I fell in love with the author's Portland ME series and thought I'd try this one. Unfortunately it fell short as compared to that series. It was slow moving with not enough going on to keep the reader interested. I think the story was pretty much told by about 50% into the book.

I love single dad romances so I jumped on reviewing A Change of Pace by Freya Barker. I was pleasantly surprised that not only is it a single dad romance, it is also a romance where the leads are in their 40s. A Change of Pace is listed as third in Ms. Barker’s Northern Lights series I haven’t read the first two and was not lost in any way; as a matter of fact I didn’t realize it was part of a series. Now I’m excited to read through Ms. Barker’s back list!

New to town, Newt does not make a good first impression on Freddy. Color her surprised when she finds out Newt is the father to troubled teen Millie, Freddy and Newt put their differences aside so Millie can get the help she needs to help deal with the pain and grief of losing her mother. As Freddy and Newt are around each other more their chemistry builds to an undeniable force, Newt doesn’t want to act on it because Freddy has become important to Millie and he will do anything, including deny himself a chance at happiness for Millie.

I really enjoyed Freddy and Newt, there’s no insta-love, no major angst between the two of them, there is drama in the world surrounding them that affects their lives, but they steadily navigate the choppy waters to build a beautiful relationship, which includes Millie.

A Change of Pace is a slow burn, sexy romance, with multi-faceted characters, an engrossing story about love, healing and hope.

A CHANGE OF PACE (Northern Lights #3) by Freya Barker is an absolutely wonderful and emotional romance with a mature hero and heroine in their late forties. The romance moves at a slower pace and grows to a beautiful mature love. The believable situations and struggles that occur at differing points in the story show a couple dealing with real-life struggles without the miscommunication or melodrama in other romances.

Newt Tobias is the single father of a teenage daughter who is having emotional difficulties. Newt feels the best way to help Millie is to change the pace of their current way of living. He retires early from his job with the police force and moves them both to a small cottage community.

Frederique “Freddie” Marchand had to deal with many personal tragedies all at once several years ago. It was very difficult to reclaim a sense of peace in her life, but she has it now living on her small piece of land with her therapy dog, Boulder and menagerie of rescue animals in her small hometown. She works with troubled adolescents, and does not suffer fools or bullies, so when she has a run in with a handsome man, she has never seen in town before, she puts him in his place.

When Newt discovers the therapist recommended to him for Millie is the woman he had a previous confrontation with, he puts his daughter’s welfare first. Freddie discovers that her first impressions of Newt may not be correct and he is more than willing to accept her help to help his daughter. As Newt and Millie work together to help Millie, they soon discover that they may be able to help each other, too.

I get very excited when I find a book like this. There are so few mature romances compared to all the others and when I find one this well written, it makes me very happy. Newt and Freddie are so true to life. The way that Newt and Freddie fall in love and the blossoming of Millie just make me warm all over. There are a few sex scenes that were well placed and written realistically.

Even though this is book 3 in the Northern Lights series, it is a standalone. I am looking forward to reading many more books by Ms. Barker. This is a beautiful mature romance that I highly recommend!

Thank you very much to Buoni Amici Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was definitely my pleasure!

This wasn't my favorite book in the series, that still belongs to the second, A Change of View. But that doesn't mean this wasn't a good read! I appreciate what Freya does with her characters, how there's action and drama and yet it's still a romance with just a little bit of steam to it. Something else I really like about reading these is that the characters are all older (I'm sorry, don't shoot me please). Both protagonists in Change of Pace are in their later 40's, and Newt (main male lead) has a teenage daughter, whose story I really really really really want to read. (PLEASE)

A Change of Pace by Freya Barker
Northern Lights Collection #3

Every time I am lucky enough to read a book by Freya Barker I am thrilled. Why? Because this author tells a story that makes me feel and care and make me wish I could meet the characters she has created. They are so real and their feelings and lives so well presented that I just…well…there are not words to fully tell you how much I enjoy her work.

