Book Review: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

*Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Read my review of the fist book in the series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe.

The second instalment, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, takes readers back to the beloved town of Dream Harbour and follows bookseller Hazel and fisherman Noah in a treasure seeking adventure – but what these two don’t know is the treasure they’re seeking doesn’t always come in a glittering gold treasure chest. Hazel is soon to turn 30 and she is stuck, but when a mystery book defacer sprinkles a trail of breadcrumbs she enlists the help of Noah to discover the clues and have the best summer of her 20s!

Hazel perceives herself as boring and lacks adventure, but what readers actually see is a character who is content with their life but doesn’t realise they have everything they need, such as friends, a job they love but needs a little push outside of her comfort zone. Noah is just the person to do that, he is younger than Hazel at 25 but offers her a new way of looking at herself and life. Noah has his own struggles with his family and what other people think of him from leaving the family business to becoming a mystery man in Dream Harbour. He doesn’t know what he wants in life aside from the freedom that being on a boat gives him. Through Hazel’s support, he soon finds a place in Dream Harbour within their odd community. They both grow as characters and discover parts of themselves that was previously hidden.

This is an unputdownable book that I devoured within days. The pacing and plot is perfect with the right amount of spice – albeit may not be to every reader’s taste. I think with romance books there is thin line between crude writing and carefully narrating a scene, which in my opinion was done right in this book. The Cinnamon Bun Book Store has all the elements that the author got so right in the first book and continued to develop this town of interesting personalities. Both Hazel and Noah grow as characters and help each other to find their way in life. Laurie Gilmore creates enough mystery to hook readers and then swoops them off their feet with a cute romance between Hazel and Noah. Dream Harbour is not short of a vibrant and hilarious cast of characters to help breathe life into the already charming town. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’d love to be a fly on the wall in those book club meetings! I liked the inclusion of Jeanie and Logan from the first book and how they interact with Noah and Hazel that draws previously familiar faces back into the narrative without taking the spotlight away from Hazel and Noah. I liked Hazel and Logan’s friendship that wasn’t as present in the first book, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, and this gives depth to Logan aside from his relationship with Jeanie.

Overall this is a charming, cute and easy to read romance that fans of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe will enjoy.

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Amy is a writer and reviewer and is currently writing and editing her debut fantasy novel that is Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Mummy meets Bridgerton, with a dash of humour. She hopes to pitch to literary agents and publishers shortly. For more content click here to read book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey. 

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