This book spoke to my soul. It deals with grief, not feeling good enough, and trying to figure out parenthood. All things that I’ve dealt with and resonated with. The characters were relatable and real and I loved the instant connection they felt for each other.
Aaron is a 29 year old trying to raise his three month old nephew after the infant loses his parents. Reading his POV reminded me of my early days with kids and I was definitely rooting for him.
Julia is a lovable, kind person but has very low self esteem and never feels like she’s good enough. I loved reading about her coming into herself.
The plot flows nicely and naturally. The town description sounded so lovely and I loved the sense of community the author created.
It’s a clean romance and the characters come together easily. Reading about their attraction to each other is sweet and believable.
If you’re looking for a light, contemporary read with the themes mentioned above, I definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to the author for providing me with an advance copy!

Starting off this review with my fav character-Paige!! she kinda reminded me for Babbet from Gilmore Girls. In fact, the whole setting of the book gave off Gilmore Girls vibes, but this is most probably because it's my fav small town show.

My other fav character was undoubtedly Jack even though he said a total of 1 word through the entire book. The descriptions of his behaviour and everything made it sound like he was the most adorable kid ever...Most of all this book actually gave insights into the hardships of being a single dad and how one needs to accept all the help they can.

One thing that I loved the most about this book is that it has a freaking map!!! Yes, you read it right! This contemporary romance has a beautiful map in the starting!

I loved the meet-cute of our MCs when Aaron Baxtor literally jumps into the water to save Julia Harper's dog. I would actually have liked to there be more interactions between the MCs but it kinda all worked out pretty well so...🤷‍♀️

As I already mentioned above it's a small town romance and if you like that type of setting and are in the mood for a sweet, clean romance you should definitely give this one a chance.

i am so glad i got to read this book early, thanks so much to netgalley and their amazing website!!!! this was such a fun and pure book. it was awesome and i suggest you grab it today!!

Small Town. Home. Froyo. Found family

One of my best reads for this month for sure! Harper Landing made its way im my heart to the point that I love Sweet Bliss so much😭 It is the kind of book that just warms my heart everytime I think of it.

Julia Harper, the main character of Sweet Bliss is a book character that I relate to. Her way of gentleness and at the same time being able to stand up for herself and her control of anger. She's a lovely woman and I love her dog Toby too! The Labrador who wants to swim his way to Australia😂

Aaron Baxter is not like others. He has these past events that kept him being guilty almost about everything. He was broken but he made sure that he's doing the right thing even if it confuses him sometimes.

Aaron and Julia just clicked. They were like the missing puzzle piece of each others' lives. And baby Jack too. A bundle of cuteness. The three of them made an awesome trio already!

Sweet Bliss is perfect for summer read with all the froyo and vacation setting mode coz Harper Landing is something that I would love to go to when summer starts!

Gonna wrap up my feelings for Sweet Bliss with an all caps word of WOW! Read this book if you wanna know why "wow" is such a special word in this book😉 Just hold on to your seat because of the overload cuteness of baby Jack.

4.5 STARS

Aaron moves into Harper Landing with 3 month's old Jack, after a tragic accident that took away Jack's parents. Now Aaron is his guardian and he's trying his best to deal with the situation. One day he meets Julia and somehow she seems to be the cure to his guilt ridden period. But Julia has a past of people not appreciating her and as a result she carries a low self esteem , that everyone is taking advantage of.

This was such a sweet and cute small town romance! I loved the vibes that this gave me as it reminded me of Gilmore Girls, giving me the close- knit community feeling and making me have a constant smile on my face. Of course, there are some people who are the Grinch and the 'villains' of the story and this couldn't be an exception.

I loved their meet cute and how they bonded over small things, but also more important ones. I also liked that even though this could be more romantic in terms of dates etc, it kept the reality of being a single parent/ guardian and sometimes things can't go as planned. If you enjoy the single parent trope, this one is heavy on this element, as the baby is definitely there as a main protagonist. It's not just as an afterthought or in the background as some single parent books. But, I do wish there was more romance, as I missed it at times. Maybe because it gave me a clean YA feel, whilst it's about grown adults. If you like small town romances and the single parent trope, this is a cute one that I definately reccomend!

I really enjoyed this book. Aaron moves to Harper Landing with his nephew when his parents died from a car crash and meets Julia who's a town founder and Sweet Bliss. Both help each other to overcome their past with a baby in between. This was a really cute read with such a great slow-burn romance. I enjoyed the author's writing which had a great story plotline and an amazing setting. Though with the writing, my one problem was the pacing. I felt it went from slow in the beginning to ending very abruptly at the end. Overall the writing was well done but the best part was the characters.

