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The Next Big Thing: The Sunrise Beach Series Book One
Not yet published
Expected 21 Apr 26From USA Today bestselling author Erin Scoggins comes a witty, heartfelt romcom about a big-city food forecaster, a brooding chef, and the thirty days that might change everything.
She can’t cook. He won’t leave. And the hottest thing coming out of the kitchen might just be their chemistry.
When Cora Lockwood’s boyfriend betrays her by stealing her idea and tanking her career, her perfect life collapses, leaving her with a battered reputation and a one-way ticket home.
Returning to Sunrise, North Carolina, Cora plans to sell her grandmother’s café and move on. But The Salty Spoon isn’t empty—it has been taken over by Jack Harlow, the stubborn chef who’s staked his future on bringing her family’s recipes back to life. With a developer circling and long-hidden secrets bubbling up, they’ve got thirty days to fight over the café’s sell it or save it. And neither plans to back down.
With the clock ticking, Cora and Jack become unlikely partners in chaos, tangled in late-night cooking lessons, small-town meddling, and one inconvenient attraction that has sparks flying both in and out of the kitchen.
Brimming with Southern sass, laugh-out-loud banter, and a swoony slow-burn romance, The Next Big Thing is perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry, and Sarah Adams.
She can’t cook. He won’t leave. And the hottest thing coming out of the kitchen might just be their chemistry.
When Cora Lockwood’s boyfriend betrays her by stealing her idea and tanking her career, her perfect life collapses, leaving her with a battered reputation and a one-way ticket home.
Returning to Sunrise, North Carolina, Cora plans to sell her grandmother’s café and move on. But The Salty Spoon isn’t empty—it has been taken over by Jack Harlow, the stubborn chef who’s staked his future on bringing her family’s recipes back to life. With a developer circling and long-hidden secrets bubbling up, they’ve got thirty days to fight over the café’s sell it or save it. And neither plans to back down.
With the clock ticking, Cora and Jack become unlikely partners in chaos, tangled in late-night cooking lessons, small-town meddling, and one inconvenient attraction that has sparks flying both in and out of the kitchen.
Brimming with Southern sass, laugh-out-loud banter, and a swoony slow-burn romance, The Next Big Thing is perfect for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry, and Sarah Adams.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 21, 2026
20 people want to read
About the author
Erin Scoggins
10 books87 followersErin is a long-time Southerner with a fondness for offbeat humor and fresh fried chicken. After fifteen years in marketing with a Fortune 500 company, she traded her MBA for fictional crime scenes and feisty small-town families. She writes fun, flirty mysteries that are celebrations of food, family, and the killer South.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for granting me access to an e-ARC of “The Next Big Thing” by Erin Scoggins in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a Hallmark-like romance book filled to the brim with fluff and silliness, this book is for you! It was fast paced with no lulls, each page was packed with movement, and the occasional alternation of POV between the FMC and MMC kept things interesting. It was trope-heavy, with some of my highlights including slow burn, forced proximity/enclosed spaces, protective love interest. The fluff was tooth achingly sweet, the mystery was surprisingly a star of the show, and all conflict and loose ends were wrapped up in a pretty bow by the end.
I was pleasantly surprised with the heart of this book. I picked it up for a fun time, but there were touches on some heavy topics without it getting overconsuming. The most notable of this was how Scoggins addressed grief. It was an underlying pulse through cover to cover, driving the story forward and explaining much of the character's choices. There were some lines that hit me so hard that I had to read them a few times over before moving forward. Cora’s regrets and grief seemed to bullseye my own. Seeing the regret of not spending time with my own grandmother, the regret of not spending more time with her in the kitchen learning to cook and learning her recipes, wishing I knew more about her life, wishing I could just talk to her and get answers to my burning questions made this book and Cora’s story all the more real.
Another pleasant surprise of this book was just how earnest, honest, and open each character was. They said what they meant, they meant what they said, they stood by their people. This book is a champion of community, supporting your neighbours, and being there for people in their times of need.
That being said, there were some pieces that I struggled to enjoy, which brought the overall rating down.
My biggest piece of feedback is that this book should come with a warning about attempted sexual assault. There are a few scenes in this book where it is either discussed or attempted, with no real strong closure. I do wish there was an extra conversation or two added to close these plot points off.
