Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life

Wish #10

by Suzanne Nelson

An unexpected turn of events introduces a "latte" trouble in this story of first crushes, friendship, and everyone's favorite fall treat!

Nadine and Daniel have been best friends pretty much since birth. While she has her music rehearsals and he has his snowboarding, the two of them always make time to meet up at the Snug Mug, where Daniel works, for their catch-ups over pumpkin spice lattes.But their daily routine is shaken up when a new girl, Kiya, starts at their school. Daniel falls head over heels for Kiya the second he sees her. Which would be fine . . . if Nadine hadn't recently realized she might be falling for Daniel herself. Nadine knows she has to find the courage to tell Daniel how she feels, but what if she's already lost her chance?

Genres: Romance, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

When she was in kindergarten, Suzanne Nelson jotted down in a school keepsake album that she wanted to be a “riter.” Though she clearly had issues with spelling, she persisted, composing cryptic poems about rainbows, fairies, mud, and even "Star Wars" in spiral notebooks all through elementary school. When she was seventeen, she filled four journals with her handwritten first novel, titled “The Dream Keeper.” To escape her chores, she often lied to her parents about what time her shift started at the local fast food joint so that she could spend an extra hour writing in the parking lot in her mom’s faded Buick. Her first published novel was The Sound of Munich, followed by Heart and Salsa, The Ghoul Next Door, Cake Pop Crush, and Dead in the Water. She is a shameless fan of “The Sound of Music,” Hershey’s kisses, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen, and can often be caught daydreaming of romping about gothic castles in lovely Victorian gowns. She was born in New Jersey, grew up in Southern California, attended college in Texas, and spent eight years as a children’s book editor in New York City. She now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut with her family.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was the PERFECT fall read. It got a little cheesy, especially at the end, but this series is so cute I didn’t care.

[Krislyn Vergara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute YA fall read of friends to lovers romance 🧡

[Gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special about this book, but it was a good autumn read.

[Juliko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has anyone ever picked up a book because they thought it's title was cute, catchy, or cool? Yeah, I admit to having done so with this one. Now, I admit that I've never been the biggest fan of the romance genre. Most romance-themed media I've seen, be it books, TV shows, movies, anime, or video games, are often very formulaic and melodramatic, and often play out the same predictable stories with the same predictable cliches. I especially hate the trope of two girls falling for the same guy and getting into catfights over it, because it's old, it's a dead horse that's been beaten to death, and there's really no way to do a new, original spin on it. But lately I have found some romance-themed media that has been genuinely good, like The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary, that Ghibli movie Whisper of the Heart, and a few others. I went into Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life with low expectations, and while it's still rather...by the numbers, it manages to subvert just as many romance cliches as it indulges in them, and is actually a pretty sweet book on its own.

The story centers on 13-year-old Nadine Durand, who loves going to the local coffee shop, the Snug Mug, and playing the cello. But the main reason she goes there is because her best friend, Daniel Dae Cho, works there. The two have been best friends since they were very young, and while Nadine is busy with music rehearsals and Daniel with his snowboarding, they always manage to make time for one another, sharing pumpkin spice lattes over whatever else they talk about. But their routine is shaken up when a new girl, Kiya Renaud, moves into town, and Daniel falls head over heels for her. Normally this wouldn't bother Nadine, but the fact that Kiya's family bought the Snug Mug and are changing it to fit their standards, along with the lengths Daniel goes to try and impress her, are sending her unchanged world upside down. There's also the fact that her mother, who left the family years before, has come back into the picture and Nadine wants nothing to do with her. Can Nadine make sense of all these changes and tell Daniel how she feels?

On the surface, the book doesn't seem like anything special, and reading it, it's still a rather by the numbers romance. Girl likes guy, guy crushes on another girl, first girl gets jealous, and so on. But I can definitely praise Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life for its deft handling of this plot and not taking it into the really idiotic cliche places that most romance media usually take this storyline. For one, the characters, while middle schoolers, are far more mature about handling the various conflicts that arise, and even when they aren't, the characters react appropriately and realistically, as middle schoolers do. They don't make it into something bigger than it is, nor jump to conclusions about it based on what they see on the surface. Plus, I like how the main conflict isn't that Nadine is solely jealous of Kiya getting Daniel's attention, but more that she's concerned that Daniel is making up these elaborate schemes just to impress some girl he barely knows but is putting her on a pedestal and idealizing her for his own gain, and realizing how unhealthy this behavior is, both for him and for Kiya. I also found the resolution to be both sweet and satisfying, cheesy but appropriate for the story Suzanne Nelson wanted to tell. Basically, while the characters may not be anything special in terms of their development, I liked how the story used them and I found their individual arcs to be sweet and well done.

