#smashed pumpkins

[nickv47]

FACT: Sharks are total bosses in the pumpkin smashing game!

Links to my shops on nickvolkert.com!

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

By sundown, the crew will learn the hard way: in this patch, the pumpkins do the picking. Valerie is done living the life her mom mapped out. Shaun’s football dreams ended with one bad tackle, and now he’s spiraling without a future. Both need a fresh start, and a day of farmhand work at Farmer Fred’s “Fantastic” Farm, home of Blandville’s Pumpkin Spice Festival, seems harmless enough. Neither expects to come face-to-face with an old crush while they’re knee-deep in pumpkins and petty chores—let alone feel those sparks reignite. But just as Val and Shaun begin to find comfort, and maybe something more, in each other, Fred’s chemically enhanced fertilizer unleashes a nightmare. The pumpkins carve, the vines want blood, and the volunteers are first on the menu. Now Val and Shaun must fight their way through one blood-soaked farm if they want to survive the night. Because in Blandville, KY…love might be the only thing strong enough to survive the smash.

Review:

A simple shift at a pumpkin festival should be fun right? Well when it means working with the guy who broke your heart years ago and also facing off against a killer pumpkin patch...maybe not so fun. I had an absolute blast reading this! Equal parts slasher and romance, it's the perfect fun read that balances a bit of thrill and heart. I loved the setting and getting to read from both Val and Shaun's POV was just a great way to add to the story. It's a quick and fast read and I will absolutely be reading more from this author!

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks 42Folds for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[bluehairedbeastie]

McLean, Virginia, December 1978 from American Prospects by Joel Sternfeld. 

[elizabethlefey]

Olympia, Washington. October 2011. Sunset House.

[freakygothgirl]

I was listening to the Smashing Pumpkins in my car just as I drove by some smashed pumpkins. 

[andersholmvik-blog]

Not Cleaning Up The Pumpkins

After this year's pumpkin incident, I thought it was only fair that Adam should help me clean up the mess (since he's the one who wanted to go to the pumpkin patch and put pumpkins out, even though teenagers smash them every year).

Of course Adam was "too busy" to clean them up and told me to, "Do it myself for once" (whatever that means). Well Adam, instead of doing it myself, I'm not going to do anything at all. In fact, I'm going to leave the pumpkin remains in our driveway until they get washed away by the rain or until YOU do something about them.

Your move, dipshit.

[andersholmvik-blog]

It Happened Again

Another year, another Halloween where teenagers smash our pumpkins. Luckily I didn't take the time to carve a jack o' lantern this year (learned that the hard way). I'm pretty sure this was the work of the little shits who defiled our dragon statue. What is it about Halloween that makes kids want to destroy things and raise hell? Maybe it's all the sugar.

[w-i-t-c-h-e-r-y]