Additionally, the characters leaned heavy into the caricatures territory, with there being more following of tropes than meaningful character development. The humor and banter in the book veered too much on the silly side of things for my own personal taste - although, I will say the banter between Cora and Jack did get better as the book went on. There was a heavy reliance on tropes and cliches to propel the plot and characters forward - which isn’t a horrible thing (if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!) but it did make the story a little too easy to predict for what I personally enjoy. All of this being said, these are just my own personal preferences… If you go into this book looking for a trope-heavy, silly, Hallmark-like fun time, you are going to be getting exactly that!
Overall, this was a fun read! I would recommend it to anyone looking to sit down and consume a whole book in one sitting (like I did!!), or anyone looking to get their fill of a fluffy, silly, romance!
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for granting me access to an e-ARC of “The Next Big Thing” by Erin Scoggins in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a Hallmark-like romance book filled to the brim with fluff and silliness, this book is for you! It was fast paced with no lulls, each page was packed with movement, and the occasional alternation of POV between the FMC and MMC kept things interesting. It was trope-heavy, with some of my highlights including slow burn, forced proximity/enclosed spaces, protective love interest. The fluff was tooth achingly sweet, the mystery was surprisingly a star of the show, and all conflict and loose ends were wrapped up in a pretty bow by the end.
I was pleasantly surprised with the heart of this book. I picked it up for a fun time, but there were touches on some heavy topics without it getting overconsuming. The most notable of this was how Scoggins addressed grief. It was an underlying pulse through cover to cover, driving the story forward and explaining much of the character's choices. There were some lines that hit me so hard that I had to read them a few times over before moving forward. Cora’s regrets and grief seemed to bullseye my own. Seeing the regret of not spending time with my own grandmother, the regret of not spending more time with her in the kitchen learning to cook and learning her recipes, wishing I knew more about her life, wishing I could just talk to her and get answers to my burning questions made this book and Cora’s story all the more real.
Another pleasant surprise of this book was just how earnest, honest, and open each character was. They said what they meant, they meant what they said, they stood by their people. This book is a champion of community, supporting your neighbours, and being there for people in their times of need.
That being said, there were some pieces that I struggled to enjoy, which brought the overall rating down.
My biggest piece of feedback is that this book should come with a warning about attempted sexual assault. There are a few scenes in this book where it is either discussed or attempted, with no real strong closure. I do wish there was an extra conversation or two added to close these plot points off.
Additionally, the characters leaned heavy into the caricatures territory, with there being more following of tropes than meaningful character development. The humor and banter in the book veered too much on the silly side of things for my own personal taste - although, I will say the banter between Cora and Jack did get better as the book went on. There was a heavy reliance on tropes and cliches to propel the plot and characters forward - which isn’t a horrible thing (if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!) but it did make the story a little too easy to predict for what I personally enjoy. All of this being said, these are just my own personal preferences… If you go into this book looking for a trope-heavy, silly, Hallmark-like fun time, you are going to be getting exactly that!
Overall, this was a fun read! I would recommend it to anyone looking to sit down and consume a whole book in one sitting (like I did!!), or anyone looking to get their fill of a fluffy, silly, romance!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a fun, lighthearted book with slow burn tension, witty banter & a "It's a Wonderful Life" ending. The town folks are hilarious (especially her deceased Grandma's friend group) & there are some fun plot twists learning about some things from the past.
Favorite scene: Cora & Jack are talking about dating apps. Jack is thinking about her being on one... "She'd have a profile he'd pause on, smile at, then swipe right before he even realized what he was doing. A little sarcastic, a little offbeat, with just the right amount of sass to keep things interesting....she would write that she's 'fluent in sarcasm, kitchen explosions, and true crime podcasts. Swipe left if you can't handle me abandoning you for pizza.'" 😂😂 This pretty much perfectly describes Cora. ❤️ Jack? He's a teddy bear with a past. Pretty perfect & swoonworthy. 🥰
There really isn't much spice in the book... just a couple kisses. But there's fun, slow burn interaction between the 2 of them (ie: the book is clean 😉)
Thank you to the author (Erin Scoggins), publisher (BooksGoSocial) & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Favorite scene: Cora & Jack are talking about dating apps. Jack is thinking about her being on one... "She'd have a profile he'd pause on, smile at, then swipe right before he even realized what he was doing. A little sarcastic, a little offbeat, with just the right amount of sass to keep things interesting....she would write that she's 'fluent in sarcasm, kitchen explosions, and true crime podcasts. Swipe left if you can't handle me abandoning you for pizza.'" 😂😂 This pretty much perfectly describes Cora. ❤️ Jack? He's a teddy bear with a past. Pretty perfect & swoonworthy. 🥰
There really isn't much spice in the book... just a couple kisses. But there's fun, slow burn interaction between the 2 of them (ie: the book is clean 😉)
Thank you to the author (Erin Scoggins), publisher (BooksGoSocial) & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I enjoyed The Next Big Thing, especially the beginning. The beginning pulled me in and I loved Cora and felt bad for her that a her ex was not who she thought he was and he stole her work. I laughed at Jack and Cora's initial meeting and interaction with Lolly's friends. The fact that Cora and her friends had to figure out why Lolly took out the loan and how to save The Salty Spoon. It was fun to see them snooping and trying to find out the gossip, I just wish we saw more of Cora doing the work to raise money.
