Let's Give 'Em Pumpkin to Talk About is a fast read that captures small-town life and the subtle undertones of human relationship.

The storytelling is of such a pace that it becomes impossible to set aside. The emotional beats are worth it, and there's a sincerity to the relationships that makes you care what's coming next. Charm and substance are kept nicely in check by the author.

It's not just a comfort read for fall, it's a novel of second chances, of weakness, and finding purpose in the most unexpected places. If you're after something warm but authentic, easy to get caught up in but hard to put down, then this book is worth a go.

Perfect seasonal title, especially if you're an all-black girlie like I am! It was a wonderful story about love and forgiveness and second chances and all the right spices for the upcoming season. A great read!

3.5 stars

Sweet, cozy, and spicy! Black cat meets golden retriever in this small town romance. This was a fun quick read, though formulaic (that's why we read them right!). Characters were fun and sweet, I enjoyed the growth they showed throughout.

Perfect fall read!

This was a fun Fall romance book. I loved the main characters, the plot and it was just so sweet! Highly recommend!

Let's Give 'em Pumpkin to Talk About is a fun, low-stakes read that is perfect for that cozy autumn vibe. The characters are quirky and amusing, while also having a deeper, well-established background.

I really enjoyed the countdown to the big event at the beginning of each chapter, as there are some time jumps by weeks, and it helped me to not get lost. I do wish there had been a bit more build up during those times instead of such a big jump (one as much as 18 days).

I also wish, at parts, the writing had focused on showing what the characters were going through via their actions and reactions rather than telling us via their inner monologue.

Overall, this was a relatively quick, enjoyable read that is great for anyone looking for fall vibes, banter, and a happily ever after.

This was a (supposed to be) quick fall read! It fell short for me. Personally, I felt really bogged down reading this and what should have been a fast read, dragged on and on and on. I liked the general vibes, although I was expecting more of a fall vibe than we actually got. Through so much of this book, we got a lot of telling rather than showing for relationships (especially with the main characters) and in general the plot. Another thing! The pacing was sooo off. Based on the title and what brought our main characters together, I thought we would have spent a lot more time in the nitty gritty of pumpkins. But noooo. You would spend several chapters in one day and then boom you jump soooo many days ahead. It felt like those in between parts is where the MCs built their relationship.

I think overall, this just wasn’t the book for me. I’ve seen a lot of other positive reviews so I wouldn’t count this book out in general for other people. Thank you to NetGalley, Afterglow Books by Harlequin and the author for an ARC for my honest review :)

Josh Thatcher is possibly one of the sweetest MMC I've read in a while. And black cat energy FMC is always a win in my book(s) so needless to say I enjoyed Sadie Fox very much! I read this book in the summer, but honestly it's a perfect fall read (which the title and cover are probably a dead giveaway, but I still had to say it). This was a delightful and fun read, I think I read it in 1-2 sittings.

I really enjoyed this book. There's just something about a sweet grumpy sunshine read that just makes my heart flutter. What I enjoyed the most is that our FMC was the grump. Sadie was a great character who actually grew through the story. It was nice to see character development through the story for her as I was afraid at times she was going to stay stuck in her past feelings. Sunshine-y Josh was a character I didn't know I would end up loving so much. I love nerds though. He was endearing, and sweet and just what Sadie needed. I enjoyed the story revolving around a pumpkin weighing contest. How cute! Very cozy! Easy read to get you in the fall spirit.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

I wish I liked this book. The description sounds fun… but it ultimately was not for me.

I was expecting more fall vibes. More about the pumpkins and small town. Maybe that’s on me but idk it seemed like a great fall romance read and it was a let down.

First off, idk pumpkin growing schedules but the books timeline did not click for me. Each chapter starts with how many days are left till the pumpkin weigh off. We start at 61 days till it then jump to 55. Then it’s just downhill. We go from 53 days to 35 and then it’s the same day forever and then 23?? The timeline made no sense. It was 3 weeks till the contest one minute then the day of.

I’m sorry but Josh sucks as a MMC. The first time meeting her he says

"Weird question," he said, "but do you happen to be sober?"

And she says..

"At the moment? Yes. As a lifestyle, no."

It felt weird

THEN BY CHAPTER 3 HE SAYS

"Wouldn't dream of making any assumptions. Can I ask, though, if you date men?"

It’s just cringy. Maybe it’s a me problem.

The amount of similes were insane. According to my kobo the word “like” is written 416 times in a 288 page book.

Here’s a sampling of some of the similes.

- Then she'd moved away, and things slowly thawed between them. But like a microwaved burrito with a frozen core, it still fucking sucked

- Stu around his pumpkins like a hound, absorbing everything he said

- he saw the temptation wash over her face like he was the devil on her shoulder.

- She swung her hand in a wide gesture, showing off the trampled pumpkin patch like it was history's worst game show prize.

- Bob drew a chunk of wood from his pocket like he was a magician

- cut into him like a freshly honed blade.

- bitter and sweet like a perfectly charred marshmallow

- She struggled to breathe, gasping like a fish rudely landed on a dock.

- He'd tried cursing to fit in at his old game studio and ended up sounding like an alien trying human language on for size.

