That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one was fun! Another book recommended to me by my friend, this one was pitched to me as something spicy and funny, and it was definitely both of those things. I still don't think I'm really a fan of romance or romantasy novels - that's absolutely a me thing that has nothing to do with this book in particular - but despite that I had a really good time with this.
I think the thing that really kept me on board here was the tone; everything was really lighthearted the whole way through, and that kept me from getting tonal whiplash whenever the focus of the novel shifted away from adventure and towards the relationship of the two leads. My biggest complaint with Fourth Wing (the other romantasy novel I've read this year) was that its tone was too all over the place for me; scenes would set up life-or-death stakes about war and surviving a cutthroat war college before being throttled off-track so that the main character could ogle her love interest. But Fourth Wing this novel is not. No, this book has a fantastic sense of tone, and I appreciated that things managed to feel light and fun in even the most dire of scenes. Maybe that will be a dealbreaker for some people, but I appreciated how coherent it all felt. Because no matter what is going on in the adventure of the story, this is still ultimately a steamy romance novel, so all scenes eventually feed into building towards those moments. This book knows what it is, and it isn't trying to be something it's not. If I can compare this to yet another book, I would also say that it reminds me of Legends and Lattes in the way that everything feels very cozy fantasy in its found family elements, while having a more interesting adventure to keep me engaged.
And on its own merits, the characters and worldbuilding in this book were really enjoyable as well. I found it a little confusing at first how this world used "demon" as an umbrella term for any non-human beings, but I caught on eventually. And when I did, I thought it was fun meeting such a colorful cast of characters. It can't go unsaid that the main character is really fun as well. She's one of those "reject the call to action" kind of heroes, but she does so without sacrificing her agency. No, Cinnamon is a badass who absolutely can hold her own, she would just prefer to live a quiet life on her spice farm if she has any say over the matter. We love to see it.
Overall, I think this book was really fun for what it is. I'm personally not a huge fan of romance novels, but I still found myself having a fun time with it. The adventure was engaging, the characters were likeable, and the pacing was fast. I really do think you could finish this book in a day if you set aside an afternoon for it, and that's coming from someone who is a notoriously slow reader. If you're looking for something cozy, silly, and steamy all at once, look no further than here. I don't really have plans to read any more romantasy novels moving forwards, but I'd make an exception for Kimberly Lemming.
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