Dream Harbor is back baby! When Olive’s mother passes away in an accident, it’s up to Archer to take her in, even though he didn’t even realize he had a daughter until the accident. Having taken a leave of absence from his restaurant in France, Archer is set to become a dinner chef and try to reimagine the diner for the town. Cooking he can do, but raising a kid is a whole new recipe for Archer, and he’s hoping the new nanny he hires, Iris, can help with the adjustment. As the two help to navigate Olive into her new normal, they find that they both might care more about each other than they want to admit.

I love a grumpy/sunshine and a good found family trope within my romances, and Gilmore gave us plenty of that in the newest installment of the Dream Harbor series.

While book #2, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, was just ‘ok’ for me; the rest of this series has been adorable. I love the easiness of the series. The independent but interwoven stories. It’s light and everything I want in a comfort read. While some of the other books have been steamier, The Strawberry Patch Pancake House is definitely a slow burn romance. I could feel the connection between our two leads almost instantly and felt that both grew as characters together and independently.

While I didn’t love the trope used for the ending – I’ll leave that out for a spoiler free review- The Strawberry Patch Pancake House has yet again convinced me I want to live in this storybook town.  Also, now all I want are pancakes, so thanks for that Gilmore.

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★★

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House comes out March 18, 2025. Huge thank you to HarperCollins for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.  If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.