until right now. That’s often my problem when I finish a book in one sitting. I got so invested in The Cinnamon Bun Book Store that I didn’t stop to think about what I loved about it. Basically, I loved everything and I’d highly recommend checking this out.
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