This book is about a man who puts his fourteen year old daughter first. He is a man who has given years of his life to the police force to make the lives of others safer. He believes that a change of scenery might help his daughter adjust to whatever has caused her to change from the bubbly happy girl she once was. The meeting of Newt and Freddy is abrupt and sets both their antenna waving with perhaps unjust and untrue first impressions. When Freddy is suggested to Newt as a therapist for his daughter and they meet again well, their perceptions of one another change big time.

I loved the mature slow-growing warm and caring growth of the feelings between Newt and Freddy. I enjoyed the way they handled issues that arose and the way they interacted with one another and others. Both strong characters they were willing to reach out for what they wanted in life. They so deserved their HEA and Millie was blessed to have both of them in her life – as they were to have her in theirs.

There was a side story that added a further dimension to the book and added some suspense.

Thank you to the author who bequeathed me an ARC through NetGalley – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Newt moves his daughter, Millie, to a small town hoping to put the past and all its pain behind them. It is his hope that the move will bring his daughter emotional healing. Unfortunately, there are still issues she must deal with and Newt is lost as to how to help her.

Freddy is a teen counselor that uses her dog as an instrument to reach her patients. She first meets Millie at the high school and recognizes that the girl is hurting but that she has an instant affinity for Freddy’s service dog. When she takes on a new patient at her clinic, she is shocked to learn it is Millie and that she is the daughter of the man she has had a few run in’s with lately. None of them pleasant expect for the piercing eyes that seem to see through her.

I enjoyed all of these characters as this story is not just about the hero and heroine but includes Millie to the hundredth degree. Newt was such an amazing dad. He was strong and protective and yet knew when to draw the line even as he was able to share his soft side with both Millie and Freddy.

Freddy was an incredible heroine. Her past included so much loss over a short amount of time that it was a miracle she was still standing. The love she shared with those around her made her shine as did the care and attention she gave to her menagerie of animals. Freddy was the type of character you wish you had for a friend.

Millie was portrayed in the perfect teenage angsty light. Even as she begins to grow from her wounded soul, she never completely loses the fact that she’s fifteen and all teenager. I loved the strength she slowly gained and then eventually latched hold of and used to form her into the woman she would one day become.

This was a slow burn romance that covered the pain of loss and the methods that some teens deal with their loss of control and how the adults around them handle those issues. The first portion of the book was very slow but definitely lays the groundwork for character development. However, there was plenty of drama toward the last 25% and the epilogue was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Overall, this was a heartwarming read that left me feeling satisfied at its conclusion.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Newt Tobias would do anything for his little girl--even retire early from the force and move to a small lake community to give Millie a new beginning after her mother's tragic cancer loss. Millie is also a cutter due to her lack of control over elements in her life--mother's death, moving in with her dad, dad being shot, and being a teen. After meeting Freddy and her dog, Boulder at school--Millie begins to develop a relationship with Freddy.

Freddy uses animals to connect with her patients. Freddy's therapy style is a bit unorthodox, but filled with results. Freddy knows she shouldn't invite patients to her home--she knows that Millie will come out of her shell around the numerous animals on her land. An afternoon with Freddy's animals and Millie slowly starts coming out of her shell and talking about the first time she cut--after Newt was shot. Millie isn't the only person that Freddy is getting too close to. The more she's around Newt, more she's drawn to the man as more than a patient's father. Soon life changes pace for everyone from Freddy's cancer scare to Millie's kidnapping. Neither Newt or Freddy leave each other's side during the changes in their lives instead it pulls them closer to each other. But what happens when Millie wants to make them one family in one house instead of two?

3.5☆
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Northern Lights
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

A Change of Pace is a standalone. In the Northern Lights series. I read the first book but not the second and wasn’t lost at all when reading this one.

Newt and Freddy are a mature couple (mid/late 40’s) and I totally appreciated reading about adults who deal with life without the old melodramatics and miscommunication. The story is set in a small town complete with the helpful (nosey) friends and family. The pacing is spot on, with no rushing or insta anything. These two clash at first, Freddy’s first impression of Newt is anything but golden!

