Every autumn, Moonbright, Maine, is the picture of charm
with its piles of crisp leaves, flickering jack-o’-lanterns … and a touch of
the sweetest kind of enchantment.
Witches, goblins, the occasional ghost—they’re all sure
to be spotted at the annual Halloween parade, where adults and children alike
dress in costume to celebrate Moonbright’s favorite holiday. And no place has
more seasonal spirit than Bellaluna’s Bakeshop, a family business steeped in
traditional recipes, welcoming warmth—and, legend has it, truly spellbinding,
heart-melting treats …
Between good-natured Halloween tricks, frothy pumpkin
lattes, and some very special baked goods, for three Moonbright residents
looking for love—whether they know it or not—the spookiest thing will be how magical
romance can suddenly be …
Sweet Magic - Donna Kauffman
Good story. Bree is the latest in her family to work at
the family bakery. Within the family, it is an accepted fact that some members
have a magic touch when it comes to baking. Bree hasn't yet experienced that
phenomenon and is beginning to despair that she ever will. That is until Caleb
comes into the shop. Suddenly those Italian cookies have a little extra zing to
them.
Caleb is in Moonbright to help his Uncle George with his
restaurant while George and his wife are on vacation. Caleb does not expect to
become fascinated with the baker down the street. He has enough on his plate,
trying to figure out what is going on with the restaurant.
Neither Bree nor Caleb can explain why they are drawn
together so strongly. It makes no sense because Bree is planted firmly in
Moonbright and Caleb is only in town for six weeks or so before he goes back to
Philadelphia. But as Caleb gets deeper into the problems at the restaurant,
Bree is there to help him. There is no doubt about the attraction between them,
but both try hard to resist it. Neither one wants to hurt the other or suffer a
broken heart. I ached for them both, as it was clear that their hearts were
already deeply involved, but neither could see a way to make it happen. I liked
how honest they were about the pros and cons of being together. When the truth
behind his uncle's troubles comes to light, Bree and Caleb have to work
together to find a solution. It takes the help of family, especially Bree's
grandmother, for them to get their happy ending.
I liked seeing Caleb come into his own as he worked
through the restaurant's troubles. Though an excellent chef, he avoided the
front of the house like the plague in his family's restaurant. In Moonbright,
he had to do it all and discovered that he was better at it than he expected. I
liked seeing him work with his sister, Cassie, to find the problem and fix it
in a way that preserved his uncle's pride. I'm looking forward to seeing more
of Cassie. I also liked seeing Bree find her groove at the bakery. Her
grandmother's support was critical, and I liked how Sofia helped Bree through
her doubts. I loved the scene in the epilogue with Clark Kent and Wonder Woman.
Love Spells Disaster - Allyson Charles
Cassie is a recent arrival in Moonbright. She chose the
town because of their focus on Halloween, which is her favorite holiday. Now
that she has settled in, she is ready to look for a man in her life. Due to a
rough childhood, Cassie has particular requirements for a potential mate.
Having had her fill of bad boys, she sets her sights on her boss, an uptight,
strait-laced man who has the security she craves. Unfortunately for her, he is
oblivious to her interest, so she looks to the tried and true "the way to
a man's heart is through his stomach." She stops at the Bellaluna Bakery
where Sophia gives her two special cookies along with the instructions to be
open to whatever comes her way.
Disaster ensues when her boss turns down the cookie
because he's in training for a marathon. When she munches a cookie herself, she
chokes and is rescued by a visitor to the office. Chip helps himself to the
other cookie, but Cassie wants no part of a man who doesn't check her boxes. Chip,
on the other hand, is immediately attracted to Cassie. I had a bit a trouble
with Cassie here, as she was quite rude and judgmental toward him. She redeemed
herself somewhat by feeling guilty and did eventually apologize.
Chip and Cassie are thrown together when she needs a
handyman to build her haunted house for Halloween. I liked seeing them together
here as their efforts gave them the chance to get to know each other. Chip
comes to understand what drives Cassie and has the patience to overcome her
fears. Though Cassie tries to resist Chip's appeal, it isn't too long before
she realizes that they have more in common than she thought. There were some
pretty funny scenes as Cassie experiences one disaster after another in her
pursuit of the wrong man. I liked the ending as Cassie finally realized the
treasure she had. I also loved how Chip loves all of Cassie's Halloween
quirkiness.
Sweet on You - Kate Angell
My favorite of the three stories. The story opens with
Lara in the bakeshop where she is cruelly and publicly dumped by her boyfriend.
To add insult to injury, she also runs into her landlord who informs her that
the rent on her apartment is going up, and her employer can't guarantee she'll
have a job past Christmas. Enter the mayor and his coworkers for their daily coffee
break. The shop is crowded, and Jack ends up sitting with Lara. Sophia brings
them some of her cookies and Jack and Lara chat for a while. A caring man with
a big heart, it doesn't take long for Jack to get Lara to tell him of her
troubles. He invites her to stop by his office if her job hunt isn't
successful.
I loved both Jack and Lara. Lara is a sweet woman, a bit
short and curvy, and a little insecure because of it. She is also smart,
organized, and determined. Jack is a great mayor. He has the love and respect
of the townspeople, and he loves them right back.
I loved the development of the relationship between Lara
and Jack. They knew each other in school, where each had a crush on the other
but never did anything about it. I loved hearing about how Lara attended all of
Jack's hockey games, and that he knew she was there. Jack is currently swamped
with the details for the Halloween parade, which leaves him little time for
doing actual mayor work. After getting a chance to talk to Lara, he realizes
that she would be perfect as the town's event planner and hires her on the
spot. There is also the added bonus of being able to see her every day. Jack is
well and truly smitten. Lara is surprised by Jack's attention but is equally
attracted to him. Over the next couple of weeks they spend a lot of time
together, both for work and personal time. I loved how easy it was for them to
talk to each other and share their lives. There were some great scenes of them
together. One of my favorites was their day of pumpkin and apple picking, and
the heat that built between them all day. There was a brief resurgence of
Lara's insecurity at one point, but Jack handled it perfectly. The ending was
great.
I loved the setting of the story as Lara and Jack plan
the Halloween parade. There are so many moving parts that it takes a truly
organized person to make it all work. I adored seeing Lara make the job her
own, being flexible when necessary for and firm when she needed to be. It was
satisfying to see her stand up to her ex when it came to his demands. I liked Jack's
assistant, Donna, and her little nudges of pushing Lara and Jack together. My
favorite secondary character was Edna. Though she comes across as quite the
grouch at the beginning, both Jack and Lara soon see that there is a side of
her that few people know about. I laughed at her nicknames for people and
cheered when Lara gave her one of her own. I loved her part in the twist at the
end.
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