This story is written from both Aaron and Julia's POV. Julia is a woman who has had a mother that didn't love her as much but is fierce and caring of people around her. Then there is Aaron who you would want to babysit your child because he is THAT amazing, really hot and super sweet also gentle. I enjoyed how both characters have similarities with having family issues and athletic addiction but also have that caring and gentleness in them. I enjoyed all the scenes with both of them and seeing the slow burn romance grow throughout the story. As an adult book, I was hoping for more romance as in more than kissing as that would have made me swoon over the couple so much.

I was a little disappointed with the ending. I felt that it ended way too fast and should have ended off better in my opinion. It was super close to getting 5/5 stars but had that tiny thing that made it drop a star. I really enjoyed this book and am probably making it my summer beach read as it is Harper Landing is a place where I would love to visit again soon like a vacation. I recommend this book to fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren.

As sweet as the title suggests but packing an emotional punch, Sweet Bliss is a heartwarming, swoony romance that will sweep you away and stay with you long after you turn the last page. You’ll fall in love with Aaron, Julia, baby Jack, and all of Harper Landing, a cozy community where everybody knows your name. Julia and Aaron each have their own challenges and past heartaches to overcome, and watching them not only fall for each other but also bring out the best in each other makes for a beautiful story. Bardsley has written a sweet page-turner, and I can’t wait for her next novel, Good Catch!

A sweet emotional l good story abut Julia and Aaron
Julia is a owner of a yogurt shop who thinks she is just average,Aaron moves to town to raise his nephew and feels guilty about his sister death. They meet and their is a connection but can anything come from it.
A real good love story.
Voluntarily reviewed

CW: death, bullying, body-shaming

The title itself describes how I feel about this book. Or it can also be as what Julia would say to Jack, “WOW”. This was such an easy read, that the next thing I knew, it was already 3 in the morning. I love the small-town plot in this story because it has that homy and cozy vibe. This was narrated on Julia and Aaron’s point of view which gives the readers a wider viewpoint on the events. Julia and Aaron’s chemistry was so palpable, that I knew right then and there that they were somehow soulmates. Julia’s caring and kind personality fits perfectly with Aaron’s selfless and loving one. With them taking care of Jack, I’m positively sure that he’s in good hands. The slow burn romance was just too cute and innocent, that there were a lot of time that I had to put my book down and squeal like a pig. I love how the characters were able to resolve their issues on their own. By on their own, I meant that as Julia and Aaron were slowly taking their relationship to the next level, along the way, they were able to help uplift and bring out the best in each other to overcome their issues. Other than the romance part of the story, the author did a good job in researching thoroughly on the medical information that were found in the book. Another bonus points too for the having an epilogue. I’m a sucker for epilogues because they give me closure that I need for romance novels like this.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and not surprisingly, this is now one to my comfort reads. Kudos to the author for doing a great job in this book. A well-deserved ★★★★★. Highly recommended for readers into cute romance novels.

This was my first net galley book and what a fun way to start it off. Sweet Bliss was a sweet contemporary romance story. Julia Harper is the owner of Harpers Landing Washington, and between that and running her popular frozen yogurt shop, Sweet Bliss, and keeping up with her rambunctious dog Toby, she is pretty happy with her life. But then she meets Aaron Baxter, who is guardian to his nephew Jack, and realizes that maybe he is the person in her life that she didn’t know she needed.
Julia and Aaron support each other through the ups and downs of small-town life and realize that maybe a family can be something you find and not just something you’re born with.

This was a quick and very cute read, reminiscent of small-town sitcoms. I felt invested in the characters and rooted for their happiness. I look forward to seeing if there’s more in the future. Thanks to net galley for the advance copy.

This sweet, heartwarming love story feels like a breath of fresh air, transporting the reader to a small town haven where people band together, the bad guy never wins, and you can count on happy endings. A feel-good beach read."

Julia Harper is the descendant of the founders of Harper Ferry, Washington, a classic small town with a northwest crunchy tang. Having lost both her parents, she is a twenty-something who is land-rich and cash-poor, trying to be a good landlord to all the downtown businesses whose spaces she owns and a good citizen of the town. She's unfailingly generous with her time and her business, a froyo shop called Sweet Bliss, and the reader can see that her efforts are paying off, even if she can't. The ghost in her mind is her mother's voice, belittling her.

Aaron, owner of a Paleo snack company that just got bought, moves to town with the infant nephew he took in when his sister and her husband, his partner, were killed. His ghost is his guilt over their deaths.

