Leaves and Longing: Rivals and Romance #1 by Amanda P. Jones-Small Town Romance Review

 

Book Synopsis

She wants roots. He collects boarding passes.

Travel journalist Knox Sheppherd is supposed to be sipping sangria in Spain. Instead, a forgotten passport renewal strands him in Iowa, covering the Midwest Rival Fest, where two neighboring towns are locked in a decades-old rivalry fueled by pumpkins, apples, and a mischievous goat named Karen.

As Harvest Glen's event planner, Mia Mullins thrives on turning chaos into magic. Between organizing the festival and defending her three-year Pumpkin Palooza winning streak, she has no time for distractions—especially not a charming reporter who's only passing through.

But between runaway livestock, festival disasters, carnival lights, and one increasingly inconvenient attraction, keeping things professional becomes harder by the day. As sparks fly and festival season heats up, Knox and Mia find themselves facing an impossible choice.

Mia is building a future in the place she loves. Knox is always chasing the next destination. With an expiration date looming over their romance, they'll have to decide whether love is worth rewriting the plans they thought they wanted.

Because sometimes the greatest adventure isn't the one that takes you somewhere new—it's the one that makes you want to stay.

Leaves and Longing is a sweet rom-com featuring a hero who falls first (and takes care of her), a small-town festival, opposites attract, and enough cozy fall vibes to fill a pumpkin patch—including campfires, carnival rides, stargazing, a pumpkin regatta, delicious festival food, and one unforgettable goat.

Leaves and Longing is part of the Rivals and Romance series, a collection of six interconnected standalone novels that can be read in any order.

Book Details

• ASIN: ‎ B0HFBCFK3D
• Publisher: ‎ Independently published
• Publication date: ‎ September 1, 2026
• Language: ‎ English
• Print length: ‎ 287 pages
• ISBN-13: ‎ 979-8192685495

• ****I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, NetGalley, book tours, and/or authors. A review was not required, and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own. ****

• 
  

My Review

I absolutely loved Leaves and Longing by Amanda P. Jones! It is the perfect mixture of laugh-out-loud humor and sweet, captivating romance. As the first book in the Rivals and Romance multi-author series, it sets an incredibly fun bar for the rest of the collection.

The story follows Mia Mullins and Knox Sheppherd, two characters who couldn't be more different on paper. Knox is a city-boy travel journalist sent to cover the Midwest Rival Fest—a chaotic, decades-old rivalry between two neighboring towns fueled by pumpkins, apples, and a mischievous goat named Karen. This is where he meets Mia, Harvest Glen's dedicated event planner, who is determined to win the Pumpkin Palooza for the fourth year in a row.

Mia plans absolutely everything, from cozy campfires and stargazing to thrilling carnival rides and a wild pumpkin regatta. The descriptions of the delicious festival food at the Palooza genuinely made my mouth water! Watching Knox’s fast-paced city world collide with Mia's vibrant small-town life was easily my favorite part of the book. Their chemistry is fantastic, and their witty banter kept me smiling.

Of course, I can’t write a review without mentioning Karen the goat! Karen is the ultimate mischief-maker, and his crazy antics provided some of the absolute best, most hilarious moments in the book—especially when he decided to take off and play his own impromptu game of hide-and-seek while the entire town was frantically looking for him.

If you are looking for a heartwarming romance that will make you laugh out loud and completely swoon, I cannot recommend this book enough! I can't wait to read the rest of the series! This was the perfect fall read.

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****Meet Author Amanda P. Jones****

Amanda writes sweet romantic comedies and contemporary romance novels with love, laughter, and happily ever afters.

When not reading or writing (which is rare), Amanda loves to travel, camp, spend time with family and friends, and eat chocolate chip cookies—or any other excuse she can come up with to avoid doing housework. She lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children.

Stay up to date by joining her newsletter at https://www.amandapjones.com/newsletter.

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~*~*~*~*Purchase: Leaves and Longing ~*~*~*~*

HERE:

Paperback-https://a.co/d/0951SJuV

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