This was a fun premise, but kinda got washed up into the cheesy romance category. Yes, things happened too easily and the "coincidences" where sometimes close to too much, but some of that added to the whimsy of the story. What drove me crazy was that Rachel was not a stronger female lead: her hands were constantly shaking, being ultra-petite she had to use tiptoes for everything, she was a "tomboy" who felt uncomfortable in dresses even though they made her look super hot, she was always on the verge of passing out, and couldn't even form a coherent thought when the hot-neighbor-guy was around. I also found that Crispell's lack of description of the scenery often led to the reader questioning character's actions because it was unclear exactly where they were or what they were doing. Without all of the "romance" filler (its fine to have romance, just don't make the female a total waif) and a little more description, I think the story would have been quite enjoyable. There was just enough magical realism to make it work. Also, pie recipes would have probably bumped this review up from just ok to liked it :P

(2017 Reading Challenge: Book about Food)