The Gingerbread Bakery by bestselling novelist Laurie Gilmore is the fifth book in the Dream Harbor series. Although this story is part of a series, it can also be read as a standalone novel.
Here’s more about the book, along with our free Dirty Dozen downloadable discussion question guide for your spicy book club.
Book description
As owner of her beloved Gingerbread Bakery, Annie Andrews should have a love life to match her business; sugary and sweet. But instead, she’s locked in a game of words with the irritatingly upbeat bar owner down the street.
Mac Sullivan has everything he wants, except the girl he dreams of. It’s easier to argue with Annie than get her to talk to him but with Jeanie and Logan’s wedding coming up, they’re about to spend a lot more time together.
As the snowflakes fall and with romance in the air, will Annie see that the one she loves to hate might just be her perfect match after all?
The Gingerbread Bakery book club discussion guide
**PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS DISCUSSION QUESTION GUIDE MIGHT INCLUDE SPOILERS**
We’ve provided the Dirty Dozen below; twelve spicy and intriguing questions to spark discussion and help you uncover the spine-tingling depths of the story.
The Dirty Dozen
Foreplay – Warm Up Questions
1. What’s the overall spice level? 1 (Not Spicy) – 10 (Spiciest Thing I’ve Ever Read)?
2. How does the spice level compare to the other books we’ve read together?
3. Annie believed everyone should have a passion in life. What’s yours, and do you think it’s changed over time, or have you always known what lights you up?
The Spicy Bits – Gettin’ Down and Dirty with the Plot
4. This book read very differently than the four previous stories. How did you feel about the book switching between “then” and “now”? Did it make the tension and emotional connection between Mac and Annie stronger, or just drag out the inevitable?
5. Could you have casually shown up after a sleepover with someone at 19 years old and strolled into your mom’s kitchen like Annie did, or would your mom have lost her mind (or thrown your poor partner out herself)?
6. Mac’s mom made sure “everyone was having fun.” Did your own parental sex talk include anything remotely as open or positive, or was it the awkward “don’t get pregnant” kind?
7. Annie was still furious with Mac but didn’t turn down his offer to go down on her. Could you separate anger from desire like that, or would you need the argument settled before anything below the belt happens?
8. What do you think of Mac and Annie’s supposed betrayals? Were they worth 11 years of heartbreak, or should one of them have broken the silence far sooner?
9. Should Mac really be held accountable for a choice he made at 19, or do we cut people slack for the dumb, impulsive things we all did at that age?
10. How do you feel about taking a gap year to travel before settling into real life—valuable experience, or just an excuse to avoid growing up?
11. Estelle and Dot vanishing the day before the wedding; was that chaos a cute rom-com plot move or thoughtless nonsense? Do you think traditions like “something borrowed, something blue” actually matter in a modern love story?
Aftercare – Final Thoughts
12. How did Mac and Annie’s happily ever after land for you? Was the payoff worth the long wait—or would you have forgiven him the second you saw kittens in his pockets?
Bonus: What questions do you have for the author? If you could dog-ear a page with a question for the author, what would it be?
Please feel free to use this post as a starting point for your spicy book club discussion questions and use the comments below to share your thoughts and insights about the book. You can also get a free downloadable copy of the discussion guide using the button below.
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