Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist in a cosy, sapphic, paranormal rom-com full of heartwarming Halloween moments and a little hint of spice.
It’s a short, feel-good book that’s perfect for curling up with at this time of year and I defy you not to fall in love with Maple Hollow and its weird and wonderful inhabitants! I’m finding myself very drawn to cosy, easy-going books at the moment and this one was just lovely. Amazing characters, cosy small-town vibes, laugh-out-loud moments and a beautiful ending. So let’s delve deeper into Pumplin Spice & Poltergeist!
What Is Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist Book About?
Jordyn is a powerful witch who runs the apothecary in Maple Hollow but after a night of drunken regret she summons the spirit of her ex-girlfriend, Lou, only to find out that Lou has some unresolved issues of her own and now she won’t go back to the spirit world until Jordynn gets over her commitment fears and moves on.
Harlow is the new girl in turn. After a string of failed ventures and with very little money in her bank account, she’s been forced to move in with her sister and help out in her cafe. But Maple Hollow isn’t just a town obsessed with Halloween for the sake of tourism, real magic lives there. Harlow is about to discover things she thought only existed in stories. But can Maple Hollow finally be the place where she settles? And what is she supposed to do about the beautiful witch she’s falling for?
Finding herself stuck between her ghostly ex and the human cafe worker, Jordyn must figure out what will put Lou’s spirit to rest while keeping Harlow safe and not pushing her away like she seems to have done with previous partners.
Book Review for Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist
Up until earlier this month, I probably would have never given a book like this a second look. However, joining BookTok and BookTube is doing wonders for broadening my reading horizons and I’m finding myself increasingly drawn to easy-going romances with a cosy feel to them. I can’t get enough of the seasonal vibes!
I was going through a bit of a reading slump and I remembered seeing this pop up a few times on Instagram so I figured I had nothing to lose by adding it to my Kindle. While I was struggling to get into a book I decided to give this a go in the hopes that it could halt my slump in its tracks. Well, I read this book in a day, and even though it’s not a super long book, I’d say it did the perfect job of stopping the slump!
Maple Hollow was a wonderful town to explore and I loved all of the Halloween vibes this gave me. On top of that the characters were amazing, from the wonderfully sarcastic ghost Lou to the upbeat monster mayor Billy, each character brought something different to the story.
Jordyn and Harlow’s love story is fast-paced but sweet and watching their relationship blossom is very heartwarming. I loved the ending and that everything was neatly rounded off to bring it to a fulfilling and cosy end.
The chapters were short which I always enjoy and the whole thing was just feel-good and funny with perfect autumnal feels. The murder-mystery aspect was fun and thrilling and added a little something extra so it wasn’t just a straightforward romance novel which was an element I really appreciated.
There was very little to dislike about this book. In fact, one of the only things I can pick fault with is Jordyn’s somewhat overuse of the phrase ‘Goddess’ in place of ‘God’ which did get a little jarring at times. I would have also liked to have explored Maple Hollow more rather than it being mostly character-focused but I appreciate in a short book it’s hard to do both.
Star rating:
Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist Tropes
- Small town vibes
- Cute and cosy
- Paranormal (but not scary)
- Murder mystery
- Rom-com
- Sapphic romance
- Autumn/Halloween feels
What Is Sapphic Fiction?
Sapphic fiction is the term used for books that feature women attracted to other women. It’s openly stated in Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist that the rainbow communities go hand in hand with the paranormal communities featured in Maple Hollow which was a sentiment I really liked.
In this book, several female relationships are explored. As a heterosexual, it’s perhaps not my place to comment too heavily on this but I personally felt the queer representation in this book was good and I like that Maple Hollow seems to be a place where this could be explored further in future books.
Is Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist Spicy?
Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist does have a couple of steamy scenes. The book clearly states at the start that although it is ultimately a cosy novel it does feature sex scenes between two consenting adults. The spice isn’t too heavy going and I didn’t feel like it took anything away from the story or like it felt out of place.
However because it is spicy in places, I wouldn’t say it’s an adult novel. Overall it’s very cosy and and wholesome with a hint of spice.
Will There Be More Maple Hollow Books?
The good news, if you enjoy Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist, is that there will be more books in the Maple Hollow series! Within the first few pages, I was hoping that this would be the case. There’s an abundance of side characters to explore and I whole cosy town I want to know more about so I did a little digging to see what I could find out about the future of the Maple Hollow books.
Ali Mulford has confirmed that there are plans for more books with one being scheduled for release next year (just in time for those autumn reads again!) however she and K. Elle Morrison are currently trying to decide which couple to feature first. It sounds like there’s a plan for at least another couple of books in the series which I’m super excited about!
Have you read Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist or do you plan on reading it after seeing this review? Let me know in the comments!
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