His Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin & Cookie #1

by Alexa Riley

Pumpkin is on a plane back home for Thanksgiving when the man beside her becomes the jerk nobody wants to sit beside. When a dark and handsome Russian comes to her rescue and makes the sleazy neighbor switch seats, she's forever in his debt.

Miller wasn't planning on coming back to Texas this soon, but an emergency lands him on a commercial flight with a woman that he can't keep his eyes off of.

Will this chance meeting change their lives forever? It's Thanksgiving…and anything can happen!

Warning: Kick your feet up on Turkey Day and escape those family judgments with a little romance.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Holiday, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Thanksgiving, Erotica

114 pages, ebook

First published November 12, 2020

About the author

Alexa Riley is two sassy friends who got together and wrote some dirty books. They are both married moms of two who love football, donuts, and obsessed book heroes.

They specialize in insta-love, over-the-top, sweet, and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something SAFE, short, and always with a happily ever after, then Alexa Riley is for you!

Feel free to follow us each on twitter @smut_sasshole & @SassNSmut

Reviews

[Fanny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Empezo bastante bien, me gusto como se conocieron los protagonistas, pero luego, la historia se fue cuesta abajo sin frenos, ademas, algunos comentarios y pensamientos de los personajes son demasiado fuertes, no me agrado su historia.

His Pumpkin Pie no fue lo que pense, mas que una novela linda y romantica, me parecio uno de los relatos mas flojos de este duo. Definitivamente, la bonita portada no tiene nada que ver con el libro en si.

1.5 Estrellas!

[Jenny]

Kind of depressing epilogue!

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Fast pace and hoilday cheer!! With some steamy moments and little drama.

Pumpkin is coming home for Thanksgiving thinking about her life and job, she misses her family but she's annoyed and being harrased on a plan by a drunk guy next to her. But is saved by a Russian who is also on the same flight along with his twin brother. 

Miller is already smitten with Pumpkin and enjoys her talking and just being around her and once she invites him for Thanksgiving he already knew she was his. They do have few misunderstanding thanks to communication and his famiky (beside the brother) who wanna ruin the relationship.  We also get to see a sneak of Cookie and Frost ❤

No ow/om drama (unless you count the drunk), no cheating, Tiny drama, slight secondary character, sexy times, virgin gal and no manwhore

Recommend- yes
Cover-⭐⭐⭐


Slowinsta
Push/pull from h
Mentions of past physical abuse
No condom
Safe-ish
Hea
Epilogue

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Колись я навчусь читати анотацію, але це буде колись, бо там бувають спойлери до сюжету. 2 бали тільки за те, що більш менш щось там таке було. А так це росіянці то ж хуйня, особливо коли на це постійно робили акцент.

[*CJ* · Rating 2 out of 5]

"His Pumpkin Pie" is the story of Cookie and Miller.

Super sweet heroine- check
Obsessed Russian hero- check
Love at first sight- check
Evil OP drama- check
Adorable family- check
Diabetic lovemaking- check
Nice HEA- check

It was OK- liked the epilogue though!

Safe
2/5

[Fiona Fog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexa Riley bring the feels, heat and passion with their latest release, I can't get enough of what these ladies write.

Though quick reads, the attention to detail is never lacking. The characters are awesome and the development of the story is strong. They manage to pack so much into what they write I'm always at a loss when that last page appears.

They are automatic one clicks for me, no blurb necessary as soon as I see their name I'm all over it.

It's a YES from me.

[Kayla Brunson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute Thanksgiving read. I could have done without some of the added drama though. I’m excited for the next book about their siblings!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and steamy read with a growly Russian alpha that says all the right things. He’s jealous, possessive, and obsessed with pumpkin. A fun read!

[Alexandraa XX · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is sooo far sooo nice and romantic lol.

I LIVE FOR THIS TYPE OF STORIES....



They meet for the first time in a plane and it was very romantic for me lol

The heroine is a virgin

The hero is possessive protective alpha male and he is a big handsome Russian man! So hot!

