I liked the idea of a bookstore romance and one with cinnamon buns was certainly appealing. The little mystery with the books was intriguing.

Overall this romance was not for me. I wish there would’ve been more character development and definitely more witty banter. It just really fell flat.

Fall is the perfect time for a cozy romance read. What's more comfortable than reading about a bookstore and a scavenger hunt? 'Cinnamon Bun Book Store' by Laurie Gilmore is the second book in the Dream Harbor series. 

Hazel is about to turn thirty and realizes she hasn't done much with her life. When everyone else in their twenties partied, she spent her days cuddled up with a good book or running a bookstore. Now on the cusp of thirty, she wants to have an adventure. When she finds a couple of books that have been highlighted, she starts to wonder why this is happening. It's not until local fisherman Noah decides to help Hazel with her adventure and follow the clues left in the books that she realizes she can still have her adventure before she turns thirty and spends some time with a very attractive man. 

Last year, 'Pumpkin Spice Cafe' by Laurie Gilmore was massive on Booktok. I couldn't help but read it, so when I saw a sequel coming out, I had to get my hands on it. Hazel would be my best friend if she were real. I love reading about people who love books as much as her. Reading about her little adventures and how they followed the clues was so interesting. Noah is so sweet, and I enjoyed that he fell first. Often, when you read romance, the girl falls first, and that's fine, but it's nice when the guy falls first. The best part about the book is that the store owner changes the name occasionally, and everyone rolls with it. That's an interesting sales tactic.

This book was such a fun cozy read! While the first book will forever have my heart and be my favourite for the fall, Gilmore Girls vibes I felt was a bit lacking in the sequel, I still really enjoyed the story! Noah and Hazel are adorable together and I was really rooting for them the whole time. Now, please ma’am, I am begging - GIVE US ANNIE AND MAC!!!! The people need to know their story!

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was one of my favourite cosy reads of last year and I was so excited to be offered the chance to read the second book The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore early!

Still set in the idyllic coastal town of Dream Harbour, we follow Logan’s best friend and resident bookstore manager Hazel. With her 30th birthday fast approaching, Hazel has a slight quarter-life crisis and when strange clues keep showing up in the books on the store's shelves she sees it as a sign to be a little more adventurous. When the town's handsome and outgoing fisherman Noah offers to help her out with some of the activities suggested in the clues, Hazel throws caution to the wind and accepts his offer.

With her friends reassuring her that Noah is definitely interested in more than just being her adventure buddy Hazel is torn between having some no-strings fun with him or just keeping their friendship as it has always been. Noah is determined to show Hazel that she’s more fun than she gives herself credit for but will his complicated family history ruin it before it really starts?

I loved the summer vibes of this book and loved all the little adventures Hazel and Noah end up on together. The age gap between the two love interests was nice and I liked that Noah was more than happy to give Hazel confidence boosts despite his insecurities.

The story was okay, nothing too spectacular, I have read books with a very similar premise before. This was very chill and low-stakes though and will definitely find its audience.

It's been a few hours since I finished reading this and I still haven't cooled off.

If you love your cosy small town romance with an incredibly hot heat level and fabulous sex, then this is certainly the book for you.

This is just an all around fabulous book and it was great to be back in Dream Harbor again.

And getting to know Hazel and Noah a lot better was an absolute joy.

Add in a treasure hunt of sorts with clues being left in Hazels bookshop, and her longing to live out the last two months of her twenties, in more style than the previous 9 years and 10 months of them, she enlists the help of Noah.

Noah has a reputation for casual relationships and there is a whole lot more to him than initially meets the eyes.

Catching up with all of the Dreamtonians, in this delightful town, really made me smile and I loved Hazel's character development.