Seeing as this is a children's book aimed at a middle school crowd, the prose is rather simplistic and easy to understand. Kind of barebones, with only a few notable passages that made an effort to be engaging. Not bad, but I can see eight-year-olds reading this with no problem. While I do like the book just fine, it does have a few signicant flaws that hold it back. Like I said before, I'm not generally a fan of romance, and there's no new way to tell a romance story anymore. Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life follows the same story beats as any other romance media does, and while I liked how it turned out, any romance readers who know their tropes can predict the story's events coming from a mile away. It's nothing you haven't seen before, and it's the same kind of romance story that's been told in a million other iterations over the past hundred or so years. Another thing that irked me is that...the book is depicting middle schoolers drinking copious amounts of coffee. When I was these kids' age, nobody in my age group ever drank coffee or lattes at all. This premise might be easier to swallow if the characters were in high school or something, but middle school? What middle schoolers drink coffee and lattes every day? I found this part in particular to be very unrealistic, as I've never met any middle schoolers who drank coffee or lattes, much less the amounts that Nadine and her friends consume on a daily basis. I know I certainly didn't! Eh, I'm sure the authoress had good intentions, and other than those things, I still like this book and I can definitely say the romance aspect of it is very well executed.

Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life may not be breaking any new ground in terms of its genre, but like a nice latte, it's sure to warm you up and leave a sweet aftertaste.

[Jennifer Kerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute young love book that my daughter recommended to me, since she knows my love for all things pumpkin! I loved the “Hallmark” feel to the story and all the cute little things. Such a fun book for middle schoolers or young high schoolers

[Rmsooon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 i prefer hot coco type of books more

[Lucy Goosey 💅🏻 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super good! Perfect easy quick read with charm humor and romance

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note: I received a free copy of this book from the author (thanks, Suzanne!) through a giveaway on Twitter, but all thoughts are my own.

I'll admit, I liked this book much more than I thought I was going to. It included a diverse cast of characters, realistic teen romance, and non-traditional family dynamics. Plus, it made me feel so *cozy* (and even inspired me to pick up a PSL).

This story follows Nadi, a teenage girl and aspiring cellist who has been best friends with Daniel for as long as she can remember. Daniel works at a local coffee shop, the Snug Mug, and is the inventor of many quirky specialty beverages. When a new family moves to town to take over ownership of the Snug Mug, Nadi isn't sure she's ready for all the changes it might bring, including a love interest for Daniel.

[ضحى الحداد · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I've read every (Wish) books and this one rates of the best ones .. the story is simple yet really cute and I really liked the vibe of it
So the story Is about Nadi who works at a cafe with her best friend Daniel and everything is fine until a girl Kiya moves into the place and Daniel likes her so much .. so Nadi has to come to terms with the fact that she is in love with her friend .. what will happen next ?
I liked the story and it's very short and sweet and simple with no drama at all .. very suitable for the fall and it made me crave a pumpkin spice late

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life was a simple read. The characters were okay. I liked how it was a pretty clean read and the latte aspect was fun. I haven't read the previous books in this series, but I'm guessing it can be read as a standalone, as I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. I'm glad that Nadine and her mom are starting to get along. It was cute how Nadine surprised Daniel with the pumpkins at the end.

[flannel covered jesus · Rating 4 out of 5]

dates are wrong, don’t know correct dates, don’t want to change.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute and fast paced story very good fall read with friend drama, family, drama, and romance

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads just like a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Well, this coming from someone who has never actually had one. But I know how pumpkin spice tastes, and between the heavy fall vibes, warm-and-fuzzies, and all that, it just does. At first I was a little reluctant to pick up this book. Between the cheesy (but kind of cute) title and the cover, I wasn't sure I would love it. Thank goodness I decided to read the first page! It drew me right in with a neat setting, a sweet, likable character I was dying to hang out with, and vibes I definitely got. Then it kept me in with a little drama and a fairly accurate description of young love and life.

It's true that a lot of middle-school students have trouble recognizing their feelings, and then managing them, and I love when sweet, wholesome books, incorporate a little about the reality of family life. Plus I was yearning for a book where there was a little love triangle and the main character wasn't the one being fought over.

I really don't have many complaints about this book except that I think it could have been made longer and more complex or layered. It was a light read, and a good one in general, with detail, emotion, and planned-out, hilarious schemes. One parting word of advice - when things go wrong in this book and you want to cry, what do you do? You keep going. I promise it well end wonderfully.

4.5 stars, rounded up. I would recommend it to female readers 11-14, but certain boys could enjoy it too, and the age range is flexible. I would also suggest reading it in the fall, because if you don't you're going to think it's fall for a day afterwards.

