Thank you to Nrt Galley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with kelsey and Davis and their love story. It was predictable but in a good way. I appreciated the more saucy aspects of the story mixed with a helping of pumpkin spice. Perfect rom com to read in Autumn or any other time of the year if you are needing some Autumnal vibes. My only issue is after such a slow burn, build up I thought the ending seemed to come rather abruptly and didn't resolve the story as much as I personally would have liked.

This was a cute rom-com featuring the best friends to lover’s trope with an added spice of missed chance at romance before Kelsey got married to her husband. Kelsey is a widow with 3 young children and trying to manage her struggling bar OHenry’s Bar and Grill as well as manage her alcoholic mother and she has a stack of unpaid bills that are piling up. But she is stubborn and refuses to ask for help from anyone, she wants to do everything on her own and prove that she can do it. The only one she lets help is her best friend Davis Vance who with his twin brother has a property brothers like show on HGTV which he hates since he doesn’t like fame and the spotlight. Of course they have a one-night stand on Halloween which turns into something of a relationship with Kelsey still determined to save the bar and take no help for it. Misunderstanding abound but get resolved pretty quickly with Kelsey figuring out what she really wants to do about her relationships and her business.

Thanks to City Owl Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

I read 50 pages in and I don’t want to finish it. It wrote very amateurish and this book wasn’t my cup of tea. Some of the aspects of the book weren’t throughout or some of the sentences were miscommunicated. I had to look back in the book a couple of times. So I will not be finishing it.

Tricked in October by Starla Dekruyf

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am appreciative to Starla DeKruyf, Booksprout, and City Owl Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I regret the delay in publishing.

The sequel to Starla Dekruyf's Pineridge series, Tricked in October, was already published on October 25, 2022. The second book in the series was just as fantastic as the first one, in my opinion. Tricked in October tells the tale of two "best friends-turned-lovers.". I could fall in love with the book's cover just by looking at it. I felt a similar sense of coziness and autumn while reading this book as I did while reading Tricked in October, which I also adored.

A perfect amount of heat was present in this book. After finishing the previous book, I felt compelled to immediately begin this one because I was in the mood for autumn. I found myself laughing aloud several times during the dialogue between the two main characters because I adored the setting, the people in it, and the dialogue itself. Do yourself a favor and immediately begin reading this lovely series if you haven't already.

The book was perfect for October, and I couldn't put it down until I had finished it.

If you enjoy reading about happily ever afters, small towns, best friends who become lovers, and romantic comedies, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Happy reading!

Mysterious Shy 😎

This book was the perfect fall read. It was so cute. I really enjoyed reading about the characters and how their relationship progressed. There was some triggering content so make sure to look up the triggers before reading. 4.5 stars

This was an amazing slow burn story between friends.

Davis and Kelsey have been best of friends for years.

Kelsey is strong but also stubborn, after losing her husband.

She is raising her 3 kids while running a bar.

Next to that, her mom is an alcoholic who she is trying to help.

But it is all slowly getting to her, she gets overwhelmed.

Davis would do everything for is twin brother Garret, that is why he is on a HGTV show while he hates the camera.

I loved seeing them grow into more.

I loved the duel POV.

This is a new to me author and I will be on the look out for more of her work.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley, Starla DeKruyf, and City Owl Press for this eArc! THE COVER!!! That's originally what drew me to this book. The artwork is so stinking cute and I love all of the fall and cozy vibes. There synopsis also intrigued me, I'm a sucker for a friends-to-lovers romance!

The friendship fell flat for me though. They didn't really seem to know that much about each other and seemed very awkward around one another. I didn't read the first book in this series, so maybe there was more explanation on their relationship in that one? I'll probably read that one because it focuses on one of the MC's other best friends. I liked her friends in this story and the town gave me 'small town' and 'Gilmore girls' vibes. Everyone knew each other and word got around FAST. But the romance just sort of was okay. I liked the 'HGTV' aspect of the story. Would have liked to see more of that and more of the brothers bonding over their love of woodwork. There wasn't a lot of chemistry in my personal opinion between Kelsey and Davis either. Kelsey was a little too stubborn. She was broke, alone, struggling and still refused to accept help from anyone who cared. She was a very closed minded MC. I wanted to jump in the book and shake her by the shoulders.

However, I'll probably still pick up the first book. Was overall an easy and quick read! 2 stars.

Unfortunately had to DNF at about 50 pages in due to personal reasons, such as some content being triggering. I think it’s a well written story, just not one for me.

I also really struggle with 3rd person, so that made it a little more difficult to motivate myself to keep reading as well.

