So I’ve not written many book reviews so please bear with me but I was lucky enough to be given this book from NetGalley, I didn’t know much about it when I went into it only the description but this book was soooo good! If your like books about sleepy towns or people who are cooky in the best possible way then this book is for you! If you’re a fan of grumpy/sunshine or books where the main characters are awkwardly fumbling through their attraction to each other then this book is for you! It has the perfect autumn vibes and is such a cozy read.

A cute autumnal read, made me feel cozy and warm. It's a good book to get you into the autumn vibes.
Jeanie moves to a small town, takes over a cafe and falls for the local farmer. Their romance felt a little too fast for me, it was like an instant head-over-heels kind of thing, but it was still cute. just like a pumpkin spice latte, this was spicy and warming.

Grumpy x Sunshine trope.

3.5 ⭐
🌶️ 3

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so cozy and atmospheric. I've been craving fall vibes lately and this definitely hit the spot! Lots of cozy beverages, tiny pumpkins, autumn festivities and, of course, a gorgeous rugged farmer who the main character can't help but fall in love with. This was such an easy read to fly through in just a few sittings. The pacing was great - I never felt like the story lagged. While I did find it to be very predictable, I didn't expect anything else when I picked it up. If you're looking for a lightheaded and cozy romance with small town vibes, this one is perfect for you!

I was a little mistrued with the first sentence of the book but I quickly gained and got where I needed to be. My mind went directly to this isn't romance.

This book follows Jeanie who moves into a small town to take over her Aunts coffee shop "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe." I am a pumpkin spice girl so loved the name!

She immediately falls smitten to the small town boy next door farmer, Logan. He's your typical MLC.

I loved the progression of their relationship.

I think this is a cute fall read. Definitely a cozy, grab a blanket, cup of cocoa and sit by the fire read.

What a cute Autumnal read!
Small town, fresh starts and nosy neighbours.

Logan a rugged small town farmer with a great heart, has had that heart broken and has some deep abadonment issues.

Jeanie inherited her aunts cafe and wants a fresh start from her city life.

Will potential sabotage and their pasts come back and ruin the chemistry starting between this pairing? Or will they make it work?

These two are the perfect grumpy x sunshine trope.

This books was a warm hug in a book. Cute and cozy and very easy to read. I read this book within 2 days as I just kept wanting to pick it up again.
Our MCs fell hard. The timeline was a touch fast but that didn't take away from the romance or story line too much. I just want to visit this town!

The romance is cute and not too spicy, the perfect mix!

Thank you NetGalley for this book to read and review!


Very simple hallmark movie vibe read. Very interesting world building and characters with loveable personalities. Definitely something I would reach for again during the fall season. This was something I could get lost in and not have to worry about getting confused or even having to worry about remembering too much. As a reader with major ADHD, the quick simple read was very comforting and lovely.

This book is everything the title suggests: its as sweet, spicy, and heartwarming as pumpkin spice!
The main character Jeanie moves to a small town to take over a coffee shop from her aunt and immediately falls for the farm-boy-next door Logan. Logan is a stereotypical rom-com lead, a super hunky farmer who has been jaded by his last love, a woman who couldn't quite settle down in his quaint town. The trope here is miscommunication, but its resolved relatively quickly and mostly through interiority (these characters realize their own mistakes without really having to flush them out).
The B story lines in this book (the other townsfolk, a potential 'ghost' story) are relatively subpar: I don't think they bring anything remarkable. But this story is cutesy and fun, a little bit of suspended disbelief about the timing of love, and a whole lot of cozy fall vibes
One note: some of the marketing suggested this was SUPER steamy. Theres some good steam towards the back 30% but honestly its mostly sweet and fluffy

I really loved this book! It’s a fun cozy fall read, with a little bit of mystery in there as well. Jeanie is very relatable I think and that made me love her. Logan is so sweet, I very much get Luke from Gilmore girls vibes from him and I love it! The town itself is like it’s own separate character, it’s fantastic. The town knows everyone’s business all the time and I just very much enjoy that. This is a great book to read with your pumpkin spice latte.

This might just have landed itself on my “favorite romances” list to be honest.

I absolutely ADORED everything about this novel. Being a small town romance that follows themes of self discovery and letting go of your past, I think this book did cliché in the most heartwarming way.

What makes me love this book even more is that it’s not strictly smut that’s keeping me entertained, which I think happens for a lot of romance novels. The Pumpkin Spice Café gave me such a good romance development between Logan and Jeanie that bloomed fast yet amazingly. Of course each move was predictable, but I think the predictability is what keeps me engaged because I was loving each and every interaction these characters had.