Notes: third person pov. It’s try to give quirky and failing.. reminds me of Lexi Lafleurs book.

SPOILERS BELOW
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He’s a billionaire and wants to buy her farm? ? He literally says in chapter 3 RIGHT AFTER MEETING HER

“Josh followed her into the garage— a waste of timber he was dying to tear down.But he was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to learn the art of growing squashes. Win Stu's trust. Buy out Fox Family Farm when Stu retired or died, if Sadie didn't take over. Knock down the garage. Expand operations. Become a squash magnate.”

THEN has the audacity to act like he wasn’t scheming the entire time.

Don’t even get me started on the tornado warning. Like hell they wouldn’t have known.

Also… holy crap is she horny. The plot sucks and is trying too hard to be quirky BUT DW there’s so much sex with dildos and vibrators and tying up!!

Maybe read this of you want a quirky sexed up story.

Black cat and golden retriever energy in this book! Four stars from me. This was an adorable fall vibe setting with all the pumpkin talk. These two were so opposite but yet they fit together perfectly. This book brings the spice!

When Sadie comes home to help her dad out she expects to just grow a big pumpkin but a series of unfortunate events happen and she has to get some help from Josh. These two fall into a sweet romance. Entertaining and some laugh out loud moments.

Perfect for anytime but especially for the fall vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for my advanced copy of this book.

I received an E-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I overall really enjoyed it. Sadie actually reminded me quite a bit of myself. A plus size, alternative outcast. And she was actually plus size, not just curvy! That made me so happy.
I liked basically everything about this story. It was a cute, small town romance and it took place in early fall for the most part. I'm a sucker for fall themed stories; It's my favorite season.
There were however, some things I didn't enjoy or that didn't make sense to me. To start, Sadie's dad called her Sarah a few times in the beginning. It never came back up so I'm guessing it was an accident.
At one point, Josh was showing Sadie around and there was a tornado warning. They went into a space underground and they were doing something and Josh mentioned that there was no phone signal and the wifi was out. The sentence was "There's no cell service underground and now the Wi-Fi out." Now, I don't know if this was intentional or not, but I think this sentence would have made more sense if he had said "the wifi is out."
During the very first "spicy" scene, Josh made sure to comment on Sadie's lack of lacy nightclothes. He not only mentions it twice but says she's dressed in "history's rattiest T-shirt and a black pair of hipster underwear." Shortly after that it says, "Not the lacy confection he'd imagined, but it awakened something in him nonetheless." Which I didn't love. Women don't need to cater to men's fantasies to be sexy. Even in ratty clothes and plain underwear. Now I understand he is saying he still finds her sexy; He still just seemed slightly disappointed that it wasn't exactly what he wanted. I don't know, this just felt icky to me.
Also, Josh doesn't curse. I think it's supposed to be cute, but the way it was executed just got on my nerves. I know several adults myself that don't curse but they don't typically replace words like Fuck with "Fudge" and it just felt juvenile because of that.
Sadie hissed a lot. And not like one does when they're in pain. Josh described it as it being like a cat. She did it to him, her sister and her sisters dog. It was just odd, considering that at the end of the story she was at least 32.
There were a couple more sentences that didn't make sense either. One was a scene where Sadie was thinking about how much she liked Josh and listing things off. One of those things was "The first time she learned he kissed like someone who loved to eat pussy." Not only did that not really make sense to me, I found it to be silly and slightly amusing. The last instance was when Sadie asked Josh about dinner and said "You can scare up a dinner for us?" I'm guessing that was a typo because it would have made more sense if it began with "can you"
Aside from that though, as I said, I really liked this story. I thought it was very sweet and everything felt like it flowed naturally.

This was just an okay read for me. I enjoyed the small town, Fall vibes but nothing else about this book was really a stand out read. Okay on audio and great if you're looking for an Autumn read but just a mediocre read for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was pretty meh for me for the first half of it. I didn't find it compelling and didn't relate with any of the characters. It's like the author was trying to convey attraction between the two but it was just being described but not shown. I'm not sure how else to explain it. There was not any tension between the two and then suddenly we have spicy scenes. There was nothing exciting about the plot really even though it felt like there were parts that should have been. Like in theory or in outline it seemed good but execution was poor. I might have enjoyed it more as an audiobook, especially with great narrators. Overall, the eBook fell flat for me.

If you’re looking to add a cute, punny, spicy, Autumn coded romance book to your fall TBR, this is it. I fell in love with Josh and his adorable golden retriever energy, while feeling entirely too seen in Sadie’s black cat energy (barn cat, not house cat). I loved that it’s a dual POV and that there wasn’t a whole lot of drama - it sort of gave Gilmore Girls vibes. Fans of reverse grumpy vs sunshine will eat this up!

About 🍂🍁🍃 by @isabellepopphea

QOTD: what’s on your fall tbr?