Love in first sight

Drama with ow but not too annoying and it was like almost nothing lol

Very hot smut scenes

Not many jealous scenes from both

No cheating

No separation

Happy ending! Married and few years later even when both are already have their daughter went on a date which is soooo cute

[lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww AR that was so cute 🥰 loved it the h pumpkin 🙂 yes her name is pumpkin but I loved it it suits her she is such a sweet and kind person she meets the H Miller a Russian buisness man and he is HOT and it's love at 1st sight ❤
Oh and by the way Miller has a twin Brother Frost !! And believe me his name suits him 2 the man is cold 🙃 and pumpkin has a sister called cookie their story is next , can't wait for them 🤗

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead


The fact that her name is actually Pumpkin should've told me all I needed to know
Why so much outside drama for such a short read, those pages could've been spent on relationship development or sex 😂
Why's the epilogue depressing as hell jeeze

Another fail for me from this author but my mama didn't raise a quitter 😂😂

Safe

[Denice · Rating 3 out of 5]

His Pumpkin Pie by Alexa Riley ⭐⭐⭐

HERO - Miller Ranov. Owner of an oil refinery. Tall with dark hair that’s short on the sides and longer on top and blue eyes.

HEROINE - Pumpkin Williams. Medical supply salesperson. Has fair skin, long dark curly hair, ice-blue eyes with flecks of gold, and dimples.

OVERALL THOUGHTS - I’m a big AR fan and love most of their work. This one, however, was so-so for me. Not terrible, but not great either. Because this was marketed as a Thanksgiving romance, I expected lots of scenes with Pumpkin’s family, who she really emphasizes that she loves and misses, along with a cozy romance that would get interwoven with the family bonding, and with Miller eventually finding a place he belongs within her family since the one he comes from was terrible. And I mean, that basically happened, but I had issues.

There are scenes with Pumpkin’s family, but not as many as I was expecting. They didn’t play as large a role in the story as I thought they would, but that’s okay because I’m not going to knock a book just because it doesn’t go the way I want. There was romance as well, obviously, but - and this is going to sound crazy since I love stories with steam - I felt Pumpkin had sex with him too soon. Not too soon in terms of far into the story it happened, but I felt it was out of character for her when it did. And that was one of my issues - I couldn’t really pin down Pumpkin’s personality. It seemed to change depending on what the scene required of her.

So for the above example, here’s where I’m coming from: Pumpkin had been established to highly value her family and their opinions. After all, one of her intentions over the Thanksgiving break was to get career advice from them. She clearly held them in high regard. So I was confused when Miller arrived at their house to pick her up for a date, that she couldn’t get him away from her family fast enough. Wouldn’t she want their impression of him? And then that same night she sleeps with him. From my initial impression of her, I thought for sure she’d want him meet her family first, see if he gets the stamp of approval, especially from her father. I don’t know, to me their first time felt less special because of it.

Going back to character development, Pumpkin wasn’t the only one I had a hard time pinning down. I didn’t do too well with Miller, either. He was born in Texas to Russian immigrants, but spent a lot of time studying abroad, and has a Russian accent. My brain didn’t know what to do with all that. I had so many questions - Were they rich before moving to Texas? Why did they move to Texas? How did Miller and Frost come to own an oil refinery? Why did their mother dislike them so much when they suffered as much as she did? Why did the authors choose the name Miller when they wanted to focus so much on him being Russian? His background was unusual and not explained well enough for me to get an in-depth feel for him.

Major side characters included Cookie, Pumpkin’s sister, and Frost, Miller’s twin brother. Neither of them felt well-defined either. Cookie is bad at baking and had some man drama in her past her high school boyfriend spread rumors that he took her virginity, which was a lie. She apparently walked in on that same boyfriend (I think, it wasn’t actually clear on that) cheating on her. Ever since, she’s shut the idea of romance out of her life. We’re not even told whether she’s Pumpkin’s older or younger sister, or how many years are between them. Frost is just cold, detached, grumpy, and likes to drink a lot. They have their own book coming out in a couple weeks, called His Christmas Cookie.

As far as the pacing, it got off to a slow start. The first chapter was mostly Pumpkin's internal thoughts. I’m not sure why AR chose to open the book that way considering everything even remotely important is touched upon again in chapter three when she has her first conversation with Miller. I found my mind wandering at several points while reading. Oh, and for all the fretting about her job in the beginning? Yeah, that’s completely dropped. She does decide to quit, but there’s no mention of what she pursues instead. It made me wonder why they chose to focus on that in the beginning at all.