[MarleyWingfeather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a fine cheesy clean romance But please for the love of god HOW OLD ARE THESE CHARACTERS?? They Go to school, they live with their parents, But they act like adults! Does someone know how old they are supposed to be??

[Tabby {Genie in a Novel} · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - very cute, but they're middle school age and act/talk like they're 16-17 years old... so it gets a little hard to remember how young they are (I'm guessing 13?)

And if that's the case, why are 13-year-olds working in a coffee shop? Who allows this?

[Ca1t!Y# · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was really good. I think it would have been interesting as a perspective book, but I did like the way this was written. Very good book.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel bad for the ten year olds who think this is good

[Emmaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Glad to know that Bacon Me Crazy wasn't just a one hit wonder!"

[Lain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book. LOL.

It was not terrible. But dear lord, it was so. So. SO. Cheesy! And often not in a fun way. And I usually love cheesy.

I mean I shouldn’t have expected a lot from a book that’s literally called “Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life”.

To be fair, the fact that I listened to the audiobook probably made the book seem worse than it actually was. The narration definitely added to the over-the-top cheesiness. Plus the female narrator would imitate a male voice for all of the guy parts, but her imitation sounded so bro-y. This, of course, isn’t the book’s fault, so I’ll be fair in that regard.

I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the age of the characters. I picked it up expecting a high school romance, but the characters were in middle school. Which was very apparent by Daniel’s personality and romantic gestures, and the way every character insisted on using the word “like” in place of the word “love” (ex: falling in like, declaration of like.. yes I’m serious 😂). I couldn’t simply forget the fact they were in middle school and too young for the romance to go very deep. There were some parts that just felt weird or not believable when I remembered they were so young.

🚨SPOILERS IN THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH🚨
Also, another thing that annoyed me about this book was when Daniel confessed at the end that he was in love with Nadine his whole life. It really didn’t align with his actions throughout the story, especially after he explained that he only liked Kiya because he was trying to get over Nadine (that was a stretch). There were no subtle hints anywhere that he had any kind of romantic feelings for Nadine.
Honestly, the “guy has been in the love with his best friend for years but hasn’t told her yet” is my absolute favorite trope. The fact that this book didn’t give us any of the adorable pining on Daniel’s end that this trope offers, but then turned around and haphazardly threw in Daniel’s confession at the end, kinda irritated me.
🚨END OF SPOILERS🚨

I know I sound really harsh, but I think I’m just a bit salty that this friends to lovers book didn’t deliver what I wanted from my favorite trope. The book really was just meant to be an easy distraction to get me in the fall mood, and it fulfilled that purpose very well. And I still enjoyed it, if not just for the entertainment of reacting to certain parts.

Did I think this book was made of real substance and was a quality read? Not really. But did I hate it? No. Did I have fun? Yes, I had a blast 😂. 3 stars.

[batoul · Rating 3 out of 5]

˚₊· ͟͟͞➳❥ 3.5⭐

The perfect fall book from my fav romance author.

l really liked this book, especially that fall is also my favorite season of the year! But im not a huge coffee girlie like Nadine And Daniel is.😭😭

Anyway, Aside from Nadine being an organisation obsessed gal just like me, lm delighted by her growth as a character, and how she revolved throughout the story and decided to take some abby steps and talk to her mother, do the audition even though she was terrified and most of all, CONFESSING TO DANIEL! Her confession was so frickin cute. I absolutely adore her character.

Also, the way Suzanne Nelson writes her books will always be so magical to me, her writing feels like home, a book that you never want to end, she gives you the right amount of everything that you crave and leaves you satisfied. I also love the simplicity of her writing & little recipes she always leaves at the end of her books, they are like a little sweet treat to the reader, l definitely will try out the Pumpkin Spice Supreme, cuz l got so curious. I want to see why Nadine loves it so much.

My fav quotes from this book! :

➳ “You should’ve asked!” I exclaimed. “Or not asked, but just … played
board games with me anyway! Or built the pillow fort … or whatever.
Don’t assume I’m okay because I handle things on my own. Maybe I want
to be taken care of—sort of—” My voice dropped, and I added an awkward,
“A little bit every now and then.”

➳ “God, don’t you even hear what
I’m saying?” I met his eyes, and felt all the irritation inside me pouring out.
“No, you don’t. You want to keep living in your pretend world of happy
endings and perfect reunions, and—and you never stop to think about who
you’re hurting!” I turned for the stairs. “I’m done helping you with your
projects. I’m done with everything.”

