A review by booksandbesitos
Pumpkin Spice by Tagan Shepard

emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Okay, this book was a bit of a trip. 

There were a lot of things I liked, and some that I didn’t really love.

Our main character is an almost 40-year-old woman living in a small Virginia town. Her life doesn’t involve much dating or socializing. Oh, and she has two niblings whom she adores.

Eventually, these two situations collide when she takes her niece to a pumpkin patch and falls for the very attractive farmer.

Their romance is filled with pumpkin spice lattes, autumn strolls, small-town shenanigans, and haunted houses. It’s pretty cute; I feel like fall romance isn’t written about often. Between summer loves and winter holiday romances, fall romance is an overlooked genre.

As sweet and promising as the premise was, there were some things that took me out of it while reading.

There were a lot of details in the writing. Normally, it’s not a bad thing, but in this instance, the author did a lot of telling and not enough showing. It felt kind of long and dull at some points.

Another thing I didn’t really like was how the main character seemed so confused about what she wanted. At one point, she’s on a date while acting self-deprecating and telling herself the other woman does not like her. It made it hard to root for the couple when it seemed like the main character couldn’t. Thankfully, the sister made the rooting a little easier. 

Overall, it’s a good, short romance. Not too long or complicated. A cozy read for autumn lovers.