5.4.2021 | Tuesday

Small-Town Shepherd

category: Book Reviews
tag(s):
0 Comments

Small-Town Shepherdtitle: Small Town Shepherd
author: Nala Henkel-Aislinn
published: 29 March 2021
publisher: self-published
genre(s): romance
pages: 292
source: client
format: eARC
buy/shelve it: Amazon | Goodreads

rating: four-stars

the blurb

Sam and Brody remind each other of what they want to forget—bad relationships and broken hearts.
Sam lost her career and her boyfriend on the same day. Needing an escape, she makes a radical decision—leave the big city for a small town, get a regular job, and take a break from men and romance.
Brody is picking up the pieces after divorce. He’s hoping for a fresh start in the small community of Maple Cove. Instead, he’s forced to co-manage a failing animal hospital with Sam, who seems ready to hate him on sight.
Watch two people learn to face their fears and love again in this sweet, small-town enemies to happily-ever-after romance.
Small Town Shepherd is the first book in the sweet romance series Maple Cove Dog Lover’s Society.


my review

Small-Town Shepherd is the first book in this new series, and it is a wonderful start!

Sam’s life recently went off the rails, and as someone who has been utterly focused on her career, it has left her reeling. So she makes the radical decision to turn her back on everything she’s thought she wanted, at least for a little while. And that leads her to taking a vet job in a tiny town far from the life she’s leaving behind. Brody’s life hasn’t been much better after his marriage fails in an epic way. So he’s trying to change his life, to live it the way he’s always wanted. Neither of them are looking for anything other than a new job and a little peace. But things don’t always work out the way you imagine…

I loved the characters in this book. I think we all know a Sam, someone so focused on their career that they’ve eschewed everything else. She’s become too pragmatic, too committed to her goals. She had a plan, and when that plan went to hell, she realizes just how much she flounders when faced with change. Brody is focused, too, but on a different level. And he’s gunshy after a bad marriage. The two are so relatable that it felt as I knew both of them. I fell into the story from the first page!

I loved the dynamic between them, the growth and the change. And I loved the other characters in the book, too. It was such an engrossing read, something comfortable and cozy to love.

This is small-town romance at its best! I definitely recommend this book!

About Nala Henkel-Aislinn

My writing career started in school as the co-editor of my high school newspaper. I brought that love of writing into every 9–5 job I had—from staff newsletters to policy manuals and websites—and found my niche as a digital marketing copywriter (think webinar marketing.)

Now I’m back doing what comes naturally and what I wake up every morning longing to do—storytelling about love. My goal is to bring sassy, strong female characters to life, and create complex, romantic male characters.

reading challenges:

::spread the love::

Leave a Reply