Fake dating AND monster kissing?
Say less!
This was right up my street and I hit that request button sooo fast.
It ended up being even cuter than I could have hoped for.
I mean, there's a cutie teacup boar named Snuffles.
Really what more could you ask for?
Much love to NetGalley & Tantor Audio for my ALC.

The Orc and the Innkeeper is the first book in the Elderberry Falls series. It is a cute, cozy fantasy romance about a former bully who meets his high school crush again. He needs her help and she needs his help. Win/win-right? Listen to this fantastic audiobook for their story.
The narration by Rose Dioro and Jack Calihan was fabulous. Rose Dioro was perfect as Mariah. You could feel all of Mariah’s conflicting emotions through her voice. She brought out Mariah’s sass and spunkiness wonderfully.
Jack Calihan was brilliant as Thorak. He had a very strong, commanding alpha tone that suited Thorak to a tee. His rich, seductive voice was divine for the spicy scenes. I highly recommend listening.

Rating 4⭐
Spice 🌶️🌶️.5

ALC REVIEW

Okay, SO, I thought this was going to be a comfy cozy book you know like how the Cambric Creek Universe is (not the spin-off ones, the main ones)..... I WAS WRONG. It had A LOT more angst than I would have thought it would.

This is a fake dating scenario where the FMC needs money to save her inn and the MMC wants to get a deal going for his brewing company. But the catch? The MMC and FMC have history. They knew each other back in high school and low and behold (is that the right phrasing?) MMC has bullied FMC throughout their school years.


And you know, I actually like fake dating situations. The storyr was really good, and was getting better, UNTIL there was a record scratch. MISCOMMUNICATION TROPE. OH I'M NOT SORRY, ITS NOT MISCOMMUNICATION, BUT AN ASSUMPTION. I won't get spoiler what, BUT I ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT STAND IT. I almost DNFed it to be honest.

I really really, REALLY hate assumption tropes, especially when the MCs dont even bother to try to get to the source for confirmation. Like oh, you'll believe other people they have to say but you won't go to the person it's about?! ESPECIALLY IF YOU KNOW PEOPLE AROUND TOWN LIKE TO GOSSIP AND TALK CRAP?! I'm sorry, hell the fawk no.

Because of the scenario, MMC should have made FMC grovel and apoligze like she did to him in the beginning. Soooo yea. I overall liked it. It had very interesting bits about the orc's....body parts hehehehe.


I received and ALC through Netgallery. All my thoughts and opinions are true and honest.

This was cute! A small-town, monster romance that’s been on my TBR is coming to audio! The dual narration added so much to this story. I loved everyone in elderberry falls and can’t wait for the next one!

This was fun as a quick audiobook but I felt like a lot was missing as a story. This either needed to be a novella and edited down or been more fleshed out to be something to invest in.

Again, entertaining but not a lot of depth to the characters/plot.

Thank you yo Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. I attest that I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

The Orc & The Innkeeper
Cora Crane
Audiobook edition
4⭐️
4🌶️

The perfect mix of sweet & spicy

A cute cozy romance 🥰

➽─────────❥

Mariah & Thorak - what amazing characters! Mariah is a head strong no nonsense kinda girl with a soft, tender & extremely reserved side.

Thorak this big green Orc brute, who is reintroduced to Mariah while he is busy making his own way in his life trying so hard to break it into the human brewery industry.

Both have a troubled history together, one deeply wounded while the other is dying for forgiveness. Do they get their HAE? 👀

I found this audiobook so easy to listen to, the whole vibes were bubbly, cozy and cheerful. I loved the monster element with different monster characters popping up throughout. I want to live in Elderberry Falls 😭🥰

The Narrators were spot on! Every scene I felt immersed within Cora Crane’s world, their tones, demeanours and even the spicy scene made me feel like I was a fly on the wall - right there in the action!

I’m glad I’ve found Cora Crane’s books, I cannot wait to get stuck back into Elderberry falls. I never wanna leave!

❤️

The Orc and the Innkeeper is a stellar cozy fantasy romance; it's a short, spicy, and heart-warming read. The MC's are thrown into a fake engagement agreement that will benefit both of them. While Thorak, the MMC, bullied Mariah, the FMC, throughout high school, he did it from a place of protection (the only thing he could think of). The budding feelings that they both have towards each other grow until neither can ignore them, but that's when the real problems begin to pop up.

The world-building of Elderberry Falls is so magnificent that I could picture the whole town and the different species that live there, the characters (both main and side) are fleshed out, and it was fun to watch the interactions between everyone. The romance between our MC's was sweet and spicy, which is just the icing on top, in my opinion. But I feel like the prejudice they face is what really makes this book shine. Even with being fake-engaged, some people just don't like the fact of mixed-species relationships, and the way the author handled it was perfect.

