What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. 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?
With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers. (Goodreads summary)
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I was in the mood for a light contemporary last week and ran across The Espressologist (thanks Dani ;)). I just needed a break from the heavier stuff I typically read. As a former barista for Starbucks, The Espressologist intrigued me immediately. Matchmaking with coffee orders? I’m in. Add in “overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma” and it has all the potential for favorite shelfing.
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The story is cute and fluffy. It’s a straightforward, light-hearted read. Not a lot of swearing, the only steaminess is the steamed milk, it made for a clean easy read that I could whole-heartedly recommend to any of my younger reader buddies. I like it when I come across a book I could hand to anyone without reservation or caveat. The romance was cute. The humour was sweet. It was all and all an enjoyable one-sit read.
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The strength of this novel was in the setting. I absolutely loved it. As I said, I worked as a barista for a year and this book captures what working in a coffee shop is really like. We had regulars who we could start making their orders when they pulled into the parking lot. Some who we knew details of their lives they probably didn’t even tell their friends. The games Jane played with herself, predicting new customers’ orders based solely on what she observed of their personality before ordering, I played as well, and I was actually pretty good. 😉 I don’t know if Ms. Springer was ever a barista or not but she nailed it. In short, the idea of matching through someone favorite coffee shop beverage is not that far fetched.
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Where this novel fell short was…well, it was so short. It just needed more. More Jane, more Cam, more of the secondary characters, more romantic tension. The Espressologist had the potential for greatness, it just wasn’t quite there with character development. A little more and it would have been perfect.
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Overall, a charming, adorable, and … caffeinated read. Super fun and highly recommended to everyone as a light, fun read. If you love coffee, coffee shops and a light-hearted romance, The Espressologist is for you.
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Author: Kristina Springer Title: The Espressologist Published: October 27th 2009 by Square Fish Format: Paperback, 184 pages Website: www.kristinaspringer.com Source: purchased My rating: 
Happy Reading!
This book sounds adorable! Great review, Heather.
Thanks! It was very fun. =)
This book sounds cute. Honestly, I love a good fluff read or easy novella once in a while to break up my other heavier books. Thanks for the review.
I do too! It was the perfect break I needed. =)
Yes. Everything you said = Yes. This was just such a fun and cute book!
Thanks. =)
The coffee on the cover is making me hungry. And thirsty. Now I need a muffin or a scone or a cookie and a carmel chocolate coffee.
=) definitely has that affect for sure!
I actually haven’t heard of this.. Unique thought though on coffees:D
Fun and cute and super fluffy! =)
Eep!! This sounds so cute!!
I’d love to be behind-the-scenes in a coffee shop!! And the main character has a very interesting talent:)
Lovely review:)
Super fun, quick read!
Sounds fantastic! Thanks for the review!
Thanks for commenting!
This book doesn’t sound like a consuming, great read by any means, but it does sound fun and quirky and cute–which I always enjoy. And I love retellings and Jane Austen, so I will definitely give it a try
Thanks for the review!
Exactly. =)
I haven’t heard about this book until now but from your review it sounds like a quick, fun read!
Very quick and very fun. Perfect for breaking up those heavier reads! =)