Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby by Kerry Evelyn: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

When her ultimate rival needs a place to stay, will she take him in?

I'd rather break my leg again than live with my archenemy, Montgomery Biddington.

But Monty's got something I want—connections. And when he suddenly needs a place to stay, I know exactly how we can help each other.

I can live with his arrogance and unrelenting passive-aggressive digs. I can fire them right back just as well. I've been doing it since we were kids. To us, the term "punchbacks" always meant more than a reverse flip on the mat.

I never expected his compassionate side. A side that makes him almost...lovable.

He even nurses me through an unexpected flare-up of a disease I thought I'd finally gained control of, and he even offered to fill in at my coaching job when I couldn't leave our apartment. But how can I take him seriously when he’s always teasing me or pranking the hockey team for his gig as its hilarious mascot?

I can never risk admitting my true feelings, even when I catch him sending compassionate looks my way. I can't compromise the team's chances of winning or risk losing Monty to silly emotions that will no doubt punch back harder than any of his tumbling passes.

It's going to take an awful latte of willpower to keep myself closed off. But is this a challenge I want to win?

***

Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby is a childhood rivals and frenemies-to-more forced proximity sports romance with #justkisses and no swearing.

Content Warning:

This book contains scenes referencing the death of the MMC’s sister to childhood cancer.

The Author

Kerry's sweet romance novels feature small towns, a touch of the supernatural, and unforgettable charming characters pursuing happily-ever-afters. This international award-winning *NSYNC fanatic is fueled on faith, Dunkin’ iced coffee, and a love for people, including her amazing family, Kerry loves (in ever-changing order) books, boybands, cats, hockey, sweet drinks, taking selfies, traveling, and the madness of getting the stories in her head onto the page. Find out more and sign up for her newsletter at KerryEvelyn.com/links.

Book Review

Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby is part of The Coffee Loft: Fall Collection. This is a multi-author series with all books featuring a Coffee Loft shop and being able to be read in any order or as standalones. In this one, we DO see characters from the author's previous Coffee Loft book make an appearance, but you don't have to have read that one to understand and enjoy this one. 

This was such a fun read...right down to the title! At the start of the story, Monty and Tasha are enemies (at least on her side) but had been best friends and cheer partners for many years before they'd had a falling out. As such, we get the best of all the worlds--- the banter and tension of enemies to more, with all the history and foundation that comes with friends to more too. It made for such a wonderful slow burn that paid off well in the end! I loved how the full details of what happened between them (and more importantly, the whys) are revealed slowly throughout the story, keeping me curious throughout and wanting to read on. They had a really fun chemistry and just were such unique and well-written characters who I couldn't help but enjoy. I loved the chronic illness rep in Tasha (who has Celiac disease) and how very sweet and understanding Monty was with her. Truly, the way he took care of the people he loved in general was just absolutely perfect! This was such a wonderful addition to The Coffee Loft and definitely has me wanting to read even more from the author! 

Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby is a closed-door romance with kisses only and no language. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/3MG0pWf