The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore

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!

My Review 🍓🍓🍓🍓

“He knew he was one hundred percent not supposed to be turned on by the nanny.” – Archer

Archer is a workaholic chef and now a single father to a lovely five-year-old daughter. His morning isn’t going smoothly at all, and he kinda gets blasted by Iris, and we’ll smoothie at the same time, mall before coffee, poor guy. He is very grumpy. His daughter, Olive, is shy and young. Archer is gonna have his hands full with his kid and a new job in a new city, 

Iris is down on her luck and her rent and needs more money, and the nanny gig seems to fall into her lap. I kinda love that Iris is a hot mess yoga teacher, she is not punctual, she has no experience with children is very free and imperfect. She is already fantasizing about Mr. Chief in all sorts of ways she shouldn’t be. 

The bonding is slow, and his life in this small town is about as disastrous as his parenting, but things are coming along slowly like a soup in the crock pot. 

The farmers market gives me all the summer and family vibes. It is so quaint and swoony.  Iris is battling her urges, her heart, and her thoughts in this book, but also keeping heroes from her own happily ever after. Archer, on the other end, seems to be trying to do the right thing, but he is also struggling with his urges and his heart.  They spend more time avoiding each other’s desires than giving in, but with the tender child in the mix and the overall situation of the story, it is understandable. However, I’m not sure if the way to Iris’s heart is through the kid or her stomach. 

They couldn’t hold out forever fighting the attraction and installation, just with the forced proximity, and when things get cooking, they get hot. This chef is yummy in more than just the beautifully described dishes; the grey sweatpants don’t hurt either.  Iris is no strings attached, meanwhile, Archer seems to be developing roots.  I love that they are both a mess of attraction, so smitten with each other. Both adults keep making their relationship, their intimacy, and their future is forbidden, like they can’t have it, but they do it anyway, and you are left wondering whether they will or won’t. 

“She forgot about why this was a bad idea. She forgot everything except her body pressed against his.” – Iris

The sizzling scenes heat up again, and it’s a little cliche comparing food to her downstairs. But the intimacy, at least, is sweet and tender. 

The tension in the story does get combustible finally, but it is over pretty quickly. Iris has such a commitment phobia that she sabotages all the good things with her anxiety. I’m surprised the Playboy falls first. I kinda thought he was gonna be the ever-eternal single dad. 

So maybe they are backward, but whatever works for them, I mean, it seems first comes steamy, then comes love, then comes dating. But I mean it’s sweet, so why not? Oh, course, swoony leads back to steamy, but at least it isn’t smutty. 

Accidental pregnancy, last-act midlife crisis, and a happily ever-after ending wrap this story up nicely, and we finally get all the found family love and vibes. This story ends teary-eyed in the epilogue with all the feels and a great start to their new life and wrap-up. If you’re a parent, you might just be smiling and crying, too. Absolutely a five-star read for me, even though it took me two weeks to read this book. 

If you would like to read The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I highly recommend reading all the books in The Dream Harbor Series. They are all cute, cozy, a little steamy, and have themes of small town and found family.

If you like this book, you might also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Found family, Single Dad, and Small Town.