A Cafe Au Lait Kind of Love by D.E. Malone Review

 Good Morning Sweet Friends :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians, and welcome all to The Preppy Book Princess.

I'm Kirby, and I'm excited you've decided to start out your week with me here on my little bookish corner of the internet for another book review.

I love reading across a wide variety of genres, but I particularly love Christian fiction and/or clean titles.

I've definitely discovered some favorites within both of these genres, and today I get to review for you all, a recently released title by one of my favorite clean romance authors.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below for today's full review.

A Cafe Au Lait Kind of Love by D. E. Malone:

Source: Complimentary Copy Provided by the Author as Part of Her Review Team

Publication Date: October 10th, 2024

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Clean Romance

Series: The Coffee Loft (Multi Author)

Synopsis:

Owner Ginger Giatti is good at two things: drawing customers into The Coffee Loft and turning them into repeat visitors with a delightful drink menu and down-home hospitality. She’s living her dream except for the overly friendly, dog-loving patron who keeps nudging his way into her life. If he wasn’t such a loyal customer, she’d tell him to take his parade of pooches to another establishment in Greenhaven.

Cal Donner loves showing off his adoptable mutts on The Coffee Loft’s patio almost as much as he loves it when Ginger throws a smile his way. She’s warm and funny, and he can’t help but wonder if the foam hearts she draws in his café au laits are the real deal. Her only fault—he’s pretty sure she’s lukewarm on dogs, but no one’s perfect.

When a wicked storm leaves The Coffee Loft in the dark, Cal comes to the rescue. It’s the type of feel-good story Ginger knows will look good on her application for a prestigious business grant, and she needs Cal’s help. Trouble is, Cal will only cooperate if she agrees to be his date—to the Paws Cause fundraiser dinner. Will their date be a doggone disaster, or will the night be the first step toward fur-ever?


Welcome back to The Coffee Loft, where a new round of stories has been brewed especially for you.

Those of you stopping by to visit again, we’ve missed you. The feeling of home is the same that you loved before. If it’s your first time, prepare to be swept off your feet.

While our menu hasn’t changed, we think you’ll be pleased with the fall favorites we’ve added. Fans of pumpkin spiced lattes, peppermint mochas, and rich, chocolaty cocoas will not be disappointed. This multi-author collection of stand-alone sweet romcoms is filled to the brim with the swoons you love and adore.

From sweet kisses to grand gestures and matchmaking surprises, each mug and story will be filled with everything you crave. So come on in and let us serve you with that happy ever after you’ve come to expect.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I'd actually never heard of The Coffee Loft series before picking this title up, but D.E. Malone is always one of my favorite clean romance authors, and I was excited to dive into another one of her titles. These titles are all under the heading of the same series, but each can be read as a stand alone which I appreciated as I didn't end up feeling like I was missing out on anything by just reading this one.

A Cafe Au Lait Kind of Love is a sweet and heartwarming romance set during the fall season that features an upscale coffee shop, a slow burn romance, and a plethora of adorable, furry legged friends. Wrapped up with D.E. Malone's traditional cozy writing, this was such a pefect read for a chilly fall day and truly reads like a made for TV movie come to life on the page.

While there was so much to love within these pages, I think my favorite parts personally were the opposites attract romance, and the emphasis put on pet fostering. I'm more of a cat person than a dog person, but I loved how important Cal's canine friends were to him, and the lengths he goes to see them each find their new forever home. Ginger's cat Daisy was also a scene stealer, and I adored all the passages she played a role in.

With a realistic timeline, a sweet plotline, and characters that truly came to feel like old friends, this one was a definite winner in my eyes, and I can't recommend it enough.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much to D.E. Malone for allowing me to read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the author as part of her street team. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)