Book #93: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

 

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

 Released: August 6th, 2024

My 36th book for 2025 was Katie Cicatelli-Kuc's “Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice”.  

Random story time, so as I was reading Clue, I wanted to keep them all in order, so I kept the other blogs hidden until I was able to post the entire Clue series.  I was supposed to start Psycho right after that, but then I discovered the website that gave me access to the Ninja Turtle novelizations, and the original Friday the 13th Part 3 - 3D.  So I took advantage of reading them to coincide with the rerelease of the original Turtles film, and October being just around the corner.

After all that, my sister Megan Perry calls me the other day, and asks me to pick her up the coffee book of the month over at the Barnes & Noble cafe since she does not have one around her.  (Hint hint, Hey B&N, look into Winchester, VA.  Regards, a loyal customer).  One I get there, I see it and the cover intrigues me.  I flipped through some pages, and since I won't see her this week, figured I could knock out this novel

In this book, Lucy Kane and her mother Joanna live in Briar's Glen, a very picturesque small autumn town.  Joanna owns Cup O'Joe, the local coffee shop downtown.  Lucy works with her mother part-time as she is a sophomore in high school.  One day, a large chain rival coffeeshop, Java Junction, moves into town right across the street from Cup O'Joe.  The owners' son is in Lucy's grade and immediately comes over to greet them.  The parents do the same, and they work to be cordial despite being seen as rivals.  Jack Harper has hidden feelings for Lucy, who suffers irrational fears about high school, Jack, and other things.  She has a very teenage personality, and it hits spot on.  She has high anxiety and overthinks to a large extent.  Jack works to calm her mind as he pushes to forge a friendship and make some new friends in his new town.  Lucy is completely again pumpkin spice lattes (PSL), believing them to be anti-coffee and full of chemicals and fake foods.  Lucy begrudgingly agrees to teach Jack how to bake when he asks for help.  In return, Jack give Lucy social media tips, and helps her create a stronger online presence.  Once together, Jack suggests that she use her pie containing real pumpkin to create her own PSL.  Lucy is against the idea at first, but after seeing her mom look ultra stressed when reviewing the finances of the business, she pushes hard to make a competitive product.  She works with Jack to perfect the recipe and then releases it as a new menu item.  The PSL is an instant hit, and people line up in droves to try it.  Cup O'Joe goes from casual shop, to an absolutely hopping place.  The drink eventually picks up the attention of social media influencers.  One of them reaches out and sets up a PSL competition between Cup O'Joe and Java Junction.  After the competition, Lucy feels humbled by the result, and works to spend more time with her friends, and no so much time focused on working in her youth.  

This was a good read.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and completely understand why it was the Book of the Month for the Cafe.

Here is what I learned:

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• Lucy Kane’s hometown is Briar’s Glen.
• She is a sophomore in high school.
• Jack Harper is the new guy in town.
• Jack has pure green eyes.
• Melanie Craddock is the head of the cheerleading squad.
• Her mom Joanna Kane owns a coffee shop “Cup O’Joe”.
• Evie and Amber are Lucy’s best friends.
• Lucy is 5’2”.
• “Great Expectations” is Jack’s favorite Charles Dicken’s novel.  He has several copies.
• Evie moved to town 2 years ago.
• Amber has blonde hair and like to play soccer.
• The Java Junction is moving into town.
• Sheva and Danielle are part-time employees at Cup O’Joe.
• Java Junction pumpkin spice doesn’t contain real pumpkin.
• Dorothy Blackwell never had kids and left the house to Lucy’s mother.
• Devon Stern is a college student who used to babysit Lucy.
• Sarah Jay is an event planner Lucy’s mom went to college with.
• Cup O’Joe has a free library space.
• The maple latte is one of the best sellers at Cup O’Joe’s.
• Lucy lives in a purple Victorian house with her mom.
• She has a can named Pancakes.
• Java Junction is the largest coffee chain in the world.
• Lucy and Amber have been best friends since kindergarten.
• Jack’s family runs the Java Junction.
• Jason Morris once wet the bed on a boy scouting trip because the ghost stories frightened him so much.
• Cleo is a senior whose family owns the apple orchard.
• Lucy feels her mom’s shop is too busy to keep up on social media.
• Lucy tells her mom everything.
• Greg and Erin Harper are Jack’s parents and the managers of the Java Junction.
• Lucy’s mom has a tradition of asking if she’s ready before opening the shop.
• Lucy and her mom both have brown eyes.
• The Java Junction takes sponsorship of the 25th Annual Fall Festival.




“Do you ever feel yourself nostalgic for a moment you’re living in?”




• “Being proud and confident is not the same as bragging.”
• Lucy is a messy baker.
• Lucy has high anxiety.
• Jack wrt himself in the first day of first grade in a new town.
• Jack once lived in San Francisco.




“Favorites don’t always have to have some complicated reason why they’re our favorites.  Sometimes it’s just as simple as everything felt perfect.”




• Trissylovesfall have over one million followers on social media.
• Behind every joke is a little bit of truth.




"Some people thought I was crazy to become a single parent by choice. Other people thought I was crazy to open a coffee shop on my own. This is actually one of the least crazy things I've done."




“What you need to find is what brings you happiness.”




• Lucy’s seventh birthday party featured a seven layer cake in every shade of the rainbow.
• Features a sneak peak of her next novel Mint to Be.

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Overall, this was a nice short read.  Catchy writing, entertaining story with some heartwaming moments.  It captures the spirit of high school life and the bonds of family, friends, and local community all in one shot.  Recommended.

Recommended, especially for fans of small towns, high school coming-of age, and coffee.

On to Book #94: Psycho by Robert Bloch.