This was a sheer pleasure to read, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Things about this book I'm obsessed with, the cover, the cozy vibe, the quick comfort read it created. This is the perfect book to welcome in fall and curl up with on a rainy day. Hazel's quiet personality shared with her desire to experience more was absolutely wonderful, paired with Noah's energetic vibrancy and him falling first, this book is an absolute melt in the best way. The little tones of mystery in Hazel finding notes in her books around the store was just enough intrigue to push you into the book beyond Noah and Hazel. An absolute treat to read!

This book is so amazing! I loved Hazel and Noah as characters and enjoyed the banter between them.

After Hazel finds a book in her book shop that has been marked and highlighted with clues she enlists Noah to help her have a summer of fun and together they set out to have adventures. Hazel comes out of her shell and we see a lovely relationship blossom.

I loved that we were back with the other characters as well and I have to admit i have a soft spot for grumpy Mac lol!

Can't wait to see what we get next from this series and Laurie Gilmore!

I really really loved this book. Hazel the main character who is the book shop manager of ‘The cinnamon book store’ is stuck in her safe daily routines, but is looking for excitement. When she discovers a hilighted sentence in a book she’s selling she starts following the clues in these books to make her life more exciting . She then enlists her friend Noah to help her follow the clues and find the person behind it all. What she didn’t expect is to find love along the way.

This is a really good book to get you in the mood for autumn. I absolutely loved being back in dream harbour and meeting the characters again. I loved Hazel and Noah too! This is a sweet romcom.

I’m not one of those readers that annotates and highlights but I honestly couldn’t stop highlighting bits in this book. I was just so obsessed with it ok!

This story was about Hazel and Noah. Hazel has almost reached her 30th birthday and is wanting to spend it having some ‘fun’, in comes Noah who is a few years younger than her and promises to show her a ‘fun’ time.

They mainly together start to follow the clues that Hazel is being left in her book store. She’s finding that some books are out of position or the wrong way around and when she goes to fix it inside she finds clues then Hazel and Noah take it upon themselves to act out these clues together.

Not only is Noah eager to spend time with Hazel; he is a dashing fisher man, a known bad boy, reads books just to get chance to talk to Hazel, deep down a family man and an overall cutie.

This story did start in the summer season and build it’s way up to autumn and it was lovely to hear about some of the characters from the first book The Pumpkin Spice Cafe too 😍

P.S there was also quite a few references to A Curse of Blood and Wolves to which I asked the author to please stop teasing me but she said she couldn’t resist 😂

Though this book had a similar plot to the first book, it was still really enjoyable to read and loved the characters

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

The story is mainly about Hazel, she runs the book store and is feeling that her life isn’t like others is, she’s always looked upon as the one where others know what’s she always does, and never something different.

When she’s tidying the shelves of books, she comes across one with a message, what does Hazel do as she’s read it, ignore it or do as it says! She thinks that she’ll need someone to help her, and two she confides in Noah, a fisherman. He’s wanting to spend time with her.

They spend the summer together, having fun following the messages Hazel reads and getting to know one another.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you for my earc of this book. It is a great book to cosy up with and will be great for cool autumn nights

Book 2 in Dream Harbor!

Thank you to Netgalley and HC One More Chapter for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I love Hazel and Noah. Were Pumpkin was lacking a little bit, Cinnamon definitely made up for it.
Its sweet and cute and cosy and perfect for your september / october tbr!!
you might even still enjoy this if pumpkin was not your cup of coffee ;p
i find hazel to be a relatable character and i loved her and her sexy fisherman :)

A cozy, spicy summer read. Perfect for reading in the evening with a little fire going. Nothing really groundbreaking but isn't that exactly what you want in a cozy romance? Familiar and fun. Definitely recommend!

Hazel feels like she's just drifted through her life as she approaches her 30th birthday. During one of her shifts as a manager at the Cinnamon Bun Book Store, she notices a line highlighted in a misplaced romance book — a clue. Noah, her friend and the owner of the local fishing tour company offers to help her solve them. Soon, the quest turns into "Hazel and Noah's Summer of Fun" (HANSOF!).