Their love story unfolds organically and effortlessly in the context of Julia claiming her own competence as a landlord and independence from her mother's legacy.

Jennifer Bardsley dishes up a spectrum of emotional flavors in her contemporary confection, Sweet Bliss. Nestled in the quaint and picturesque town of Harper’s Landing, Julia and Aaron’s path to love will leave readers with plenty of reasons to angst, smile, and swoon. Perfect for fans of sweet, small-town romances with delightfully quirky and endearing characters. This book is guaranteed to melt even the most froyo-iest of hearts!

Loved this book! Couldn't stop reading once I started so finished it within 24 hours. I loved Aaron and Julia's story! Reading all of Aaron's concerns about being a parent and getting to know more about him was great! I loved how open Julia was to everything and seeing how their story went. Definitely recommend reading this!

This book was absolutely amazing! I adored Julia's character. Such charisma and positivity - we need more books about characters like her. Jack was an excellent leading man, flawed and apologetic, yet hunky and hard working. I can't wait to read book two!

What a charming small town romance! I enjoyed meeting the characters in this story, especially Sweet Bliss Yogurt Shop owner Julia Harper, Aaron Baker and baby Jack. The support Julia received from the other business owners and town folk gave to Julia when she was bullied by a disgruntled shop owner was wonderful. This is my first encounter with author Jennifer Bardsley. It won't be my last!

I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book was really cute! I loved the beach side and small town feel. The two main characters, Aaron and Julia are easy to like and you root for them throughout the entire book. They're both grieving as Julia recently lost her mother to cancer and Aaron recently lost his sister and best friend in a fatal car accident. Aaron is now raising their son and is dealing with guilt associated with that.

I enjoyed both Aaron and Julia's stories. I wish the book went a bit deeper into the character development as this felt a little flat for me. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, summery beach read!

Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Julia owns a frozen yoghurt shop plus eighteen properties left to her by her parents. Julia's mother was always putting her down and her self esteem is very low. She meets hunky Aaron when he goes into icy water to save her dog. Aaron is now parent to baby Jack after a terrible accident. What a beautiful story. Loved it.

This book was so cute! Aaron was super likeable and I enjoyed hearing his story of starting over. Julia’s low self esteem annoyed me at parts, but I think that the author had a very real way of writing about how much our parents shape and influence us. Overall this was a sweet book about new beginnings after horrible loss.

In Harper Landing, Washington, Julia Harper (the great-grand-granddaughter of the town's founder) owns the local frozen yogurt shop, Sweet Bliss, and has inherited several other store fronts and properties after the death of her mother. When her energetic dog jumps into the lake, newcomer Aaron Baxter comes to the rescue. Aaron moves to town to raise his nephew, Jack, who has come into his care after the death of his sister and brother-in-law, Sara and Jared. Together they navigate the struggles that come with living in a small town, dealing with grief, and tackling whatever life may throw at them next.

I didn't know much going into this novel, but I loved how quiet and simple it was. Both characters are on their own journeys with grief - Julia is still reeling from the death of her mother, who passed away from lung cancer, but may also have been emotionally abusive and a stickler with finances, and Aaron lost two extremely important people in his life, his sister (one of the only family members he ever felt close to) and his best friend. Aaron also was thrust into a new role of responsibility with the birth of his nephew (who was born premature due to the injuries his sister sustained from the accident), and he struggles with balancing his time while also ensuring Jack receives the care that Sara would have wanted, and not the way they themselves were raised as children. I felt it also captured the small town life really well - neighbors coming together to help in times of need, news spreading through gossip, and knowing everyone's business, even if they don't want you to. I also appreciated how sweet and simple the romance was - yes, Julia and Aaron do strike up a romance, but it's built up well and don't escalate quickly. I'm all for steamy romances, but sometimes reading "clean" ones are just as nice (though I don't really like using the word "clean," as that could imply books that do explore sexual experiences are inheritently "dirty," and that is certainly not the case or my opinion of them).

I thought Walter was only included to be the antagonist for Julia, and the build-up to the Fourth of July parade brought little promise, but overall I really did like the direction this book took. It seems to be the beginning of a series, so I'm interested to see if we get more topics explored in future novels, including Frank's struggle with Alzheimer's. *Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Montlake, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Welcome to the town of Harper Landing, the "Stars Hollow" of the Pacific Northwest! Sweet Bliss is a heartwarming book that will keep you up reading "just one more chapter..." late at night. As someone who lives in a small PNW town, I love how Bardsley captured the small-town feeling with relatable characters and charm. The first in a series, Sweet Bliss is definitely something to devour!