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Escape to Pumpkin Cottage: A feel-good read about romance and rivalry

320 pages Allison & Busby publisher September 19, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Pippa Mason is ready for a fresh start. She has bought Pumpkin Cottage in the picturesque Wye Valley village of Riverdean, where her late mother grew up, and plans to renovate the run-down bed and breakfast into the business of her dreams. Adjusting to her new life on the Welsh-English border might take time, but Pippa is settling into village life and starting to fall for the charms of local Jake when problems start coming thick and fast …
Jenny Foster has enough on her plate running Riverside Lodge as well as managing her husband Phil’s diagnosis of early-onset dementia. She did not need the threat of another B&B on her doorstep. When a spat between Pippa and Jenny escalates and an autumn storm brings matters to a head, they will have to see if Riverdean is big enough for the both of them.

MY THOUGHTS

Wye Valley village of Riverdean is the village where Pippa’s late mother grew up, she believes it’s as good a place as any to make her new start and she does so by buying Pumpkin Cottage which she is about to turn into a bed and breakfast after its remodel.

The other bed and breakfast owner. Jenny in this small village is jealous and doesn’t want the competition from another bed and breakfast owner. A rivalry starts though Pippa, the newcomer wants to become friends with everyone.


A romance starts when she meets Jake, someone Jenny is very familiar with. With so many new friends who could be sabotaging her new business?


A fun and heartwarming women’s fiction book with a slow start. The characters have their ups and downs, and the book has a nice solid ending.

Nice autumn seasonal read.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my won.

THE AUTHORS

Jacqui was born into a very humble working-class family, and brought up on a council estate. Her parents were avid readers and books provided an escape, offering a ticket to a better life. She studied English Literature at university and has spent a life teaching in secondary schools. She loved words and has always dreamed of being a writer. She brought her daughter up on her own and they both loved books and films, and shared the same sense of humour. They are very close, speaking every day and enjoying annual holidays together. It was on one of these trips, a cruise where they visited Montenegro for the first time and had the gem of an idea for a book. The rest is history, as they say…

Anna grew up in South Wales, close to the beach, and loved taking long walks before coming back to snuggle up with a good book. She has always enjoyed reading and writing, as well as crafts such as painting and baking. Despite being creative, at school she performed well in Science and went to Birmingham to study Medicine at the age of 18. She chose to specialise in Psychiatry as she loves getting to hear people’s stories and help those struggling with mental illness, and is hoping to train in forensic psychiatry in the next few years. She currently lives in Derbyshire with her pilot boyfriend and cat Socks.

Thank you for stopping in.

Only pink pumpkin tag I have. I know I’m a bit late with it. I hope you’ll overlook it 🙂

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Seasonal Children’s book reviews- Little Orange Pumpkin and The Pumpkin Seed’s Secret

40 pages ages 4-8 Sourcebooks Wonderland publisher August 6, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

On a magical night filled with frights, one little pumpkin gets a bigger scare and has a bigger adventure than she bargained for!

Little Orange Pumpkin has been waiting all year for Halloween night to come! She has big plans to collect lots of candy and find all the spooky, scary things in her neighborhood, and she is going to do it all by herself, no matter what her Mommy and Daddy say. Deep in her heart, she believes she is ready, but when Little Pumpkin slips into a magical, spooky world full of monsters, she realizes that maybe she doesn’t want to be a big pumpkin just yet! This Halloween, she just might learn you’re never alone when you have family who love you.

Little Orange Pumpkin is a heartwarming story you’ll want to read again and again. Full of imagination and Halloween adventure, this story will remind you there’s nothing like home to feel safe and loved.

MY THOUGHTS

Little Orange Pumpkin is so excited to go out exploring on Halloween night and thinks she’s ready to do so by herself. Candy, exciting sights and sounds, it’s all waiting for Little Orange Pumpkin. Charmingly illustrated and worded this will delight children as they read this Halloween tale with their parents. A nice little lesson for children about the importance of following the rules to ensure safety.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

40 pages 4-8 years Sourcebooks Explore July 2, 2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

A pumpkin life cycle book with hominess and heart!

In this rhyming picture book about the life cycle of a pumpkin, a pumpkin becomes something new with each turn of the page, from a flower to a house to a face. Extensive back matter on the pumpkin life cycle, fun pumpkin facts, and a pumpkin seed recipe are included. A perfect book for both home and school libraries. An excellent gift for Halloween or any time of year!

A pumpkin is a seed.

A plain little seed with a secret inside,

A pocket, a pip with a new life to hide.

To hide and to hold

As springtime unfolds,

A pumpkin begins as a seed.

A pumpkin is a sprout.

A curious sprout with one leaf and then two,

A budding, a nudging, a slow peekaboo.

Happy for rain

And sunshine again,

A pumpkin pops out as a sprout.

MY THOUGHTS

The little pumpkin seed has a big secret this Spring. With the rain gently falling on it, it starts out with just one leaf then two appear. As the sun shines and the vines start tangling around things it becomes lush and green, reaching up towards the sky. Summer appears and so do the orangey yellowish flowers which turn into small fruits visited by bees. Autumn comes around to visit us and the fruits have swollen into beautiful globes of orange pumpkins shielded by the thick pumpkin vines which have been silently creeping and twining upon everything. The pumpkins are now ready to pick for decorating your house or for consumption in your Autumn dishes. Fully illustrated with beautiful pictures children will fully appreciate showing the life stages of the pumpkin.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Have a wonderful day. Thank you for stopping in. –