Member Reviews
Cute tale of small town life and secrets, starting over, finding your place and new family and friends.
Really enjoyed this easy read book, the story is based in the town of Starr’s Fall and when Laurie moves there hoping to find a special someone it doesn’t go all to plan. Lovely feel good read.
My thanks as always to NetGalley and publisher Boldwood books for the early read.
This is just delightful. It is sweet but not too sweet and definitely not saccharine. Laurie is lovely, she is kind and gentle and overcoming a tough upbringing where she never felt she belonged. The story follows how she is charmed and charms the people of Starr’s Fall. There is the love interest in the grumpy neighbour and even this is chipped away at with care and with humour. The book’s characters are ever so slightly upstaged by a rescue dog called Max and the hugest cat ever that falls for the charms of the dog! There are some tough topics around adoption and foster care touched on with gentleness. This is a great read that I read through all in one with delight,
Ugh there’s something about fall romances set in the small towns of New England that make me so happy.
The leaves are falling, with a crispness to the air, along with the scents of coffee and pumpkin spice, past a half-empty street of shuttered storefronts and a bandstand that has seen better days…
Just like the whole town of Starr’s Fall, thinks Laurie Ellis – as she and her beloved dog Max head to collect the store keys. Maybe she has seen better days, too, but she’s certainly ready for a new start—and to leave her past behind. Still Laurie wonders whether she made a terrible mistake in coming to lovable but shabby Starr’s Fall. Will she even find customers for her pet store and bakery, never mind a community to welcome and accept her?
Not according to Joshua Reilly, the handsome but grumpy manager of the bookstore across the road, who claims he’s never heard of anything so ridiculous as a bakery for dogs.
But Laurie remains stubbornly undeterred. She’s starting over, right here. Not least because she has another secret reason for being here… one she isn’t telling anybody, at least not yet, as it involves her own tragic past.
While this has everything you would expect from this type of book; it also has a lot of depth and tackles verg serious topics such as grief, parental loss and being raised in the foster system.
I loved everything about these characters and their beloved town! I can’t wait for the series to continue
There is a lot to this little town, a lot of heart, a lot of togetherness, and the people are wonderful. They made me laugh, shed a few tears, and a few times felt like coming home. It was a perfect book to read as Tropical Storm Debby came through, and I settled right in and forgot all about the storm.
I received an ARC from Boldwood Books through NetGalley.
A feel good read. The love of family and friends comes through as you read this book. Each character has his and her own hardships to overcome but this book reminds us that having family and friends makes all the difference.
It was a cute and easy ready, one of those books you can curl up with on a rainy day and just enjoy yourself. I had a good time and found myself giggling with the antics of the animals in the story. It's a pretty short book so you don't get in too deep with the characters or the town, but it's still a complete and satisfying love story.
An easy chick lit book. I agree that it is reminiscent of Gilmore Girls in the sense that it is set in small town Connecticut and not a huge amount happens apart from people being nice and getting on with their lives. There is nothing wrong with this book, it just doesn’t really go anywhere. The ending feels like it’s setting itself up for the next book in the series.
I really loved this sweet story. The characters were all unique and enjoyable, flaws and all. While parts of the plot were predictable, it still captivated me throughout. Hoping there is more to come about this quaint town.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was a lovely cosy read- it didn't scream autumn/fall like I was hoping based on the cover - but there's some heavy-ish topics in the book. I wouldn't call it light-hearted but also not a heavy hitter. Somewhere in the middle.
I hope there's more to come in the series as I'd like to follow up on some of the characters.
the book was really cute, the story was thought out and you really get absorbed into it, you feel like you're in it! I loved the writing style and hope to read more soon!
I found this book to be an enjoyable read. I particularly appreciated the cozy atmosphere it created while reading. The setting of Starr’s Fall, a charming town in Connecticut where everyone is familiar with each other, reminded me of the small town vibes in Gilmore Girls, while Laurie’s journey to find connection and belonging there reminded me of the show Hart Of Dixie and Virgin River. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy, feel-good reads that will leave you with a smile on your face. It’s the perfect book to curl up with on a crisp autumn day with a cup of coffee or tea in hand.
