This series is super fun! New Zealand 🇳🇿 setting with Alaska ladies in a tiny town and handsome outdoor men they fall for! Fun side characters, fun small town, great location and great main characters. This one fell a little flat to me compared to the first two but I read some wonderful books around it so that might not have helped.

This wasn’t for me. The whole I’m a hermit virgin who’s never even kissed a guy but please take my virginity thing was odd. This in turn made the sex scenes really uncomfortable to read. The amount of inner dialogue that repeats itself in this book is just cringy.

I received a complimentary copy from m the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own,

This is a friends to lovers romance / enemies to lovers romance following Levi and Indigo, Levi and Indigo cannot stand each other and it's because Indigo has trouble trusting people. Levi offers to help Indigo but he is hit with obstacles in gaining her trust. The book is set in beautiful New Zealand *swoon* and the book also tackles hard issues such as healing, loneliness, trust , self-awareness and friendship.

Right Where We Belong by Jackie Ashenden
Small Town Dreams series #3. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Indigo Jameson traveled to the very small town of Brightwater Valley three months ago. She had lived alone in a backwoods cabin where she grew up and it took all her courage to go to New Zealand. She loves it there and has decided to stay though she is lonely. Both the women she settled with in Brightwater have found a true love and have settled in. Indigo is interested in Levi King but he’s quite the ladies man and Indigo has no experience whatsoever. Levi returns the interest but he wants to make it very clear, he’s only a one night kind of man.

Indigo and Levi have a few issues each needs to reconcile. Their relationship starts out tentative and skittish but soon is friendship slowly growing to more. Characters from the prior two books are included in various scenes which is a nice revisit if you’ve read the prior books. It’s sentimental and ultimately happily ever after.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Perfect end to the series!

Both Indigo and Levi have had rough childhoods. Indigo's parents dumped her with her reclusive grandmother and never returned, while Levi bounced around foster homes like a ping pong ball. Neither have role models, other than their friends, as to what a real relationship looks like. Indigo has zero experience, and Levi has been a player.

Watching their relationship grow and change was like watching the tide flow in and then recede. Just when you think they're settled, one of them pulls back. Will they be able to trust one another enough to believe their feelings are real?

I loved their story, and the whole series was very good. I look forward to more books by this author. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I loved this series! This story was about trust and love and how difficult those things are when you don’t grow up with them. Levi had been brought up in foster homes, never knowing where he would be next and no one to care about him. Indigo had parents who left her with her grandmother, promising to come back for her, but never did. Both end up in Brightwater Valley in Australia where they have made friends with the locals, both have good friends with brothers who are with Indigo’s best friends, but Levi and Indigo’s relationship takes a lot to get going. It was an interesting journey they were on and in Ms. Ashenden’s capable hands it was an excellent HEA. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG – Jackie Ashenden
Small Town Dreams, Book 3
Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 978-1-7282-4737-3
August 8, 2023
Contemporary Romance

Brightwater Valley, New Zealand – Present Day

Indigo Jameson is intimidated by men, especially if they’re as charming and outgoing as Levi King. Indigo was raised in a remote part of Alaska by her grandmother after her parents abandoned her. With her grandmother dead and no ties to Alaska, she decided to follow two other women to New Zealand on an offer to open a gift shop in Brightwater. Her new girlfriends, Isabella and Bethany, have found love with local men. Indigo isn’t looking for love—or marriage. But Levi scares her because she is aware of his roguish reputation with women, and she doesn’t want to be another woman that he uses and discards.

Indigo needs a place to live permanently as she cannot continue to stay in a hotel. Levi comes to her offering to build her a tiny home on property he owns above the gallery that she and her friends run—and he won’t charge her rent. But Indigo refuses to accept his charity, even though she has little money of her own. After much haggling back and forth, they agree on a list of conditions in exchange for his building and renting the house to her. One is that she must teach him how to knit.

Indigo and Levi are soon seeing more of each other than expected in RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG, the final book in the Small Town Dreams series. It was a big jump for her to leave the safe little town of Deep River, Alaska, and fly to New Zealand. Levi’s two partners have gotten involved with Isabella and Bethany, so it’s no surprise that they wonder about Levi and Indigo. But to know her is to understand that she is a bit of a shy wallflower. In fact, she has never been kissed. While talking to Levi one day, she surprises him by thanking him and then kissing him. It only amps up the growing attraction between them. Indigo soon encourages Levi to start a relationship with her that goes beyond friendship. She wants to experience the joys of having sex. She knows that he isn’t the commitment kind and that is okay with her. That is, until she realizes that she wants more.

Levi and Indigo both had childhoods where they were abandoned. Besides her parents leaving her, Levi was raised by a teenage mother until she could no longer take care of him. In and out of foster homes he went, which is why he has trust issues when it comes to love and long-term relationships. He always keeps a part of himself from others, yet he is giving to those around him. While Levi discusses his childhood with Indigo, nothing will change his mind about love. He knows that if you try to love someone, they will eventually abandon you. In RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG, our couple must learn to trust each other. Will it finally lead to love…and marriage?

