The premise of this jumped out at me: a redemptive character development tale featuring coffee plantations in Guatemala… such a unique and compelling hook!

What worked for me:
☕️ Some truly beautiful and delightful turns of phrase/descriptions
☕️ Pacing was pretty much perfect
☕️ Writing was refreshingly simple, straightforward, and succinct which really worked for me
☕️ While Jack didn’t feel as developed to me as some of the other characters, I really enjoyed and appreciated his development arc from soulless corporate robot to passionate coffee advocate
☕️ Certainly a bit intense at times, I still loved spending time with Hope; her relentless optimism and upbeat energy was refreshing
☕️ I liked Jack and Negasi’s relationship (their final scene together was beautiful)
☕️ Everything about coffee development and how exploitative this industry is - we don’t talk about this enough
☕️ An emotional climax that I genuinely didn’t see coming
☕️ The sense of place that Higgins illustrated in Guatemala was fantastic; I could picture the people, places, and weather perfectly!
☕️ The cover is stunning and I loved the reference to the title in the story, it really tied it all together beautifully

What might improve this further:
☕️ Dialogue felt a bit unnatural at times; this was amplified by the bland speaking verbs (a lot of said, replied, responded, etc.)
☕️ Jack and Hope’s relationship felt thin in terms of development, so when they jet off to Guatemala, it felt unrealistic and a bit intense; perhaps this ties into my next point because Jack mentions they’d been together for a year when I’d thought it was more like weeks?
☕️ This reader would have valued clear demarcation of time-slip, dream, and flashback sequences; sometimes these transitions happened in the same paragraph following on a ‘live’ sentence which was confusing as heck

Stupid Question: I didn’t go to university and I’m deeply curious about how Jack had a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. What’s arty about finance, creative accounting? 🙃

I could find approximately zero information on this book or author online. If this is a debut as I suspect, it’s a solid one!

I was privileged to have my request to review this book approved by Decadal Press on NetGalley.

Note: This title wasn't available on any reviewing platforms:
✅ I've added it to Storygraph.
Goodreads took away the ability for users to add to their catalogue a few years ago; but I've submitted a ticket. These are usually ignored in my experience so If anyone wants to boost it for me, you can add a comment here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22963506-request-add-new-title

I noticed right away from this book's cover that it was to take place in one of the best spots in the world, Guatemala! My son was born there, and we have visited many times. The beauty is unbelievable. I appreciated Higgins's story very much. I liked, no, loved the coffee angle! It was very interesting to read about. As a coffee lover, this storyline worked well for me. I found the book entertaining, and it's pacing enjoyable. I'll be letting the families I know with ties to Guatemala all about this title. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.