The Pumpkin Spice Cafe - Laurie Gilmore

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… (link)

Review: 2/5

I’m writing this review approximately two months after I’ve read this book. I’ve taken some time off. I’m taking some time to think about it and my reflection still stands. I hated this book.

I don’t know what it is with TikTok and hyping up books that are so amazing and so different and oh my gosh this book is so cute and if you don’t really like reading you love it and if you like reading, you’ll still love it!!! Barf! I’m kinda over TikTok recommendations, nay, I am VERY over TikTok book recommendations. I am thankful for the time of genuine booktok recommendations that hit well and were well rounded, or maybe I was just too deep in my smut rut to notice there was a common theme. I can be thankful for everything TikTok has done for me in the past, yet I have come a long way from having it. I remember seeing this book all over my for you page a few years ago and I finally got off of the waiting list (that was so long, by the way) so I thought ‘why not I’ve been reading a lot of horror, let’s just read a romcom…’

Maybe I’m also just too deep into the literary world to appreciate a simple romcom like this… I want to blame myself and my tastes evolving for my dislike for this book, but I know I can appreciate them when they’re done right. When they hit the spot for me, they HIT THE SPOT, so I’m gonna say this isn’t my fault and this is the writer’s fault for making something that I don’t like… that sounds entitled, but you know what I mean? It’s just my opinion (and a factual one, at that).

This book was just so cheesy and unfulfilling, I felt like I’ve read this book 1 million times (with different titles) and I’ve seen it 1 million times in a movie format on the Hallmark Channel. I just wasn’t fulfilled by it or the storyline or the characters. There wasn’t one lovable character for me in this book, and that’s a low blow.

Of course I like a moment where the main male wants to look out for the main female and oh he wants to protect her and oh he sees her in her pajamas in her messy bun and she’s so cute… I feel like I’ve read this fanfic 1 million times and I’d much rather read it when I am self inserting. You can pry Tumblr out of my cold, dead hands btw. I think Tumblr really has ruined a lot of fine books for me, because I feel like there are so many people that are having such unique ideas and they just get overshadowed by people who have easy access to a publishing company. However, that might be discourse for another time.

I’m tired of the trope where he wants to win her over and she wants him to trust her after he’s gone through something deep. Yeah, like that’s important but also let’s not forget that people need to be ready at their own time and you can’t force anyone into a loving and functioning relationship. I’ve learned that the hard way! Why aren’t people in love with me when I’m in love with them?!? I’ll never know I guess!

You know what else I hate. I hate the small town ambience trope. Granted, I’ve lived in a small town since I was 10, and it is nothing like the small towns that I’ve read about in our small town trope books. Everyone knows each other, everyone hates each other or is in a clique, everyone’s conservative, everyone votes against change; and that’s fine and dandy for the people who want to live in that small town. Everything is politics to everyone. So I’m kind of tired of reading all these small town romance books where a new girl rolls her way into town and all of a sudden she’s finding solace and community in these book clubs, and these sports and these communities… I know I’m not in a super small town, but these books just set an unrealistic standard for people who are coming from a big city to a small town for this reason. If you’re like me at all, you’ll get tired of it. And you’ll get tired of reading about it.

Whew, that felt really cynical… sorry about that, but I can get ramped up about that topic. Let’s move on, shall we?

The only other thing I can remember about this book is that I really really dislike a dramatic and public declaration of love. When you walk into the coffee shop with all that swagger in your dark flannel and your 6’5” attitude, and you yell out “Janine I love you!” I did barf in my mouth! And everyone knew already. It’s just got that fake small town ambience to me, like this author has never really lived in a small town before.

Anyways, this playlist is full of optimistic, shallow, pop music combined with music about living in a small town, because that’s what this book screams to me. There wasn’t really a lot of depth, there wasn’t really self introspection going on with the characters, and it sure as hell wasn’t a story that needed to be over 150 pages and length, but it was. Cheers to the easy but dreadful reads that we used to get our read count up!

Spotify: LINK