Review for The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

The Espressologist

Author: Kristina Springer
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Source: Public Library
Challenges: Library Challenge
184 pages

"Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders.
Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?" - Goodreads

This was an extremely fun, "frothy", and romantic debut! Though the characters are slightly undeveloped it was an interesting plot (cliche at times) that warmed my heart! It's perfect for a holiday (or not) read.

I found I really liked Jane. She has a quirky, sometimes sassy, but shyer personality. Her development throughout this story was ok, it wasn't incredible. Em is her best friend and I also really enjoyed reading about her. She is a smarty smart and sticks up for Jane (which I thought was such a sister thing to do!). They are quite the pair. Along with the quirky cast of barista's at the cafe, it makes for drama! And the hilarious boss! Now, lets talk male characters. Well, really I'll just name one. The one that was so so sweet and I loved and still love; Cam. When we are first introduced to him I was like, "yes! my type of guy!". He really is. He's got that I'm-a-good-friend thing going on but wants it to be more. Who does he end up with? You'll have to read to find out!

The plot I must admit was pretty predictible but I sitll throughly enjoyed it. The coffee drink - love match idea is quite original! And Jane is excellent at reading the drinks to match people! This is not an exciting book exactly but for some reason I really liked it. It had a certain charm to it. And I learned a lot about coffee drinks (I must try all of them - they sound so yummy)... The reader even gets a few recipes at the back of the book, hint hint. There are quite a few laughs and so many romantic moments that I can't help but announce that to me this book was a romantic comedy!

I highly recommend this book to those who like fun, light, sweet, airy, charming, happy feeling books that will just lift your spirit. It certainly did in my case! A very sweet romance and simple to read about!

Excerpt:

"I don't know," he says with a straight face. "It might be fun to learn about all your deep dark secrets."
I stare at him for a moment, not sure what to say.
"You don't really expect me to tell you my secrets, do you?" I whisper.
"Well, you'll have to give me something good to write about. I want an A." Cam grins at my worried look.
"No way!" I exclaim with a nervous laugh, relieved. "Besides, I'm going first with the questions." I tap my pen on my notebook, purse my lips, and study Cam. He's really not bad-looking at all. He's a little more rugged than the typical guys I see around the city. More like he should be hiking a trail somewhere instead of riding the El train. But he's got really nice blue eyes and he laughs a lot, which makes his face light up.
"You are taking too long to come up with a question. You're kind of scaring me."