Title: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Author: Laurie Gilmore
Year Published: 2023
Genre: Romance
Setting: New England, The United States
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3.25)
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe: A Blurb
Jeanie is ready to start her life over again.
The first step? Taking over her aunt’s coffee shop in the quaint town of Dream Harbor. Not even a week into her stay there, she has a chance encounter with Logan, a quiet local farmer. Sparks fly immediately, and as Jeanie adjusts to life in Dream Harbor, she must also navigate a potential romance with Logan, finding new friends, and the mysterious events plaguing her coffee shop.
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is perfect for people who love autumn, small town stories, and Hallmark-like romances.
My Thoughts
I looked at the gorgeous cover of this book for almost a year in the bookstore before I finally broke down and bought it. And what a cover it was. The illustrator–as well as whoever did the fall-patterned inside pages on my version–deserves major props. They captured everything cute about the book in one cover.
Unfortunately, the content didn’t quite live up to my excitement about the cover. To be fair, that would have been incredibly difficult to do.
Now, I can’t speak much to the writing style because I read it in Italian. It was a very fast read and went smoothly. The dialogue was cute, and the descriptions of the town were even cuter. That was the strong point of the book: the vibes. I think most romance readers love small-town romances, the cozy feeling of fall, and the possibilities that come with new beginnings. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe had all of that, and I’d recommend it for that alone.
I also appreciated how Gilmore built up a cast of characters and introduced settings that very easily will provide fodder for future stories. There are tons of autumn events and gorgeous imagery that really immerse you as you read. She did a great job of placing the reader in her own universe–a wonderfully cozy one at that–and I will definitely be reading future books.
The Mystery Aspect
I don’t know if I necessarily agree with The Pumpkin Spice Cafe being billed as a mystery. Yes, the characters do investigate some mysterious happenings around the cafe, but it’s not the main part of the story. It takes up its share of screen time, and serves to bring the two characters together, but the suspect is pretty easy to guess. I think my expectations were more that this would be more of a cozy mystery (if you like cozy mysteries, check out my review of A Death on Corfu), or that it would be split more evenly between romance and mystery.
If you have that in mind going in, however, you’ll enjoy it.
The Romance Itself
It was the romance itself that didn’t convince me. Like I complain about often in my reviews of romance books, I wanted more. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was insta-love to the fullest. From the moment Logan and Jeanie see each other, it’s over-the-top infatuation. I could have understood simple attraction, but it was borderline obsessive. Because of the lack of buildup, or the lack of the romance being earned, I never really bought their story.
In fact, most of their obstacles are internal. Personally, I hate the miscommunication-creates-conflict idea in romance. Of course it will happen sometimes. But when it happens constantly, it’s probably a sign that the relationship won’t work out long term. Logan and Jeanie definitely needed to work on their communication; this book was filled to the brim with issues in that area. Those problems got resolved rather quickly each time, which led me to feel like their happily ever after wasn’t “earned.” Instead, they just ran out of miscommunications to have and confessed their insta-love.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s still cute. If you love strong, silent men and perky female main characters, you’ll love it. It’s familiar in all of the right tropes. However, if you don’t like constant miscommunication and third-act breakups, you’ll probably find yourself frustrated at points.
Slight Spoiler/Pet Peeve
While I’m on the topic of wanting more from romance novels, one recurring thing that I’ve seen in far too many epilogues now is a character being like, “And now I’m going to therapy, so everything is better.” That’s not knocking them for going to therapy, but instead, asking myself, wouldn’t it have been better if they did it before the story was over?
I get that in these situations, the characters’ flaws and past traumas are often brought to light. However, I’ve seen this one liner added into way too many romance novels at this point. The first few times, I thought it was nice. Now, it seems like more of a justification for the characters not communicating and/or acting immature throughout the story. It feels like an “easy out” in some ways instead of a true sign of character growth.
Look, I get it. Life is hard. Relationships are hard. Trying to resolve your problems and be a more present partner is undeniably a good thing. I just wish that this commitment to growth was shown a bit more on-page. Not necessarily therapy sessions, but just a little more of the characters working on themselves (or being ready enough for relationships where I’m not shaking my head at them being walking red flags) before the tidy wrap up.
A Final Word
If you’re looking for a cozy, cute, autumn-y romance, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is definitely for you. While I had my qualms about the insta-love plot story, I will still mostly certainly read the next books in the series. Sometimes we all need an escape from the weight of the world these days, and this book definitely delivers that. I was left happy while reading it, and that’s worth a lot when it comes to romance novels.
Have you read The Pumpkin Spice Cafe? Let me know what you thought!
