A cosy fantasy that's easy to read and brings a nice fake engagement trope along with a human/orc romance. I liked the premise of the story, and seeing how Mariah and Thorak had to move passed their bad high school interactions in order to work together to achieve a business opportunity for Thorak and save Mariah's inn from its financial troubles. It was interesting to see how prejudice was woven into this story, and the hope given that those who are prejudiced can be educated and change their perceptions. In terms of the romance, I didn't find it particularly well developed and it was a little cringey at times - I didn't feel any chemistry between these two so had to completely skip the spicy scenes which was a real shame as I thought the concept of this book was really promising but the romance didn't hit the mark for me.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

This was a perfect read/listen after the torment I’ve gone through with previous books. <i>The Orc and the Innkeeper</i> is an entertaining cozy fantasy, sugar and spice and everything nice! I ended up listening through the whole book in less than 3 days and had a great time.

I loved the setting of a small town where creatures and humans live together, fantastical whimsy mixing in with modern technology. Tropes such as fake engagement and both main characters being secretly down bad for each other are some that I absolutely love!

That being said, I felt like the whole issue of Thorak (MMC) being Maraiah’s (FMC) bully back when they were in school was brushed away too quickly. This stops me from giving it more stars.

At the same time though, I was surprised to see topics of familial expectations, nature vs nurture when it comes to prejudices etc, so that was definitely a plus!

Now excuse me while I go and put on some D&D tavern music...

<i>Thank you to Cora Cane, Tantor Audio and NetGalley for providing this ALC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

A sweet, spicy monster romance between an orc and the human he bullied in high school. Diving into the One Who Got Away trope, forgiveness kinks, and of course, interspecies romance. A quick, cozy, smutty read.

I love fake relationships but bully romances usually really don't work for me. I did find that this one worked slightly better for me—I think because it didn't dwell as much on the bullying as a lot of them do. That being said (spoilers ahead) because of the bullying past, I did need him to be the one to make the first move after the third act breakup—she was very justified in assuming the worst from him. But I did think it handled the bullying and the fantasy prejudice better than a lot of books do. I'd definitely read more in the series.
I also really liked the narration. I loved Rose Dioro's narration, and though I sometimes struggled a bit with how Jack Calihan voiced women (a common complaint of mine for many narrators, definitely not specific to him) I LOVED his voice overall.

This is exactly the kind of audiobook I needed after a long work week. This is such a cozy story, and I found myself relaxed immediately. Rose Diorro's voice is also very calming/soothing. Jack Calihan did an excellent job narrorating Thorak. His voice is like melted butter, and I hope to listen to more audiobooks with him narrorating in the future. The cover of this book is so well done and fits right into that cozy theme.

I enjoyed how the fake dating trope was done in this story. I like how things worked out for Mariah and Thorak helped her get rid of pixie dust mites. I could definitely understand how an orc could be mean because they don't know how to express their feelings. I liked how Mariah was so quick to help Thorak with his brewing business and tried to learn as much as she could. Thank you to Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and Cora Crane for an ARC of this audiobook. This review is my own honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ALC of the orc and the innkeeper.

This was a cute and cozy fantasy read. Or listen.
The fake dating was really well done, and both characters are kinda secretly obsessed with the other, which is what I love with this trope.

However, I’m not sure I’m a fan of the fact that He was one of her tormentors in high school. I get that she was the only human in a “magical” school but ?!? I know kids (and especially teenagers) are mean to anyone that doesn’t fit their standards but I still don’t understand why he’d torment her if he liked her or why she’d forgive him and fall in love with him. Or at least not as fast as it happened in the book.

Other than that, the spice and funny moments were really nice. It’s a great palette cleanser even though I don’t think I understand some stuff that happened.

This book is a cozy, spicy absolute delight. It is a book that fights prejudice shows us that people (or orcs) can change and fight back from how they were raised.
This story is a fake dating/ enemies(ish) to lovers romance with a lot of fun spice. It is a short story and quick read. It had a third act break up that has an unfortunate miscommunication trope i wish we couldve skipped but i enjoyed the rest of the story enough that it was not a deal breaker for me.
Thank you to netgalley for the audiobook of this book. I loved the narrators. It was done very well and brought the story to life and was a very enjoyable read.

