"Pumpkin Spice Cafe" by Laurie Gilmore is an intriguing small-town romance that transports readers to the cozy setting of a charming café. While the story initially captivates with its delightful ambiance and endearing characters, it takes an unexpected twist as Jeanie, the protagonist, finds herself entangled in a mysterious series of strange noises in her apartment above the cafe.

Gilmore expertly weaves this element of mystery into the narrative, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the story. As Jeanie's curiosity grows and the noises persist, she enlists the help of the town hunk, Logan, to unravel the enigma. Together, they embark on a stakeout, their hearts racing with anticipation, in an attempt to discover the source of the peculiar sounds.

This subplot introduces a thrilling and suspenseful element to "Pumpkin Spice Cafe." The author skillfully balances the romance between Jeanie and Logan with the anticipation and excitement of their joint investigation. As the pair ventures into the unknown, the reader is drawn deeper into the story, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the truth behind the mysterious noises. Jeanie's determination and Logan's unwavering support create a strong bond between them, deepening their connection beyond their initial attraction. The shared experience of uncovering the truth strengthens their relationship and adds an extra layer of emotional depth to the story.

This unexpected detour into mystery may divide readers seeking a purely romantic storyline. However, if you enjoy a blend of romance and suspense, you'll love the extra layer of intrigue! Just be aware, things get spicier too, adding drama and intensity. 🔥😮

In conclusion, "Pumpkin Spice Cafe" by Laurie Gilmore is a captivating small-town romance that ventures into the realm of mystery. The introduction of strange noises and the subsequent stakeout create an air of anticipation and excitement that enhances the story's appeal. Gilmore's skilled storytelling, combined with the endearing romance between Jeanie and Logan, makes for an engaging read that keeps readers eagerly flipping pages.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is like a hug in a book! This small town romance had all the coziness. Jeanie moves to Dream Harbour to run her aunt’s Pumpkin Spice Cafe. She meets Logan, a local farmer, and they are attracted to each other. Logan has been hurt before and they both have to decide if they want to take a chance on love. This has quirky characters, adorable farm animals, and even a cute cat. I couldn’t stop smiling and I loved the sweet ending.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC for my own opinion.

As soon as it hits mid-July, my brain starts to laser focus on pumpkin spice season. Getting the chance to read this arc was perfect timing to quench that thirst!

A cozy, small-town mystery romance set at the Pumpkin Spice Café? It’s the perfect snuggle under a blanket, watch the leaves fall, with a warm cup of coffee cozy read.

I loved Logan and Jeanie’s journey to find one another. It’s grumpy x sunshine, but the sunshine is that aspirational persona that Jeanie is looking to become. And I love that about her. She’s carrying some stress and baggage but she is so openly wanting to be accepted and find a place where she belongs.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Set in an idyllic Stars Hollow-esque small town in New England, this autumnal romance about a big city girl inheriting and attempting to run a pumpkin-themed cafe, settling into herself, and finding love locally, is the perfect cosy read to prepare you for autumn. A story that only begins to unfold as our main character Jeanie meets local farmer and certified gourd distributor, Logan, a pair connected by the threads of an unravelling mystery at the heart of the cafe, this is a romance that is almost certain to keep you hooked from page one.

I found myself really enamoured with this book. Aside from the adorable romance, which is earnest, genuine, and not to mention steamy, the small-town setting really made this book shine. I loved the time we got to spend in the cafe as well as around town during different fun events like the bi-weekly town meeting (think Gilmore Girls plus a whimsical Mayor who uses his dreams to make decisions), the weekly market, the local (and vibrant) book club meetings, and the most seasonal of all, the Fall Festival. It only helps that, in this setting, we got to see the mental trials and tribulations of Jeanie and Logan, both of whom take the time in this book to work on themselves, to understand their personal fears and insecurities, and to come together as happier individuals.

Although some of the side characters would benefit from a bit of fleshing out and I would've liked to spend more tangible time in the other local establishments mentioned, like the bookshop or bakery, or even seeing the banter of the book club more often, this romance hit the spot with its autumnal vibes, swoon-worthy romance, and sweet baked treats. More than worth picking up when autumn starts to show its face again in September.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
I really was enjoying this book when it first started but then the love started to fade. The author repeated herself over and over and over again. I like how the town was quirky. But I just didn't really care for it as the story went on.
It was just so unrealistic and insane to have such a tiny town and I love how the author throws in her liberal feminist views. I have belonged to many book clubs and we never read a smut book first of all and then to talk about how they were ready a porn smut book about guy on guy action. It was just disgusting. Thumbs down for me.

