I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Candy Apple Kisses by Amy Clipston Published by Thomas Nelson Incorporated on June 29, 2026
Genres: Fiction / Christian / Romance / General, Fiction / Holidays, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Fiction / Women
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads
"Amy Clipston delivers swoon-worthy romance." --Lee Tobin McClain, NYT bestselling author
"Amy Clipston writes with warmth and heart." --RaeAnne Thayne, NYT bestselling author
This autumn, love is in the air.
Artist Emily Carmichael has always considered Splendid Lake her home, but she never imagined she would ever return. However, when she learns her childhood best friend, Jake Hughes, is struggling to save the beloved Hughes Family Orchard, she doesn't hesitate to pack her bags and head back to the North Carolina mountains--even if it means battling a corporate giant and resisting the temptation of too many candy apples.
For Jake, the orchard is more than just a business; it's a living legacy, a bond with his father and a promise to his family. As Jake and Emily work side-by-side to prepare for the orchard's centennial anniversary, long-held feelings, once hidden beneath years of friendship, begin to surface. For Jake, Emily's return illuminates what's been missing in his life, and for Emily, being with Jake stirs long-dormant emotions she's too scared to name. The air is crisp, the apples are sweet, and the sparks? They're flying higher than a bonfire.
But with Jake's ex-girlfriend's dramatic reappearance and the mounting pressure to keep the orchard from failing, their budding romance is put to the test. Can these two best friends turn a season of chaos into a lifetime of love, or will their romance fall flat before the first frost?
"Clipston's heartfelt writing and engaging characters make her a fan favorite." --Library Journal
First-run copies of this print edition come with an exclusive scratch and sniff apple-scented sticker--a little extra sweetness for the readers who were here from the beginning. Because some stories are meant to be felt with all your senses. Cozy up. Scratch. Sniff. Swoon.
This review is so hard to write. I love Amy Clipston. I love her writing, I adore her story lines, and I’ve never been disappointed. Until now. I’ve made myself sit with these feelings for a bit because while it is a good book, it was just too much in ways that didn’t resonate. And before you come at me saying you knew it was a romance, I get that, but the romance itself isn’t the struggle. Hear me out. . .
Omgravy, but Emily is so immature! I mean, Jake is too, but that really distracted me, and then, how often they had to remind themselves they were almost 30 was just more distracting. I didn’t get a 20something much less 30 vibe from these two, but maybe a slightly sheltered, immature college vibe, if not high school-aged. Add to that, it felt like every single literary formula you can think of stole the show from the story. I looked forward to a cozy farmy besties forever to something more romance. I got so much internal monologue without communication that I don’t think Romance 101 would help at all. I got a girl who loved a guy for almost half her life without saying a word. I got a guy in an off-and-on relationship for half his life and can’t figure out how to get the message across he’s done done. I’m sorry, but if you are cool just ‘dating’ for 14 years you got bigger problems. And some drama/trauma dumps with unsupportive parents and still all without real communication, and I grapsed for those cozy farmy scenes wherever I could find them.
The clencher for me was that the on-and-off girlfriend being absolutely psychotic and doing something so very disturbing with no accountability or consequences. Because that would require some communication from Jake to rectify, and he’s not capable. This had the potential to be an absolute besties to more cozy romance with a great small town setting with a lake and an apple orchard, but the characters and all the formulas just got in the way. It won’t keep me from reading Amy Clipston again because I do adore her writing, but this one is a miss for me. And seriously, if one more person opens their mouth to deepen a kiss, I will toss my cookies!
About Amy Clipston
Amy Clipston is an award-winning bestselling author and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She’s sold more than one million books, and her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and six spoiled rotten cats. You can find Amy at AmyClipston.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmyClipstonBooks, on Instagram at @amy_clipston, and on Tiktok at @amyclipstonofficial.
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