Review: Small Town Swoon by Melanie Harlow (Cherry Tree Harbor #4)

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

Small Town Swoon is every bit as swoony as I'd hoped it would be! This is the fourth novel in Melanie Harlow's Cherry Tree Harbor series, and it turns the spotlight on the Buckley sibling that's more than at home being in it: Dashiel, aka Dash. The twenty-seven-year-old actor hopes to make the shift from a successful career on the small screen to the big screen, but it turns out that's easier said than done. Advised by his agent to take a much needed break, Dash decides to head back to his hometown earlier than planned, and a return to Cherry Tree Harbor, Michigan would lead to an inevitable crossing of paths with his sister's best friend, Ariana DeLuca. She made her own return to their hometown, with the twenty-four-year-old trained chef helping her parents out at their generations-old diner, and for the past eight years, she's made a point of avoiding Dash whenever they happened to be in the same place at the same time. (She has her reasons.) But when Ari injures herself, it's Dash who steps up to help her in any way he can. Maybe they can actually be friends. Maybe even with a few benefits. Maybe they can stay friends when Dash inevitably goes back to his life in LA, while Ari stays in Cherry Tree Harbor. Right?

I so appreciate it when an author catches me by surprise with how a story they've written plays out, and that's what Melanie Harlow has done with Dash and Ari's romance. I'll be honest--I was prepared to have to work my way towards liking Dash. Maybe it was because of how he was in the first chapter, particularly, that meeting with Delphine (sorry, no extra details because, hello, spoilers). That initial impression, however, turned out to be truly premature because Dash was a stellar male main character. Was he perfect? Not in the least, but there was an earnestness to him that made him far more endearing as compared to had he been cocky and overbearing. He and Ari made sense together, and while the tagline of the book mentions that he's a Hollywood heartthrob, and she's a small town waitress, there is so much more to them than those labels. I loved seeing them navigate their way from the awkward history they shared to actual friends and then friends with benefits to their happily-ever-after. And that epilogue? Chef's kiss! Five stars go to the swoon-worthy Small Town Swoon. Dare I hope for Mabel's book next?

-------------------------

Read my reviews for the Cherry Tree Harbor series:

Runaway Love (book one) - 4.5 stars - My Review

Hideaway Heart (book two) - five stars - My Review

Make-Believe Match (book three) - five stars - My Review

Small Town Swoon (book four) - five stars - My Review (posted above)

-------------------------

Release Date: 04 March 2024

Date Read: 29 February 2024

Learn more about Melanie Harlow.

Purchase Small Town Swoon on Amazon.