From the plot, to the characters, to the setting, I have found myself yearning to be in this cheesy romance book and live out my small town fairytale (and I do NOT want to live in a small town at all 😭). I love the connections built between the side characters and the MCs, and how the descriptions of this small town and it’s events just make me wanna be there SO BAD.

All in all, Jeanie and Logan deserve the world (so does Annie,, we’re rooting for you girl) 🙌🏾.

An adorable hallmark style fall romance! This cozy story takes place when Jeanie takes over the cafe from her Aunt Dot. Someone starts mysteriously messing with the cafe, and Logan is an our adorable small town love interest! Just the read I needed to get ready for fall!

I had to push myself to finish this book there are many times when I'll dislike the book but like I won't be dying to finish it or anything this book had me checking my progress through the book every paragraph or so and took me so long to finish (or at least very long according to my usual reading speed) I do think that it had nice vibes, but that's about it.

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and One more chapter for letting me read this book!

I absolutely loved this cute and charming story! Jeanie was adorable and funny. She meets Logan the sexy farmer (as Ben called him), who she instantly has a connection with. I love watching Jeanie’s growth as she settled into Dream Harbor with her Pumpkin Spice cafe. It was also nice to see Logan finally acknowledging his abandonment issues and committing to Jeanie! This book made me so much more ready for the Fall, my favorite time of year in New England!

A cute Hallmark style read with spice and all the fall vibes.

This was an enjoyable and really easy read with third person dual POVs (I always prefer first person, but third fits this type of book). Think small Gilmore Girls-style town, a big city girl looking to start fresh by running her aunt's former cafe, and a shy/romantic/hot lumberjack guy who works at his grandparents' farm. They meet. They fall in love. Its cheesy and sappy but ultimately adorable. There's nothing deep or profound about this style of book, nothing to analyze or dissect for hidden meanings--its sole purpose is to entertain and slap a sticky sweet smile on your face, and thats what this does. I ate this up and felt transported to October skies and now I'm sad its only July. I gave this 3 stars because I would have liked this better if there was actually less spice and more of Jeanie and Logan getting to know each other. The spice almost felt out of place because everything else was so wholesome, but this really wasn't a huge deal.

Read this come September/October and you'll enjoy it, no matter what your favorite genre is. Its a comfy cozy fall romance that'll leave you happy! Craving pumpkin flavored anything! Wanting to escape the big city chaos! Dreaming of flannel! It's sweet. It's spicy, both steamy and pumpkin flavored (see? I'm still feeling sappy after just finishing this). It's got the romance. Its got the HEA. And its got the cozy fall vibes. Overall fun read.

A perfect romance to kickstart those cosy autumn feelings!

Told in a dual POV narrative between the female protagonist Jeanie (a big city executive assistant who has inherited an adorable cafe from her Aunt and is looking to start over, or more rightly truly find herself) and Logan (the seemingly grumpy small town farmer who keeps himself hidden away ever since he had his heart broken in front of the whole town), we follow their story as they work together to find out who or what is out to sabotage Jeanie and her cafe. All the while both falling head over heels for the other, even with the minor setbacks and hesitancies from both characters about being together.

Laurie’s writing perfectly encapsulates the necessities of a small town Hallmark style story. The gossiping book club and the town meetings immediately gave me Gilmore girl vibes and I am here for it!

The close knit community really do look out for each other as they all band around both Jeanie and Logan to help them. I especially liked the slap to the face wake up call scene with Hazel and Annie at Logan’s house. It was nice to see that even though Logan was beloved by the town, how quickly they also warmed up to Jeanie and helped her to succeed with running her cafe. I loved how supporting Hazel and Annie were, and the small peeks we got of their potential romances. I know this is titled Dream Harbour #1 so I hope the next book focuses on their stories.

I loved that it wasn’t just Jeanie and Logan who got their happy ending but that we also got to see the potentially happy ending for her Auntie and Norman (the long running cafe manager who was behind the sabotage, but only because he had been upset that she hadn’t sold him the cafe) as they both declared their love for each other, both oblivious to how they’d felt for years.

A special mention for the pop star named animals, I now want chickens called Lizzo and Britney!

An amazing grumpy x sunshine romance that made me feel so cosy whilst reading and had me reaching to light an autumn scented candle whilst endlessly sipping on pumpkin spice lattes.

