The Cafe Between Pumpkin and Pie by Marina Adair, Kate Angell, and Stacy Finz

 

I was talking to my cousin Kari on Saturday about books and she said she's been reading romances by the bucketload--a genre she usually doesn't read. I said I hear ya! Cozy mysteries and my beloved Katie Fforde are my comfort reads lately. Kari, I think you'll like this one--it's not a regency romance, but it's got all the feels and guaranteed happy endings!

I'll just state right here and now that I'd like to live in Moonbright, Maine. A small town where there's delicious comfort food on every corner, people stop everything to celebrate Halloween, and there's hot men everywhere.

This is the third anthology set in Moonbright, and I've read each and every one of them. You do not need to read the first and second books before dipping into this, the latest. Each has three short stories about the women of Moonbright finding their perfect match. All take place around Halloween, and a little bit of magic and tradition help push people together. 

The Corner Cafe is the setting for the first romance involving waitress Hannah and motorcycle dude Jake. With his leather jacket, dark hair, and aviator glasses, he's a hard one to resist--even if Hannah thinks her perfect match is a clean cut kind of guy. Will Jake convince her otherwise?

The second romance involves Sydney, an up and coming baker who comes back to Moonlight to settle her grandmother's estate and ready her Victorian home for sale. Sydney's got a well established bakery in San Francisco, a cookbook in the works, and no time for Nick, who is only following orders set by Sydney's grandmother to put a commercial kitchen into the carriage house on the property. It doesn't help Nick and Sydney have a past that stretches back to high school. How will these two manage to fall in love?

The third romance features Mia, who is determined to break a curse--one that began with a whiz bang of a kiss in a closet during a high school party seven years before. Since then, she's been unable to beat that darn kiss from Ford James. Now she's going to corner him, kiss him again, and break the curse so she can move to Los Angeles and start her set director career and move on from the past.

Only thing is....was it really Ford she kissed, or his twin Hudson? He of the smoldering good looks, muscular build, and one who does not tick off any of the boxes on her list for a perfect match?

I enjoyed all the romances, and of course the happy endings. I also enjoyed all of the food in these stories--sheesh! I want all the breakfasts, desserts, and meatloaf sandwiches featured in these stories. This short story collection definitely put me in the mood for September fall weather and seasonal reads. 

Here are the first two books in the Moonbright, Maine series (available online, check your library, or have your local bookstore get them for you!)




Rating: 4/6 for a delightful romance anthology centered around Halloween in small town Maine. Happy endings guaranteed under the harvest moon. 

Available in paperback and Kindle ebook. 



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