Some points were a little underdeveloped however, or didn't make sense – for example, Kelsey not wanting family help for her bakery, then giving out to her mam for not offering up a loan.

The cover is very cute and gives off a super autumnal vibe, but the book itself was a bit of a letdown.

Synopsis: 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.

♥️ Friends to lovers
💬 Dual POV
💔 Deals with death of a spouse
❌ Mistaken identity
🎃 Halloween setting
🪩 Costume party
🌶 Spicy scenes
🏘 Small town
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn

This was a cozy autumn read that would be perfect for Halloween, if you're into that kind of thing. This book starts of with a main character who is at a point in her life that we don't normally see in romance novels. She's widowed, a single parent to 3 kids and struggling to keep her business afloat. I like that the story delved into this and developed a character that is not your stereotypical romance heroine. I did enjoy the friendship and romance between the main characters, but would have loved to see more development, particularly in their friendship and how those feelings evolved into romantic ones. Overall, a lovely read.

I just reviewed Tricked in October by Starla DeKruyf. #TrickedinOctober #NetGalley

This was such a cute, perfect read for October and I enjoyed it a lot! It was too cute and romantic!

This book had a lot going on and at times I felt good about it and other times I felt like there was just too much. Kelsy had lost her husband a year ago and because she closed the bar for a month and took out a loan she was now behind, she was also looking at the possibility of losing it which she was not wanting to happen. Her two major problems were her mother being an alcoholic and Kelsy having to take care of her as well as her three children, and not asking for help especially when there was a problem at the bar.
Her best friend or friend for a long time Davis who also had a show on T.V. has helped her when she lets him but the more that he is around the feelings she had for him when they were younger are coming back. Davis is wanting more with her also and wants to help her with the bar in order to help her. He comes up with an idea. At times this is a really fun story and at other times not so much, But the characters are good.

Cute cover. Great Description. Disappointing story. It was just under developed. I never felt attached to any of the characters. So much potential.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more! This book is well written, and it’s very cute with likable characters. I only wish I would’ve gotten around to this ARC before Halloween, hahaha.

Would recommend this book to others!

This is the first book that I have read in this series and I will definitely be looking for more. It is well written with an engaging anf cute storyline and well developed characters. An enjoyable read.

It was a fun book to read the series is pretty good I read this one before the first one so I went back and read that one too I love these types of books and the drama and things it's something I love very much

Tricked in October is a dual POV friends-to-lovers romance books, perfect for the Autumn season!

In this book we follow Kelsey O’Henry and Davis Vance. Kelsey lost her husband past winter, which made her life even more difficult than she could ever imagine. Hosting the annual Halloween couples costume party is the last thing on her mind, since she has other things to worry about; she is raising three young children, managing O’Henry’s Bar and Grill and is caring for her alcoholic mother. And to make matters even worse, she has a chance of losing the one thing thing that reminds her the most of her husband, the O’Henry bar.

The other POV we follow, is from Davis Vance. Davis has become a host of an HGTV show; Renovation Dudes, with her twin brothers. Not only is Davis tired of people confusing him and his twin brother, he is also tired of the cameras. When Davis hears about Kelsey’s struggle with the bar, he sees an opening. Not only to help his friend, but also to get out of a new season of his show.

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?

First of all, thank you Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book. I mostly wanted to read it because of its gorgeous cover. I mean, how can you not love it? Thankfully, the inside is as good as the outside!
Friends-to-lovers is a trope I sometimes struggle to enjoy, it can be hard to capture the friendship and actually let it grow to a natural romantic relationship. Starla DeKruyf has a great and easy going writing style, which made this such an enjoyable read!

At the beginning I thought this would mainly be a cute romance book, but it does have some spicy scenes! So do be aware when picking this up (for those who aren’t a fan). I wasn’t really expecting that in this book, but I’m not complaining.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you want a break from the horror books you’re reading in October. But this is a great book to read whilst being wrapped up in a blanked with a cup of tea.

I ended up giving this book 4 stars!

Tricked in October was fairly average. Not the worst book I’ve ever read but definitely not the best. I’ve never read a romance book set around Halloween before so I had high hopes for this, basically, I shouldn’t have bothered.

For the most part Tricked in October was really depressing and I’m not even talking about the dead husband. I get that the risk of Kelsey losing the family bar was one of the main plot points but oh my did I get bored of it very quickly. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she was willing to accept help from others, but she was so stubborn.

This brings me to my next point; I really didn’t like Kelsey. She was too stubborn for her own good and a huge hypocrite. For example - she said she wouldn’t ask her mom for help because she didn’t want to risk her losing her bakery. But then later in the book she demands to know why her mom hasn’t offered to take a loan against the bakery to help her. It literally makes no sense. Also up until this point she has never mentioned having to work in the bakery but suddenly at the end, she’s complaining about doing it saying she has too much to juggle.

I can understand her being stubborn for the point of the plot, but other than not accepting help from people and liking beer she had no personality. This is super harsh of me to say, I did like her at first but her whole ‘I’m too good to ask for help’ shtick got old very fast.