I thought this read was so fun and full of heart. Sadie’s and Josh’s romantic story was full of banter and lots of emotion, and I’m happy they found each other. Josh’s sunshine to Sade’s grumpiness and edginess was well executed, and I appreciated how Josh is the kind of person always willing to jump in and help to make things easier on others. I loved the small town vibes of this one, and I fell in love with the town of Pea Blossom right along with Sadie 🧡💛🤎

About this book:
🎃black cat x golden retriever
🎃small town romance
🎃plus sized rep
🎃forced proximity

Thank you so much @harlequinbooks @hqn_shamelessromantics and @netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The ebook and audiobook is out now but paperback is out 8/26/25!

#books #bookreviewer #bookrecommendations #igreads #bookworm #bookstagrammer #read

“𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆 𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜’𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲.”

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 7/1/25

Audiobook 🎧/ eBook 📖 dual immersion read.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆:
Sadie returns to her small hometown to help out her father whom she has a tenuous relationship with. Stu (her father) has to leave town for a family emergency leaving Sadie to compete in the local pumpkin contest. When she arrives home, an unexpected and unwelcome surprise meets her.
To overcome the hurdle she teams up with her brainiac (and competitor) neighbor to find a way to make the competition a success.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🎃 Opposites attract
🧶 Small town
🎃 Goth meets Nerd
🧶 Cozy fall vibes
🎃 Dual POV

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: I love this cover to start off. I loved the premise and the unique characters. The setting was also fantastic and atmospheric. The narrator was a decent as well, despite being the same female voice for the male POV chapters.
That’s where my praise ends however. I found the story to be so bland, I wasn’t invested in any of it. The characters weren’t particularly interesting, their chemistry wasn’t there, and then there was just explicit spice 🌶️. It felt incongruent.
It’s a short cozy romance with fall vibes, definitely will be many readers cup of tea. Sadly, it was not mine.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️

*Thank you @NetGalley, @HQN_ShamelessRomantics, and @HarlequinBooks for sending this audiobook and ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

#LetsGiveEmPumpkintoTalkAbout #NetGalley

This was a a sweet and spicy fun read. Sadie returns to her hometown Pea Blossom Indiana with the intentions of a pumpkin growing competition and no intention of falling for Josh her dad's next door neighbor
The plot and spice are pretty well balanced. The characters are switched in this grumpy/sunshine trope from what I used to where as Sadie is the grumpy one and Josh is ore the sunshine. All in all I'd recommend to anyone who likes fall small town .

Thanks #NetGalley and #Harlequin Romance

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖 (I started on e-book but switched to audio and was able to read much faster)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋 (This one didn’t grab me in regards to feeling an emotional connection with the mains)
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔 (I think you get a pretty good back story from the mains and who they are, their struggles)
Tension: ⚡⚡⚡ (It was mild for me)
Romance: 💞💞 (I did not find this one romantic)
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I liked them fine but something was just missing a bit for me. Maybe I wasn’t emotionally attached the characters enough to really feel it)
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (at least, I might have missed some)
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: third person from the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: soon in, 4% (chapter 1 of 28)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, one year later

Should I read in order?
I think this one stands alone.

Basic plot:
Sadie believes home holds nothing for her. But she returns anyway to assist her dad’s pumpkins in winning the local SPICE Pumpkin Weigh-off only to find the entire patch destroyed. Luckily her interesting neighbor, creator of Josh’s Squashes is willing to give her some starts to get back in the competition.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- Indiana, USA setting
- small town – Pea Blossom
- rich, squash growing hero
- textile artist heroine
- opposites attract – a black cat heroine and an eager to please hero
- neighbors
- tattooed heroine
- plus size rep (heroine)
- fall themes
- rivals – they are both trying to grow the biggest pumpkin in the S.P.I.C.E. competition
- medium steam – 3 full scenes at least (I might have missed something) with a slower burn and light femdom

Ages:
- heroine is 31, turns 32 in the story, hero is 33

My thoughts:
This was more of a 3 star read for me but I rounded up because I really liked the kiss in the server room when the power went out and also love corn nuggets lol.

This story is a pleasant fall read! Slower burn with lovely mains that have real problems and flaws. I liked the neighbors being pumpkin growing rivals and the playfulness that can come with that. I liked both mains individually...but something happened with them together that I just didn’t feel it for some reason. Maybe I just didn’t feel the high stakes here like I get when reading historical romance...Sadie just didn’t see that into Josh and she didn’t decide she wanted to really give it a go until everyone in her family gave her reasons….and that bothered me. I felt like she wasn’t really invested in the relationship and some scenes of the book just left me….sad.

But that is really just me – the narration was good, I liked the small town setting and I think those setting their sights on a competitive opposites attract fall themed read should grab this one up!

I liked Adelaide Fernport’s narration for the most part. I think my biggest struggle was her voice just sounded very similar for narration, female and male voices so it made the book a bit more...monotone feeling to me? But overall it was fine and I enjoyed the narration and didn’t have to alter the speed or anything from what I usually like.

3.5
This was a great cozy read! black cat gf and golden retriever boy at its very best! The premise was cute the plus size rep was spot on and I was definitely cackling throughout. The pacing missed the mark and I at times found myself wanting to just skip ahead in a few places but all in all it gave what it was going for.

I was pleasantly surprised by how cute this was! I loved the golden retriever vs. black cat dynamic. Both main characters were likable and the smut was good.