Coming Home to Starr’s Fall by Kate Hewitt

Welcome to the town of Starr’s Fall, where Autumn can feel like it goes on forever, and two people have a chance to fall in love…

The leaves are falling, with a crispness to the air, along with the scents of coffee and pumpkin spice, past a half-empty street of shuttered storefronts and a bandstand that has seen better days…

Just like the whole town of Starr’s Fall, thinks Laurie Ellis – as she and her beloved dog Max head to collect the store keys. Maybe she has seen better days, too, but she’s certainly ready for a new start—and to leave her past behind. Still Laurie wonders whether she made a terrible mistake in coming to lovable but shabby Starr’s Fall. Will she even find customers for her pet store and bakery, never mind a community to welcome and accept her?

Not according to Joshua Reilly, the handsome but grumpy manager of the bookstore across the road, who claims he’s never heard of anything so ridiculous as a bakery for dogs.

But Laurie remains stubbornly undeterred. She’s starting over, right here. Not least because she has another secret reason for being here… one she isn’t telling anybody, at least not yet, as it involves her own tragic past.

What she doesn’t yet know is that a clue to the mystery is hidden deep in Joshua’s bookstore. And he doesn’t yet realize that Laurie herself might be the key to mending his own battered heart… for Laurie and Joshua and the whole town, it’s going to be a fall to remember.

My Review

Laurie and Max ( her dog) are endearing as they move to Starr’s Fall, Connecticut.

Of course, all sort of calamities seems to happen to her on the way to her new life. But it makes for a funny story. Her anthem of “never mind “ is strange. Thankfully, she gets a ride with a local. She is searching for her family ties and for A new start. She wants to start a pet store and bakery.

Josh owns the bookstore across the street, and he is grumpy and introverted. But he gets a surprise as Max and his cat have it out in his store. This scene is very comical. Not every person is a curmudgeon.

The cover of this book is gorgeous, giving you all the small-town feels and cozy autumn vibes.  This is a lot of references to her childhood as a foster child. She didn’t really have roots as a child or friends.

The town occupants are fleeting in the story, but they are gossipy and can’t wait to find the new store owner a boyfriend.  Her idea isn’t as well taken in the town, but a lot of the story is about her daily living and her trying to find her old family.

The foster system and her past are brought up like a repeat story over and over again in her head and out loud.

“I think sometimes that what you never had is what you miss the most “ – Joshua.

The bookstore owner Joshua, and Laurie finally have a striking conversation. A lot about them each is revealed, but a lot we already knew, and it is repeated.

They seem to go from enemies to friends to maybe lovers. I’m not vibing with this story, idk if it audio, the slow burn, or the way every chapter the last is brought up.

She does get her answers in the small town and some sweet, clean romance as well.

Most of the story is her seething over her birth mother. When she finally finds her, it is disappointing. This story is honestly depressing, and I’m not getting the autumn vibes, but the cover is gorgeous.

The story ends with a sweet recap epilogue of the town that finally becomes home. And the people she had found her family with.

If you want to read this Coming Home to Starr’s Fall by Kate Hewitt, you can find it on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you think you may like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Autumn, Small Town, and Clean Romance.