👉🏻 Grumpy/Sunshine
👉🏻 Cozy Small town
👉🏻 Brisk Autumn Season Vibes
👉🏻 Found Family
A story about a woman who grew up in foster care who moves to a small CT town to open a business and potentially find out more about her bio mom. Neighboring business owner and town grouch becomes a possible love interest as both learn to find love. I enjoyed this very much.
Very easy read and makes me crave a pumpkin spice latte. The warmth of the characters and the small town feel made it hard not to smile throughout the book. The only thing that annoyed me was the towns name - other wise loved it.
Starr’s Fall was the way to escape.
Laurie Ellis finds herself escaping to Starr’s Fall hoping for a new beginning as well as opening a bakery pet store with the help of her furry little best friend Max. Not too long into her arrival into town her rental car breaks down unfortunately she will have to walk the rest of the way there lucky a friendly faces Annie Lyman rescue her and welcomes her into town introducing her to all the friendly town folks. Laurie couldn’t help but fall for the town grump (Joshua) who own a bookstore after living in the orphanage her whole life not knowing who her parents are that desire feeling stilling wanting answers didn’t leave her mind. Through a deep investigation Laurie reaches out to her mother who once lived in Starr’s Fall only to find out that she doesn’t want to reconnect.
My thoughts 💭
With fall just around the corner Kate Hewitt gave everything I ever wanted for a perfect fall book the small town romance, the Autumn feeling everything about this book I fell in love with.
Thank you Net Gallery for the advance reading ☕️
I read an ARC copy of this novel courtesy of NetGalley, Boldwood Publishing and the author. I absolutely loved the fall cozy vibe of this small town novel and personally would love to visit Starts Fall.
The author wrote a great story in a way that felt like it was absolutely a breeze to read it and took me no time! I had trouble putting this book down and could picture the town, sounds of the leaves, and the smells of the bakery and other small shops!
Highly recommend this to Hallmark like fall story lovers, or to anyone who wants a good wholesome fall romance. I adored this and cannot wait to explore other novels by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
Laurie has moved to small town Starr's Fall in Connecticut, New England for a fresh start. She has a rescue dog named Max and she intends to open a pet store/bakery for dogs.
She soon realises that she's stumbled into a ready-made friendly community, apart from Joshua, the owner of an antiquarian bookstore opposite her who is the grumpy to her sunshine. But even he doesn't take long to forget about his troubles and grief in her presence. However, there is another reason why Laurie chose Starr's Fall, and it's quite personal. Will Laurie find what she is looking for?
I absolutely loved the character of Laurie. She has been through the foster care system until she aged out, is now 25 and so full of cheerfulness and get up and go that she puts more mature people to shame.
This is my first Kate Hewitt book. I hadn't realised she's an American author but I won't hold it against her. As long as I don't have to live in them I quite like to read about small towns, and I liked the warm-hearted, kind people in this one. This seems to be the start of a series so I hope to see more of them soon, especially regal Henrietta Starr whose story isn't over yet I hope.
I like short novels that don't overstay their welcome and aren't too taxing, and I adore dogs so this was right up my street. The story and the cover have a pleasantly autumnal feel which is nice as most novels choose either summer or winter for their stories.
I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and there were lots of things in the epilogue that could have got more time in the book but I guess it was used to set up the next book in the series which seems to be about a boardgame café.
Altogether, this is a cozy, clean read full of apple cider and pumpkins, perfect for lovers of the third season.
I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next. That said I felt the ending was a bit of a let down and seemed rushed.
Laurie está decidida a encontrar a su madre, sigue todas la pistas que ha encontrado u termina mudándose a Starr's Fall el lugar en donde se supone fue dada en adopción.
Durante su comino por encontrar lo que siempre ha querido descubre que la familia no necesariamente tiene que ser de sangre.
Joshua esta amargado, sus padres murieron, su prometida lo dejó, no tiene amigos y está estancado en todo sentido. Cuando Laurie abre su negocio frente al de él todo lo que pensaba que ya no quería de pronto está al alcance de su mano.
Sentí feo por lo de Annie y Barbara, espero Annie tenga su libro, pueda ser feliz que tenga a alguien que la ayude y la apoye con su mamá.
¿El siguiente libro es el de Maggie?
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
ADORABLE!!!! It made me so excited for fall! This book just had all the cozy feels, and I did not want it to end. I adored the main characters and their sweet story. Highly recommend cuddling up reading this book.