I absolutely adored this book and will definitely be checking out the author's other books!

This was promised to be a super sweet monster romance and definitely delivered. Mariah, an innkeeper, and Thorak, an orc brewery owner, are former classmates from high school. The problem with this? Thorak is Mariah’s former childhood bully.

Now a changed man, Thorak is attempting to widen his brewery footprint and win over a big beverage distributor to bring his orc-made beer to the human communities. The only problem is that this distributor has some prejudice and bias against magical creatures and insists on there being a human involved in Thorak’s operation to help ease the potential business relationship. At the same time, Mariah is faced with a pixie problem at her inn that she can’t afford to fix… Thorak needs a human and Mariah needs funds to keep her inn running - so they propose a mutually beneficial fake engagement to solve both of their problems. I’m sure you can guess where the story heads next!

This was honestly a super cute story and delivered what was promised. While predictable and cheesy at times, I still enjoyed their story, their respective growth as characters, and the message about acceptance of all people.

I listened to this book on audio (shoutout to NetGalley + Tantor Audio for the free ALC!!) and really enjoyed the performance by the female narrator, Rose Dioro. Her voices were great and she did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I was less impressed with the male narrator, Jack Calihan, and felt his performance of Thorak was almost goofy at times. I do appreciate the effort to do a dual narration, though, as this is preferred by many readers when duet is not a feasible option. The chapters flowed seamlessly, breaks made sense, and overall the narration was smooth and enjoyable.

Super cute read and worth checking out if you love simple, cozy, monster romances! 💕

Thank you NetGalley, Publisher and Cora Crane for giving me this opportunity to review this e-audiobook arc. I’ve originally read this story on KU/ebook late 2024. I didn’t realise I had until I started listening to the audiobook and noticed that. The very first time I read the story I did not love the romance. While I have and do occasionally read bully romance. It’s not my favourite trope out there. However, the audiobook performance elevated the story.

I took my time listening and letting Mariah and Thorak relationship marinate. I personally preferred if the story could’ve taken more time to address the bullying issues from the past. I didn’t think the grovelling was enough. I don’t know if the audiobook was slightly different or if the book has been updated but it does feel different? Overall, I’m glad there was some character development on Thorak‘s end. Even though I wanted to throw a wrench at his head at times.

Side note I think Mariah got ripped off in the very beginning. How expensive could Pixie dust mites removal actually be? Why didn’t she ask around for a different quote or negotiate with a different dwarf?! Yes, this has been bugging me since the first time I read this book. Second time around really gnawed at my sanity lol (this is a me problem)

I enjoyed the girl narration but the guys was hard to follow and listen to. I also had a hard time following the story but maybe that is cause I am not use to audiobooks vs physically reading the book. It was a good story and plot overall. I will definitely give it a try again when I get back into audiobooks to see if I can connect with the story and characters better.

This one was a DNF around 60% for me. The spice was certainly there, but that’s pretty much it. I didn’t like or care about any of the characters or character development. I had such high hopes and I really tried. But this one wasn’t for me. The high spice girlies may love it!

(Advance Listening Copy (ALC) courtesy of NetGalley and Tantor Audio.)

I really enjoyed this fantasy romance read! It was a nice addition to the small, yet growing, collection of orcmances I've read.

The Orc and the Innkeeper sits in that cozy-adjacent space—spicy, but not spice for spice’s sake. The heat was paced well and didn’t overshadow the heart of the story.

The fake relationship trope can be hit or miss for me. Sometimes authors let the deception drag on or lean too hard into the cliché, but the author handled this one well. Even though we had one of those ‘outside-force misunderstandings’ (something that usually makes me cringe), it resolved quickly and actually served the story. It brought the focus back to the characters’ history and the real emotional stuff they still needed to work through. The fake relationship didn’t magically fix everything, and I appreciated that.

I really enjoyed the setting, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series! Fingers crossed that Robert, in all his awkward glory, gets his own love story at some point.

🎧 AUDIO-SPECIFIC:
The narration is solid, with dual voice actors. Mariah’s narrator is perfect for the role. Thorak’s voice felt like a bit of a mismatch, but it never pulled me out of the story. The pacing is good, the characters are distinct, and the overall performance fits the mood of the book.

TL;DR: Cozy-adjacent, spicy romance with satisfying tropes, solid emotion, and a world worth returning to.

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This was such a sweet and cozy orc monster romance. Honestly, it was the light-hearted book I needed today. I listened to the audiobook while following along on my Kindle and the experience was perfect.
I’m not usually a fan of bully romances, but this one really worked for me. Thorak was Mariah’s high school bully, and now they’ve ended up in a fake dating/engagement scheme. This forces him to not only face his feelings for her but also take accountability for how he treated her in the past.

