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feralwitchreading 's review for:
The Pumpkin Spice Café
by Laurie Gilmore
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Behold, A tale as old as time: men don't know how to handle their feelings and make it Everyone Else's Problem. Honestly. When Hazel did the thing near the end? I cheered. The only thing that I've been saying for longer than that I wanted to do that was "Logan doesn't need a date, he needs a therapist".
Alright, I suppose it wasn't all bad. I did like the atmosphere. Nice and cozy fall town. As your average basic white hobgoblin, I am weak for a good fall day. Or even a rainy dreary one if I can sit inside with a pot of tea, a book and a cookie.The characters were occasionally funny (Hazel is the MVP and Ben clearly has the sibling brain cell) and I did enjoy it most of the time for what it was: a lighthearted romance novel.
HOWEVER.
I need to know why Jeanie acted like logic was something that happened to other people. Why the page in the dictionary that explains common sense seems to have been ripped out of her version, burned and had its ashes scattered in the Drake Passage during a storm.
So you find a pristine white, long haired cat and your first thought is "Oh! Must be a stray!"
Ma'am.
Ma'am please. If that cat was a stray for any amount of time he would have been grey and matted. GO LOOK FOR HIS OWNER. I would sooner believe that that cat slipped out of the house on accident than that it was an actual stray.
Additionally. repeat after me: if we hear glass breaking at night and see someone skulk about in a hoody with a baseball bat, we call the police. We don't text a family member who is currently too far away to do anything and then decide to watch a show in bed and check it out tomorrow. That is First Victim of a Budding Serial Killer behaviour, especially for someone who is supposed to be an overthinker who believes in ghosts and almost took a bat to some strange noises in an alley.
Also. I was promised a grumpy/sunshine romance. What I got was a socially anxious introvert currently recovering from a very public and humiliating experience and what I can best describe as a squirrel squeezed into human form (unless the plot required her to be somewhat approaching sensible).
Logan, the aforementioned socially anxious introvert can't seem to decide between believing one thing or expecting Jeanie to do the same thing his ex did. Again, that seemed to change depending on what was most convenient for the plot, flipflopping every page or so without any clear run up to the change of mind Now, I get it, people can change their minds but this often and this quickly?
The writing style itself was occasionally pretty good and then quickly descended into an almost belligerent telling rather than showing. If I have to be told why a character chooses to do something rather than shown, the writing is just not up to the task. Either have some faith in your readers or learn how to show the emotions, dive a bit deeper into the perspective and show the characters' thoughts instead of going "and that was why he did this thing".
Alright, I suppose it wasn't all bad. I did like the atmosphere. Nice and cozy fall town. As your average basic white hobgoblin, I am weak for a good fall day. Or even a rainy dreary one if I can sit inside with a pot of tea, a book and a cookie.The characters were occasionally funny (Hazel is the MVP and Ben clearly has the sibling brain cell) and I did enjoy it most of the time for what it was: a lighthearted romance novel.
HOWEVER.
I need to know why Jeanie acted like logic was something that happened to other people. Why the page in the dictionary that explains common sense seems to have been ripped out of her version, burned and had its ashes scattered in the Drake Passage during a storm.
Ma'am.
Ma'am please. If that cat was a stray for any amount of time he would have been grey and matted. GO LOOK FOR HIS OWNER. I would sooner believe that that cat slipped out of the house on accident than that it was an actual stray.
Additionally. repeat after me: if we hear glass breaking at night and see someone skulk about in a hoody with a baseball bat, we call the police. We don't text a family member who is currently too far away to do anything and then decide to watch a show in bed and check it out tomorrow. That is First Victim of a Budding Serial Killer behaviour, especially for someone who is supposed to be an overthinker who believes in ghosts and almost took a bat to some strange noises in an alley.
Also. I was promised a grumpy/sunshine romance. What I got was a socially anxious introvert currently recovering from a very public and humiliating experience and what I can best describe as a squirrel squeezed into human form (unless the plot required her to be somewhat approaching sensible).
Logan, the aforementioned socially anxious introvert can't seem to decide between believing one thing or expecting Jeanie to do the same thing his ex did. Again, that seemed to change depending on what was most convenient for the plot, flipflopping every page or so without any clear run up to the change of mind Now, I get it, people can change their minds but this often and this quickly?
The writing style itself was occasionally pretty good and then quickly descended into an almost belligerent telling rather than showing. If I have to be told why a character chooses to do something rather than shown, the writing is just not up to the task. Either have some faith in your readers or learn how to show the emotions, dive a bit deeper into the perspective and show the characters' thoughts instead of going "and that was why he did this thing".