Loved both characters and also that any drama was outside of their growing relationship. Barker kept the story real rather than piling on an unnecessary angst-fest. All this was tied up with a fab epilogue.

Arc received from Netgalley for review.

A Change of Pace is another great addition to the Northern Lights series. This time we have Newt; a single dad with a troubled teen. He has decided to start over in a new place in an effort to help his child. Millie has recently lost her mother but you soon discover what a toll that has taken on her. Although they are in a new place it’s not long before Newt realizes he has to get help for Millie. Freddy is a counselor that uses animals to break through to her patients. Newt will try anything to get through to Millie so he seeks Freddy out.

Ms. Barker’s romances are very realistic romances. They are slower paced and deal with the natural progression of relationships. I really liked Newt and Freddy together although I did not really feel a big spark between them, especially in the beginning. All in all this was a good read. I liked the healing that all of the characters did, as they became a family.

Wow! I just finished the book. The characters were so well written I felt I totally knew them. The writing was so honest and true, Having raised teenagers I could totally relate to the feelings expressed. I absolutely loved this story!

This is a 5 star book and I really injoyed .
Freya Barker GOODREADS AUTHOR
Websitehttp://www.freyabarker.com
Twitterfreya_barker
GenreRomance, Suspense, Contemporary
Member SinceAugust 2014
URL https://www.goodreads.com/FreyaBarker
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Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about 'real' people; with characters who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills, and some hot, sizzling sex in their lives.

A recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya has not slowed down.

She continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

A Change of Pace is a super good book. Loved the plot, characters and setting. I haven't read this author's work before but I am sure I will be reading more in the future. I highly recommend this book

Four and a half stars.

Newt Tobias is a former cop who took early retirement and moved away from the city to a small town for the sake of his teenage daughter Millie who was struggling after the death of her mother from cancer. Gradually as the book unfolds we understand the catalyst for this move.

Frederique Marchand, Freddy to everyone, works with troubled teenagers using her dog Boulder. She regularly visits the local high school and gets introduced to Millie as a new joiner. Almost immediately she can see there is 'something' the matter.

Freddy and Newt first meet when Freddy tries to stop a local all-round bad guy Billy Baldwin, step-son of the local law enforement, from man-handling a 14 year old girl into his truck. Newt bawls her out for being a 'half-witted vigilante feminist', jumping into a dangerous situation without thinking about the danger - it doesn't go well! But then, when Newt realises that Millie is still not dealing well he reaches out for some professional support to the school and they recommend Freddy. Together they need to work to help Millie, and if they fall in love at the same time? Even better.

The best bit? Freddy is 46 years old. Yep, that's right 46 years old. A mature heroine in a romance. Not a secondary character but the heroine!

I loved this book, I loved that two people, three if you count Millie, can overcome adversity and find true love. I loved that Newt was capable, a grown-up who takes his parental responsibilities seriously, a man who can cook and build decking. Freddy is the woman we all (well I do) want to be. Strong, successful, living in her own home with a menagerie of rescued animals, a life full of friends and family.

There was just enough gritty reality to leaven the romance, just enough suspense to offset the children and animals cutesiness, just enough angst to stop it from becoming sweet, just enough heat to remind us all that over 30 doesn't mean dead.

Loved it, and I've got the previous two books on my Kindle to read on the strength of how much I liked this one.

Randomly I mixed Freya Barker with Juliana Stone (author of the Barker triplets series), I have however read a previous book by Freya Barker and enjoyed that one too, that also had a mature heroine.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Can I just start off by saying I loved this book?
I loved this book!
Very refreshing!
The characters are a bit older then I usually read, but I can honestly say that didn't matter. This story has such a good story line. I was engrossed in the story line from start to finish.

Newt moved his daughter Millie to a new town where they meet Freddy. A bond builds with her and Newt her and Millie separately as well as them all together. Obviously this is a sweet love story.
The ending was perfect. I really enjoyed it from Millie's point of view. I hope Millie gets her own book one day.

