Dream Harbor
5 Min Read
Hi Hello!
This is going to be a little bit different than my previous reviews. For one, I just read all 5 books in the Dream Harbor series by Laurie Gilmore. And two, it’s been a hot minute since the last time I read anything.
After reading Beautiful Villain I went on a reading hiatus. I was moving, things were getting busier with work, I was shooting more, life was happening. I also started (and finished) my yearly rewatch of Gilmore Girls, so that might have had something to do with it as well.
By the time my days were done I was too tired to keep my eyes open to read. Reading time would just turn into a nap time. Plus, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to read.
Then came along the Dream Harbor series. These books were easy to digest and easy to get lost in all of the cozy vibes. (Small town romances have always been my favorite). I started reading them on November 1 and just finished the 5th book last night. Took about 3 days to read each one. Loved them all.
Quick synopsis of all 5 books:
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was about Jeanie moving to Dream Harbor to take over the coffee shop her aunt left her. There she meets the local farmer, Logan. While he reluctantly (at first) helps her investigate what noises are keeping her up at night, the two start to fall in love. In the meantime Jeanie is learning to love the small town and truly embrace being a business owner for the first time.
The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is run by Dream Harbor native, Hazel. Only a couple months away from turning 30, she decides to enlist handsome fisherman, Noah, to give her a fun and exciting summer. What they weren’t expecting was their summer fling turning into a love they both couldn’t resist.
The Christmas Tree Farm was run down and out of commission for quite some time, until Kira moved to town and spent the remaining money she had in her trust fund to purchase the farm. She was determined to fix it up herself and prove to everyone she was capable of more than just shopping. Bennett was only in town for a couple weeks to visit his sister, Jeanie, but when he met Kira he just couldn’t stay away. Their Christmas fling turns into something they both must take a leap of faith to keep.
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House was about a man, Archer, who just found out he has a 5 year old daughter, Olive. He was one of the top chefs in France with no desire to become a family man, but when he met Olive, he knew he had to do everything he could to be the best dad for her. Iris was always bouncing from one job to the next, but when the opening for a live-in nanny was offered to her, she couldn’t resist. As Iris and Archer work together to create a safe and loving environment for Olive, the two of them start to fall for each other creating a new family neither of them knew they wanted.
The Gingerbread Bakery was Annie’s dream since high school. Being born and raised in Dream Harbor she wanted to make a name for herslef in the town that she loved. After high school, Mac was dying to get out of this small town, he knew there was something more out there for him than just taking over his dad’s bar. 11 years later the two of them have never been further apart. Always arguing and finding ways to avoid each other. Until one night at a wedding for two of their best friends, Annie decides to let her guard down and let the one person in, she never thought she could.
Review/Discussion/Spoilers:
Overall this series was just what I needed to get over the reading slump. I was a litte nervous starting it, because of what I had heard on social media. People were commenting on how spicy these books were, but after reading them, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes there was some spicy scenes, but they were done tastefully. There wasn’t that many per book honestly. Maybe 2 in depth scenes in each book. The reviews online made it sound like every time I would turn a page a new euphemism for someone’s private parts would be thrown in my face. Not the case.
These were all written in third person dual POV. Sometimes that made it a little difficult to really wrap my head around who’s view I was reading. It would take at least one paragraph for me to go, “ooooh we are in his head now.” A little annoying but it was just something I got used to the more books I read.
Every single book did follow a basic formula of; boy meets girl, they get to know each other, feelings develop, something happens so now there is a third act break up, and then they end up together. Knowing that going in, made these a really good read. Sometimes you just want an easy story where the characters all end up happy in the end and everything is tied up in a bow.
What made me want to keep reading book after book was the fact that all of these stories take place over a 2 year period. In the first one we essentially meet the entire “cast.” From there each main character has their own love story develop. Each book brings back all of the characters and where they currently are. Honeslty this series would make a great TV show, each one is it’s own season. Similar to what the Bridgerton series is doing. I loved how half way through the book you were introduced to the next couple without even realizing it. It was really cute.
All in all this series was fabulous. Not the next great American novel, but it was perfect for what it was. Cozy romance in a small town. Can’t wait for the 6th book in the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars
P.S. In case you were wondering how I would rank these from most favorite to least:
The Gingerbread Bakery
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
The Christmas Tree Farm
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House