An adorablely sweet sunshine and grumpy romance set in a small town during pumpkin spice season, aka the best season. Fall.

After suddenly figuring out that life in the city wasn't for her. Basically realizing that she did have anyone to lean on and lived and breathed her corporate job. Jeanie moves to Dream Harbour to take over her aunt's coffee shop.

Jeanie is delightfully bubbly and the meet cute with Logan is hilarious. We love a girl that approaches perceived danger with a baseball bat.

Logan is quiet and has some trauma, so he secludes himself at his farm taking care of all his rescue animals and actual farm duties.

The two are drawn together as some mysterious happenings occur at the coffee shop.

It is a cute, zero stakes, and little spice story that is best read with some hot apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte.

Will be reading any other story that comes out of Dream Harbour.

Grab your Pumpkin Spice Lattes and have Alexa play Cardigan by Taylor Swift, and read this book! I can’t get over how cute this was. Jeanie is new in Dream Harbor and ready to take over her aunt’s coffee shop aptly named Pumpkin Spice Cafe. She meets hunky pumpkin farmer, Logan and bam my favorite new read was created. This was everything a girl could want in a novel, angst, PSL’s, and smut. Sunshine meets grump. I am shouting from the rooftops for everyone to read this cozy romance.

Thank you Netgalley, One More Chapter, and Harper Collins UK for my eARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was adorable!!!

When Jeanie’s aunt retired and leaves her a cafe she uses it as her opportunity to start over in a small town instead of staying in the big city!Then she meets the handsome farmer Logan and it smitten immediately. Between investigating strange occurrences at the cafe and trying to run the business and not fail she has her hands full to say the least.

This was such a quick easy read. Definitely a feel good romance. It says grumpy/sunshine romance but I didn’t get grumpy vibes from him just very shy.

All in all this was super cute and I highly recommend.

Reading this book on a summer evening was a unique experience; it managed to make me feel fully immersed in autumn.
The story follows Jeanie, who is suddenly thrust into the role of owning her aunt's café in Dream Harbour, who has decided to leave it to her as an inheritance even though she is still very alive and enjoying traveling the world on her own.
There is only one problem; strange things seem to happen in this café, especially at night, with unsettling noises: enter Logan, the male protagonist (adored and protected by the entire peculiar town of Dream Harbour), who decides to help her solve this mystery.

I absolutely loved this book, as I'm a fan of the "found family" trope, every person in Dream Harbour literally owns my heart! It also reminded me a lot of Gilmore Girls, thanks to its town meetings and everyone having quirky personalities.
It is true that the attraction and, dare I say, the love between the two protagonists were almost instantaneous; however, there were certainly foundations for a "slow burn romance" as well, as due to various misunderstandings, their journey took different twists and turns before reaching their inevitable happy ending.

If there is a thing that I didn't particularly like, it was the fact that the male protagonist was still so caught up with his ex-girlfriend, but this is just a personal preference of mine, as I love when the protagonist only has eyes for the other main character. This this the only reason I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5.

I can't wait to read more about Dream Harbour and its people, I think in the future the author will give us a "enemies to lovers" and a "he falls first" book, AND I AM MORE THAN READY.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, one more chapter for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I will also post this review on Amazon on the release day.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is a beautiful and cosy read that is perfect to curl up in a blanket with a hot drink, the world building is well developed and in depth. The description of the people, places and general atmosphere of the town, Dream Harbour is thought out and helps set the scene for the novel's action.

The novel's main protagonists Logan and Jeanie are both flawed characters who don't have a perfect personality, which creates likeable and also frustrating characters. They fact that these characters have flaws and emotions creates an interesting and realistic dynamic throughout the novel that makes their romantic relationship evermore heart-warming. Initially, I thought the romance between these characters was far too quick but then I realised this is the point and this is a whirlwind romance that ends up as something bigger.

I wanted to learn more about the townspeople and have more interactions where these individuals were meddling in Logan and Jeanie's potential romance. I also wanted to hear more about the Mayor's prophetic dreams and see this cause a lot more tension and interference within their relationship - this would have made a funny side plot. I would love to be a fly-on-the-wall in the Book Club's meetings as they are clearly much more than they seem. If there is a possibility of a sequel I would like to see more of Noah's character and how he develops, the reader only sees small snippets of him.