Don’t get me started on Davis. He was supposed to be the sweet and caring twin compared to his womaniser brother Garrett. However, every time he’d see Kelsey he’d had the most obscene thoughts out of nowhere. They made me really uncomfortable. Not even Garrett spoke about women in such a way.

The Halloween party was a letdown and I still don’t understand why this book is called Tricked in October. I thought it was going to have something to do with one twin pretending to be the other to get closer to Kelsey, but nope. Nothing like that happened.

Honestly, writing this review has made me realise that I actually didn’t really enjoy this. I liked that it was a quick read, but I’m starting to think I wouldn't have read it if it wasn’t. For that reason I’m taking this review from three stars to 2.5. Tricked in October just wasn’t for me.

Tricked In October is the second book in the Pineridge series written by Starla Dekruyf. A much as I loved the first book of this series, I loved this one just as much. Tricked In October is a best friends-to-lovers trope. This book is so perfect for the fall season with fallish/Halloweenish vibes. I'll admit it, i'm a sucker for a pretty cover, Tricked In October has such a beautiful cover that just pulled me in and I wanted to grab this book even more. As much as I loved this series, I didn't want it to end, but I hope Starla Dekruyf comes out with more books for this wonderful series. Normally, the best friends-to-lovers trope doesn't work for me, but this one certainly didn't disappoint. The spice for this book was on point. With all the autumn vibes, how could you resist this book? I couldn't resist, as soon as I finished the first book, I had to run to this one. I loved all the characters, I loved the setting, once again, the banter between the two main characters had me laughing out loud. Please do yourself a favor, if you haven't read this beautiful series yet, do so as soon as possible.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND CITY OWL PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!

Kelsey O'Henry lost her husband, Ricky in a winter storm accident. Ricky and Kelsey had three children together, Zach, June, and their new baby, Charlotte. Kelsey never thought she'd lose her husband so soon, yet raising three children alone. After losing her husband in a winter accident, the thought of hosting a Halloween couples costume party is the furthest thing from Kelsey's mind. Raising three young children, managing O'Henry's Bar and Grill, and caring for her alcoholic mother, Kelsey has way more important things to worry about before hosting a Halloween costume party for couples. When Kelsey is in the bar's back office for employees only, Kelsey notices a stack of unpaid business loans that threaten the bar's existence. Kelsey has already taken out two loans to save the bar, but wants to take out another loan, but can't because that could jeopardize their family home. Kelsey doesn't want to risk losing their house, because that's a place for the children to remember their father, even though they are young children.

Kelsey has an amazing group of friends willing to help save the bar, including her best friend, Davis, but Kelsey is so stubborn and won't take their money. Davis and Kelsey have been best friends since high school, Davis had feelings for Kelsey, but then she married Ricky and Davis let go of his feelings for her, but the two remained best friends. Davis Vance and his twin brother, Garrett Vance are known as the "Renovation Dudes", an HGTV show where they renovate houses. People who watch the t.v. show can't seem to tell Garrett and Davis apart. But, Garrett is the popular one, he loves having the cameras in his face, and the women of Pineridge along with tourists adore Garrett. Davis is the complete opposite, Davis hates having the cameras in his face, he misses the days when the cameras weren't rolling in his face and following him around. When word gets out, and Davis learns that Kelsey could lose O'Henry's at the end of the fall season, Davis sees it as an opportunity to not only help out Kelsey, but as a way out of renewing his HGTV contract.

But lately, there's just been one problem, as Davis and Kelsey have been spending more time together, Davis's feelings for Kelsey have been less friendly, and more romantic. Davis has a dog, Cooper who seems to be Davis's protector, but Cooper seems to even be friendly with Kelsey. Kelsey decides to have the Halloween costume party at the bar as a way of saving the business, but on the night of the bar's Halloween party, Kelsey and Davis can no longer ignore their desires. But there;s only one minor mistake, a rumor starts going around after the night of the Halloween party. Davis and his twin brother, Garrett dress up as the same character, Kelsey and Davis decide to do the deed after everyone leaves the party, but the next morning, Davis goes into a local bakery in his Halloween costume, and people think it's Garrett, so people start a rumor that Kelsey and Garrett did the deed after the party, but Kelsey and Davis both know it wasn't Garrett.

Note: if GR, NG, and Amazon allowed 1/2 stars, this would be a 2.5 instead of a 2.

I am 100% guilty of gravitating towards appealing covers, and this adorable cover grabbed my attention and gave me all the fall-ish vibes I was craving. I'm also a sucker for a friends-to-lovers story, so this book seemed right up my alley.

Likes:
- The small town of Pineridge, where it seems everyone looks out for each other
- Kelsey and Davis's circle of friends and family --- most of the supporting characters were likeable, if sometimes under-developed (maybe some of the development happened in the 1st Pineridge book, which I haven't read?)
- The journey of discovery the MMC (Davis) went through as he gained confidence in who he was, what he brought to the table, and what he wanted out of life.