I can’t wait to read the next instalment!

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was the most enjoyable, sunshine vs. grumpy, cosy wonder that I have resd this summer. It is full of autumnal vibes, will-they-won't-they vibes.

I loved the whole theme, plot, and story of the book and the unexpected spicy bits. It's such a wonderfully written book:)

The best way to describe this one is cozy but with spice 🔥 This gave off such great autumn vibes! Jeanie takes over her quirky aunts little Cafe in a small town, hoping to reinvent herself from her fast paced big city life. Logan was publicly crushed by his last girlfriend in front of the entire town and has decided its safer to hide away at his farm. When this grumpy and sunshiney pair collide for the first time they both begin to wonder, if what their aiming for is really what they want in life and can starting a relationship together be what they both really need?

Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and author Laurie Gilmore for providing me with this eARC

If you are looking for the perfect fall themed grumpy x sunshine romance with small town vibes, loveable side characters a bit of mystery and lots of spice - look no further!

I really enjoyed Jeanie & Logans story. Loved the cozy, small town setting that felt so much like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls and the amazing fall vibes - the fall festival, cozy coffee shop, Halloween and much more!

The only thing I didn’t really enjoy was the conflict between our two main characters. A lot of the times it was just miscommunication or simply a lack of any communication - a character assumes something and acts off of that assumption without further questions or thought.

A quick & easy autumn read worth your time!
3.75 stars

This started off well and I was interested in the romance between Jeanie and Logan, but something felt amiss when it came to their connection. The narration was repetitive at times and the passionate scenes were clichéd. This might interest others but unfortunately it wasn't for me and I DNF.

A super lovely romance that made me feel like I was in that cosy little cafe! Who doesn’t love a grumpy/sunshine story! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for early access to this title.

You got me at pumpkin spice, not gonna lie. I am an autumn girlie (gender neutral) through and through and the idea of a coffee shop romance set in autumn with pumpkin spice? Tailor-made for me, or so it seemed.

Unfortunately, I don't feel like the book fully uses its setting. I could feel it was autumn a few times but most of the time the expected atmosphere just wasn't there. Every time something autumny was mentioned I was like oh right, that's it, that's the season we are in.

That, however, absolutely doesn't make or break a book so let's talk about the stuff that does.

The plot wasn't anything new or special. A big-town girl moves to a small town after a hard-hitting realization that she doesn't know where did her life go, even though she thought she had it all figured out. She meets a local hottie and they fall in love in the midst of small-town shenanigans. It's a common formula but it works. Especially since this small town was full of quirky characters who added a lot to its personality. Between them, we even have a few queer characters, which, while they were minor, was nice to see anyway. You have probably read or seen a movie with a similar plot but it's familiar and comforting and therefore it works. The mystery part of the book was just there to bring the two of the main characters together and it wasn't the main point so I didn't feel disappointed by the resolution but it probably may bother people who came here for something exciting.

The characters, which in my opinion, are the very foundation of the romance novel were nice. I really liked Jeanie, who was fun and loud with a lot of anxiety stacked upon her. I liked the way she grew to care and prioritize herself and surrounded herself with a group of people ready to help her. It's far too easy to lose meaningful connection with people when you start to work and function as an adult so her journey was very relatable.

When it comes to Logan, he was also a very well-developed character and while I didn't like him as much as Jeanie, I could appreciate the way his actions were based on his previous experiences. Most of the time he was a cool, while a little gruff guy but there were moments when I wanted to kick him. Luckily he had a group of friends always ready to steer him right and he was rather self-aware about his faults.

The rest of the characters (and there are a few of them) were quirky and fun but not very well-developed. I didn't mind, because they served their purpose in the story and some of them seemed to be set up for future romances set in this city. I don't need my side characters to be super deep but I appreciate when I can tell them apart and here it definitely worked.

Now the romance. It felt a little insta-lovey but the characters' issues stopped from jumping each other bones 5% into the book. The progression of the romance, despite the immediate attraction, seemed natural for a book like this so I didn't mind it that much. There were some moments of miscommunication where characters just assumed they knew what the other was thinking. There were also a lot of moments where they were interrupted before things got heated and while it can happen once or twice, it was too much at some point. When it comes to the third-act breakup, I feel it was a logical conclusion to Logan's issues and I don't think it was forced.

All in all, it's a fun cozy romance that reads quickly and serves as a great palate cleanser. I recommend picking it up later in the summer to get all the autumn experience.