Book Review :: The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore
ISBN: 0008713340
Series: Dream Harbor #4
Also in this series: The Pumpkin Spice Café, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, The Gingerbread Bakery
Published by HarperCollins
on 13 March 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 361
Find at Harper Collins NZ
Goodreads

As a 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 Mayor Kelly suggests Archer is looking for a nanny, and Iris might be available, she shudders at the thought. But in need of money she reluctantly agrees.

As Archer and Iris get used to their new roles, is it possible that they might have more in common than they first thought, or is Olive just determined to play match-maker…

Last updated on 13 May 2025

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What is The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore about?

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore is the story of Archer and Iris and their relationship in the small town of Dream Harbor.

First up we have Archer, who is a chef and a single dad who never imagined swapping the fast pace of city life for a sleepy little town on the harbour (classic Hallmark vibes, right?). But when Dream Harbor needs someone to take over the local pancake spot, and he needs a hand raising his daughter Olive, it’s a move that just makes sense.

Iris, on the other hand, is used to bouncing between jobs and isn’t exactly jumping at the chance to become someone’s nanny. But when the mayor suggests she give it a shot, she figures… why not? She definitely needs some income, and this job comes with a room.

As Iris settles into her new nanny role and Archer tries to make sense of his new life, sparks begin to fly between them.

My thoughts on The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

I have been really enjoying the Dream Harbor series by Laurie Gilmore. I love the idea of having all these stories aaaallmost intersecting in the town. The characters from the other stories are in every book, but the main story follows one couple. So we had already met Iris before in previous books as a side character. But here she is, getting her own story.

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House was equally as cute as the others in this series, and I like Iris as a main character. She’s a bit nutty, carefree, free-spirited, and she’s learning as she goes. Archer was more low-key, serious, and Olive was super cute.

One of the main plot points through the book is that Archer has continued to make pancakes at the cafe that he’s taken over, but the town’s not happy with him because they’re not like the ‘old pancakes’. He’s super reluctant to change the recipe, but after the town is in uproar, he decides to try and replicate the recipe even though the method and ingredients is lost – the previous person hadn’t written it down anywhere.

So Archer, with the help of Iris’ testing skills, spend a lot of the book trying to figure out the recipe, and this was a really cute task throughout the book. And of course, there are other meals that Archer makes (maybe don’t read this book on an empty stomach!), too.

“Damn this man and his pasta-making skills! Resisting his adorable dad-ness was one thing, but serving up a big ol’ bowl of carbs and cheese was going to be another thing altogether.”

This seemed a bit more steamy than previous books, so just keep that in mind when you pick it up. But overall, I did enjoy this one! If you like small town romance, interlocking characters and stories, single-dad, forced proximately, found family vibes, this is a good book for you!

You don’t need to have read the previous books in this series to enjoy this one. But if you think this entire series is one you would enjoy, I’d start with The Pumpkin Spice Cafe to kick off. The next book in the Dream Harbor series is The Gingerbread Bakery, which is number four, and will be following Annie and Mac. I am very much looking forward to that story, as I have loved their characters when they’ve been in the other books.

Have you read The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore? What did you think?