The Cinnamon Bun Book Store | Laurie Gilmore

"she liked her bookstore. she liked cups of chamomile tea and rainy days and the Sunday morning crossword puzzle. she liked her quiet life."

    First off, based on the cover and the title, I expected a cozy fall read. But, that lovely tree with autumn leaves is very misleading , as the title was changed from 'The Bluebell Bookstore' and doesn't even take place in autumn but in summer. And I must admit, it immediately lost points because of this marketing gimmick.

    This installment of the Dream Harbor series focuses on two familiar characters - Hazel and Noah. Hazel works in the titular bookstore and is surrounded by amazing stories, books filled with love and adventure and life. But Hazel felt personally stuck and unfulfilled. When the realisation that she is turning 30 in 2 months coincides with finding little clues scattered in the bookstore where a certain page was annotated or dog eared on a romance novel, Hazel throws herself into a mystery of uncovering clues left for her in books.

    These little clues are like saying that she need some adventures in her straight laced, serious life. Hazel then recruit the help of Noah, the man who seems too gorgeous to be true and maybe or maybe not have hots on her, and who just so happens to be up for an adventure.

    Hazel is the classic quiet bookworm, while Noah is the guy who gets arounds and is a social butterfly—a total odd couple, but that just makes it even better when he falls for her first.

    This cozy late summer read is told from both their POVs. I loved Hazel and could definitely relate to her character, especially the age and the feeling of not having done anything. Noah was also a great addition to this storyline as she definitely needed someone to help her on her way to loosening up a bit. He was more than happy to help with the adventuring, but found himself also doing and feeling new things…

    I really liked how she was content where she was and ultimately learned that she didn’t need to change who she was in order for people to think she was fun! She was all along. I adored her. I liked how she felt like a real person with a real life. She had anxieties of her own and needed to get out of her shell and was hesitant at first but she was brave in the end.