Instead of spending more time with Pumpkin’s family, we got some drama with Miller’s parents. Again, this wouldn’t have been terrible except it was the springboard for so much miscommunication between him and Pumpkin. Also, it really showcased how little they knew each other. They both kept saying to themselves how they trusted the other person to tell them when something’s wrong, but they were both let down because neither of them wanted to ask the other questions. ~SIGH~ So much misplaced trust! It was exasperatingly funny, and not in a good way. Not to mention the proposal by Miller’s mother that started the drama was really random.

I also noticed some inconsistencies, but the one that stood out the most was that it randomly started snowing...in Texas. Not impossible, but definitely not common. I think AR forgot where they set their book when they wrote that because it’s mentioned once and then never again. Maybe they meant to say it started raining.

There’s an HEA, but probably one with an asterisk for some people. They’re still happy, don’t worry, but it wasn’t really the fluffy ending I would have wanted out of a Thanksgiving book. Overall, it was still an enjoyable read, but there were too many issues to say I really liked it.

SAFETY

Age: Pumpkin - 20’s; Miller - mid 30’s*

*That’s as close to ages as we got in this book. There were no hints as to where in her 20’s Pumpkin was, though likely 21 or older since she does drink alcohol. Doesn’t really help narrow it down, I know! LOL As far as Miller goes, Pumpkin guesses at his age range in her mind, but also admits she’s terrible at guessing ages, so...insert shrug here.

Sexual History: Pumpkin is a virgin, but has dated in the past. Miller’s not a virgin, but his history is never discussed, nor do we learn if he’s been celibate for any length of time.

Condoms: Not used. I assume Miller used them in the past.

Heat Level: Scorcher - 4/5

Push/Pull: Yes, slightly Pumpkin’s got low self-esteem when it comes to Miller that causes her to question his intentions multiple times throughout the book. This doesn't necessarily cause her to push him away, though, it just makes her a bit wishy-washy. She does push away, however, when she thinks he’s cheated on her (see OW drama).

Separation: No

Cheating: No

OW(Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: OM - no; OW - yes, slightly There’s a woman, Chel, that Miller’s mother arranged for him and Frost to marry, saying she knows they like to share everything. Not an unusual practice in an AR book, but this isn’t one of their MFM romances. Miller and Frost do not share women. They express their displeasure with their parents, with Miller disowning them. As he leaves the restaurant, he runs into Chel, who’s running late. They know each other (not romantically, though) and she embraces him and touches his face before he can move out of the way.

Pumpkin happens to be in the same shopping center the restaurant is at and sees the embrace. She’s hurt and leaves. You’d think that would be the start of the drama, but no. Because the next time we get her POV, she’s fine. She decides to trust Miller to tell her about it. Well, he doesn’t, and she doesn’t ask. Instead, when he swings by her house afterward, they have sex in his car while being driven around by his driver.

After being dropped off, Pumpkin finds an engagement announcement for Miller and Chel (I guess Frost’s name was left off) on her doorstep. Someone’s obviously been following her. She gets upset, but still doesn’t ask him about it. Miller tries getting in touch with her, but she doesn’t answer, of course. He decides he trusts her to tell him if something is wrong (remember, everything was fine when he left her). Clearly there’s a lot of misplaced trust in this book because she instead decides to break up with him via text message.

He almost immediately shows up at her house and she, likewise, almost immediately gives in to him without getting an explanation for the engagement announcement. She tries to get him to admit it without actually asking him and when he doesn’t, she tries to leave (they’re back in the car again at this point), calling him a cheater, but he pulls her back inside. She FINALLY tells him what she saw, he explains what happened, and they go inside and have sex on her bedroom floor.

Sex scene with OW/OM: No

Abuse: Yes, mentions of past domestic and child abuse Miller and Frost’s father was physically abusive toward both them and their mother in the past.

Possible Pet Peeves/Triggers: Yes Mentions of domestic and child abuse that occurred in the past. Mention of the heroine having her uterus removed after almost dying during childbirth.

HEA/HFN: HEA There’s one epilogue set 16 years into the future. They’re married and have a teen daughter named Natalie who’s just gone on her first date much to Miller’s consternation. They were only able to have the one child due to Pumpkin needing her uterus removed after almost dying giving birth.

[Topy.Loving.Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF it at 58%.

