There’s something utterly enchanting about a romance that dares to bloom in the most unlikely soil. Isabelle Popp’s debut contemporary romance, Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About, serves up a deliciously unexpected feast of emotions that will leave readers both satisfied and hungry for more. Like the prize-winning pumpkins at its heart, this story grows from humble beginnings into something magnificent and memorable.
A Tale of Second Chances and First Loves
The Thorny Rose Meets Sunshine Incarnate
Sadie Fox is every inch the prickly textile artist stereotype—all black clothing, sharp edges, and a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush. She returns to Pea Blossom, Indiana, not out of nostalgia, but obligation. Her mission seems simple enough: tend to her father’s pumpkin patch while he’s caring for her uncle, win the SPICE Pumpkin Weigh-off, and finally earn back some semblance of paternal respect. What she doesn’t expect is for wild hogs to destroy the entire patch, leaving her dreams as trampled as the vines.
Enter Josh Thatcher, the tech millionaire turned gentleman farmer who traded Silicon Valley success for squash cultivation. With his sunny disposition and inexplicably kind nature, Josh is everything Sadie typically avoids. Yet when he offers her one of his own prized pumpkin plants, their lives become as intertwined as the tendrils of climbing vines.
Character Development That Actually Develops
Popp excels at crafting characters who feel authentically flawed rather than artificially quirky. Sadie’s acidic humor masks deep-seated insecurities about belonging and worthiness. Her relationship with her father Stu is beautifully complex—filled with love, disappointment, and the kind of stubborn miscommunication that rings painfully true. The author doesn’t fall into the trap of making Sadie’s “edges” purely cosmetic; her defense mechanisms have real consequences and require genuine growth to overcome.
Josh, meanwhile, avoids the dreaded “perfect male love interest” syndrome by carrying his own emotional baggage. His tendency to solve problems through generosity and technology stems from childhood patterns of trying to fix his parents’ marriage. His journey toward understanding that love isn’t something you can engineer or purchase provides genuine emotional stakes.
The Sweet and Sour of Small-Town Romance
Setting as Character
Pea Blossom, Indiana, emerges as more than mere backdrop—it’s a living, breathing character that shapes every interaction. Popp captures the claustrophobic intimacy of small-town life while also revealing its surprising depths. The transformation of the town into an artist colony provides believable context for why two such different souls might find themselves sharing the same patch of earth.
The agricultural elements are woven throughout with authentic detail that never feels heavy-handed. From the precise watering schedules to the cucumber beetle battles, Popp clearly did her homework. The SPICE Pumpkin Weigh-off serves as both climax and metaphor, representing growth, competition, and the courage to put yourself on display.
Supporting Cast That Supports
The secondary characters avoid falling into small-town stereotype traps. Grace, Sadie’s half-sister, provides the perfect counterbalance to Sadie’s cynicism without being annoyingly perky. Their relationship evolution from distant to genuinely connected provides one of the book’s most satisfying arcs. PJ, the librarian running legal clinics, and the members of the Spinning and Weaving Guild create a rich tapestry of community that feels lived-in rather than constructed.
The Art of Authentic Emotion
Steam That Serves the Story
The romantic tension between Sadie and Josh builds with delicious inevitability. Their initial attraction crackles with authentic chemistry, from shared pizza dinners to stolen kisses behind the Agriculture Building. Popp writes physical intimacy that serves character development—each encounter reveals something new about their vulnerabilities and desires.
The sexual content strikes the perfect balance for contemporary romance readers seeking both emotional depth and physical heat. The scenes never feel gratuitous but rather like natural expressions of their growing connection.
Conflict That Counts
What sets “Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About” apart from less successful romances is its willingness to let real problems create genuine conflict. Sadie’s fear of commitment isn’t just cute quirk—it’s rooted in legitimate concerns about family dysfunction and personal autonomy. Josh’s desire to “fix” everything isn’t painted as heroic but recognized as potentially problematic.
The resolution doesn’t come through grand gestures or convenient epiphanies but through the slower, more realistic work of two people learning to trust each other and themselves.
Writing Style That Weaves Magic
Voice and Tone
Popp’s narrative voice captures Sadie’s sardonic worldview without drowning the story in cynicism. The author has a gift for metaphor, particularly those drawn from textile work and farming, that illuminate character emotions without feeling forced. Lines like “like a microwaved burrito with a frozen core” perfectly capture Sadie’s relationship with her father—irreverent yet deeply felt.
The dual POV structure allows readers to understand both characters’ internal struggles without redundancy. Josh’s sections reveal his genuine complexity while Sadie’s showcase her hidden vulnerability beneath the armor of sarcasm.
Pacing and Structure
The countdown structure (chapters marked by days until the weigh-off) creates natural momentum while allowing character development to unfold organically. The pacing never drags, particularly in the middle sections where romance novels often stumble. Each chapter moves the relationship forward while advancing the external plot.
Where the Harvest Could Be Richer
Minor Growing Pains
While largely successful, the novel isn’t without its small imperfections. Some of the tech industry details feel slightly outdated, and Josh’s transition from Silicon Valley to farming could use deeper exploration. The resolution of the “Go Hog Wild” subplot feels a bit convenient, though it doesn’t significantly detract from the main story.
Occasionally, Sadie’s internal monologue becomes repetitive in its self-deprecation, though this may be intentional characterization rather than authorial oversight.
Missed Opportunities
The book’s exploration of art and creativity could have been pushed further. While Sadie’s textile work serves as effective metaphor, readers might crave more specific detail about her artistic process and the pieces she creates. The epilogue, showing her community art project one year later, hints at fascinating possibilities that could have been explored more fully within the main narrative.
Similar Reads for Pumpkin Lovers
Readers who enjoy this opposites-attract agricultural romance in “Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About” should seek out:
- Beach Read by Emily Henry for another enemies-to-lovers story featuring creative protagonists
- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren for similar humor and small-town charm
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang for neurodivergent representation and steam level
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary for unique structure and authentic relationship development
- 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne for complicated family dynamics and emotional depth
The Final Weigh-In
Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About succeeds as both agricultural romance and character study. Popp demonstrates impressive skill for a debut author, creating a world that feels both cozy and complex. The romance satisfies without sacrificing believability, and the agricultural setting provides fresh metaphors for growth and connection.
This is the kind of book that reminds readers why they fell in love with romance in the first place—it’s hopeful without being naive, sexy without being shallow, and emotionally resonant without being manipulative. Like the perfect pumpkin, it’s been given time to develop properly, tended with care, and harvested at exactly the right moment.
For readers seeking contemporary romance with heart, humor, and just enough heat to warm a chilly autumn evening, this harvest romance delivers a bounty of satisfaction. Isabelle Popp has planted herself firmly in the romance landscape, and judging by this promising first fruit, her future crop looks very bright indeed.
Like the perfectly timed revelation of Josh’s secret squash experiments, I should mention that I received an advance reader copy of “Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About” in exchange for an honest review. Much like Sadie’s carefully tended pumpkin, this review has grown organically from genuine appreciation rather than obligation—though I’ll admit the author’s generosity in sharing her literary harvest early certainly didn’t hurt my enthusiasm for spreading word about this delightful romantic crop.
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