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Laurie Gilmore, author portrait
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Laurie Gilmore

American
Laurie Gilmore is the pen name of American author Melissa McTernan. She is best known for her ongoing contemporary romance series Dream Harbor. The first book in the series, The Pumpkin Spice Café (2023), won the TikTok Book Awards TikTok Shop Book of the Year in 2024.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed The Pumpkin Spice Café.
1
Books Reviewed

Ask LuvemBooks about Laurie Gilmore

Laurie Gilmore is the pen name of American author Melissa McTernan, and we've reviewed 1 of their books so far: The Pumpkin Spice Café, a cozy small-town grumpy x sunshine romance that pairs sunny new café owner Jeanie with grumpy farmer Logan. It's a TikTok Shop Book of the Year winner with a 3.8/5 reader rating from over 83,000 Amazon ratings, and our take is that it delivers comfort by design — with little else by that same design.
Where should I start?
Start with The Pumpkin Spice Café — it's the only Laurie Gilmore book we've reviewed, and it's also the first of their six Dream Harbor novels, making it the natural entry point. Expect a cozy small-town romance with a guaranteed happy ending and a 3.8/5 reader rating on Amazon.
What's their writing style?
Based on the book we've reviewed, Laurie Gilmore writes cozy, trope-forward romance built around familiar comforts — in The Pumpkin Spice Café, that means a grumpy x sunshine pairing and a guaranteed happy ending. The tone is warm and low-stakes by design. Our review's honest caveat is that the book delivers comfort and little else, so readers wanting surprise or depth should calibrate expectations.
Books we've reviewed
We've reviewed 1 Laurie Gilmore book. The Pumpkin Spice Café (3.8/5 reader rating from 83,635 Amazon ratings) is the first of six Dream Harbor novels — a cozy small-town grumpy x sunshine romance between café owner Jeanie and farmer Logan, which our review found comforting but thin on anything beyond that comfort.
What genre do they write?
Laurie Gilmore writes romance. The one book we've reviewed, The Pumpkin Spice Café, is a small-town grumpy x sunshine romance — the first of six Dream Harbor novels — with a cozy tone and a guaranteed happy ending.
What should I read after The Pumpkin Spice Café?
The Pumpkin Spice Café is the first of six Dream Harbor novels, so continuing with the rest of the Dream Harbor series is the natural next step. We've only reviewed this first book, so we can't speak to the later installments from our own coverage yet.
Who is Laurie Gilmore?

Who is Laurie Gilmore?

Laurie Gilmore is the pen name of American author Melissa McTernan. They're best known for The Pumpkin Spice Café, a small-town romance that won TikTok Shop Book of the Year. We've reviewed 1 of their books on LuvemBooks.

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