The Espressologist

By Kristina Springer

Summary: 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.

My Thoughts: I don't drink coffee. I don't know the difference between one latte and another. I am a heavy hot chocolate drinker. We meet Jane who works as a barista at a coffee shop. She goes to school (or doesn't most of the time) and is saving up money for college. She also has the luxury of working with her best friend Em in the coffee shop. She starts to keep a notebook of drinks everyone orders and starts pairing people up with each other based on their drinks. She's rather bored at her job and it's just something fun and extra to do. She starts going back to school (after Em requests it) and gets close to a guy named Cam. But she doesn't like Cam that way so she hooks him up with Em. Em just got out of a long relationship so Jane thinks this is the perfect solution. Of course Jane also has her eye set on Will who is a college boy that visits to get coffee.

Mean girl Melissa visits the coffee shop and makes fun of Jane every chance she gets. They went to school together, Melissa was older so now she's already in college.

I didn't like Will at all. I felt like the whole time he was using Jane to get free coffee. He charmed it right out of her most of the time. That bugged me how it went right over her head. I really did like Cam though. He was a sweet guy and he was really a lovable character. I liked Jane and Em's relationship and how they wouldn't let anything come between them. Derek- Jane's boss was also pretty cool. Yes, he was a pain but I enjoyed him.

Well, after Derek hears about Jane's qualities as a matchmaker he makes it into a 4 week Friday night business venture where customers could come in, order a drink, and get matched. I loved this aspect. I loved seeing Jane's relationships evolve, I loved seeing her match people together especially the couples she choose to match.

I really enjoyed reading The Espressologist. It was a short fun read with a great cast of characters from Jane to Derek to Cam to Em. Even if your not a coffee person, this book is full of fun! I did learn quite a bit about different drinks though. I didn't even know some of them existed and they make me want to try them!

Overall: A fun cute awesome book! I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a light and fun read!

Cover: Love it! The coffee is what made me want to read this one! Even the drink looks really good!

What I'd Give It: