Spoiler Warning: This article discusses characters, relationships, and plot details from Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series. If you haven’t read the books yet and want to go into Dream Harbor completely blind, come back after you’ve caught up!

Sometimes you find a book because you’ve been waiting months for its release.

Sometimes someone recommends one to you.

And sometimes you’re at a client’s house, notice a book called The Cinnamon Bun Book Store sitting there, and think, well, that looks interesting.

That’s how I ended up in Dream Harbor.

I went home, looked the book up on Amazon, and discovered that The Cinnamon Bun Book Store wasn’t actually the beginning of the story. It was part of Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series.

So naturally, I bought the first three books they had.

Because apparently that’s how we’re making financial decisions now.

What started as me noticing a cute book at someone’s house turned into one of those series where I’ve preordered the newer books because I wanted to make sure I had them on release day.

And honestly?

I just really like being in Dream Harbor.

A Town You Actually Want to Keep Visiting

One of my favorite things about the Dream Harbor series is that the books are standalones.

Each book focuses on a different couple. You can pick one up and get their story without needing a flowchart beside you to remember what happened four books ago.

But they’re not completely separate stories either.

They’re all happening in the same little town.

That means when you’re reading about the newest couple, the people you fell in love with in the previous books haven’t suddenly vanished from existence because their happily-ever-after already happened.

They’re still there.

They have businesses. They have friendships. They show up. They interact with the new characters.

Dream Harbor continues around them.

And after you’ve read several of these books, you start recognizing everybody.

It makes the town itself feel like another character in the series.

Laurie Gilmore has created this adorable little place filled with cafés and bookstores and bakeries and farms and all these people whose lives keep crossing over one another.

Is it extremely Hallmark?

Absolutely.

Would I visit immediately?

Also absolutely.

Apparently Every Couple Needs One Asshole

There’s also something I’ve found hilarious after reading these books.

There always seems to be one really nice person in the relationship…

…and one complete asshole.

I say that affectionately.

Usually one of them is ready to be friendly, communicate like a relatively normal human being and maybe even acknowledge that feelings exist.

The other one?

Nope.

We’re going to be difficult.

We’re going to misunderstand things.

We’re going to act irritated.

We’re definitely not going to admit that we’re attracted to this person even though everyone reading the book figured it out approximately 150 pages ago.

And somehow it works.

Different books play with different romance tropes and personalities, but that push-and-pull is part of what makes Dream Harbor fun.

Which brings me to my favorite couple.

Annie and Mac

Out of all the Dream Harbor couples so far, I think Annie and Mac from The Gingerbread Bakery are my favorite.

Part of that is because their relationship feels like it has so much history behind it.

They’ve known each other forever, and their relationship has basically spent years going:

I don’t like you.

Wait.

Maybe I like you.

Never mind.

I definitely don’t like you.

Okay, fine.

Maybe I really, really like you.

Their history goes all the way back to growing up together. They didn’t particularly care for each other, then things changed after high school, then they didn’t like each other again, then they did.

It’s complicated.

It’s frustrating.

It’s also really entertaining.

I loved their dynamic.

I loved the way they talked to each other, the way they interacted and, most importantly, the way they made each other feel.

By the time their story finally gets center stage in The Gingerbread Bakery, you’re not watching two strangers meet and fall in love.

You’re watching two people with years of history finally deal with whatever the hell has been going on between them.

And I was here for it.

A Little Spicy Without Being Nasty

Now, let’s discuss the spice.

Because yes.

These books have sex.

Dream Harbor is not completely innocent.

But I also wouldn’t personally describe the series as smut.

There’s a difference between a romance that includes sex and a book where the sex basically becomes the entire point.

For me, Dream Harbor falls comfortably into the first category.

It’s romantic.

It’s fantasized.

It’s cute.

It’s a little spicy without being nasty.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

You’re getting the chemistry and the attraction and the payoff when these people finally stop being ridiculous and admit they want each other.

But the thing keeping me invested isn’t wondering what sexual position we’re going to encounter next.

I care about the couple.

I care about their relationship.

And after enough books, I care about the damn town.

Sometimes You Just Need Good Things to Happen

I think that’s ultimately why I’ve kept reading this series.

These aren’t books I pick up because I want my worldview challenged.

I’m not looking for devastating twists.

I don’t need someone to emotionally destroy me every time I open a book.

Sometimes I just want something nice.

Sometimes I want the cute little town.

I want the bookstore.

I want the bakery.

I want the ridiculous romantic tension.

I want the person being an asshole to finally stop being an asshole long enough to admit they’re hopelessly in love.

I want to know that everything is probably going to work out.

Because sometimes you just need good things to happen.

There is plenty happening in the real world that is complicated, painful and exhausting.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with opening a book and spending a few hours somewhere softer.

That’s what Dream Harbor has become for me.

I accidentally discovered The Cinnamon Bun Book Store at a client’s house.

Now I’m preordering trips back to this fictional little town.

That’s a pretty good recommendation right there.