What a cozy read! Thank you NetGalley, tantor audio (RB MEDIA) and Cora for the ALC of this story!

There's just something about an orc and a human relationship that gets me every time. I love a cute monster romance where they overcome every-time! Let's not forget a fake engagement along with the enemies to lovers plot! Our FMC is an inn keeper with magical elements happening around her and our broody MMC is a brewmaster. Guess what women don't forget what you did to them... even more so when you were an asshat to her in high school! Does he redeem himself? You'll have to read to find out more!

I was hoping for Legends and lattes style cozy fantasy, instead I got poorly built fantasy story with a lot of cringe.
This is a bully to fake dating trope that had some interesting ideas but all put together, it did not work very well.
Thank you #Netgalley for the audiobook in exchange for a honest review

3⭐️

This was a cute, short, and cozy fantasy romance. I listened to the audiobook and since this book is only a little over 270 pages the audiobook was about 5 hours. It was just one of those books to read in between other books with deeper plots.

First thing I’ll say is why do humans not have cool last names like Ironfist?? Um sign me up.

I really enjoyed the setting. I pictured a cozy little town full of monsters and humans but I think the FMC was the sole human in that town. The town was described to be a haven for all races including humans but literally no other human was mentioned.

I will say I’m a little torn on what to rate this because although I did enjoy it and thought both MCs were cute, this book could use a little improvement. Like completely nixing the word EXQUISITE from the author’s vocabulary. It was repetitively used in such a distracting way that I began to expect it and it started to just make me laugh. Which then brought me out of the scene multiple times.

I think I would have a different opinion of this book if I read it rather than listened to it. The narrators did a fantastic job. Specifically, Rose Dioro. I could definitely listen to other books narrated by her and I think she was a perfect choice for this book.

The Orc and the Innkeeper is a cozy monster romance, with a spunky human innkeeper x brooding orc brewmaster, and a fake engagement!

This is the first book in the Elderberry Falls series, where humans and magical beings co-exist. I had this one on my TBR and then when I got the audio ALC, it made me get to it sooner than later. This was an easy listen. It’s equal parts cozy fantasy but then spicy and delivers on monster romance vibes too. It wasn’t my favorite read ever but it was good, and I think it being audio helped me get through it quicker than I would have otherwise.

We follow Mariah, the human innkeeper, and Thorak, her high school bully and orc brewmaster. Thorak shows up for a business meeting in Mariah’s inn with a potential investor to his brewery. He desperately needs the meeting to go well and when he’s faltering in the meeting, he claims Mariah is his fiancée (since she’s a human and that helped sway the investor). Thorak sees the fake relationship as a way to make amends for how horribly he treated her in the past, while Mariah needs someone to pay to have mites removed from her inn. His reasons for bullying her in the past weren’t great, but when is bullying ever great? Not sure that whole aspect to their relationship was needed, as it wasn’t my fav in the story, but it is what it is. I think if that was removed and the story was even shorter it would have worked better for me. So I liked this one enough, but nothing I loved. I believe this was a debut from the author so I might check more out in the future.

I received an audio ALC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

I don't read a ton of monster romances so I thought I'd give this one a go. Unfortunately, this is not the book to make me love the genre.
In regards to the narrators of this book, they were fine. Nothing that enhanced the story but I don't really think that it's their fault.

Things I liked about this book:
I really appreciated the mixing of species and I was interested in the town and all the secondary characters.
I liked how they openly discussed the struggles that each species had with each other due to history and how they were working on being together.

Things I didn't like:
Normally I hate pages of world building but I really thought the premise was so interesting, I would have liked to know about how their town worked especially since this appears to be first in the series.
The writing wasn't great. The pacing was off and some of the lines were super cringey.
Despite having major trust issues they loved each and were all in after zero time? Their relationship seemingly happened all off the page, which I guess is cool if you weren't writing a rom com?
I did not get Thorak apologizing constantly while eating her out? That was really weird to me.