➳ “You should’ve told me!” I cried. “But you never tell me anything.
Living with you is like living alone! I never know how you feel about
anything.”

➳ “People are always hardest on the ones they
love the most.”

➳ “In some ways, it seems easier to pretend like she’s
gone forever. Safer. Because if she’s already gone …” My voice broke.
“She can’t leave me all over again.”

➳ What I wish for you”—she
met my gaze—“is that you don’t let fear control you, or leave you with
regret for all the things you might’ve done but didn’t. What a loss that
would be, for you … and the world.”

➳ Don’t let fear control you.

➳ “No,” I told him, still tasting the pumpkin spice from his kiss. “This is
even better. Because this is real.”

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to Suzanne Nelson's other books, I didn't like this one very much. Nadine, the main character, is only conflicted by her friend, Daniel, being an idiot. When Kiya moves in, Daniel forces Nadine to waste her time making gifts for her. Nadine hates Kiya for a variety of reasons but mostly because she's ruining her favorite coffee shop that also sells waffles. Along with that, Nadine's mom comes back, and Daniel keeps comparing that to his own dad who died when it's not the same. He forces Nadine to see her even though she makes it clear she doesn't want to. The worst part is that immediantly after, she forgives the mom, so I guess not listening to your friends is okay.
I liked Elle better than the friends in the other books because she actually cared about Nadine, probably to make up for Daniel being so awful. It was unfortunate Elle had a boyfriend already because it left Nadine to date the friend who didn't care about her at all.
This book might have been better if I'd read it in the fall, but it was not one of my favorites and I am over 7.5.

[Danyelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me one day to finish it. The audio book is like 5 and half hours long. I like how it had a fall theme all over the cover. Within the story, it had a fall theme. I liked it. It was a good story. Great for young teenagers and middle graders. This book is the first of the author that I have read. Her other books are not on Kindle Unlimited. So, I won't be reading any other books by her. I don't know if her other books are at my library in my area. I have to check.

It was a cute story. It is about two friends that have feelings for each other but don't know it. Nadine acts not herself when Daniel talks about a new girl or/and hangs out with her. Nadine has other problems on her own. She lives with her dad. She is the only child. Her mom left when she was a little girl. But her mom stayed in touch with her over the years. There is a lot of coffee description in the book. At the end of it, there are coffee concoctions.

[VerySigma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life is a sweet book about the challenges of navigating crushes and drama. I liked this book because I found it very interesting how the author described the characters and their thoughts and feelings, and it's very well-written. Juggling friendships with romance isn't easy from the viewpoint of the protagonists, which makes you feel closer to them as their lives are described. Some parts were slow, but I loved how the plot developed and enjoyed reading about the crazy, love-driven ideas of some of the characters. Recommended to anyone who likes sweet, innocent romance and friendship drama.

[Malia Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a kids romance, about a girl named Nadine who hangs out with her friends Elena, Brandon, and Daniel. They meet at a coffee shop were Daniel works with his amazing boss Marley. Daniel makes funky fun drinks. Little do they know the owner is leaving and this is not good because no more fun drinks, Nadine is mad but Daniel is fine because he thinks the owners daughter is cute. But Nadine has a couple secrets along the way.

[Izzie Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very exciting! The romance in it is so just great I can't explain it! This book was for me! If you like books with kid crushes and drama then this book is for you! I definitely would reccomend this book to young readers! I rated this book 5 stars. I loved this book! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Ty!

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's probably one of my favourite books ever. Although it's a bit cheesy at the end, I didn't really mind because I'm not bothered by some cheesiness. The relationships in this book are very good as well. I finished this in about a day since it was so good and I couldn't put it down. This is a great middle-grade read.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cheesy romance that’s for sure. Don’t get me wrong, it was cute, but there was nothing special about it. It’s a decent autumn read however, I was struggling to finish it while also wanting to finish it. I was debating if I wanted to dnf this book or not. I think some of the age stuff was weird too. The kids were younger but acted older, I just thought it was odd.

[Emmie Must · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, this girl was more mature than me I wouldn't been that nice with the absent Mom. Daniel was sweet but that "surprise" he planned for Nadi was bad really bad, I'm still upset about that.

Loved the ending, I always like reading about an uptight or grumpy heroine and a sweet hero.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to dismiss this book. But it drew me and drew me and drew me in. It was so sweet. And atmospheric wit it’s quaint and autumnal tone. Kids will love it. The romance had a syndical adult like me slurping it up. 😀

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read from the Wish series. This book is perfect for middle school romance fans. A bit slow to start but full of fun and thoughtful lessons for young readers. I loved the coffee concoctions at the end of the book and how this wonderful author tied them into the story.