Title: The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice
Author: Kate Angell, Donna Kauffman, and Allyson Charles
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Pages: 368
Book Source: NetGalley
“Every autumn, Moonbright, Maine, is the picture of charm with its piles of crisp leaves, flickering jack-o’-lanterns … and a touch of the sweetest kind of enchantment.
Witches, goblins, the occasional ghost—they’re all sure to be spotted at the annual Halloween parade, where adults and children alike dress in costume to celebrate Moonbright’s favorite holiday. And no place has more seasonal spirit than Bellaluna’s Bakeshop, a family business steeped in traditional recipes, welcoming warmth—and, legend has it, truly spellbinding, heart-melting treats …
Between good-natured Halloween tricks, frothy pumpkin lattes, and some very special baked goods, for three Moonbright residents looking for love—whether they know it or not—the spookiest thing will be how magical romance can suddenly be …” – Amazon
Kim’s Review
I knew I would be reading The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice after reading The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine, and really enjoying it. The two books, and I’m hoping they continue to write one every year, take place in the same town of Moonbright, Maine and have characters and locations in the town that interweave between the three stories in each book and between the two books. This is such a fun idea, and it’s interesting to see the different writing styles between all the different authors.
Both books have Kate Angell writing a story in it, but the other two authors, Donna Kauffman and Allyson Charles, are new to the series.
Kauffman has the first story, Sweet Magic, in The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice and I was a bit concerned. Out of the three stories in this book and the three in The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine, hers was my least favorite. It was well edited and it flowed nicely, but there was too much repetition in regards to one of the main character’s uncle’s restaurant.
Romance novels are known for their repetition when it comes to the main characters continually wondering if they should be together or talking themselves out of getting together. So I’ve come to accept this, and if an author doesn’t use that storyline in their book I am super happy. Unfortunately, I found myself skimming a lot of Kauffman’s contribution to the story collection.
Allyson Charles’ story, Love Spells Disaster, was a fun nod back to one of the stories in The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine with handymen being hired to get the cottage ready for the huge annual Halloween party. This time it was just one handyman, Chip, and he was building a maze in Cassie’s driveway.
Charles had a nice amount of nods to the town, its people, and to the previous book. And the sexual tension and sex scenes in this book were turned up a notch from Kauffman’s story.
The last story, Sweet on You, by Kate Angell was the star of the book. She weaved together characters and locations expertly from the other stories in The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice, as well as from, The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine. You can really see her love and dedication to this series.
Out of all the stories this is the one with the synopsis I enjoyed the most. Lara is curvy and a bit unsure of herself. Jack is the mayor who use to be a hockey player in high school. And although Lara and Jack rarely talked back then, he noticed her, and wished they had. So. Darn. Sweet.
Throw in some sizzling sexual tension and hot sex scenes and it was a wonderful story that had me tear up a time or two.
With cooler weather coming to where I live this was the perfect time to read it. Although with all the magical realism in the book, you may want to wait until it’s closer to Autumn or Halloween. Just make sure to go and buy the book now!
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