The pace was fast and fun. I wish we could have gotten a little more in depth with the characters and had a little more tension. My biggest issue with that Nate got away with assault. I wish Cora had pressed charges or something to make sure he knew he could not do that. Because of that and the fact the last half of the book fell a little flat for me, I am giving this a 3.5 rating.
It was funny and heartwarming and I am glad I got to visit Sunrise Beach!
Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Erin Scoggins for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The pace was fast and fun. I wish we could have gotten a little more in depth with the characters and had a little more tension. My biggest issue with that Nate got away with assault. I wish Cora had pressed charges or something to make sure he knew he could not do that. Because of that and the fact the last half of the book fell a little flat for me, I am giving this a 3.5 rating.
It was funny and heartwarming and I am glad I got to visit Sunrise Beach!
Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Erin Scoggins for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Gotten from Netgalley
The Next Big thing was a book that felt like it came out of a 2000’s romcom movie in your typical small town story with gossip and friendship. It was pure fluff and really wholesome. The writing was really easy to follow along. I loved the dynamics between the characters, platonic and romantic. It briefly touches on themes of grief but nothing that takes away from the romantic comedy vibes, but enough to add character to the story. The banter in the book was done really well given that I didn’t cringe nor did I think that it was done too much that it’s annoying, instead it was nice to see the characters relationship develop. Overall, this was a really nice book to read and I can’t wait to read more of the authors stories and even a whole book just about Lolly’s past!
The Next Big thing was a book that felt like it came out of a 2000’s romcom movie in your typical small town story with gossip and friendship. It was pure fluff and really wholesome. The writing was really easy to follow along. I loved the dynamics between the characters, platonic and romantic. It briefly touches on themes of grief but nothing that takes away from the romantic comedy vibes, but enough to add character to the story. The banter in the book was done really well given that I didn’t cringe nor did I think that it was done too much that it’s annoying, instead it was nice to see the characters relationship develop. Overall, this was a really nice book to read and I can’t wait to read more of the authors stories and even a whole book just about Lolly’s past!
March 16, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
The story follows Cora who, after losing her job in the city, returns to the town where her grandmother grew up. Her initial goal was to sell her grandmothers cafè and return to her city life but after a series of events she finds herself asking the help of the towns residential bad boy, Jack, to save the legacy her grandmother left her.
This was such a cute small town romance full of laughter and banter. The main characters had immaculate chemistry and the side characters were the best.
Definitely pick this up if you’re looking for a simple, cute and full of love small town summer romance.
The story follows Cora who, after losing her job in the city, returns to the town where her grandmother grew up. Her initial goal was to sell her grandmothers cafè and return to her city life but after a series of events she finds herself asking the help of the towns residential bad boy, Jack, to save the legacy her grandmother left her.
This was such a cute small town romance full of laughter and banter. The main characters had immaculate chemistry and the side characters were the best.
Definitely pick this up if you’re looking for a simple, cute and full of love small town summer romance.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you’re looking for a cozy, Hallmark-style read, this is exactly the kind of book to pick up.
Cora cannot cook to save her life. Her cooking is so bad that she’s on a first-name basis with the firefighters.
Jack, on the other hand, carries a chip on his shoulder. Life hasn’t exactly dealt him the easiest hand.
This is a story about finding your place, finding your people (even if they’re a bit weird) and, along the way, finding love. While keeping the memories alive…
Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing an eARC to review!
Cora cannot cook to save her life. Her cooking is so bad that she’s on a first-name basis with the firefighters.
Jack, on the other hand, carries a chip on his shoulder. Life hasn’t exactly dealt him the easiest hand.
This is a story about finding your place, finding your people (even if they’re a bit weird) and, along the way, finding love. While keeping the memories alive…
Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing an eARC to review!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews