Book Review - The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore

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Title: The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

Author: Laurie Gilmore

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: Ebook

Rating: 5 Stars

Every book in the Dream Harbor series can be read as a standalone.

As a world-renowned chef, single dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive.

Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when it’s suggested that Archer is looking for a live-in nanny, she almost runs in the opposite direction.

Now, Iris finds herself in a whole new world. One where her gorgeous new boss lives right across the hall and likes to cook topless… Keeping everything strictly professional should be easy, right?

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House is a cozy romantic mystery with a single dad and found family dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

It's always a joy to return to Dream Harbor with its cast of quirky characters and small town USA vibes (by which I mean a sense of community, but you can't sneeze without someone asking you about it). 

Archer's character arc will just melt the hardest of hearts, as he starts to come to terms with suddenly being a father to five year old Olive, the child he didn't know he had, until her mother died. 

He is a top chef in Paris, but moves on a temporary basis to Dream Harbor to start bonding with Olive and gets more than he bargained for. 

He hires Iris to be his nanny, despite her clear lack of knowledge about kits, and at times it was like the blind leading the blind, but at the same time Olive is adorable and it is very hard to resist falling for this kid fairly quickly.

I loved seeing not only how Iris and Archer were trying to cope, but also seeing them both try to ignore the blatant chemistry between them. 

And for the inner foodie in all of us, watching Archer try to perfect the pancake recipe for the diner, is brilliant. He is constantly making pancakes but yet the locals in the town seem to be like Goldilocks in their thoughts towards his efforts. 

This was a steamy, but very heartwarming romance, and an absolute pleasure to read.  I thoroughly enjoyed every word and am looking forward to returning to the town as soon as I can. 

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.