Overall, this is a cosy romance novel perfect for autumn and colder evenings. I was compelled to read on and the short chapters made this an easy and light-hearted read!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cozy fall/Gilmore Girls/grumpy-sunshine/small town

Jeanie, an overworked and stressed personal assistant from Boston, travels to the quaint seaside town of Dream Harbour to run her aunt’s cafe. There, she meets an eclectic set of characters including a grumpy and handsome farmer…

I adored this quick read. It was so easy to get through and it is the only book that truly reminded me of Gilmore Girls (by Laurie Gilmore…coincidence?). Logan and Jeanie’s relationship reminded me of Luke and Lorelai, and I loved that it described town meetings. The supporting characters were also strong and lovable, and I hope to read books with their storylines! I love the smutty book club! I didn’t particularly enjoy the conflict as it felt tossed in for the sake of having a conflict, but the “mystery” was a fun titbit. It was also honestly smuttier than I expected this sweet and cozy book to be, however it was a slow burn and quite sweet. I would have definitely saved this as a mood-read for fall, but will likely come back to it when the time comes.

The Pumpkin Spice Café
By Laurie Gilmore
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5

This book was too cute! It’s a grumpy mc X sunshine fmc romance which follows Jeanie, who inherits the Pumpkin Spice Café from her aunt and moves to this small town. She crosses paths with Logan, a grumpy but handsome and kind farmer who is laying low and trying to escape the town gossips.

This had romance and I enjoyed it a lot. Although I read this on a sunny summer day, it has put me in the mood for autumn. I want pumpkin spice, leaves changing colours, a cool breeze, and rainy days to come now 🥲

The only thing that was a little frustrating was to see the miscommunication trope rise up here and there between the main characters, I could have gone without reading that. I didn’t like the misunderstandings, and I wished the characters had been more developed and there had been less steamy moments and more cozy sweet moments with them going on dates and stuff. However, I enjoyed their banter and “ghost hunts” together. The side characters were great too, I am very curious to see if we will get to see more of them, I particularly adored Annie and Hazel. I liked seeing the found family trope in this, it’s one of my favourites!

This book will have you craving autumn days with apple cider donuts, hot tea, pumpkin patches, and more! Definitely recommend.

I need more fall books in my life, so I was extremely excited to hear about The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. It follows Jeanie who recently acquired a coffee shop named The Pumpkin Spice Cafe from her aunt who has decided to retire. She leaps at the chance to start a new life, but almost immediately runs into trouble when she hears noises at night and decides a resident ghost is to blame. Finally, after a mix of fear and lack of sleep, she decides to confront said ghost and almost knocks the head off of a sexy farmer named Logan instead. Romance almost immediately ensues. I love the small town community and the Gilmore Girls vibes (They have town meetings! Everyone has their quirks! Pumpkins are everywhere!) and I would LOVE a sequel or a series. The town of Dream Harbour would make a great series of love stories, especially if they are all set in autumn!

What I didn’t like: the sexy scenes felt a bit much at times and I felt it would have been a sweeter book if there were more closed doors, which is the only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded down. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a nice pumpkin themed ARC To get me ready for fall! It had a lot of components I liked and just a few places it fell short for me. I of course loved all the pumpkin spices and fall themed references sprinkled throughout. The fall festival was my favorite and I kind of wish they didn't leave early so I could have read about them experiencing more fall themed fun. Overall it could have used a bit more fall and pumpkins. I loved the small town feels and wish I could have had a bit more of it. I enjoyed the book club banter but it kind of disappeared at the end and wish there was at least one more book club scene. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters and loved when they were doing things together and on ghost hunts. I wish they had a few more dates out in the town or wherever and a little less steam. The other characters were like-able but I wish they were a little more fleshed out. They seemed to be around more as a sounding board for Janine and Logan's problems more than anything. I would have liked a little more sour hazel and Noah's spark as well. My biggest complaint was the drama between Logan and Janine mostly due to a lack of communication. Both characters were basically on the same page though out but they kept having misunderstandings because they jumped to conclusions and it was a little frustrating at times. Overall it was a nice and enjoyable read and I enjoyed some laugh out loud lines as well. Definitely a book that will make you want some pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts!

