ARC Review: The Cherry Blossom Boathouse by Laure Bloom

When Sophie Bennet gets fired from her high-profile marketing job and dumped by her boyfriend for being "too boring," she decides to take a risk–fueled by wine–and launches a crowdfunding campaign called "Help a Boring Girl Buy a Bookshop." To her shock, what started as a joke goes viral, raising enough money for her to leave London and buy a rundown boathouse in the sleepy small town of Solace Springs, Washington, marking the start of her new chapter.

Local boatbuilder and professional grump Luke Rhodes has had it with outsiders coming to Solace Springs and disturbing his carefully cultivated quiet life. So when Sophie, his annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor, moves in with her endless optimism, relentless determination, and distracting curves, he wants nothing to do with her renovation project. Too bad fate—and the town residents—have other plans. As Luke gets roped into working with Sophie, he starts to find that the cherry blossoms aren’t the only thing blooming in town.

In the midst of clashing over paint samples and arguing over structural integrity, things start to heat up between the town local and the new resident. But just as Luke’s carefully constructed walls begin to crack, Sophie’s sudden viral fame threatens the tranquility of Solace Springs. They’ll have to decide if their unexpected connection will wilt away or bloom into something more.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I had to look up what a boathouse was. I will admit I couldn't picture it in my head, so I had no choice. I'm one of those people who have a running movie in my head as I read. Which is why I needed to know. I could have waited for the author to describe it, but I was impatient.

Now that I shared that let me tell you how much I want to visit this bookstore. It sounds so charming. The whole town sounds cute. I love me some small-town romance.  

The Cherry Blossom Boathouse starts the Solace Springs series, and I am so glad that I have a new series to fall in love with. I can't wait to read The Sugar Maple Inn the next in the series. That's how fun this story was. 

Luke is the perfect grump hero. He comes off as a jerk but really, he's a marshmallow inside. Sometimes he lives a bit too much in the past, but I can understand why. His luck with women isn't the greatest. He has both mother issues and doesn't trust the women he falls for. All is understandable, kind of. We all make bad choices at times and have trouble seeing them for what they are. 

Now as for Sophie, I totally loved her. She is funny, sweet and is a woman after my own heart with her list making. If I was going to start a new business, I'd want Sophie to be on my side. She'd have it all set up in no time.

Even though these two had a bit of a rough start they soon see the good in each other and come together when it's important. The author gave us so many characters to enjoy and want to know more about that I can't wait for more. 

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