Jerry Cooke
4.5⭐️ - Surprise parenthood meets forced proximity in this steamy and sweet slice of small town romance!
Archer's high pressure culinary career has had him working in Paris for a while now, but his life is upended when he finds out that his ex- Kate from Dream Harbour has passed away and left a five year old daughter called Olive that he never knew about. Struggling to fit into life in the small town and needing to go back to work in order to meet the adoption requirements, he surgely needs a nanny to support them both.
Iris has never had a serious relationship and she doesn't intend to start now, but she DOES need some reliable work and accommodation after losing yet another job. She really doesn't want anything to do with kids and the surliness of the diner's new chef doesn't make her particularly inclined to nanny for him, but when she finds out room and board are included, it's too good of an opportunity to pass up.
This was a super cute story in Dream Harbour, with the cast of characters expanding even more. The found-family vibes are extremely literal in this one, but there's also sweet inclusion of Archer in town activities as he slowly comes out of his shell (and gets that pancake recipe right, finally!). Not super seasonal, taking place in the spring, but an adorable love story!
4.5⭐️ - Surprise parenthood meets forced proximity in this steamy and sweet slice of small town romance!
Archer's high pressure culinary career has had him working in Paris for a while now, but his life is upended when he finds out that his ex- Kate from Dream Harbour has passed away and left a five year old daughter called Olive that he never knew about. Struggling to fit into life in the small town and needing to go back to work in order to meet the adoption requirements, he surgely needs a nanny to support them both.
Iris has never had a serious relationship and she doesn't intend to start now, but she DOES need some reliable work and accommodation after losing yet another job. She really doesn't want anything to do with kids and the surliness of the diner's new chef doesn't make her particularly inclined to nanny for him, but when she finds out room and board are included, it's too good of an opportunity to pass up.
This was a super cute story in Dream Harbour, with the cast of characters expanding even more. The found-family vibes are extremely literal in this one, but there's also sweet inclusion of Archer in town activities as he slowly comes out of his shell (and gets that pancake recipe right, finally!). Not super seasonal, taking place in the spring, but an adorable love story!
Added to listOwnedwith 11 books.
4.75⭐️ - An adorable, neurodiverse, and spicy winter romance with old affection flickering into a cosy fire!
Clara and Evan have been friends for most of their lives, even if they've not always been in the same city. Thankfully, they are now, because when Clara starts a new job with her dream mentor and inadvertently makes her think she's got a girlfriend, Evan is the perfect person to talk to about it. The problem is, Clara is single.. and also regrettably straight, or at least so she's always thought. As it turns out, Evan has a staff party hosted by her toxic ex- to go to and Clara would be an excellent date for that, so the two agree to fake-date in order to help both their situations. Evan just has to try not to focus on the fact that she's always been attracted to her friend.. and definitely not think about how much she wants to kiss her.
Utterly adorable, a totally affirming little Christmas snack with all of Hannah Bonam-Young's flare for representation. With Clara having ADHD and Evan being autistic, we get two really great perspectives into both of their internal experiences. As an AuDHDer, it felt really authentically handled, especially in terms of Evan's hyper-sensitivity to touch and sometimes getting overwhelmed, and Clara's over-explaining. The way they both understood each other and accommodated every part? Made me so happy to read.
4.75⭐️ - An adorable, neurodiverse, and spicy winter romance with old affection flickering into a cosy fire!
Clara and Evan have been friends for most of their lives, even if they've not always been in the same city. Thankfully, they are now, because when Clara starts a new job with her dream mentor and inadvertently makes her think she's got a girlfriend, Evan is the perfect person to talk to about it. The problem is, Clara is single.. and also regrettably straight, or at least so she's always thought. As it turns out, Evan has a staff party hosted by her toxic ex- to go to and Clara would be an excellent date for that, so the two agree to fake-date in order to help both their situations. Evan just has to try not to focus on the fact that she's always been attracted to her friend.. and definitely not think about how much she wants to kiss her.
Utterly adorable, a totally affirming little Christmas snack with all of Hannah Bonam-Young's flare for representation. With Clara having ADHD and Evan being autistic, we get two really great perspectives into both of their internal experiences. As an AuDHDer, it felt really authentically handled, especially in terms of Evan's hyper-sensitivity to touch and sometimes getting overwhelmed, and Clara's over-explaining. The way they both understood each other and accommodated every part? Made me so happy to read.
