Antonia Bernardin

The 77th book I read in 2024 was Pumpkin Spice and Poltergeist by Ali.K.Mulford and K.Elle.Morrison.

I am an unapologetic fan of Ali.K.Mulford, also known as A.K.Mulford, who is the author of multiple series’ that I absolutely love, spanning fantasy with The Five Crowns of Okrith series and romance with The Prickle Island Zoo series. So, frankly, this review will be heavily biased. Enjoy.

A vague plot summary

This book starts with a drunk summoning gone wrong. Jordyn’s ex died in a tragic accident, not long after their breakup and she felt like she never really got closure. However, something goes wrong because her ex doesn’t disappear once the summoning is over and she decides the only way she can move on in her afterlife and go back to the ghostly plain is if she helps Jordyn moves on to a new girlfriend. This is when Harlow quite conveniently bursts into Jordyn’s life.

Harlow has moved to their town to work in her sister’s cafe, as a last ditch attempt at getting her life together but there’s something strange about this town. Her sister soon lets her in on the secret: the supernatural is very real here and not just a gimmick for the tourists. Harlow is always making mistakes and she’s determined not to muck it up this time but after she accidentally poisons a customer and sets a plague of rates on the cafe on her first day, all while she’s met a gorgeous witch with a tragic backstory of the ex who died.

Jordyn agrees to go on a date with the beautiful Harlow to help end her haunting but also starts to investigate how her ex died, believing that’s the true reason she won’t move on. She reluctantly starts to develop very real feelings for Harlow but it’s kind of tricky to start a new relationship with your ex haunting you and slowly turning into a poltergeist the longer she’s stuck on earth. So it’s a race against time trying to solve the mystery before Harlow discovers why Jordyn keeps talking to herself.

My thoughts

This is such a cute book! All the autumnal, spooky and supernatural elements, combined with a sweet as fuck love story and a murder investigation somehow comes together to make a read that is funny, enjoyable and really read-able. I kind of wish there could be more books set in the world they’ve bit, so I hope that’s the authors’ plan.