The book was short enough to finish but it was lacking substance.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for an ARC of this audiobook.

This was just so fun and cozy, our MC Thorak bullied her relentlessly in high school but now he’s a passionate brewery owner with a love for his craft and his eyes, and heart, set on her. Mariah, our FMC is a strong, independent innkeeper who’s not sure if she can trust the guy who once made her life miserable, even if he is now very tall, very sorry, and very into her.

The vibes were warm, spicy, and full of small town fantasy charm. The audiobook narration brought it all to life with a touch of magic and a lot of heart. And Rose Dioro and Jack Calihan did an amazing job narrating this one!

Well, this was a...book. I don't even know what to call it - a contemporary fantasy bully romance? I guess... it's certainly not cozy. It's a bare-bones story with little to no character development or world-building. I would have liked to know how the world worked. There's magic, cell phones, and high exterminator bills. How do they fit together? Who knows. The first book in a series should lay the groundwork on the ins and outs of a new world for the readers.

The romance was completely undeveloped and boring with much of it happening off page. This honestly felt like a novella set in between other books. There's just not much here and what is here just isn't compelling or fun. I already have a hard time with "bully romance", adults thinking that much about high school is silly. The forgiveness wasn't earned. The love came out of nowhere. The spicy wasn't even fun. Overall really underwhelming.

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook

Minor spoilers in the bottom of this review!
The orc and the innkeeper is a cozy monster romance set in the magical town called Elderberry Falls. The book has double POV’s and we follow the human Mariah and the orc Thorak. This book has tropes like bully to romance, fake engagement and he falls first.

If you like Legends & Lattes or the «Falling for fables» series this book might be for you! It is the first book in a interconnected series.
I would say this is a fantasy romance book with low stakes, cozy vibes and some spice.

Mariah is the owner of The Moonflower in. Due to some damage by pixie dust the inn is in need of big renovations that Mariah cannot afford. At the same time Thorak is getting himself in a situation where he is in need of a human fiancée to get investors for his ale production. They quickly find out that they can help each other despite their past from high school.

I thought this book was okay! I liked that it had some focus on getting monsters and humans to accept and respect each other. The love story was okay, but the bully to romance trope is probably not my favourite in general. Thorak is in love with Mariah in High School. In spite of this he chooses to bully her badly just to keep up appearances as a though guy. Mariah has had a hard time for many years because of this bullying, and it feels a little unrealistic to me that she would fall in love with Thorak. Besides that fact the romance was simple and cute. I would not mind reading the other books in this series, and the audiobook was a cozy time to listen to!

This is a quick audiobook but so good. This monster romance buddies bullying and prejudices, fake dating and more. You won't be bored for sure!

4 stars!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Tantor Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this audio ARC.

A monster romance is exactly what I needed 😌 This was a quick, cozy and low stakes read.

The couple has to overcome some prejudices from his family about the inter species relationship that is rooted from their traumatic past. This brought an interesting element to the story.

The little bit of spice that was in this was delicious. The consent, the begging, and grovelling. Hot, hot, hot!

Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Former bully romance
- Fake engagement
- Miscommunication
- Human x Orc

Adorable and sweet short audiobook. Some past angst meets present attraction where actions are explained more clearly. Loved the MMC and the FMC and how their relationship grows in the story. Enjoyed both narrators as well!

This book waa very cute and cozy, but I feel like he could have groveling a bit more for his teen bullying, it was pretty rough and she forgave him so easily. The town was adorable and I could definitely see myself reading more in this universe

This story was a quick fun cozy monster romance. This simple but entertaining story was a great palette cleanser for me. I really enjoyed the audio as well. Both narrators really helped add another dimension to the story. This is a good book to pick up if you are looking for something predictable but satisfying and the spicy scenes were a lot of fun. I plan to continue the series after reading this one because they were so enjoyable.