Because of various lines like "feel her innocence break". 🤮 I've highlighted it with others in this moment. The cringy ones. And they are many. And what about the virgin heroine out of no where?! I missed the memo. And him enjoying it way too much to be her first. Really disgusting and full of toxic masculinity.

Also I'm not a fan of the hero being Russian but just saying "da". The author could have make the effort for more vocabulary than the one anyone who had watch 80' American action movies with the bad guys being Russian know.

Finally, the cover is what drew me to the book but when I start reading it, I was so disappointed to discover it doesn't represent at all the heroine who is curvy. An other book which miss the representation.

Being a novella I thought I could get through it but nope. I can used my time better. And apparently the next one about the other brother is even worse, so no thank you.

[Alba M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pumpkin está de camino en un vuelo de vuelta a casa, y está muy feliz porque ha extrañado a su familia! Pero cuando le toca un compañero de asiento de lo más maleducado acaba siendo salvada por un hombre ruso de lo más atractivo... Y no sabe cómo ni por qué, terminan hablando todo el vuelo y ella invitándolo a él y a su hermano a acción de gracias. Pero el amor a primera vista no existe... Verdad?

Ay Alexa, el día que dejéis de escribir me voy a morir seguro! Porque no hay libro que no me guste... Como siempre son historias cortitas, amor a primera vista y final super feliz. Supongo y adivino que pronto veremos el libro de la hermana de Pumpkin, Cookie, y el hermano de Miller, Frost!

[Tita Pedreros · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ ~ 😊💕

[Nicole Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miller is PERFECTION!

[Hanna's Book Obsession · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
"I wanted to make to most of my time with you, little Pumpkin."

This was such a cute and sexy Thanksgiving read. I really enjoyed this book. It is smutty insta-love galore! Pumpkin is a girl who loves her family and just wants to be back home with them. Miller is a strong alpha man whos only family that matters to him is his twin brother Frost. They have not had the best family life but when Miller meets Pumpkin he sees all that changing. Miller saves Pumpkin form a creep on their plane and their connection is instant and so intense. I really enjoyed watching these two flirt. Once off the plane everything moves very fast. They are so sexy and their siblings are so amazing. I really enjoyed this. I think it was just a little to quick for me but other than that I really did enjoy Pumpkin and Miller. This was a great Holiday read!!!

[Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a good Alexa Riley book?! More specifically I love all holiday themed books. This one was a hot one! The connection between Pumpkin and Miller was undeniable from the start. This big sexy well dressed strong Russian man had Pumpkin losing her mind and rethinking her future. Miller quickly staked his claim on Pumpkin. This is definitely worth the read.

[Kaylee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this but so disappointed… I felt like things were way too fast paced because it was very short… I think that this could have been better if it didn’t feel so rushed. Also a lot of the dialogue was just weird…and the conflict just fell flat. The characters were way underdeveloped. I did like one small thing in the epilogue which was cute.

[Maegan Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect mix of cute and sexy. Classic A.R

[Neringa Neringiukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, insta and relaxed read, with over the top hero.
Thought, I have to say, I expected more drama from Millers parents. There was a couple details, that was unanswered. Maybe in Pumpinks sisters book.

[Pen Baltazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it just me or the books are tamer now? I love them nonetheless but I want the old Alexa Riley back.

[Stephany · Rating 2 out of 5]

...

[Anna Whin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was rather boring. why was the Hero so poetic too 🤣🤣 it was unusual but sweet nevertheless!

[Lisbeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

No me interesaban los personajes por lo inmaduros y planos que eran.

[Flo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!
Cant wait for Cookie and Frosts story!

[Prottasha♡︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pumpkin? Was that a name😅

The story was pretty average

[sab · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was actually so cute wth

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Thanksgiving romance. It was a fun and fast read. I liked that the H was a hot Russian. The plot was interesting and the steam was hot and detailed. 3.5/5.

[Ines · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont frankly know how I should feel about this; I kinda enjoyed reading it but from the beginning to the end, there was SO SO SO SO much cringe that and also it was fast, like real fast (and I really mean fast). Like, they have met on a plane, they talked and that’s it, they were already talking about feelings. I was like WHAAAAAAAT? WOWOWOWOWOW YOU’RE KIDDING RIGHT? And the girl trusts toooo easily (the driver thing for example), I was like, you kidding me right? BUT, I can’t deny that I had a great time reading it.