There is great chemistry between Levi and Indigo in RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG. He is a protector, and she is a nurturer. Her shyness is cute as is his challenging her to be more outgoing. They work well together, but it is going to take a while for them to get together. Follow an intriguing journey that will keep readers glued to the pages. Don’t miss RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Matching pair of jeans...

Levi and Indigo (someone must have had jeans on the mind when naming her main characters) have similar issues. Indigo has abandonment issues, zero experience with men and a distrust of handsome men. Levi has abandonment issues, a need to earn his place with things (not people) and a misguided and very annoying need to metaphorically pull Indy's hair all the time, to push her buttons, to call her hedgehog, and to build her a tiny home, On his land.

Honestly? Levi was pretty annoying but did grow on me. The huge gulf in their sexual experience is a problem for sure. Indigo has no experience and Levi all too much of one and dones. Sex changes everything, as they find out.
But Indy is a Barbie (she's braver than Levi) and Levi is definitely a Ken (he's no Barbie).
Recommend.

Right Where We Belong by Jackie Ashen den ⭐⭐⭐

Both Indigo and Levi have suffered a horrible childhood causing them to build walls around their hearts. Can they ever heal from these wounds and allow their hearts to be open? Only when you open your hearts can you find happiness. Lets hope they find happiness. Pre-order your copy today to find out if they find happiness. Releases August 8th.

I received an advanced copy for this book for my honest review.

Right Where We Belong is the third novel in Jackie Ashenden's Small Town Dreams series, and I'll tell you right from the start that it's my favorite novel of this series because as an only child with two working parents, raised by my maternal grandparents, I so identified with Indigo (Indy) Jameson and the incredibly lonely life she led in with only her hermit of a grandmother in virtually total isolation in Deep River, Alaska.

Indy's father walked out on her mother before Indy was born, only to return 7 years later to purportedly reclaim them both, but when the couple moves to Anchorage, amid promises and more promises that they would soon return and take Indy to live with them--but it never happened, leaving Indy feeling unloved and unwanted. She never even saw anyone but her socially paranoid grandmother until her grandmother fell ill and 15-year-old Indy had to go into town to pick up groceries. Talk about isolation! Her upbringing left her with a deep mistrust of people, and more so of men, since the parents, espeically her father, who kept promising to get her never returned.

The other principal character in this novel is Levi, who is described as a gorgeous combination of Jason Momoa and Brock O'Hurn. He too has led a lonely life, shuffled from foster home to foster home until he aged out of the system and joined the military, where he met two brothers , Chase and Finn Kelly, who, when they left the military, jointly opened Pure Adventure New Zealand based in tiny Bridghtwater Valley. Chase and Finn met the loves of their lives when they met two of the women who left Deep River, Alaska, and relocated to Bridghtwater Valley, their stories appear in the first two novels in the series, which I suggest you read in the order they were written. Levi, however, had no one--no family, no siblings, and no roots except for a house he owns in a nearby small city, and he's worked hard for the past 5 years to make a life for himself in Brightwater Valley.

Levi has been attracted to Indy, whom he nicknames "hedgehog" because of her prickly nature, and she's been attracted to him from the start although she hides it well, but Levi has never had a real relationship with any woman, he's a one-night and done kind of man, and Indy has never even been kissed, let alone involved with a man, since she was raised not to trust anyone, especially good looking men, and due to her father's betrayal and lies, she has good reason to feel that way. Yes, the two other women who left Deep River with her, Isabella (Izzy) Montgomery and Bethany Grant have become her close friends over the past 3 months spent opening their artisans gallerygift shop and finding love with Chase and Finn, which made Indy feel more alone than ever. Especially since, due to circumstances, Indy needs to find a new place to live and set up her yarn dying shed and soon--and Levi, who is secretly wealthy, has the answer, but will Indy accept his solution? It requires working closely with the very handsome and flirtatious man, and as romance readers you already know where their relationship is headed, but will they get there? It's certainly not a sure thing, and I hope you enjoy emotional angst, because there's a lot of it in this heartfelt and heartwarming novel.

I absolutely loved this novel and these well-drawn characters, and especially the final twist in their story. It's definitely my favorite novel of the series, and I cannot recommend this novel and the entire series highly enough.

I voluntarily read and advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions started are my own.

This is the 3rd book in the Small Town Dreams Series. We finally get to see Indigo and Levi get together. These two both hold so much more under the surface then they let the residents of Brightwater see. Indigo grows so much through out the course of this book. She really comes out of her shell and figures out what she wants in life and doesn’t let her past define what could be her future. Levi on the other hand, as handsome and helpful as he is at making everyone else find happiness, he has a hard time letting himself find it due to his childhood trauma, takes a little bit longer but we finally get that HEA these two deserve. It was great to see the cute little valley again. I read book two last year and on a recent book store hail I picked up the first book that started it all and I look forward to see Chase and Izzys story!

