What a great quick romance read.

I absolutely loved this read, it was quick, full of coziness and just so much love!

This was my first book in the series that I have read (i do have some on my kindle to read) and I absolutely adored it. I am a Gilmore Girl through and through and this gave me all the Gilmore Girls vibes.

Small town - tick
Forced proximity - tick
Single dad - tick
Grumpy x sunshine - tick
Slow burn - extra ticks

I cannot wait to go and read the rest in the series.

'He wanted to pull her closer... The man who had once only thought about his goals. About being the best. About perfection. About himself. Now he just wanted a sunny afternoon picnic with his favourite girls.'

Thank you so much to HarperCollins Australia and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I've also read and enjoyed Christmas Tree Farm from this author, but I thought this book was even better.

The chemistry between Archer and Iris was so believeable, and I loved the issues arising from their forced proximity. Olive was a sweet character too, without overwhelming the plot too much. I think it can be tricky to write kids into some novels without them coming across as too wooden or too precocious, but I think Olive got the perfect amount of page space to largely avoid these issues.

There's something really comforting about Laurie Gilmore's books, and this one was sweet. I enjoyed escaping again to Dream Harbour and revisiting some familiar characters and places. These books are pure, sugary escapism. I want to believe there's a town where the palatability of the local pancakes are the most important thing the community cares about!

The only things that slightly impacted my enjoyment of this book is the appearance of my least favourite trope. It was super interesting reading the authors note at the back and I understand why she chose to give this storyline a go. While this particular trope wasn't for me, that doesn't mean others won't enjoy it. I still found the rest of the book thoroughly enjoyable 🙂

A Sweet and Cozy Small-Town Romance

Laurie Gilmore delivers another charming small-town romance with The Strawberry Patch Pancake House. This book is a heartwarming mix of forced proximity, found family, and a delicious slow-burn romance.

Archer, a world-renowned chef turned pancake house owner, is a swoon-worthy single dad trying to find stability for his daughter, Olive. Enter Iris, a free spirit with a history of job-hopping, who unexpectedly finds herself as Olive’s live-in nanny. Their dynamic is filled with warmth, tension, and plenty of sizzling chemistry—especially when Archer’s habit of cooking shirtless is involved!

The cozy atmosphere of Dream Harbor adds to the charm, making it easy to get lost in the story. The book leans into its tropes well, offering everything you’d expect from a comforting, small-town romance. While the pacing occasionally felt a bit slow, the emotional depth and the delightful cast of side characters kept me engaged.

Overall, The Strawberry Patch Pancake House is a delightful read perfect for fans of found family, single dad romances, and small-town charm. A solid 4 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cute romantic story of grumpy dad x nanny. Small town romance. Light read in terms of content. Well written, easy to read and so adorable. The ending was the best part.
Thank you NetGalley for the read.

🍓The Strawberry Parch Pancake House
🍓Laurie Gilmore
🍓PUBLISHED MARCH 13 2025
(or midnight tonight for you Aussie kindle girlies)

A last minute ARC approval that I was so happy to be granted. Thank you @harpercollinsaustralia and @netgalley.

This was my second visit to Dream Harbor and it didn’t disappoint.

Cozy, Small town romance ✅
Forced proximity ✅
Hot single Dad ✅
Grumpy x sunshine ✅
Found family ✅
Slow burn ✅

I stayed up way too late finishing this one, and overall, I think I loved Archer & Iris even more than Logan & Jeanie ❤️☺️

Each book in the series is a standalone that can be read in any order, but there are crossovers in each story with characters from other books making an appearance from time to time. It’s the town that ties them all together, which is fun 💕

Loved it and now adding the others to my TBR!

This was perfect, I loved this more than I could put into words. Iris and Archer were written so beautifully and you could feel absolutely everything. I had tears and some of those moments were just so beautiful and precious. I loved the character development between Iris and Archer with Olive, both of them trying to figure out how to do right by his child and it was just written so perfectly throughout the book, being a parent isn't easy and it was just amazing how this was portrayed. This book was my absolute favorite out of the Dream Harbor Series and I am so excited for the next one.