This is my first book by this author. It appears to be book 3 in the series, but I feel it can be read as a standalone. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

A Change Of Pace
By: Freya Baker

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

First and very important is that this book has so many deep emotions it’ll easily one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Well let me start by saying I have become a huge fan of this author. She writes with so much intensity and emotion pulled from each book it’s felt page after page. Some are quick witted story lines are so perfect and lets you believe you have a front row seat. So being able to read this love story didn’t disappoint. The authors ability to have two separate individuals struggling in their everyday life and try to navigate someone else’s thoughts, needs and desires was intense and gives all the fills.

Authors Blurb: Once a man who lived by the letter of the law.

Newt Tobias will do anything for his little girl. Even take early retirement, sell his city home, and move to cottage country, hoping that the simpler life will provide a better balance for his troubled teenage daughter. 

Yet, not long after they’ve settled, he finds himself toe-to-toe with a stubborn, fiery tempered woman with pretty brown eyes.

Once a recluse preferring to live alone. 

Working with troubled adolescents, Frederique Marchand doesn’t suffer fools and won’t put up with bullies. Especially handsome strangers like Newt who think they can run roughshod over her. She loves her work, but on her own time she much prefers the company of her menagerie of animals.

But with the welfare of a teenager at stake, she must put aside rocky first impressions and work with a man who needs her as much as she’ll come to need him.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me engrossed throughout. I really loved the characters and the way they interacted with each other. This is a fun, hot, romantic must read book and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

This book has everything I love in a book. Then you add that it's beautifully written and believable. It is easily a five star read. Written in dual POV my personal favorite this story flows so incredibly well that the next thing you know your 80% into the book and loving every second of it. The believable way the characters interact is perfect. Run, Hop, Jump or use your (1 click) finger to do whatever you have to do and get this amazing book. It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all. The chemistry is steamy and sweet and oh so romantic.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

What an incredible and emotional story about a single father struggling to help his troubled, teenage daughter. It's such a nice change of pace to read a story about a couple in their 40's who have lived and seen hard times. Where the issues in the story are about real life struggles.

This story follows three main characters. Newt Tobias, a retired police officer and hottie single dad to Millie. Millie 14 year old troubled teen struggling with the death of her mother. Frederique Marchand, the town's therapist for troubled teens who has been through her own history of hard times. These three characters come together in a beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking way.

I really enjoyed this mature storyline, these fantastic main characters and all the side characters that made up the small town of Cottage Country. While it did seem a lot happened to these three, it also brought us a vulnerability to the characters that you just can't help but love to see them get their happily ever after. It was beautiful and I can't wait to read more in this series.

I loved this one a lot!!!
This is a story about 2 normal people, not broken, not billionaire, not nanny... 2 normal people!!!
The hero was very kind, devoted one.
The heroine was a cancer survivor, she's got a lot in her Life, but she's got an inner light with her. Light which she shared with everyone in her life.
I liked the author style, but sometimes it's looked like diary entries, but I liked it though.

No OP scenes. No cheating. Some crazy woman was trying to hurt our heroine, but nothing serious.
It was my first book from this author. I will look forward for more!

Oh, this book did a number on my heartstrings!
A story or love, overcoming grief and who knows what moving to a new town and having a therapist neighbor who loves animals would be like for Newt and his teen daughter, Millie.
A great read, steady pace and characters facing life-issues that readers can relate to. I've had such a wonderful and heart-wrenching time reading this book courtesy of NetGalley. Thanks for the eARC.

The one thing I can always count on is Freya Barker blowing my mind with her fabulous novels! A Change of Pace wow’ed me with it’s depth and packed such an emotional punch! Freya always writes addictive romance novels that have suspense woven throughout. I love when you connect with the characters so much that you forget that you don’t actually know them in real life! The storyline was well crafted and the pacing was perfect! A Change of Pace is a 5 star novel that everyone should read! If you haven’t read Freya Barker, I highly encourage you to 1-click anything from her- I guarantee you will be thanking me!