4⭐️ - Finally, we get Annie and Mac's story!
The whole town roll their eyes at the way Annie and Mac have always gone around each other, their outward hostility not sufficiently hiding the feelings they have for each other. The thing is though, nobody seems to know quite what made Annie so angry with him, or what made Mac stay away so long in his early 20s. As Jeanie and Logan's wedding approaches and both Annie and Mac are part of the wedding party, old feelings come to the fore and their past is explored.
This was a departure from the previous Dream Harbour books for more than one reason. Firstly, it's told in alternating flashbacks to their teens and present-day chapters. Second, the audiobook drops Regina Reagan as narrator in favour of dual-narration from Savannah Peachwood and Sebastian York - I was a little sad to see Reagan wasn't on this one, because her consistent narration through the other four led to easily recognisable characters.
It's a cute story though and I liked seeing young Logan and Hazel, etc. as well as exploring all the longing and feelings between Annie and Mac get satisfactorily explored. A lovely addition to the series!
4⭐️ - Finally, we get Annie and Mac's story!
The whole town roll their eyes at the way Annie and Mac have always gone around each other, their outward hostility not sufficiently hiding the feelings they have for each other. The thing is though, nobody seems to know quite what made Annie so angry with him, or what made Mac stay away so long in his early 20s. As Jeanie and Logan's wedding approaches and both Annie and Mac are part of the wedding party, old feelings come to the fore and their past is explored.
This was a departure from the previous Dream Harbour books for more than one reason. Firstly, it's told in alternating flashbacks to their teens and present-day chapters. Second, the audiobook drops Regina Reagan as narrator in favour of dual-narration from Savannah Peachwood and Sebastian York - I was a little sad to see Reagan wasn't on this one, because her consistent narration through the other four led to easily recognisable characters.
It's a cute story though and I liked seeing young Logan and Hazel, etc. as well as exploring all the longing and feelings between Annie and Mac get satisfactorily explored. A lovely addition to the series!
4.75⭐️ - A beautiful and cosy sapphic Christmas story of second-chance love!
Arden has been working as an actor for years now, going from role to role, always dreaming of finding finding something that can let her drop the artificial party-girl image she's had to hold up for so long. When the perfect role finally comes along and she aces the audition, she think's it's her big chance, but the directly understandably doubts her ability to portray the wholesome small-town girl. Which is ironic, because she IS a small-town girl, albeit one who hasn't been back to her home town in years. When her publicist lies and says that Arden's childhood best friend Caroline is actually her long-term secret girlfriend, she's given until Christmas to get an article published about it.
There's just one problem - Arden hasn't talked to Caroline in years and asking her to be her fake girlfriend isn't the best way to apologise for being gone so long without any contact. The sweetened deal of letting the wannabe journalist write the article that Cosmopolitan will publish.. and that would support her application to Columbia.. might just be enough to get her on board though. As the two spend twelve holi-dates together for the article, old feelings start to come back and the lines between lie and truth become blurred.
This was just as adorable as I'd expect from Rachael and Alyson, a cosy and sweet small town experience that introduces the characters that later show up in Joy to the Girls! I was rooting so hard for them, even though I knew though they were going to make it in the end. Such a cute winter treat!
4.75⭐️ - A beautiful and cosy sapphic Christmas story of second-chance love!
Arden has been working as an actor for years now, going from role to role, always dreaming of finding finding something that can let her drop the artificial party-girl image she's had to hold up for so long. When the perfect role finally comes along and she aces the audition, she think's it's her big chance, but the directly understandably doubts her ability to portray the wholesome small-town girl. Which is ironic, because she IS a small-town girl, albeit one who hasn't been back to her home town in years. When her publicist lies and says that Arden's childhood best friend Caroline is actually her long-term secret girlfriend, she's given until Christmas to get an article published about it.
There's just one problem - Arden hasn't talked to Caroline in years and asking her to be her fake girlfriend isn't the best way to apologise for being gone so long without any contact. The sweetened deal of letting the wannabe journalist write the article that Cosmopolitan will publish.. and that would support her application to Columbia.. might just be enough to get her on board though. As the two spend twelve holi-dates together for the article, old feelings start to come back and the lines between lie and truth become blurred.
This was just as adorable as I'd expect from Rachael and Alyson, a cosy and sweet small town experience that introduces the characters that later show up in Joy to the Girls! I was rooting so hard for them, even though I knew though they were going to make it in the end. Such a cute winter treat!