Cinnamon Bun was something that I ended up reading after having spoken to RavensDagger as part of ... a panel, I think? Some kind of podcast thing?

I cruised through it, and thought that it was probably not for me, but it was pleasant enough to read while I was reading it. I was going to say that it's uncomplicated, but maybe that's not quite it. It's one note, maybe? It's a good note, and it hits it well, but there were times I was just begging for us to swerve off the cuteness highway and into a field of corn.

One of the things I believe in strongly, when it comes to media analysis, is that you should meet a work on its own goals. You have to meet the slasher movie as a slasher movie. You can't have a steak dinner and say "that should have been a salad instead", unless you're very clear that this is about personal preference rather than a failure of craft.

So if this is the thing you're looking for is a cute, comfy, litRPG thing that keeps the stakes pretty low and never really surprises you, then yeah, I think it's a good option. I'm not well read in cozy fantasy, and Cinnamon Bun is a noncentral example, but if you want this kind of sweetness, yeah, this is for you.

And the thing about me is, this is almost never something that I want. If I'm reading something cozy, I want complexity and depth, conflicts and ideology, something that I'm rewarded for reading slowly. With Cinnamon Bun, I felt like the way to read it was, uh, "vibe reading", not skimming the text, but going fast, not worrying too much about whether there was some nuance I was missing.

One of the main things to recommend it, IMO, is that it's a litRPG that's deliberately doing a thing that most litRPGs aren't doing, exploring this alternate space of litRPGs in a way that ends up being fresh because it's so underrepresented. I think I would have just preferred to have stopped earlier on in reading it, if what I was getting out of it was mainly that. It was a nice book to sit down to with a cup of tea, and I binged it, which probably didn't help how it landed on my palate.

And the conversations of Gomorrah and Stray Cat trying to figure out how to blow up more things is hilarious.

S: ugh can’t blow it up, under the city…

G: sooo explode buildings?

S: everything is too fragile

G: really hot then?

S: hmmm…. Explode just a little

G: good good with fire, possibly?

S: mmhm mmhm that’s good. Good sound yes

G: explosions it is then!

And the longer Gomorrah and Stray Cat work together the more I feel they’re devolving into explosion junkie frat boys like

*looking into over grown hive with tons of monsters*

SC: bomb?

Gom: with lots of fire?

And they just softly chant “blow sh*t up blow sh*t up” just getting louder and louder the safer distance they get

And the mention of the character’s name at the beginning of each chapter makes me think the character will die or attention will move from her and it worries me…

Very sweet and wholesome, a nice introduction to those who are curious about the Literature RPG subgenre of Progression Fantasy.

The MC, Broccoli Bunch, gets isekai’d into another world where she’s given the class “Cinnamon Bun” which is most assuredly NOT a fighting class. But that suits her just fine as she’d rather make friends with everyone she meets, including the reanimated skeleton downstairs.

While there are Video Game like aspects to it that you might come to expect out of the LitRPG genre, it’s not too overbearing with stats and the like. The skills Broccoli gains during her adventures are put to use in interesting ways that keeps the story light and fun.

Definitely more of a Slice of Life/Adventure versus Action Adventure.

Be warned: MC can be a bit sugary sweet so watch out for cavities while reading!