I love Halloween and autumn - I got engaged on Halloween so whats not to like. So when I was asked by Netgalley to reiew I was so pleased.
Sitting in my comfy chair I gave a sigh on finishing this cute book. What can I say best friends to lovers with a beautiful autumnal background, Beautifully written, I am now seeking this author out for other books.
Recommended Autumn 2023 read.

I absolutely loved this novel.
Such a great story with defined characters and a great plot.
What drew me in the most was how fleshed out the characters were
The writing style was fluid and relateable.
The cover was fascinating as well.
A reviting read overall
Definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!

I love an autumnal, small town, friends to lovers story, so I was excited to receive an e-ARC of this book for review. The general story was good but the writing could have been smoother. Less critical readers would probably enjoy more than I did.

I loved, loved, loved this cosy, Halloween themed read! I love anything revolving around autumn and Halloween itself, and this was such a perfect read for me.

Tricked in October by Starla DeKruyf

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and City Owl Press and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

After losing her husband last winter, the thought of hosting a Halloween couples costume party is the furthest thing from Kelsey O’Henry’s mind. Besides raising three young children, managing O’Henry’s Bar and Grill, and caring for her alcoholic mother, she has more important things to worry about. Like the stack of unpaid business loans that threaten the bar’s existence. As well as her newfound feelings she’s developed for her best guy friend.

Davis Vance is tired of being followed around by cameras. He misses the days before he and his twin brother became “Renovation Dudes”—hosts of an HGTV show. When Davis learns Kelsey could lose the bar at the end of the fall season, he sees it as an opportunity to not only help his friend, but as a way out of renewing his HGTV contract.

There’s just one problem—lately Davis’s feelings for Kelsey have been less friendly and more romantic. And on the night of the bar’s Halloween party, both Kelsey and Davis can no longer ignore their desires. Will their passionate evening be a one-night stand—only a flicker of heat during the crisp autumn, or will she risk her pride and accept his help?

My Opinion

Told through dual POVs this was a nice, slow-burn romance. Kelsey has recently lost her husband and is trying to stay strong with three children to raise and a bar to run. This is part of a series but could easily be read as a standalone. A sweet, Autumn read.

Rating 4/5

If the first book of this series got me in the mood for Christmas, this one is the perfect entrance to the pumpkin season. I would permanently live in Autumn for the rest of my life if it was possible. A halloween hook-up gone right. Best-friends-to-lovers. HGTV type of background. What is there not to love? Sign me up!

This was such a cute romance with the most perfect fall and Halloween vibes! The writing was well done and I enjoyed the characters. I will be purchasing for my library.

I’m a sucker for a autumn-themed romance novel, so I knew I need to read this one asap. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that this was book #2 in a series that I’ve never read. I’m not sure if this book would’ve made more sense if I had read the first book, but I made my way through it just fine. Honestly, this book had me stressed. The main character, Kelsey, had so much on her plate!!! I did enjoy reading her journey to become settled in her new life and the sparks between her & Davis.

This book was so good thanks so much for the copy I really enjoyed this so much along with the writing definitely will recommend and I will be recommending for others as well!

I love this story so much, it was an easy read too. I will definitely re read this during the fall season.

If you're looking for fall vibes, this is like a warm drink given to you as you walk around in an oversized sweater. I liked the story, and the slow burn friends to lovers trope was really nice to read. Was the angst justified? Probably not, but it was still cute.

This was such a sweet tale, full of the sentiments of a slow-burning friendship. Davis and Kelsey have been close friends for a long time.

Although Kelsey is tenacious and resilient, she is beginning to feel overburdened as a result of the loss of her husband, the demands of raising her three children, managing a bar, and aiding her alcoholic mother. Davis, who despises the camera and the lights but will do anything for his brother Garrett, is a cast member on an HGTV show with him.

I adored how Davis and Kelsey's friendship developed over time. He was considerate and looked out for her. Their romance was adorable. I liked how Davis and Kelsey's points of view alternated. A delightful October book, it was hard to put down!

I love this book! It has the perfect autumn vibes and consists of some of my favourite tropes!
Halloween is my favourite time of year and I love when the colours change and the pumpkins come out so this book is the perfect aesthetic!
I love the second chance, dual pov, friends to lovers tropes and I will never stop recommending this book!

This was a speedy friends to lovers read with moderate angst. I do not understand why the heroine was willing to look for help from multiple family members and banks, but not consider her best-friend who she knows has money available and has offered, so she kinda brought the angst for no reason.

Friends to lovers is my favorite type of romance trope, and I really enjoyed this one. It takes place in what i personally think is the best time of the year. Its cozy, and fun!

My favourite trope is slow burn friends to lovers and this is exactly that. The only thing i don't understand is the cover being Halloween themed as its not really Halloween at all,

it was a good book! not my type of thing as i hoped, but it was good never the less, would def reccomend author to other friends!

Such a lovely story with all the feelings of a slow burn love between adorable friends. I absolutely loved the characters as friends and how it slowly unrolled into more. It was so cute. and I enjoyed the switch between their POV. That is one of my absolute favorite inclusions with romance novels, when we get to see things from both parites eyes, and it was just such a sweet October read that I was totally hooked too!

This was the last book I read for fall and I unfortunately wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I was so grateful to receive an ARC copy of Tricked in October from NetGalley and was really excited to read it. From the description it seemed like a cozy romance novel set in October with a friends to lovers trope. That it was, however it felt somewhat incomplete to me.

The title and description is super misleading to me. The first part of the summary describes the story as "mistaken identity leads to a Halloween hook-up that might not be so mistaken after all." From my reading, this part was pretty much irrelevant to the storyline and the rest of the description just seems off to me. It's hard for me to describe, but as to not give the whole story away, the two main characters finally get together but the small-town rumor mill mistakes him for his twin brother. Which was an issue for literally like two chapters.

But in my own summary, I'd say it's mainly two best friends randomly develop feelings (or notice they have feelings) for each other, take over half the book to actually get together and fight about stupid, petty stuff. I hate to be negative about any book, but this storyline was just not for me.

I did enjoy DeKruyf's writing style and thought the characters were cute, but there was so much more that could have been done with this plot to make it a little more interesting and a little less predictable. I was also disappointed that the cozy fall feeling was lacking.

I gave this one two stars because there were parts I enjoyed and I liked most of the characters. I think it just felt a little rushed. The ingredients were there but a couple steps were skipped so it just wasn't quite right.

This was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. But I do know people I can recommend this book to that will love and enjoy it.