Review - - The Sugar Maple Inn

The Sugar Maple Inn

by Laura Bloom

Publisher: Dell

Release Date: September 15, 2026

Reviewed by PJ

 

Welcome to Solace Springs . . .

Grace Sullivan has been brewing perfect lattes and biting her tongue for years at her mother's café, but she's done being the dutiful daughter. When the historic inn on Maple Island goes up for sale, she sees her chance to build something of her own. Her secret weapon? Her anonymous online mentor, WildTrailGuide, whose late-night messages have moved from business advice to flirtation.

Reese Spencer is used to getting what he wants. A rugged, globe-trotting billionaire, he needs that same inn to uncover a family secret buried on the remote island decades ago. What he doesn't expect is a fierce, pink-haired single mom standing in his way.

Neither knows they're already falling for each other online until an autumn storm leaves them stranded together on the island overnight. Trapped in the inn's honeymoon suite with candlelight, stolen wine, and simmering desire, familiar phrases start slipping out . . . and soon their true identities come to light.

Now Grace and Reese must choose: fight for the inn and lose each other, or find a way to build something together that's bigger than both their dreams.

PJ's Thoughts:

I'm falling hard for Laura Bloom's small Washington town of Solace Springs and her community of characters, both old and new. 

In book two of the series, The Sugar Maple Inn, Bloom shines her spotlight on local single mom, Grace Sullivan and Canadian billionaire, Reese Spencer, the man standing in the way of Grace's long-held dream. What happens when that same man who is blocking your dream of buying the Sugar Maple Inn turns out to be the online mentor encouraging you in your quest? Well, let's just say that contradiction kept me flipping pages long into the night with absolute delight. 

Bloom brings these characters to life with genuine emotion, snappy banter, and swoony romance, along with relatable situations and a hard-won happy ending. I enjoyed every bit of it. The romantic evolution feels authentic. The family dynamics are believable, adding another layer to the story (I especially enjoyed Grace's 14-year-old son), and Grace's friends bring hopes of more romances ahead for the community of Solace Springs. 

If you enjoy small-town romances with sparkling banter, emotional depth, forced proximity, friendship, family, secret (not on purpose) identities, and a heartfelt happy ending, give this one a try. I also recommend book one of the series, The Cherry Blossom Boathouse (click to read my review).