Kimberly Lemming’s That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (Orbit 2024, previously self-published in 2021) is not my usual read. (A huge thanks to the publisher for sending it to me.) It’s absolutely ridiculous and outrageous – and everything it sets out to be. It’s not the type of book that’s for me (I’ve said before I really don’t care for fantasy romance) but if you like your fantasies on the spicier side with characters that remind you of folks you know (minus the whole being a demon thing), it’s definitely worth a read.
Cinnamon is a spice farmer. Her world is pretty limited, but she’s perfectly okay with it. She wants a simple life. Good food. Good beer. Maybe a cat. All that changes when, as the title suggests, she gets drunk and saves a demon. Turns out, there’s been a huge misunderstanding and the goddess they worship is actually a witch who creates a madness in demons. The cure for madness is, of course, cinnamon. And of course, the demon she saves is wicked hot.
Fallon, the demon, convinces her (using charming threats) to assist him on a quest to destroy the witch’s chalice, which holds her magic. Turns out there’s more than one. (Think horcrux!) Cinnamon teaches him about crawfish boils and how to properly season his food. He gets beside himself smitten when she’s bathing and just casually kills an alligator for their dinner. It’s the perfect match.
Add some various debauchery, the burning of a city, the stealing of a ship, the gathering of a band of mostly demon followers, and a lot of sexual tension and TA-DA – that about sums it up.
This book is 100% not for everyone. But if these types of reads are your jam, definitely check out Lemming’s Mead Mishaps series.
A Girl Named Tommi 