Member Reviews

Really enjoyed this, nice easy read! It would be perfect for snuggling up with on a colder night wrapped up.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

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I adored this book so much. It was the perfect autumnal read. I’m already so excited for the next book!
It was such a feel good book exactly what you need to read curled up inside on a rainy day.
What’s not to love with a grumpy x sunshine small down romance with a touch of spice!

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In The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, Jeanie moves to the cute, small town of Dream Harbor to take over her aunt's coffee shop. Jeanie meets Logan, a sexy farmer and kind spirit who also happens to be nursing a broken heart. As she works hard to get the hang of successfully running the one coffee shop in town, Jeanie's nights are plagued by strange noises and vandalism, and Logan steps in to help solve the mystery.

The perfect small town, Autumn romance/cozy mystery, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe has everything I need to feel the Fall spirit: pumpkin spice, coffee and pastries, a costume contest, a book club, and, of course, the sexy farmer who smells like woodsmoke and falling leaves. Throw in a cat named Casper and chickens named after pop stars, and this book is near-perfection. The romance turns out to have a lot of spice, while the mystery is very mild, but the real charm of this book is the perfect small town vibe. I hope this will be the first of many Dream Harbor books.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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You can't beat the name of the Pumkin Spice Cafe for full on Fall vibes and this book is full of Fall vibes let me reassure you . With pumpkin deliveries to the cafe to a Fall festival and delicious sounding Fall baked goods to warm and divine drinks to sip what more could you possibly want?
New owner of the Pumpkin Spice Cafe, Jeanie feels in a little over her head after her aunt gifts her the Pumpkin Spice Cafe in Dream Harbor. The town's folks including her aunt have known each other since the beginning of time and have each other's back on everything. When Jeannie meets the cafe delivery man, Logan who is a local farmer she finds herself falling for him. The town's folks make sure she knows she'll be in for it if she breaks his heart. The story is so warm and welcoming, I really loved it. There's a bit of a mystery going when Jeannie hears strange sounds outside of the cafe door at night because she lives upstairs of the cafe. Is someone out to get her? What is going on? We can't forget about the cafe cat Casper; he was a sweet addition. From a psychic mayor to the town's folks all having Logan's best interest she knows she had better be on her best behavior. I know Jeannie is just what Logan needed to bring happiness into his life in this grumpy/sunshine romance that made me smile.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

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I actually really loved this book, just like its title it gave all the cosy feels. I felt a little like we could have had a more rounded character in Jeanie, she felt a little one-dimensional, I know this is a romance and we all know exactly where it's going but I kinda wanted more about/from her character. Logan was sweet and his hang-ups were understandable but his problem with the town knowing all his business and how quickly his opinion on that changed felt too quick.
Despite those things, I did really love the book, the writing style flowed really well and it was an easy comfortable read. It definitely gives you the cosy autumn vibes that you'd want from this kind of book. I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of the series.

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I enjoyed The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. It was an easy read and the story flowed fairly well and a decent pace - there were a few times it was a little slower but overall a good easy read. Storyline was predictable but if you’re looking for a cute, small town romance then you’ll enjoy this.

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If you love Gilmore girls, you’ll love this book! It’s a super relaxed, cozy, sweet book with such fall vibes! Would absolutely recommend!

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Super cozy romance. Had Gilmore girl vibes and I love anything that gives me that! Will definitely be one I come back to again in Autumn

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This had all the elements I’d want from a cosy romance, but for me it didn’t really work. It started off with the perfect Gilmore Girls vibes, but then very little happened, and relationships seemed to grow out of nowhere. I had really high hopes, but I won’t be returning to further books if this becomes a series.

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I am obsessed with this book and with this author now! I have found a new auto-buy author after reading this. It was like having Gilmore Girls in written form. I loved Jeanie and Logan and Dream Harbour. Just the perfect small-town Autumn romance that every girl should read.

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PUMPKIN SPICE CAFE - Laurie Gilmore

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯…

⭐️ | 3/5
📖 | 267 pages
📆 | 8/30/2023
📨 | publisher: One More Chapter
🖇️ | swipe for synopsis 👉🏻

This was a super cute Gilmore Girls meets cozy mystery with a cute cat named Casper and some quirky characters. I love the fall vibes in any setting, they’re just super comforting and provide a sense of warmth.

I connected with the small town, found family vibes! What’s not to love when a town has a small little cafe where all the locals go to unwind (READ: Luke’s Diner). I really would have loved more of the mystery or more of a build with the romance however. I’m looking forward to the next in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy!

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I DNF”d this book 37% in. I unfortunately couldn’t get into this story or the writing. I’d be happy to give this another try in the future but this time around it didn’t hit the mark for me.

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I do love autumn and this cover completely drew me in. To be honest, I was expecting a cosy mystery type of story but instead, this was a sweet romance with few ambiguities.

You can’t deny the sweetness of this predictable tale. I liked the simplicity of it; I feel like I have read quite a few twisty, complex novels recently. It is not challenging to the mind and I think this is great if you need a break from the chaos that life brings! Dream Harbor sounds like, well, a dream to live in and I loved that there is only one of everything: one coffee shop, one bakery, one bookshop etc. I think you struggle these days to not find a place that has a “coffee shop corner” and several rival businesses! However, with such a small town, it does mean that everyone in the community knows everyone else’s business – which Logan and Jeanie come to suffer from.