*I recieved this book as an ARC through netgalley!*

This is the second book in the Pineridge series by Starla DeKruyf, it follows Kelsey and Davis who are friends of Isabella and Leo from her first book in the series: Eight Days of Christmas.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and I loved that it was a continuation of her first book because I had a feeling some things were going to happen ... that I needed to know if they did or not, and Starla included them, which I loved and am so happy about!

My only negative things to say about this book is how long it takes for Kelsey and Davis to get their heads out if their butts! LOL Don't get me wrong I love a slow burn, but wow this one was like turtle slow!

In the end I loved how everything came together, all of the characters ended up exactly where they were supposed to be, and the journey was important for that to take place!

Can't wait to check out more by Starla!

I loved the relationship development in this book. This book had all the tropes that I love; small town romance, friends to lovers & it was dual POV. & can we also just take a moment to talk about how adorable the cover of this book is?! OMG too cute!! Sadly I am one of those people who judge a book by its cover, but there was nothing but good thoughts about this book from the moment I saw the cover.

“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.”

“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.”

From the beginning I was intrigued by this book. The writing draws you in from the first page and I read the majority of this in one sitting! I am not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, just a personal preference. However, I didn’t see that as a roadblock at all because I was having too much fun with Kelsey and Davis. There were some unnecessary points that could’ve been taken out, and the ending wrapped up WAYYY too quickly. Also, *SPOILERS* this book sets up as ending with Kelsey getting to keep the bar one way or another. You never learn much of anything about Tapps before Kelsey and Davis are given a job there, which in itself is very convenient. I did enjoy the little romantic scenes that were given.

I’m also learning that I am not a fan of slow burn romances, and man was this one SLOOOWWW. And then when it finally picked up it was more about the legal side of owning a bar than it was about the romance. I expected this to be about the romance and it kinda got pushed to the side.

Rated 3.75*

Such a fun cute read! I absolutely loved this book and it was perfect for the fall! New to me author and will pick up from her again.

all warm fall-themed elements made for a great read. so is this book. the internal conflict davis and kelsey were experiencing as they considered what to do with their relationship was something i could also relate to. they were so real and dimensional. kelsey's relationship with her mother was a significant one that we got to examine. i like the way her mother's circumstance was portrayed we don't often see it addressed, but it's a very serious issue. all things considered, this narrative was even more amazing than i had anticipated. overall, i thought this was an excellent book, and i think it would appeal to anyone seeking for a romantic or friendly fall read.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I really enjoyed this book a lot. The main love interest are really enjoyable and I really like their characters. The cover is very cute and was a perfect read for Fall/Halloween Month. If you love romance stories where the main female character is a widow and finds herself again and also finds love.

I didn’t love this and i’m so sad about it. It’s a very boring, mediocre romcom. i was annoyed the first 50% of the book. & a lot just didn’t make any sense. i wanted to love it so bad, i just didn’t. The writing is a little awkward as well.

Honestly, this whole book was awkward to me. The way things were worded was weird, some turns of phrase were entirely incorrect, and the same issues were repeated over and over again. Also, not super believable - I get it, romance isn’t always “believable” - but this woman is a mom of 3 and we aren’t even told how old the big 2 are. No details about the kids and what they’re like.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC!!
First off, I want to say that I didn't know this book had a prequel so my opinion might change after I read it.
Tricked in October is a friends to lovers novel and the book tells the story of Kelsey, a recently widowed woman trying to raise her three children and reconcile it with her job at a bar. In the middle of that we have Davis, who works with his brother at an HGTV show but once he knows what Kelsey is going through, he tries to help his friend.
Their relationship has always been friendship until one night on Halloween all that changes.
I liked that we have pov of both protagonists because it's really good to read their feelings and how they view one another.
Also liked the author's easy writing and the autumn atmosphere in the book but I felt that it didn't have much character development or some subjects weren't shown a certain depth it deserved.
Even with these flaws, overall I found it a good book for those of you who friends to lovers trope.

I've been seeing a trend of best friends to lovers romances and this book fits into that category to a T. I was honestly first attracted to this book by the gorgeously cute cover. They say to never judge a book by its cover, but this one was hard to pass up. It was perfectly suited for the current fall season and gave me cozy vibes. Some interesting tropes are thrown in along with great chemistry and we have the recipe for success. Normally not a fan of the slow burn but it was worth the wait.

This story was so cute! I loved the main characters and the mention of HGTV. I need to read the firsr book in the series, but that didn't impact reading this book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

A very enjoyable friends to lovers romance. This is one I will go back and read the prequel for to find out more about our ctizens of Pineridge. The cover is super cute. The book was a great fall read. Loved the nod to HGTV and the backstory of the main characters as well as the back and forth point of views. Just a cute and light read. Exactly what I was looking for.