Burnt Sugar & Bitters: Even Closed Doors Let the Light In

By Louise Dawn Morgan

BOOK 5: BURNT SUGAR & BITTERS
WORKPLACE ROMANCE SLOW-BURN REBUILDING AFTER BURNOUT

The caf is barely holding on. And so is she.

Sloane's spent years keeping everything together, the business, the staff, the carefully constructed life she built after everything fell apart. Exhaustion looks like dedication when you smile through it.

Then he walks in.

A face from the past. Someone who knew her before she learned to keep everyone at arm's length. Someone who sees through the armor she wears like a second skin.

She doesn't have time for this.
He's not leaving until she listens.
And the caf ? It's the least of what needs saving.

Between burnt espresso and bitter truths, between late shifts and later conversations, something shifts. He reminds her what it felt like to want something beyond survival. She reminds him why he walked away in the first place.

But Sloane's built her life on control. And loving someone means risking the one thing she's spent years protecting: herself.

Burnt Sugar & Bitters is an achingly honest romance about burnout and rebuilding, letting people in when you've perfected keeping them out, and learning that closed doors can still let the light in.

Perfect for readers who love: - Caf settings with authentic struggles
- Heroines rebuilding after burnout
- Heroes who return with purpose
- Workplace romance with emotional depth
- Slow-burn second chances
- Found family and community support
- Healing through connection

Book 5 in the Tempest Hearts series, standalone romances about the people who stay, the ones who return, and the love that saves them both.

Even closed doors let the light in

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GG6QJPW3
• ISBN13: 9798243423144
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"