Seaside Book Nook: March 2026

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Synopsis (from Amazon):

She worked hard to keep her life quiet. She didn't expect a hockey player to blow it wide open.

Juliette Gianelli has built her world on intention—her small plant shop, her carefully managed routine, and the fierce love she has for her ten-year-old son. After one very public heartbreak involving a jumbotron at an ice hockey game, she's learned her lesson: be invisible, stay quiet, and whatever you do, stay away from hockey. Plants don't make headlines. Hockey players? They are the headlines.

Then the city assigns NHL star Sawyer Stockton to her shop for a mandatory community outreach program—whether she wants him or not.

He's 6'3" with an easy smile, relentless optimism, and the kind of charm that probably works on everyone else. He's loud. He's public. He's everything she's spent years avoiding. And he keeps almost knocking over her succulents.

But here’s the problem: Sawyer isn't actually the disaster she thinks he is.

He shows up on time. He learns the difference between a pothos and a philodendron. He's patient with her son, who thinks he's the coolest person alive. And somewhere between teaching him how to repot a fern and watching him win over her most skeptical customers, Juliette realizes she might be in trouble.

Because the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to remember why she swore off this kind of risk. But when old wounds resurface and the spotlight threatens to return, she must decide: keep hiding in the quiet—or trust that this time, she won't be standing in it alone.

The Sunshine Offensive is a closed-door grumpy sunshine hockey romance filled with sizzling chemistry, undeniable tension, and all the heat—without the spice!

Tropes in The Sunshine Offensive

Grumpy / Sunshine

Opposites Attract

Forced Proximity

Single Mom Romance

Golden Retriever MMC

Black Cat FMC

Found Family

Protective Hero

Ice Hockey Romance

One (or more) Sentence Summary: Anne did it again! Another amazing story with great characters. I loved that she brought back some folks from her other series! What I really loved was the plant shop. My mother was 3rd generation of a flower shop and a single mom of four. I know who hard (and scraping by) that work can be and Anne nailed it!

Hockey is also a big part of life as my son just stepped off the ice for his last time as a collegiate player (and her come the watery eyes). For 19 years it has been such a huge part of our lives. Anne did a great job capture the hockey side as well.

I admire the strength of Juliette when it came to ex-husband. I laughed when she didn't swoon over Sawyer, given all his female followers. Their relationship grew naturally not because of his fame. She was also a very strong, support and firm mother and balanced her behavior regarding her ex-husband in front of her son and didn't bad mouth him. In fact she was very classy on how she handled herself about the whole matter.

Sawyer, love the connection he kept with his father (no spoil alert). Made me have to swallow that lump in my throat every time. He took immediately to everyone in Juliette's life and was just an overall great guy. He was not pushy, flashy, or expected things because of his fame. He wanted an ordinary life with an amazing woman (and her son).

I really enjoyed The Sunshine Offensive, like have with all Anne's books. This one tugged at my heart a little bit more due to the setting.

Anne Kemp is a bestselling author of romantic comedies. She loves reading (and she does it ridiculously fast, too!), gluten-free baking (because everyone needs a hobby that makes them crazy), and finding time to binge-watch her favorite shows. She grew up in Maryland but made Los Angeles her home until she encountered her own real-life meet-cute at a friend's wedding where she ended up married to one of the groomsmen. For real.

Anne now lives on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, and even though she was married at Mt. Doom, no…she doesn’t have a Hobbit. However, she and her husband do have a terrier named George Clooney and when she’s not writing, she’s usually with them taking a long walk on the river by their home.

You can find Anne on her website - come say hi! She’d love to hear from you: www.annekemp.com

On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest: @missannekemp

On TikTok: @annekempauthor

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