Review: Bewitching You – Katana Collins
Bewitching Youby Katana Collins
Publisher: Kindle
Publication Date: October 3, 2019
Genres: Romance
Pages: 106
Source: BookSprout
I received this book for free from BookSprout in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My rating:
When you have a name like Kandi Cornne, you're destined to either become a stripper... or own a candy store. For me? It's the latter. That's right, my name is Kandi and I own a candy store in the quaint New England town of Maple Grove. Which in October? It means three things: 1) Tourists are coming in droves for "leaf-peeping" season 2) My candy store business is booming 3) The sexy pumpkin farmer, Ford Kane is everywhere Since he harvests pumpkins and I sell candy, Halloween is both of our prime seasons and our businesses often cross. Even though he's hated me for years, ever since his best friend and I broke up, we need to find a way to work together in a civil manner.
While I may not be able to soften that grim demeanor of his... the five black kittens we find might. If only he knew how much he had me purring as well...
Content warnings: View Spoiler »
I’m in a Halloween novella mood, and this sweet and sexy Kindle Unlimited option hit the spot. It’s got the ex-boyfriend’s friend trope, half a dozen cats, and plenty of that Halloween atmosphere I was looking for.
Kandi Kornne (I know, right?) holds a pumpkin decorating fundraiser every year at her candy store in quaint Maple Grove. This year, though, the pumpkins are being delivered by Ford Kane, the local farmer who purchased the pumpkin patch. This is a novella, so there’s not terribly too much character development. Both start out prejudiced against each other due to Kandi’s ex-boyfriend, Ben. Kandi’s worried that Ford is cut from the same cloth as her selfish jerk of an ex-boyfriend, which isn’t a big stretch as they used to be best friends. Ford has a pretty big chip on his shoulder about being seen as a poor hick farm boy. Kandi comes from a rich family – the kind of girl who uses “summer” as a verb, as Ford says derisively – and Ben’s led him to think she’s nothing but a spoiled rich princess. On the other hand, Ben told Kandi that Ford tried to convince him to end their relationship and gave her the “Princess” nickname. Some of their preconceptions are true, and some are not, but early on in the novella they figure out that Ben lied out of his teeth to both of them.
“You’re fine Italian leather. And I’m worn in work boots. At some point, I fear you’re going to realize you don’t fit in here.”
Here we get to the one quibble I have with the book – the relationship moves very, very fast. They go right from “he’s a jerk!” and “she’s a spoiled princess” to “what Ben lied?!?!” and to screwing on a table filled with pumpkins. Afterwards, obviously, they have some recalibrating to do. Ford doesn’t want to be a rebound and worries that rich Kandi won’t fit in his farm-centered world, while Kandi views Ford’s attempt to put the brakes on as evidence that he’s not interested in a relationship. I loved how Kandi put her foot down on what she wanted from a relationship, and I loved how Ford accepted her list of rules and thoughtfully lived up to them. Aside from the obligatory black moment (courtesy of the ex-boyfriend), they had really great communication (and pretty hot sex), though, again, the speed of it gave me a bit of whiplash. It is a novella, though, and it was fun to see their relationship develop, even if it was only over a few days.
As for the Halloween content, it’s got a little bit of everything. There’s Halloween-named black cats, pumpkin decorating, trick or treating, sweet potato pecan pie, and apple cider. It’s cute and sweet, and aside from the ex-boyfriend content and one moment with a gun where Kandi and Ford think there’s an intruder in a candy store, pretty low-key. Overall, this is a fun and frothy Halloween novella, perfect for enjoying with a warm (preferably pumpkin spiced) drink.