Dislikes:
- Sadly, the FMC (Kelsey) and her journey just annoyed me. Kelsey has been dealt a few bad hands and has a lot on her plate, but her stubborn refusal of assistance from those that love her was frustrating. It also felt like her 3 children were props to add drama to her storyline (Widow and Single mom of 3 kids) rather than valued members of her family.
- Every Rom-Com has some sort of drama or misunderstanding that keeps the main characters apart until the big ending ---- but the drama in this felt contrived.
- I was reading an ARC of this book after it's publication date, so I sincerely hope that those that read the book in time to provide edits and corrections helped to fix the many grammatical errors that were present in the version I was reading.

Final thoughts: I would read future books by this author and I will probably pick up future books with covers by this artist.
Thanks to NetGalley and City Owl Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book so badly: I mean, look at that cover. It's so fall. While Tricked in October did give me cozy fall vibes, it was lacking pretty much everywhere else. There was no character development, the unsettling amount of dead ex-love interests, the wildly unrealistic relationship portrayed between Kelsey and her mom, Kelsey herself was unlikeable and cared way too much about the bar (more, dare I say, than her 3 KIDS) and for some reason I loathed the twin's entire plot. Davis's whole complex about being confused for his twin brother was just...weird. He was so obsessive about how the world perceived him vs Garrett and I just did not care - they were both described as devastatingly handsome and wildly successful multiple times, calm down Davis, you're fine. It was also way longer than it needed to be. Thank you so much to Netgalley and City Owl Press for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This was a cute friends to lovers/second chance romance. It was slow burn which was good. The FMC was sort of irritating at times. I didn’t like that should we not let anyone help her but played the poor me card essentially. She did have a rough time but she needs to learn to let others help her. Now Davis was awesome. I usually am not a big fan of the cinnamon roll character. Although he was relatable and an overall good guy. I loved that he was handy and didn’t like much attention. Overall this was a fun read. Definitely recommend checking out. I received an arc for a honest review.

I love love love. This! It was a perfect read for the month of October! Couldn’t of picked it at a better time!

Thanks to Netgalley and City Owl Press for the ARC of this!

Very cute and perfect for the fall season! 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.

Let me start by saying that the cover of this book is one of the best, most adorable covers that I have ever seen, and gives me all of the autumn vibes.
'Tricked In October' is a cute, autumn read following two best friends who fall in love.
Kelsey has a lot going on in her life, as she is running a bar, has three children and is having to deal with her mother. Then there is her best friend Davis, who is the host of a renovation show with his twin brother.
I liked this book, it was super cute and I love a good friends to lovers book, where they have been pining over each other for a long time. This book did touch on a lot of harder topics, such as death of a loved one and alcoholism, but even though there were a lot of deeper topics, at the heart of the story was an adorable romance.
I did find that there was a lot of chemistry between Kelsey and Davis, but I was not obsessed with them. They were really cute though, and this overall story was such a cute, autumn read.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

Overall a cute romance. It does cover some heavier topics, such a death of a spouse and addiction, to give you a heads up. It is very heavily a best friends to lovers romance. There is a lot of build up, because I get it, do you really want to ruin a decade old friendship if you’re just horny?

Kelsey became a widow last year when her husband had a snowmobile accident, leaving her a single mother to their 3 young children. She is also trying to run the bar and grill they had and get it out of the red. Oh, and she is also covering for her mother, who used to be a functioning alcoholic, but she isn’t functioning more and more of the time any more. Thank goodness for her friends.

Davis is Kelsey’s best male friend, and has been that way forever. He and his twin brother recently signed a contract with HGTV, their show called “Renovation Dudes” he does the woodworking, his brother Garrett does the interior design. He’s always been there for Kelsey, but when a sink decided to rain water down everywhere in the bar, suddenly Kelsey was giving him Flashdance fantasies. Where did this come from? And did he imagine her checking him out too?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love the little illustrations at the top of every chapter and throughout the book! You don’t see illustrations hardly ever in adult books, it’s a nice change and very pleasing to my eyes!
This was the absolutely perfect fall read that I have been looking for. Between the scenery, the illustrations, the food/beverages and the fall activities that took place, it was the absolute perfect October book.
I loved the dynamic between Davis and Kelsey while they were just friends, and I couldn’t wait until they got together.
There was some definite spice in here!! But it was done perfectly and wasn’t cringey reading it ; I hate that 😬
I really really really liked this book!! I said it before and I’ll say it again: it was the absolute perfect fall read that I’ve been searching for!! (and I read a lotttttttt of fall books this year 🤪)
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Owl City Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review 💕

Honestly the cover of this book is what drew me to it. I'm a book cover fan! They make me want to jump into the cover itself.
Thos book has all the good feels and is a great Halloween read!
I just finished this book and loved it!
I felt sorry for Kelsey who definitely had her hands full. I wish I could have jumped into the book to help her. I can't imagine being in her position. I think I'd say no way!
Davis stole my heart with his easy going manner and his offer to help Kelsey through the hard times.
There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I loved all of it! I didn't want the book to end but this one I'd reread again!
5 stars for a job well done! I loved each and every one of these characters especially Charlotte!
I highly recommend.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.