Jeanie feels the pressure of taking over her aunt’s coffee shop and knows that eyes are on her. She feels like an outsider and believes she needs to alter some of her personality and behaviour in order to fit in. Thankfully, this doesn’t go too far into the extreme and the “New Jeanie” that readers are presented with is far less stressed, not so highly strung and more of a joy to be around. When she sets eyes on the local farmer, Logan, her heart goes a-racing and this is the start of the ‘will they? Won’t they?’ romance.

Logan: the orphan farmer of the town. His grandparents have raised him and it is like all grown adults have adopted him out of sympathy. A very public proposal left Logan heartbroken and determined to protect his emotions at all costs. This is all well and good until he meets Jeanie. It is attraction at first sight. Jeanie cannot deny his good looks, his rippling body and seems to have a fascination with his flannel shirts. It is like the stereotypical, American farmer uniform!

Whilst the romance is predictable (and quite steamy in places), I most of all enjoyed the community of Dream Harbor. It is a stereotypical American town by the sea and I could vividly picture the autumnal colours as leaves begin to fall and pumpkins come into harvest. It is everything that I love about this time of year and I think this is why I enjoyed the story so much.

With other characters in the background, I think I can foresee what other books in the series might bring. It will be good to revisit Jeanie and Logan to see how their relationship is doing and the café as well, but I think it is clear that some of the emerging couples in this book will dominate future stories.

The “mystery” in this story is incredibly obvious and hardly requires any detective work from the reader, so this is more of a cute romance than anything else. I thought the characters were sweet but I was glad it was not a long read because I think there might have been a sugar and cuteness overload otherwise!

With thanks to Harper Collins, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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“But first, coffee.”

The Pumpkin Spice Café has all the aesthetics of Gilmore Girls, with a fall theme, coffee, grumpy x sunshine dynamic, even the small town itself with classic town meetings and all the towns people sticking their noses in everyone's business. Jeanie is gifted the café from her Aunt and is ready for a fresh start. The quaint small town of Dream Harbour sounds very comforting and cozy.

The flannel-wearing, hunky farmer is the perfect MMC partnered up with city girl moved to small town Jeanie as she convinces him to join her on a stakeout to solve the problem of the spooky sound! For someone who is a huge fan of autumn, Gilmore Girls, coffee, pumpkin anything and animals, this was such a sweet romance and cozy mystery tied together.

The little town even has their book club group that love talking about smutty books which is right up my alley! Including the comment below about the hockey romance novels – how true!

"Nobody cares about the hockey part, hun."

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I didn’t know what a small-town cozy romance was until I read this, wow!

When Jeanie is gifted the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café, by her aunt, in the small town of Dream Harbour, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start.

She encounters a grumpy, but very handsome, local farmer, Logan, who tries to keep to himself and not come into town very often, until he meets Jeanie and is inexplicably drawn to her.

I love this small town atmosphere, everyone looking out for one another (even if they are nosy!) and the will they won’t they moments, some very passionate scenes and a definite HEA!

I believe there are 2 more books out soon in the Dream Harbour series and I can’t wait.

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a perfect fall book! small town, cosy cafe, and all the luke and lorelai vibes, realluy enjoyed this one!

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Its a comfy cozy fall romance that'll leave you happy! Craving pumpkin flavored anything! Wanting to escape the big city chaos! Dreaming of flannel! It's sweet. It's spicy, both steamy and pumpkin flavored (see? I'm still feeling sappy after just finishing this). It's got the romance. Its got the HEA. And its got the cozy fall vibes. Overall fun read.

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This is a good book. The two main characters are Jeanie and Logan. Jeanie has recently come to tow to take over her aunt’s coffee shop. Logan runs the his family’s farm. They meet early Thursday morning when he was delivering produce. There is an instant attraction. They start dating each other secretly. Logan has been hurt previously. He lets his imagination get the best of him. He figures out he loves Jeanie and declares his love and she is in love with him.

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Laurie Gilmore's "The Pumpkin Spice Café" is a heartwarming journey into a world where autumn leaves crunch underfoot, the scent of cinnamon lingers in the air, and the promise of new beginnings is as comforting as a steaming cup of pumpkin spice latte.

Set against the backdrop of a quaint small town, the story follows the endearing protagonist, Emily, as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and second chances. Returning to her hometown after a series of setbacks, Emily finds solace in the familiar surroundings of The Pumpkin Spice Café, a charming establishment known for its delectable treats and warm hospitality.

What sets "The Pumpkin Spice Café" apart is its ability to capture the essence of the fall season in all its glory. Gilmore's vivid descriptions paint a picture-perfect tableau of golden leaves, cozy sweaters, and crackling fires, transporting readers to a world where magic is found in the simple pleasures of life.

At its heart, "The Pumpkin Spice Café" is a story about love, community, and the power of second chances. As Emily finds herself drawn into the lives of the café's quirky patrons, she discovers that sometimes, the most meaningful connections are forged in the unlikeliest of places.

Filled with charming characters, heartwarming moments, and plenty of autumnal charm, "The Pumpkin Spice Café" is a joy to read from start to finish. Gilmore's prose is as comforting as a warm hug, wrapping readers in a blanket of nostalgia and happiness that will linger long after the final page is turned.

Whether you're a fan of cozy mysteries or simply looking for a feel-good read to curl up with on a crisp autumn evening, "The Pumpkin Spice Café" is sure to hit the spot. Laurie Gilmore has crafted a gem of a novel that celebrates the magic of fall and the beauty of finding love and belonging in unexpected places. Highly recommended for anyone in search of a delightful escape into a world of pumpkin spice and everything nice.

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