Book Review :: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
ISBN: 0008610665
Series: Dream Harbor #1
Also in this series: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, The Strawberry Patch Pancake House, The Gingerbread Bakery, The Daisy Chain Flower Shop
on 30 August 2023
Pages: 267
Goodreads

When Jeanie's aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.

Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbor's gossip at all costs. But Jeanie's arrival disrupts Logan's routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.
Will Jeanie's happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won't fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes…

The Pumpkin Spice Café is a cozy romantic mystery for fans of Gilmore Girls, with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

Last updated on 3 October 2024

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What is The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore?

When Jeanie’s aunt surprises her with ownership of the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the charming town of Dream Harbor, Jeanie seizes the chance for a fresh start, leaving her dull desk job behind.

Logan, a local farmer, is a master at avoiding the town’s gossip. However, Jeanie’s arrival disrupts Logan’s usual routine, and he can’t help but feel an unexplainable attraction to the relentlessly cheerful newcomer.

Will Jeanie’s sunny disposition eventually win over the gruff yet attractive Logan, or has she encountered the one person in town impervious to her charm and her pumpkin spice lattes?

My thoughts

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was a really fun, cute, just-as-you-expect read. While it had that predictability about it, that’s the kind of vibe you need in an autumnal small-town romance. In fact, if there were any huge twists or jumpscares in it, then I probably wouldn’t care for it.

This was a ‘grumpy and sunshine’ romance, where Jeanie was all bubbles and happiness (mostly, when she wasn’t weeping on the floor of her cafe when things were getting too hard), and Logan was the town grump. He generally kept to himself, even though the entire town new him and got produce deliveries from him every week.

When Jeanie comes into town, she accuses him of breaking into her new cafe/home, and somehow Logan ends up rather intrigued by this feisty new addition to Dream Harbor. And suddenly he’s spending more time heading to town events (which his friends are shocked at), and helping Jeanie try and figure out what’s making the noises in the alleyway behind the shop.

I did enjoy their grumpy-sunshine growing friendship, the small-town vibes in autumn (always!), and the found-family trope, and while it was a bit cliche and typical storyline, it was a lot of fun.

One of my favourite things was the fact that Logan lived on a farm with his grandmother and he had animals with popstar names. There’s Harry Styles the rescued alpaca, the goats are called Marley and Dylan (as in … Bob), and a flock of chickens whose names are Taylor, Rihanna, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Britney and Selena. Outstanding.

It gave me Gilmore Girls vibes, just like the synopsis said, and the guaranteed happy ending made for a comfortable read. I’d definitely read other stories by Laurie Gilmore. In fact, another in the Dream Harbor series is called The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore and it’s coming out in August 2024, and it’s following one of the other characters in The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. I do love a book series that follows overlapping characters like that, and I look forward to picking it up.

Have you read The Pumpkin Spice Cafe? What did you think?