The mystery at the center of "The Cinnamon Bun Book Store" is very low stakes. But that's what makes this small-town summer romance so warm and cozy. This book did a tremendous job filling in certain aspects lacking in "The Pumpkin Spice Café." The plot feels more thought out, as does the "mystery" at play. The spice also went up a notch and felt like an integral part of the storyline instead of a late addition. The characters are also more developed, especially if you've read the first book and are starting to know and love the residents of this small town.

However, our two main characters often needed more depth. They both felt very one-dimensional, with Noah frequently reduced to a flat stereotype and Hazel coming off as bland despite her quest to be anything but. That doesn't detract too much from the story, though, as one doesn't go into something like expecting something significantly profound.

I did have two nitpicky complaints. First, this story takes place at summer's middle and tail end. That's evident from the beach trips, boat outings, bonfires, etc. However, the cover still needs to get the memo. The cover design of this edition appears slightly altered to make it seem more autumnal. I imagine this was for marketing purposes, but it bothered me that it influenced the story.

Secondly, the setup for the next book was extremely heavy-handed to the point that it felt out of place. Don't get me wrong, I will 100% read the next one, but the desperate attempts to establish Jeanie’s brother Bennet felt almost like a poorly-timed product placement and took me out of the story.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was exactly what I was hoping for, it's sweet and spicy and a bit of fun. There's nothing unexpected, but in a good way, the journey to the ending we want is well written and a bit of light fun. What I was pleasantly surprised by was just how many green flags there were, in a world of books that glamorise toxic relationships this is different and I appreciate that spice can be written hand in hand with consent and a male hero that is one giant green flag. All in all a delightful read and a lovely little visit to Dream harbour.

I really enjoyed the Pumpkin Spice Cafe and was so excited when this got announced. Just as I thought it would be, it was a very cosy and easy read, perfect for lovers of the small town romance trope.

As a reader and book lover, I really enjoyed reading about Hazel and thought that her character felt really relatable. She felt like someone who could have been real as opposed to a book character which I always love to read. Her character growth was also really strong and I actually thought that the character development and arcs were much stronger in this book than the Pumpkin Spice Cafe.

Despite Hazel and Noah being total opposites, this story really did show that opposites attract. They had such good chemistry and their dialogue really helped us as readers fall in love with their relationship. I also really loved that the book was Dual POV as it really helped us dive into both characters, their feelings and their emotions.

The only thing that I didn’t really enjoy and is one of my pet peeves in a book is that there were quite a few moments of lack of communication which was very frustrating at times. I just wanted to reach through the book and force them together instead of them keeping their feelings to themselves and not talking to each other!

Laurie has a way of physically creating the towns she writes. Everything about Dream Harbor feels very realistic and I can really picture everything as I read. It’s super cosy and really love the found family aspects of the town residents. Everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone, it really feels like a big community.

Overall, I really loved this book and will continue to read Laurie’s other books as they get released. I hope she continues with this series because I’m really enjoying it and always feel you can connect to characters more through a series as opposed to standalone.

I read and loved the previous book in this series, so i couldn't wait to read this. It is such a cute but spicy read. I couldn't help but root for Hazel and Noah and I loved the 'adventure ' they went on for their happily ever after.

.This can be read as a standalone and I'm already looking forward to reading book 3

I absolutely loved this small town, cosy romantic and very steamy novel just as much as The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, even better we get to catch up with Jeanie and Logan and other locals.

This focuses on Hazel, who runs the book store and is fed up of being the predictable and stable one and gets excited when she she finds a secret message in a book, does she follow it, she will need help, look no further than the very attractive fisherman Noah, who needs no excuses to spend time with Hazel.
A lot of summer fun and frolics ensue, getting to know one another, inside and out!
I cried tears of sadness, happiness and had some laugh out loud moments.

Can not wait for the next instalment ❤️