Sap & Secrets: A Surprise Baby Firefighter Romance
Maplewood Book 1
Daphne Elliot
January 26, 2026
📚ABOUT THE STORY📚
Nine months ago, I had one perfect, reckless night with Jasper Lawrence, the tall, tattooed firefighter who made me feel fearless. I told myself it was a mistake I’d never repeat.
Then he finds me at the Maple Festival… in labor with our surprise baby.
The best part? I had no idea I was pregnant.
Now Jasper is everywhere. The two of us stumble through new parenthood together. And he doesn’t just step up, he moves in. Almost. He pitches a tent in my backyard and sleeps outside so he’s never far away from us. He’s a shirtless, helpful menace who cooks, cleans, and cuddles our son. He makes me feel safe, seen, and wanted. And I hate how much I love it.
Every time I shove him away, he shows back up, golden retriever energy and all, with coffee and pastries in tow, ready to carry the baby, the groceries, and occasionally me.
I came to Maplewood, Vermont, to discover my independence. But it’s hard to keep my distance when the town’s been shaken by danger, the scars from my past refuse to stay buried, and the firefighter I should absolutely avoid keeps setting my world on fire.
Turns out the biggest threat to me in America’s most charming small town might be the man who won’t stop rescuing me.
Author’s Note: Sap & Secrets is a small-town romance featuring a curvy black cat, a tattooed golden retriever, and a (very cute) surprise baby. If you enjoy acts of service, small-town shenanigans, and maple syrup madness, you will not be disappointed.
Series Note: Welcome to Maplewood, Vermont. America’s Most Charming Small Town has some dark, sticky secrets. Come for the maple syrup, festivals, and cheese wars; stay for swoon.
Buy Link: https://a.co/d/daCQZnc
Available in KINDLE UNLIMITED
EXCERPT
“Jasper.” Her tone was sharp, pulling me out of my haze. “What’s wrong?”
I inhaled sharply, only now realizing I hadn’t been breathing.
I looked at Vincent and then at her again.
“He laughed,” I said, holding up my phone. “I was doing dumb stuff and he laughed. A real laugh.”
Her face lit up, her dark eyes warm. “Really? Vincent, you’re laughing? Do it again,” she said to me. “I can’t believe I missed it.”
As much as I didn’t want to look away from her and miss a second of the excitement in her face, I kneeled and picked up Sophie the Giraffe, making her twerk as I rapped badly about the Very Hungry Caterpillar eating all the leaves off the tree.
It took a minute, but he did it again. It started with a tiny rumble but quickly turned into a full laugh.
Evie sat next to me, that towel hiding very little, and wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh my God. It’s amazing. He’s amazing. The baby book said three to four months.”
Filled with pride, I grinned at her. “Ahead of schedule. He’s a genius. Obviously.”
Nodding, she tickled his foot, causing him to kick and giggle. “We’re not supposed to say that out loud,” she chided me playfully.
“Yes, but it’s undeniable. He’s the smartest and most handsome baby ever.” I leaned down and blew a raspberry on his stomach. “You get all that from your mom. I take no credit. But I’m so proud of you, bud.”
Evie beamed at me, her attention making my stomach do backflips. I’d gotten them both to smile today, and that sent me soaring to a level of joy I’d never experienced before.
The sheer satisfaction of making my son laugh? Of making Evie look at me like I was some kind of hero? This was a type of high that couldn’t be replicated.
Sap & Secrets by Daphne Elliot
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
📚ARC REVIEW📚
*sigh* I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk about how I felt about this story without coming across as saying it’s a good and/or bad story because it is actually both but also not. Yeah … I bet you wanna be inside my head right now! LOL
First, let me say that I feel enough about it that I will be listening to the audio when it releases in about a week. I love the narrators and it’s going to be performed in duet. I mean that’s #winning right of the bat! I had a hard time “connecting” with a lot of this story when I read it and my hope is that Connor & Vanessa’s performance might change that. It’s happened before so fingers crossed. For now though, I am squarely in the middle of the road with this story.
Even though I admired a whole lot about Evie, on the flip side I really didn’t understand her treatment of Jasper on many occasions. It was borderline cruel and unusual punishment of sorts and I was twitchy. On the flip side of that, I found that Jasper may have “turned the other cheek” way too many times. Their treatment of each other changed dramatically probably about halfway thru and the relationship building truly began and while that’s outstanding, I have to wonder how many future readers might “give up” on this story before they even get to the “good stuff”! *shrug*
The surprise pregnancy trope, plus size issues and infertility issues, I feel were done really well and felt very genuine. I really like it when a story incorporates IRL circumstances and the author incorporates them in a respectful and thoughtful way.
The mystery portion of this story is still a mystery to me (see what I did there) and I can’t really wrap my head around the why of it all, but I trust that Daphne will reveal it all when the time comes and as each book releases in this series, we will get a bigger picture. This is what she does so I’m not unhappy about it it’s just that I’m used to binging her series and not having to wait LOL
I’m looking forward to more stories in Maplewood and seeing some of these side characters getting fleshed out a bit more. I’m invested in this town and its shenanigans already!
Meet Daphne Elliot:
In High School, Daphne Elliot was voted “most likely to become a romance novelist.” After spending the last decade as a corporate lawyer, she has finally embraced her destiny. Her small town steamy novels are filled with flirty banter, sexy hijinks, and lots and lots of heart.
Daphne is a coffee-drinking, hot-sauce loving introvert who spends all her free time in her garden. She lives on a small farm in New England with her husband, two kids, two dogs, twelve backyard chickens and a hive of Italian honeybees.
Keep in touch with Daphne by subscribing to her newsletter here: http://daphneelliot.com/join-newsletter
Connect with Daphne Elliot: https://linktr.ee/daphneelliot
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