I have a soft spot for chef romances and, in this story, we have an elite chef who moves to the small town of Dream Harbor all the way from Paris – talk about a culture shock! He comes to Dream Harbor when he learns he has a five-year-old daughter after her mother dies in a car accident. This is a cozy, small town, nanny/chef romance and I enjoyed this lighthearted story.

When Archer first meets his daughter, Olivia, she is a little afraid of him. He is very serious and has a stern look about him, even though he tries to be gentle and kind to her. Archer rents a house in town so Olivia can be near her grandmother, school, and friends. He hopes in six months she will feel more comfortable around him and that they will be able to move back to Paris. Meanwhile, he needs a job and the only one he can find is as a head cook for a local diner. It is humbling for him to go from working in fine restaurants in Paris to making pancakes at the diner but he makes the best of it and it brings a lot of humor to the story. When he tries to juggle work and watch Olivia (who is an escape artist), the owner of the café, Gladys, suggests he hire a nanny.

Iris is struggling to pay rent. She teaches yoga in town and swim classes for seniors at the Y as well as filling in at the coffee shop, but it’s not enough. Gladys suggests she work for Archer as his nanny. She doesn’t have any babysitting experience but she’s creative, knows CPR, likes Olivia, and realizes how much they both need her.

It gets funny when the townspeople don’t like Archer’s pancakes. One of the cooks warns him the town won’t like him making changes to the menu. But they can’t find the original recipe and they can’t reach the old cook so Archie, who is determined to make the perfect pancake, spends time at night trying different pancake recipes and Iris helps taste test. They flirt and have fun, yes Chef!

Archer likes coming home to Iris and Olivia and makes them delicious meals each night and Iris begins to see why people might want a partner to share their lives with, but there are still a few more challenges before they get their HEA. While I loved all of the characters and the way everything came together at the end, I would have liked a little bit more to their story. We see characters from the earlier stories in the Dream Harbor series but I don’t think it’s necessary to read them first. This book is able to stand well on its own.

I was entertained by this lighthearted story and think readers looking for a cozy, small-town summer read might enjoy an escape to Dream Harbor and The Strawberry Pancake House.