44 pages • 1 hour read
Laurie GilmoreThe Cinnamon Bun Book Store
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Hazel Kelly
Hazel Kelly is one of the dual protagonists of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store and the manager of the titular establishment. Hazel moved to Dream Harbor as a teenager with her biological mother and her two fathers, Pete and Frank, with whom she lived in one house. Her father Pete quickly fell in love with the town and the people in it and was elected mayor. Though Hazel felt like somewhat of an outcast during her early years in Dream Harbor, she quickly made friends with Logan and Annie, who helped her learn the ways of the small, close-knit community.
At 15, Hazel got a job at the local bookstore, which has changed names several times over the years and, at the time of the novel, is called The Cinnamon Bun Book Store. However, in the nearly 15 years she has worked there, Hazel feels as if her life hasn’t changed at all. This fact particularly bothers her as she nears her 30th birthday at the beginning of the novel. Hazel’s twenties were mostly spent doing the same things at the bookstore, and she begins to regret never having any wild adventures in her youth. Hazel has always stayed close to home and maintained the same friend group, rarely venturing outside of her comfort zone. She has had a few serious romantic relationships but mostly found them unsatisfying and somewhat boring.
Though she has long felt at home in Dream Harbor, she also still wonders if people look at her differently because she is not a town native. Hazel fears others look down upon her serious manner and introverted ways as well, as she would rather stay inside reading a book than go out to a party. Though this never really bothered her before the beginning of the novel, as her 30th birthday approaches, Hazel starts to feel insecure and wonders whether she has done enough with her life. Friends like Annie occasionally tease Hazel about her safe, seemingly boring life, increasing her self-doubt. When she discovers that someone is leaving her clues to encourage her to go on an adventure, she considers changing her personality and lifestyle to become the person she thinks others want her to be.
However, once she begins her summer of adventure with Noah by her side, Hazel’s confidence starts to grow. Hazel ultimately discovers that she can indeed be fun and adventurous, but that she doesn’t need to change her introverted and bookish ways to do so. Hazel becomes content with who she is as a person, knowing she does not need to compromise her lifestyle or personality to deserve love. Hazel is a dynamic character in that she comes to realize that she does not need to fit in with others to be happy.
Noah Barnett
Noah Barnett is the other protagonist of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store. Like Hazel, he didn’t grow up in Dream Harbor and occasionally views himself as an outsider in the town. His family’s small fishing business grew during Noah’s youth, and by the time he became an adult, he was expected to be part of it. While his two older sisters Rachel and Kristen took over the business after their parents retired, Noah knew that life wasn’t meant for him. Though he dropped out of high school early to join the business, after a few years of unsatisfying work he took one of his father’s boats and left town.
Noah’s relationship with his family became strained after that, especially because his father led him to believe that nothing would become of him if he kept taking the easy way out. Because of this tension, Noah doesn’t return to see his family, especially his parents, in the years after he leaves town. Instead, he starts his own fishing business, taking customers out on the water and teaching them to fish, and he spends a few years moving from one town to another before landing in Dream Harbor. Unlike the towns where he had only stayed a few months at a time, Noah feels there is something special about Dream Harbor and decides to stay.
During his first few months in Dream Harbor, Noah lived on his boat, but he eventually came across a handful of old cottages in the harbor that fishermen used to occupy a century earlier. Noah secretly restores one of them and has the idea that he can do the same for others and turn them into vacation rentals. However, Noah is extremely insecure about his own abilities, especially due to his relationship with his father. Despite the promising idea, Noah tells no one about the cottages and gets an apartment in town above the local bar, only returning to his cottage when he wants to be alone.
Noah’s insecurities also lead him to believe he is incapable of having a serious relationship. Though he has brief relationships with tourists and people who aren’t staying long in Dream Harbor, he has a long-standing, crush on the local bookstore manager. Viewing himself as unworthy of her, he keeps his crush to himself. Noah’s friends see that he is interested in Hazel, but they believe it would be a bad match, knowing of Noah’s proclivity for casual relationships. Yet when Noah begins a romantic relationship with Hazel, he quickly learns he wants something more serious.
Hazel encourages Noah to overcome his insecurities, pushing him to follow his idea for the cottages and to reconnect with his family. When he learns that his sister is having complications with her pregnancy, Noah returns home to help his family and learns that they only want the best for him. Ultimately, Noah is a dynamic character who learns that he is the only one who is holding him back. With the support of Hazel in particular, Noah recognizes that he doesn’t have to prove himself worthy of anyone but himself.
Annie, Logan, and Jeanie
Hazel and Noah’s friends make up a significant support group for the couple while also representing many of the broader traits of the town. Logan and Annie are Dream Harbor natives who have been friends and neighbors since they were children. While Logan is known around town as an introvert who avoids social situations, Annie is quite the opposite and is always ready to involve herself in town business. They adopted Hazel as the third member of their friend group when she moved to Dream Harbor, and the three have been inseparable ever since. Jeanie is the newest addition to the Dream Harbor community. She took over the coffee shop next to The Cinnamon Bun Book Store and two doors down from Annie’s bakery, and the three women often go back and forth between the others’ businesses to hang out and discuss town gossip. Jeanie’s bubbly personality contrasts with Logan’s, and the beginning of their relationship is chronicled in the first book in the Dream Harbor series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, while Annie’s romance with the local bar owner is detailed in The Ginger Bread Bakery.
Annie, Logan, and Jeanie, among other friends and neighbors, influence the way Noah and Hazel’s relationship develops and is perceived by the community. Though the town of Dream Harbor is known for its interest in gossip, Hazel and Noah’s close friends are even more interested in intruding into their relationship. These three often warn them against starting a relationship, knowing Noah’s history of casual relationships and Hazel’s interest in more serious ones. These friends often underestimate Noah and Hazel, reducing them to some of the stereotypes both are afraid of representing. Annie often teases Hazel about being what she calls an “inside cat” and will joke about her not wanting to leave her comfort zone. Meanwhile, Jeanie and Logan underestimate Noah’s capacity for romantic feelings, trying to persuade him not to break Hazel’s heart. These friends care for Hazel and Noah deeply, but they also share the same fears that the protagonists have about their ability to carry out a romantic relationship.
The Barnetts
Though Noah’s family is not particularly involved in the action of the novel, they play a big part in influencing Noah and his decisions. After the Barnetts’ small fishing business grew dramatically, the lives of their children changed. Noah’s parents expected all their children to remain involved with the growing business. For Noah, this meant a transition from fishing on his father’s boat to managing the tedious business side of the operation. His older sisters Rachel and Kristen had an interest in running the business, so they became CEO and CFO of the company when their parents retired.
Noah’s absence caused a strain on the family, and for years he believed that they were disappointed in him. Near the end of the novel, after some difficult conversations, Noah realizes that his family misses him and wants him to be happy. His sisters have both had children in his absence, Ivy and Cece, whom Noah has met in person only once. Noah’s relationship with his father is the most strained, as he believes his father’s disappointment in him is what keeps him from his family. However, throughout the novel, Noah begins to understand that it is his own disappointment in himself that is holding him back. He wants to prove he is a capable person before returning home, but all his family wants is to know he is okay. Toward the end of the novel, Noah repairs his relationship with his family, going back home for a few weeks to help them out as Rachel undergoes a difficult pregnancy. In the epilogue of the novel, he and Hazel have plans to visit the Barnetts again after several recent visits to see Noah’s new nephew.
