Review: The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

Autumn leaves and small town romances to make you feel like your wrapped in a blanket.

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@shereadsbooks.sometimes

Dates read: 10/04/25 to 01/07/25

Word to describe: Trope-madness

Star rating:⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Romantic Fiction

Picture this; it's raining outside, the leaves are falling in arrays of orange and deep reds, there's a chill in the air, and a mug of hot chocolate (or coffee if you like it) with steam swirling out of the liquid is resting beside you on your sofa, a sofa which is conveniently draped with one large fluffy blanket and you're reading the most sickly sweet romance book ever. And now you're stuck in a dichotomy of awe and absolute disgust.

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore is exactly what you'd expect. It's just okay. It's sweet and cutesy and the cover is the best thing about it. It's a hallmark Christmas movie. You know exactly what the plot line is but somehow you're drawn to it because it's wrapped in pretty packaging and gives that wholesome feeling that reality doesn't quite mimic. There's nothing quite like the unproblematic characters that you can fall for without feeling guilty about it (looking at you dark romance men).

Between one cliché male character with relationship issues and a cliché female character who's a big city girl settling in a small town (and far too many references and tropes stolen directly from Gilmore Girls) readers are given the ultimate comfort read. You have the loveable and quirky side characters, and a group of book lovers who infiltrate everyone's personal lives, you have the mystery side plot that is supposed to be the actual plot but is seemingly dumped every time the two main characters make goo-goo eyes at each other like hormonal teenagers. And it frustratingly works. What can I say - people like the mundane and repetitive.

Rugged Logan is still heartbroken from his ex-girlfriend publicly rejecting his proposal and dumping him (yikes) when he is attacked by new-comer Jeanie - who, in her defence, thought he was breaking into her house - and is immediately enamoured by her not-like-other-girls pyjamas and her willingness to believe a ghost is haunting her café. (Spoiler alert: it was a cat). When I say immediately enamoured I mean immediately. This wasn't a slow burn where feelings are developed over time. These two love birds fell head first into each other and then stupidly created mistrust in each other - because we all love that third act break up, right?

Naturally, the two characters are drawn to each other in a way that is similar to flies on shit and they spend 90% of the book wrapped in their own inner monologue about how they should but shouldn't sleep together. The kiss a few times and then are declaring their love for each other, with the normal amount of hesitation only coming after they realise neither of them have actually mentally prepared themselves for a relationship and still have baggage. Baggage that is - obviously - immediately forgotten about after the miscommunication trope throws in an apology. My favourite internal monologue (being my own and not the characters) was that everyone is in need of therapy, myself included after reading this book.

Whilst I won't be exploring more of this universe (there are several more cutesy titles after this one), I can appreciate it for what it is. Comfort and warmth, like a hot chocolate in Autumn and definitely over hyped because it says pumpkin spice.