Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore Book Review

Adult Rory & Jess Vibes in the Coziest Fall Romance 🍂

Published: August 24, 2026

Romance in the Coffee Rings Quick Stats

⭐ Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

📚 Main Characters: Penny Darling & Jake “Monty” Montgomery

💕 Favorite Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers + Fake Dating

🍁 Favorite Element: The cozy small-town fall atmosphere

📖 Overall Vibe: Adult Rory & Jess meets cozy autumn romance

🐮 Scene-Stealer: Daisy the baby cow

☕ Coffee Pairing: Pumpkin Spice Latte

⚠️ Spoiler-Free Review: This review contains no major spoilers, so you can safely keep reading if Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore is still on your TBR!

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Romance in the Coffee Rings Book Review

Give me a bookstore.

A cozy small town.

Fall leaves.

Fake dating.

Childhood best friends.

And a baby cow named Daisy.

Apparently, that's all you need to make me happy. 😂🍂📚

Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore was SUCH a cute fall romance.

From the small-town atmosphere to Penny and Monty's friendship, this book gave me exactly the kind of cozy seasonal romance I wanted.

And somewhere along the way, I realized...

Penny and Monty were giving me major adult Rory and Jess vibes.

Once I saw it? I couldn't unsee it.

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What's It About?

After a very public failed engagement, Penny Darling is perfectly content focusing on the thing she can always count on:

Books.

As the owner of Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore, Penny would much rather spend her time with a fictional boyfriend than risk having her heart broken again.

Then her high school best friend, Jake “Monty” Montgomery, returns home.

Monty is now an author struggling with his career—and he needs Penny's help.

The solution? Penny will teach Monty how to write the perfect book boyfriend...

And Monty will pretend to be hers.

Totally fake.

Completely uncomplicated.

Obviously nothing could possibly go wrong. 😂

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Penny, I Get You

One of the biggest reasons I enjoyed this book so much was Penny.

There were so many little things about her that made me think...

Girl. SAME.

Her love of books.

Her attachment to fictional characters.

Her romantic side mixed with the part of her that's terrified of actually getting hurt.

Even some of her awkward moments had me sitting there thinking, I would absolutely do that.

She felt relatable in a way I wasn't expecting, and that made me even more invested in her story.

Honestly, Penny might be one of the romance heroines I've related to most in a while.

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Adult Rory & Jess... Is That You?

Okay.

Hear me out.

A book-loving woman.

A small town.

A longtime connection.

An author.

A bookstore.

That slightly complicated: we've known each other forever, but there is CLEARLY something happening here energy...

Rory and Jess.

Obviously Penny and Monty are their own characters, but the vibe was there enough that my Gilmore Girls-loving brain immediately made the connection.

And considering this is also a cozy fall small-town romance?

It only made the comparison stronger. 🍂☕

Stars Hollow would absolutely approve.

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Friends-to-Lovers + Fake Dating

You really can't go wrong with this combination.

Penny and Monty already have years of history between them, which made their relationship feel different from two strangers suddenly deciding to fake date.

There's already comfort.

Trust.

History.

And feelings that may not be quite as platonic as they're pretending.

Then you add fake dating into the mix...

Come ON.

Watching the line between pretending and reality slowly blur was easily one of my favorite parts of the story.

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The Fall Vibes 

THIS is a fall book.

Not just a romance that happens to take place sometime between September and November.

It actually feels like fall.

The bookstore.

The leaves.

The small-town atmosphere.

The cozy moments.

The romance.

Everything made me want to grab a blanket, make a hot coffee, and pretend it's 55 degrees outside even if the calendar still says August.

If you're already mentally done with summer and ready for fall...

Add this one to the list.

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Can We Take a Moment for Daisy?

🐮 DAISY. THE. BABY. COW.

That's it.

That's basically the section. 😂

I was here for Penny and Monty...

But I was ALSO here for Daisy.

Any romance author who puts an adorable animal into a book needs to understand that there is a very real possibility I will become equally invested in the animal.

Daisy absolutely stole the show whenever she appeared.

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Romance in the Coffee Rings Coffee Pairing

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I couldn't possibly pair this book with anything other than a cozy fall coffee.

But there's a little extra meaning behind this one.

Monty's nickname for Penny is “xuxuzinho,” which he explains means “sweet pumpkin” in Brazil.

So obviously... We needed pumpkin.

Add warm sweetness and espresso, and you've basically got Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore in coffee form.

Sweet. Warm. Comforting.

And completely made for fall. 🍁

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Final Thoughts

Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore was exactly the kind of romance I needed right now.

It was cute.

Cozy.

Funny.

Romantic.

And packed with all the small-town fall vibes I was hoping for.

I especially loved Penny, who felt incredibly relatable, and the combination of friends-to-lovers and fake dating made Penny and Monty's relationship so much fun to read.

Was it a perfect five-star read? Not quite.

But was I happily wrapped up in Hope Harbor while I was reading it?

Absolutely.

If you're looking for something cozy to kick off your fall reading...

I'd definitely put this one on your TBR.

Especially if the words “adult Rory and Jess vibes” immediately got your attention. 😂🍂📚

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Let's Talk!

Have you read Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore yet?

And more importantly...

What's your favorite cozy fall romance? 🍁

Because I'm officially entering my fall reading era and I want ALL the recommendations.

Until next time...

Happy reading, happy sipping, and don't forget the coffee. ☕💕

— Erica | Romance in the Coffee Rings