Book Review: The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
A TikTok phenomenon, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is cited as a cozy mystery with steamy romance on the side. Check out my full review of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore below!
Book Information
Jeanie is ready to start her new life in the small town of Dream Harbor. After finding her boss dead at his desk, Jeanie has resolved to turn her life around, make a place for herself, and not be so alone. That’s when she meets Logan, a grumpy farmer who is definitely not looking for love. Together, they try to solve the mystery of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe and definitely, maybe, see if things will work between them.
Review | Heidi Dischler
Definitely not even close to my favorite read this year. I was highly disappointed in this, but honestly, I should know better with how many times TikTok has burned me with its recommendations. From Haunting Adeline to Archer’s Voice, this isn’t the first time that I’ve been extremely disappointed with a book from TikTok. This one was definitely because of a lack of plot and just… direction.
So, we start this book of with Jeanie who has literally packed her whole life up to live in a small town after her quarter life crisis when her boss dies alone at his desk due to a heart attack. There is a mysterious scratching noise that is our first “mystery” (easily solved). Then, there is someone sabotaging the cafe. There isn’t really any true mystery solving going on except Jeanie wandering up to the scene of the crime and solving the “mystery”. Logan sort of helps but mainly just moans and groans about how Jeanie is going to leave him. He definitely didn’t fit my bill for a good male MC.
Other than this book being falsely marketed as a mystery (like I said, everything was coincidence, but I can’t expect too much since it’s a cozy romance mystery), I really just didn’t feel like there was any real tension in the novel. No driving factor. Nothing that made me want to keep reading until my eyeballs hurt. Logan and Jeanie were good together in some scenes, but most of the time they just collectively annoyed me. It was all “oh she’s going to leave me” (from Logan) and “oh I shouldn’t get involved since the whole town will hate me if I hurt him” (from Jeanie). Over and over and over and over and over again.
As for the spicy/steamy scenes: they were okay… but definitely felt so out of place for this fluttery childish novel. I felt like the book itself was on too immature of a level to really include those scenes, but hey, I guess steamy is popular right now so you just gotta throw it in where you can.
Overall, the mystery didn’t feel like a mystery. The romance was okay, but the MCs annoyed the heck out of me, and the novel lacked direction and driving forces. 1.5/5 for me rounded up to 2/5 for social platforms. Would not recommend.
Source: Personal Copy
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
