Overview

She goes home to save her grandmother’s crumbling seaside bookshop… not to fall for the carpenter rebuilding it.

Perfect if you crave: cozy sapphic small-town romance, grumpy/sunshine, found family, a gentle “who’s sabotaging the festival?” puzzle, and bake-along recipes.

Burned-out and running on fumes, former publishing assistant Maya Collins never meant to come back to Honeycomb Harbor for more than a quick visit. But when Nana Rae leaves her the town’s little waterfront bookshop, complete with creaky floors, leaning shelves, and a ledger that looks like a plea for help, Maya suddenly has a choice she never planned for: sell the store and go back to a life that’s slowly hollowing her out… or stay, rebuild, and risk wanting more than she thinks she deserves.

Enter Harper Quinn, the steady local contractor who knows every warped floorboard and weather-beaten shingle in town. Harper’s business is built on rescue jobs: storm-damaged roofs, flooded kitchens, porches that have seen better decades. A failing bookshop with sentimental value? That’s practically her love language. Maya’s lists and late-night worries crash into Harper’s calm presence and practical competence, and sparks start in the spaces between: long days, splinters, and sawdust; shelf-building after closing; a joke that lands like sunrise after a storm.

Just as the repairs begin to take shape, things start going wrong in ways that feel a little too pointed to be coincidence. A forged permit. A broken window. Anonymous complaints aimed at the bookshop and the other queer-owned businesses on Main Street. With the Harvest Homecoming festival on the line, Maya and Harper have to follow the clues, lean on Honeycomb’s unofficial brain trust, and decide what kind of future they’re willing to fight for.

What you’ll find inside:
• Bookshop owner × carpenter · slow-burn WLW romance · found family & queer community
• Cozy coastal Maine setting with lighthouse views, harbor gossip, and an opinionated cat
• A gentle, fair-clue mystery threaded through the love story (no gore, no jump scares)
• Comfort recipes you can make at home, including lemon-thyme shortbread and maple cream tea
• Closed-door affection with clear consent, kisses and fade-to-black intimacy, and a guaranteed HEA/HFN

Representation & boundaries:
This series centers queer women and offers inclusive rep across the ensemble. On-page affection stays in PG-13 territory; there’s no graphic violence, no tragic “gotcha” outings, and pets are always safe. Every book ends in a secure HEA/HFN and a steady, earned happiness.