Dream Harbor

About the Dream Harbor series

Dream Harbor is Laurie Gilmore's runaway-hit cozy romance series, set in a picture-perfect New England small town where every book is named after the local business at its heart — a pumpkin-spice-scented café, a bookstore hiding mysterious coded notes, a Christmas tree farm, a pancake house, a bakery, a flower shop. The Pumpkin Spice Café kicked things off in 2023 and became a BookTok phenomenon, and the series has kept its momentum ever since: each installment pairs a new couple while the town's meddling, lovable cast of regulars (including Mayor Kelly and his infamous town meetings) stitches the books together.

The vibe is Hallmark-movie coziness with the heat turned up — these are open-door, spicy romances wrapped in seasonal small-town charm. Gilmore works through the trope catalog with obvious glee: grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, only one bed, single dad and nanny, enemies-to-lovers, fake dating. Found family is the constant; every newcomer to Dream Harbor gets adopted by the town whether they like it or not.

This series is ideal for readers who loved Annie Rains or Debbie Macomber but want more spice, or fans of Tessa Bailey and B.K. Borison looking for their next comfort-read binge. Each book is a complete standalone romance, the food descriptions are dangerous to read hungry, and the seasonal settings (autumn, Christmas, spring, summer) make these easy books to match to your mood. With new installments still coming, Dream Harbor is an ongoing series that rewards reading in order without ever requiring it.

How to read this series

Start with The Pumpkin Spice Café — it is book 1 of Dream Harbor, not a separate series, and it introduces the town and recurring cast. From there, publication order is the intended path: The Cinnamon Bun Book Store, The Christmas Tree Farm, The Strawberry Patch Pancake House, The Gingerbread Bakery, then The Daisy Chain Flower Shop, with novella The Apple Pie Ice Cream Parlor slotting in after Strawberry Patch (its wide English release arrives in 2027; it first appeared as a 2025 Netherlands-only exclusive). Every book is a standalone romance with its own couple and happily-ever-after, so you can jump in wherever the trope or season appeals — Christmas Tree Farm for the holidays, Daisy Chain for summer — but reading in order lets you catch returning couples and running town jokes.