Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

Laurie has moved to small town Starr's Fall in Connecticut, New England for a fresh start. She has a rescue dog named Max and she intends to open a pet store/bakery for dogs. 

She soon realises that she's stumbled into a ready-made friendly community, apart from Joshua, the owner of an antiquarian bookstore opposite her who is the grumpy to her sunshine. But even he doesn't take long to forget about his troubles and grief in her presence. However, there is another reason why Laurie chose Starr's Fall, and it's quite personal. Will Laurie find what she is looking for?

I absolutely loved the character of Laurie. She has been through the foster care system until she aged out, is now 25 and so full of cheerfulness and get up and go that she puts more mature people to shame.

This is my first Kate Hewitt book. I hadn't realised she's an American author but I won't hold it against her. As long as I don't have to live in them I quite like to read about small towns, and I liked the warm-hearted, kind people in this one. This seems to be the start of a series so I hope to see more of them soon, especially regal Henrietta Starr whose story isn't over yet I hope.

I like short novels that don't overstay their welcome and aren't too taxing, and I adore dogs so this was right up my street. The story and the cover have a pleasantly autumnal feel which is nice as most novels choose either summer or winter for their stories.

I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and there were lots of things in the epilogue that could have got more time in the book but I guess it was used to set up the next book in the series which seems to be about a boardgame café. 

Altogether, this is a cozy, clean read full of apple cider and pumpkins, perfect for lovers of the third season.