-Cozy
-Small Town Romance
-Grumpy Sunshine
-Atmospheric Autumn Setting

Jeanie finds herself in the quaint seaside town of Dream Harbor after inheriting "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe" from her newly retired Aunt Dot. An unsettling event at her prior job played an important factor in accepting this new business venture but she was ready to tackle this new beginning head on. That is until the terrifying noises and small sabotages started happening. Something or someone definitely has it out for her and throughout most of this novel Jeanie is trying to unravel that mystery.
Enter Luke the grumpy farmer who has had his share of trauma and heartbreak. All he wants to do is live a simple life away from the town gossip and the constant reminder of what happened with Lucy. His heart wasn't up for grabs until the new owner of PS Cafe stole his attention and asked for his help.

My advice with this book is to grab a mug of hot Cider or a PSL and get ready for a fast-paced cozy read. I really enjoyed Jeanie and Luke's story and it definitely has me counting down the days until the leaves are changing and gourds adorn everyone's front porches! This would make a great addition to your Autumn TBR .

Thank you Laurie Gilmore, Harper Collins UK- One More Chapter and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

overall, an enjoyable read. i loved the cosy fall setting. i wish was more of a slow burn than insta love for jeanie and logan. i wanted to see their relationship really develop more. i enjoyed the other characters especially hazel. i also loved the writing and banter between the characters. it is still a cute read for fall time!

As sweet as a PSL.

This was the perfect small town romance. Not a fan of the 3rd person pov, personally it takes me out of the story, but other than that this was great!

It's a great for that small town, family, close friends vibe.

The perfect book! I read it soooo quick, like only a couple of hours. The vibes are immaculate. The romance is so cute. The trop grumpy/sunshine, I like it so much. I love the whole fall thing and the vibes with it. It was such an atmosphere book for me but also very cute and funny!

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe: A Perfect Blend of Cozy Romance and Autumn Charm

Prepare to be enchanted by "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe," a delightful novel that captures everything we love about fall vibes, small town charm, and a heartwarming grumpy x sunshine romance. As a professional book reviewer, I can confidently say that this book is a must-read for anyone seeking a cozy and engaging story.

Jeanie, the protagonist, receives a wonderful gift from her aunt—the beloved Pumpkin Spice Cafe in the picturesque town of Dream Harbour. Eager for a fresh start away from her monotonous desk job, Jeanie embarks on a journey filled with unexpected surprises and heartwarming connections.

One of the highlights of this book is the irresistible dynamic between Jeanie and Logan, a local farmer who prefers to steer clear of Dream Harbour's gossip. Logan's well-established routine is shaken when Jeanie's arrival brings an inexplicable pull toward her, despite his initial reluctance. The grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan and the vibrant, ever-optimistic Jeanie make for a captivating pair, and their interactions are filled with both sparks and tender moments.

The author masterfully crafts a small-town setting that comes alive through vivid descriptions and a strong sense of community. Dream Harbour becomes a character in itself, and readers will find themselves immersed in the cozy ambiance of the Pumpkin Spice Cafe, craving pumpkin spice lattes with each turn of the page.

As the story unfolds, the author skillfully weaves in elements of mystery, adding an extra layer of intrigue that keeps readers engaged until the satisfying conclusion. The small-town atmosphere and the delightful cast of secondary characters create a sense of found family, further enhancing the overall warmth and authenticity of the narrative.

Fans of shows like Gilmore Girls will find themselves captivated by "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe." It embodies the same heartwarming spirit, providing a perfect escape into a world brimming with love, friendship, and autumnal charm.

The writing style is engaging and flows effortlessly, making it easy to lose yourself in the pages. The author's attention to detail and ability to evoke emotions shine throughout the story. Additionally, the balanced use of the grumpy x sunshine trope adds depth and complexity to the romance, making it feel genuine and satisfying.

"The Pumpkin Spice Cafe" is a cozy romantic mystery that will warm your heart and leave you craving pumpkin spice everything. With its charming small-town setting, endearing characters, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after, this book is a delightful treat for fans of romance and autumn-themed stories. So grab a cup of your favorite fall beverage, curl up in a cozy spot, and let "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe" transport you to a world where love and pumpkin spice are always in the air.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Small Town
- Found Family

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book.

When I read the first line, I immediatly felt like I was going to LOVE it but it just ended up being good.

I didn't hate it, I just thought it was a good and nice story.

The back and forth between Logan and Jeannie was great at the beginning (especially with the stakeouts, I loved them) but then the back and forth in the middle/ at the end felt a little annoying.

I would rate it 3.25 stars.