Even though the story is light and fun, it touches on some heavier topics and handles them with care. I do wish Thorak had stood up to his parents a little earlier, but I was happy with where things ended. The whole vibe was very low angst, and now I absolutely want to visit Elderberry Falls.

🍂 What You Can Expect
• Former bully
• Enemies-to-lovers
• Fake fiancée
• Forced proximity
• He falls first
• Redemption arc
• Low angst
• Small town magical charm
• Orc brewmaster

✨ Favorite Quote
It’s a strange kind of magic, this: the power of sincere words spoken by someone you never thought capable of them.
____

📖 Final Score: 4.5 stars
🎧 Audio Score: 5 stars
🎧 Pub Date: June 24, 2025
Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love this book so much ! It gave such cute cottage, whimsical vide with a healthy splash of romance and spice, and tusks lol 😂

I had such a great time reading this , definitely going to be more inclined to read more like this x

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Mariah -- a human -- runs the local inn, but she's been having a pixie problem. Thorak is an orc who runs a very successful brewery, but when he tries to bĺranch out to selling in different markets, the investor mistakes him as the braun versus the brains behind the operation, expecting a human to be involved. Mariah, overhearing Thorak lie about having a human fiancé, makes a deal with him: she'll play the part of the fiancé if he pays for her pest problem to go away. Aside from that, she wants nothing to do with Thorak, considering the fact that he was her High School bully. But as the two of them work together to get this deal, and feelings get involved, Thorak will have to own up to the fact that he had feelings for Mariah for a very long time. Can she ever forgive him?

This is a really cute fake engagement, former bully romance. What I really liked about this is the characters: Mariah, who is a human, is spoken down to by most people in town because she's not a monster, and while she faces that prejudice everyday she still stands tall and does her best with her inn. And then you have Thorak who is very sweet, but because he's been put down for wanting to open a brewery, which is very much outside of the normal things an orc would do, he's become a lot more humble as he's gotten older, and seeing the two of them reconcile and get together was cute. The ex-fiance was annoying and, honestly, I'm glad that was settled quickly. One of the big issues tackled in this (besides bullying and how victims of bullying act later on in life) was the prejudice towards humans. And as much as I like the way it ended, I do feel like things with his parents were resolved just a little too quickly, though I do like that there's still some tension there but they love their son enough to try which is great to see. The plot was simple but entertaining. And the spice was nice. This was a cute, cozy little romance.

This was cozy and spicy! Mariah and Thorak’s story is ultimately a bit flawed but they make it to their HEA in the end! There were some cute moments and I really enjoyed the cozy fantasy town of Elderberry Falls.

Thorak was Mariah’s high school bully, but his justification is even more juvenile. It plays into that garbage cliche of “he’s being mean to you because he likes you!” I do think he turned his act around sufficiently but come on.. The theme of being accepting of those that are different than you is certainly important but felt a little heavy handed, with both Robert and Thorak’s parents having strong prejudices that they work to overcome.

I listened to the audio version of this and it was well done! I always enjoy multiple narrators for multiple POVs and both narrators did a great job of infusing emotion into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the audio ARC!

I enjoyed the magic and sparkle at the beginning/ middle of the book, but some where in the story you kind of forget that there in a magical land. Without that magical aspect of it, it just a story about an innkeepers doubts and trust issues. For the most part the story was cute, but overall something was off.
2.5 stars

This was such a cute story! I feel like it a bit short and the characters didn’t develop as much but it was cute for a short read. I give it a 3.5.

Overall I enjoyed this book and the premise, but it did fall a little flat for me. There were times I wanted to yell at them for how silly they were being. I enjoyed the cozy aspects of the book, but felt like there could have been more world building, like how is the monster world connected to the human world and how does someone travel back and forth? Also I felt like some of the issues didn't really get resolved in a completely healthy way.

The narrators did an OK job reading the book, for the most part I enjoyed them reading the book and I definitely think their reading of the book is what helped me actually finish the book, there were just some scenes where their voices did go a bit high when speaking in other side character voices that I didn't really like.

enjoyed this story, this was my first orc/human romance story and I think it was well done for a cosy romantasy.

I don’t necessarily enjoy bully stories, however, knowing the MMC’s thoughts and pov was really good in having more of an understanding of why he behaved that way towards the FMC as adolescents. To me that was redeeming enough to keep the character likeable.

I liked the characters, I enjoy a good fake engagement trope and I think it was well done in this story. It’s set in a world that is magical but has strong human ties.

I loved how the author dealt with prejudices with race (human vs orc) and the ending was soooo satisfying. This is an easy read that gives feel good vibes at the end.

The narrators were both great and I felt they did fit the characters well enough. The pacing was well done and easy to listen to.

I received this book as an ALC from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.