Book Review 📚
Title: Cozy Girl Fall
Author: Willow Hurst

Who can resist a steamy second chance romance? It’s been ten years since Penny last set foot in her hometown, but now she’s back to lend a hand at her family’s apple orchard. The twist? She’s working side by side with Ethan—her childhood sweetheart. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and with old feelings rekindled, anything could happen.
This is the kind of cozy, heartwarming story I know I’ll be reaching for again—especially when autumn rolls around! 🍎🍂


Tropes:

Small town 🏘️
Forced proximity 👧👲
Second chance ❤️

Thank you NetGalley, Transworld Publishers and Willow Hurst for the eARC!!

Publication Date: August 28th 2025
Rating: ✨✨✨✨

#CozyGirlFall #NetGalley

Completely obsessed with this romance book! Such fall vibes and I loved it!!! I love this authors’ other releases under her different name, but this was so cute and fun. The tension and connection was so good. This is so city girl, blue collar boy coded set in harvest season, so like what’s not to like!

I really enjoyed this cosy autumnal read from Willow Hurst!
Cute, small town, forced proximity, second chance romance with some cheesy spice - what can go wrong!
Penny ends up back in her home town living with her parents after leaving her culinary job in the city. She then finds out that childhood boyfriend Ethan is working on her parents orchid, the one she agreed to help with since being back home! Despite Ethans sister Tasha pleading with her to stay away since she broke his heart before the pair just cant keep their hands off eachother! With a disruptive ex girlfriend, Ethan sets out to prove thats it's always been Penny...
Can Penny save her friendship with Tasha?
Will she decide to stay in Magnolia Springs for good or is the city calling her name again?
Very cute read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and Willow Hurst for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Follow me on TikTok for more 🩷 Laced in Lit... 🎀 Booktok

Cozy Girl Fall is a feel-good romantic comedy from Willow Hurst. It's a story that will have you chuckling as much as swooning, making it a great holiday read.

Penny Larkin is determined to follow her dreams of becoming a chef, so she leaves behind everything she knows in her small hometown of Magnolia Springs. This includes her family's apple orchard, her best friend and her boyfriend Ethan. But ten years has passed and she's finally back,
happy to spend time helping her parents with the busy harvest season but nervous to bump into Ethan again.

Unfortunately for her Ethan has only got more handsome and is happy to keep bumping into her as often as he can! Will their forced proximity of working together at the orchard rekindle their romance...or will she keep her promise of not being drawn back into small town life.

It ticks the boxes of humour, friendship, love and a fair bit of spice, a cozy holiday read in name and nature!

After a couple of disappointing ARCs, I was going to swear off NetGalley for a while but then I saw the front cover for Cozy Girl Fall and it was so gorgeous I just had to request it. I'm so glad I did because it was a Five Star Read.

I love small town romances and I can totally understand why after leaving for San Francisco to become a professional chef, Penny would return to her hometown of Magnolia Springs. It sounds so idyllic with its apple orchards, yummy bakeries and town festivals. It's funny how gossip quickly spreads whenever Penny and Ethan are seen together. Penny's parents are great characters. I like how her Mom is so competitive with her baking and tries to intimidate voters in the pie competition. Penny has such an amazing relationship with her Dad and he gives great advice.

I fell in love with Ethan from the moment he and Penny met again for the first time at her parents' orchard when she was hiding / pretending to look for her car keys. I really appreciated how he didn't hold a grudge against Penny for leaving to pursue her dreams even though it broke both their hearts. He is and always has been her Number 1 Supporter, which makes him even more attractive.

Cozy Girl Fall just put the biggest smile on my face and as soon as I'd finished reading, I immediately looked to see if the author had written anything else and added Clean Girl Spring to my Wish List.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I couldn't put this book down – absolutely loved it.

I this was a very sweet and cozy story. It had a beautiful concept of a city girl and getting recalibrated not by choice to country life ;) and learning it’s not so bad after all and maybe you could not only find yourself but love along the way ;) Penny and Ethan were adorable.