by Iris
Get ready, book lovers: tomorrow marks the start of the “Week van het Engelse Boek“, or English Book Week. Founded in 2018 by Van Ditmar, this week (actually a fortnight, but who’s counting?) aims to help Dutch readers explore the English written word. Your main perk: spend €12.50 on English-language books, and receive an exclusive free book gift! Previous gift books were written by authors like Matt Haig, Tahereh Mafi and Samantha Shannon, and this year’s edition comes from none other than Laurie Gilmore. The author of the popular Dream Harbor cozy romance series has crafted a unique novella especially for this event!
Curious about the author’s previous books? There’s five of them, with a sixth coming out next spring. Technically, they are stand-alones and can be read in any order. Reading them in publication order might still be best, though, because they feature recurring characters and Easter eggs that you’ll otherwise miss.
About The Apple Pie Ice Cream Parlor: main characters Charlotte and Leo work together in Dream Harbor’s ice cream parlor. Charlotte is Annie’s sister (and Annie, of course, is the main character from The Gingerbread Bakery), and Leo is a part-time fire fighter.
Despite its diminutive length, this book is packed with well-loved romance tropes: forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, small town, ‘he falls first’.
