A review by amy_alwaysreading
A Match Made in Autumn by Jessica Booth

4.0

Many thanks to @jessicaboothauthor for the free #gifted copy of this book. 

Cozy.  Adorable.  Swoony.  This book is the essence of a pumpkin spice latte in book form.  

I queued this audiobook up during my son’s double header over the weekend.  It was 87, and I was sitting in full sun.  But within the first few chapters, I was deeply immersed in all my favorite fall things—pumpkins, hay bales, black cats, and s’mores.  

Lia loves fall.  But her small Louisiana town’s fall festival has been in a decline for ages. So this year, Amelia is tasked with bringing it back to life.  When the town reporter comes to interview Lia about her progress, his high school buddy, Rhett—the one that made Lia the butt of so many jokes all those years ago—tags along.  Sparks immediately fly... but will they catch?

The storyline is perfectly peppered with festival preparation allowing Booth to capture the very essence of the season.  It was a fitting backdrop for this enemies to lovers romance.  I mean... we call it a roll in the hay for a reason!  🤭🔥

Watching Rhett and Lia get to know one another afresh while leaning into the smoking chemistry they shared was such a delight.  I blushed.  I grinned like a schoolgirl.  I rooted for them.  The heat was perfectly balanced with the sweetness, and I loved watching them fall in love. But before either of them could truly embrace the possibility, they had to overcome old hurts.  In the end, that made their swoon worthy HEA all the sweeter.  

This is an adorable fall themed romance with a dash of mystery and a reminder that self-acceptance opens the door for others to heap on love too.   

🎧I split my time between the physical and audiobook copies of this read.  And as much as I love an audiobook, this one worked better for me in print.  As a native southerner, I just can’t abide a fake southern accent.  And sadly, neither of the narrators came across as authentic.  Still, the audiobook made it easy for me to keep reading while I was driving, and that was important to me.