Ms. Prickly meets Mr. Cocky. I love how Levi calls her hedgehog.
Both have so much garbage from their pasts to work thorough I wondered if it was even possible.
One thing that can be counted upon in a small community is that people will butt into your business so this proves helpful in the book.
Sometimes people have to be told what is obviously right in front of them.
Indigo also had to learn that not everyone is going to leave.
Building on the magic of her previous books, Ashenden makes NZ come alive in her characters.

This is the third in the Small Town Dreams series, but can be read as a stand alone. The series has three friends who come from the USA to a small town in New Zealand. As this book begins Indigo Jameson is fighting her growing attraction to Levi King. Her friends and business partners in their craft store have paired off with his adventure guide partners. He likes to tease and provoke calling her hedgehog because she is prickly. But he is gorgeous and kind to everyone in town. But both have a past that makes them not trust in love. Her parents left her to be raised by a grandmother in remote Alaska leaving her feeling abandoned. He grew up in foster care.

Honestly, this is probably my favorite of the series because he was the least alpha male of the male partners. He is still run and rugged but his insecurities make him vulnerable. I like that the obstacles aren’t driven from outside sources but in overcoming their pasts to allow for a first relationship for both of them. I’m assuming the series is finished but I will look for what the author writes next. Thank you go Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

Right Where We Belong is another story taking place in (fictional) Brightwater NZ by Jackie Ashenden. This fictional town is a sister one to her Alaskan series (which is great too) but each story is self-contained so you can read in any order. Levi King is interested in the only woman in town that wants nothing to do with him. He has his work cut out since he can’t get her off his mind. Indigo Jameson trusts few in this life even fewer that are men. She has her reasons.

This romantic story has Levi is a please with a tragic past of his own. While these two have difficult events from the past they handle how they cope very differently. A story that looks at how the past affect the present, how to work through those events and move on in living a joyful loving life. The relationship romance is sweet yet very sexy with the characters’ personal growth being even better. What a wonderful story.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Levi is a charmer, a ladies man who has yet to meet his match, until Indigo. Raised under rather unusual circumstances Indigo has trust issues ( hence her hedgehog nickname) especially with smooth talking men, but what is she supposed to do when every where she turns Levi seems to be. These two have mutual friends and live in the same town but are total opposites. However, as the saying goes, opposites attract. This is a nice quick and sweet romance with wonderful characters, both main and supporting. While Indigo’s distrust in others is obvious, Levi has had his own past issues that make his is little less noticeable at first. The author has a beautiful way of making her characters seem lifelike and at time I felt as if these two were actually my own friends. The story is basically all about the slow build of their relationship, but both Indigo and Levi have truly interesting lives. They are similar yet different. It is not overly steamy, more tender hearted than anything, but super enjoyable. It is part of a series, but as someone who did not read the other books in the series you will not feel lost at all. 4.5 stars. I received an arc copy of this book from NetGalley for my voluntary review.

Beth, Izzy, and Indigo moved, somewhat impulsively, from Alaska to New Zealand and now they're firmly established in Brightwater Valley. Beth and Izzy have found love (in earlier books in the series) but Indigo has always struggled with relationships thanks to her unusual upbringing, which includes being abandoned by her parents. Enter Levi, who has his own traumatic past and who offers to help solve her housing and storage problem. They build their relationship slowly, just as Levi slowly tames a feral dog. You'll root for these two, who deserve so much more than they're had. I've enjoyed the series for the characters and the setting- know that each one works as a standalone but to read all three is a pleasure. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A nice read that will make you smile.

I think of all the books in this series, this might be my favourite. I was pretty excited to learn more about Indigo and Levi (individually and together!) and to have this book be so beautiful and fun made it an absolute treat in every way. I loved their slow build and the way Levi worked his way under Indigo's skin and vice versa. Always here for a hero who says he's never going to settle down and then meets the most incredible woman who completely changes that and he's ready to marry her in a heartbeat. I also loved learning about Indigo and her past, digging into all of that and what makes her the way she is was definitely exciting.

The only thing that I didn't enjoy was how much repetition there was about Indigo's parents and grandmother and how that affected her life choices. Other than that, being in Brightwater Valley again was a great time!

Right where we belong by Jackie ashenden. When two broken souls, who have only been disappointed by people.meet. Can the trust each other with their hearts?

Such a terrific romance!

So right away I tagged Levi as a hero due solely to his dedication to taming Mystery, the feral dog that hangs around town. And it only gets better from there. He and Indigo have so much in common and I loved seeing them gradually open up to each other to discover their similar pasts. They really are perfectly suited to helping each other heal in the most heartwarming way.

Of course there's plenty of attraction and tension along the way, with relationship-avoidant Levi and zero-experience Indigo figuring out just what they have to offer each other. I loved the give and take, the way Indigo stood her ground when Levi wasn't sure he could be what she needed, and the wonderfully satisfying HEA includes a delightful epilogue for all three couples in this charming series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This is the third book in the Small Town Dreams series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. Both main characters (Levi and Indigo) had a difficult childhood that affected their lives as adults, making them distrustful and unaware that they deserve to be loved for who they really are. A heart-warming enemies-to-lovers novel that deals with the growth of both protagonists, supported by their respective friends, who are the protagonists of the previous books in the series.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.