I read the first book in this series when it was the book club’s pick of the month for October last year. I enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to going back to Dream Harbor, but this book just didn’t live up to the expectations.  

This book has two points of view. The first is Hazel and when a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore where she works, Hazel can’t understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decided to follow the trail of clues, she just needs someone to help her out. The second point of view is Noah, and he is a gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, so he is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. But what sounds more fun is hanging out with Hazel, the girl he has been liking since he got to this small town. Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells.  

I still enjoyed the small-town vibes during this book and how everyone knows what the hell is going on with them besides Hazel and Noah and they are all just waiting for them to stop hiding. I always enjoy dual POV within a romance book, I think it makes it 1000% better. This book was an easy read, so it didn’t require a lot of brain power at all which I liked especially as I read multiple books at a time. I also preferred the side characters in this book rather than the main characters. I loved Annie and Alex and how they were all for Hazel having an adventure compared to being “boring” though there was nothing wrong with Hazel throughout this book. I enjoyed the mystery behind the book and even though we all thought it was Noah, it was a bit funny to see it being someone else especially when the whole town came together for her. I did still enjoy the found family aspect especially with the girls going rooting for Hazel but also wanting to look after her.  

One of the worse things in books is the miscommunication trope which is literally the underlying theme in this book. Hazel thinks she is too old for Noah and that he is leaving so they can’t be too serious with each other. Noah thinks he isn’t good enough for Hazel because he has all this trauma from running away from home. They both wanted to take it a step further but then they would say things like yeah, we are keeping it casual anyway, but then having sex in the kitchen, on the boat, in. Cupboard like Christ you two are basically two horny teenagers. Hazel is also questioning life because a man is being kind to her, and she’s not had a relationship in a while. Again, the standard is on the floor. Like Noah gave her his hoodie and suddenly, she’s thinking whether it’s still a casual thing. I also felt like it wasn’t autumny enough like the previous book, it was more based on summer and then a few mentions of Thanksgiving towards the end. I was wanting the coziness and felt like I was under a blanket and the vibes were just missing. Hopefully with the next book being around Christmas, the vibes will be on point.  

I really want to know more about Annie and Mac, and I know the next book isn’t going to be about it because it’s about the Christmas Tree Farm, but I was giggling at those two and again everyone knows something is going on but just kept quiet.