Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 Spice: 🌶️🌶️

by Allie Samberts (June 4, 2024) Many thanks to @alliesambertswrites for the advanced copy of yet another fantastic book she has written. Here is my honest review.

Trevor is doing everything he can to save the coffee shop he inherited from his father and grandfather. Still, with a shiny coffee chain going in down the street, he has (at best) a couple of months to turn things around but always tries to look on the bright side – he knows he will find a way. Emery used to be a journalist, but after a layoff and a divorce, she is now writing puff pieces for the local lifestyle paper – and she hates all of it. Her gloom-and-doom attitude is reflected in her attitude toward life and love – it will always fall apart, so don’t get too invested. After Emery bets her boss she can make a story go viral, she stumbles upon a coffee shop that needs saving and thinks she can write a series to get people invested in the business and its handsome owner (who happens to be the guy whose apartment she snuck out of in the middle of the night after a scorching one-night stand a few days before). As they work together to save the store, these two opposites may find they were meant for each other.

I love everything about the way Allie writes. Her characters feel real, facing real-life struggles and the complex emotions that come with them. I particularly loved that the characters in this book are in their late 30s and early 40s; they’ve been through it and have imperfect lives. As with her Leade Park series, the secondary characters are delightful and critical to the plot. Family and friends play a huge role in this story. Trevor and Emery are both surrounded by people who are willing to give them tough love and tenderness, but they also (for different reasons) feel a deep sense of loss about their parents. I hope this is the start of a new series, as I felt like Trevor’s best friend, Mike, would be a fun character to have Allie explore. Also, you’ll definitely want waffles after reading this one. With whipped cream.