This was a sweet story about a local who lives in a town that is trying to attract people to the area to revitalize it. Chase meets Izzy who has come to this place to start over after one of the worst days of her life where she lost her high end job and her fiance.

These two enemies find a way to work their way to lovers and this book is full of sweet and funny moments.

I couldn't put this book down once I started it and was completely enraptured until the ending.

Thankfully this is just book one in the series and there will be more coming shortly.

I loved this beginning to a new series! It had all the feels! I loved the chemistry between the protagonists.

Bethany (Beth), Indigo, and Isabella (Izzy) headed off to Brightwater Valley to start a business. Izzy was a last minute--very last minute addition, after one of the women pulled out and she decided after a string of bad luck to replace her.

Brightwater Valley is a very small town where everyone knows everything about one's business. As the women pull into Brightwater Valley, they are greeted with a very upset hunk, Chase Kelly. He takes one look at them and typecast them as City Princesses.

Right off the bat there is chemistry between Chase and Izzy, although they both tend to rub each other the wrong way. Stubborn in their own rights, both decide to make a point and end up sharing the rental car that Chase adamantly insists he'll drive. The car ride leads to a revelation that both are attracted to one another and what should be a shopping excursion turns into a one off hotel stay.

Chase has all kinds of rules that center around protecting his daughter and he's not going to get involved with someone. Izzy has lived her whole life jumping when others call and she tells herself that she's going to be spontaneous for once and although she doesn't do casual.

Both, Chase & Izzy believe they've got a handle on this set up, but that's the thing about rules, they can be broken. When one of them wants more and the other unequivocally puts up a roadblock, it will take a teenage girl's request to break the barrier.

There is a nice plug for the second book in the series that sounds interesting!

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Sourcebooks Casablanca and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

This book has it all! From the first chapter to the last, I was immersed in the beautiful world of Brightwater Valley, and I never wanted to leave!

The feelings of characters are so well written that I felt intimately connected with them. This was a first book I read by this author and it left me satisfied and pleased. This story is wonderful, and I cannot wait for the next time I can visit Brightwater Valley!

I highly recommend this book, and the author.

I thought this book was a great start to a new series! It was well written with solid conflict to keep me reading well into the night! Once again, a Jackie Ashenden book hit me in all the feels! I highly recommend this read!! Huge thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book!

Find Your Way Home by Jackie Ashenden
1st book in the Small Town Dreams series. Contemporary romance set in New Zealand. Enemies to lovers troupe.
After being dumped by her fiancé and losing her job on the same day, Isabella volunteers for a 3 month start-up business project and jumps on a plane to New Zealand. She’s not totally prepared but she’s going to give it her all. Even if that means no internet or coffee in the tiny town that’s being revitalized.
Chase isn’t prepared for Izzy. She doesn’t have the right boots, or coat, but she sure is pretty.

Grumpy Chase is a cliche but kind of funny. He can’t resist Izzy and reacts as a grumpy bear. Everyone in town (all 30) watches him bring her a coffee every morning. Just her. No one else.

A humanitarian project? Maybe. It’s certainly nice of the women to travel to start a business so far away from home. I’m sure they didn’t set out to find a new home and romance but that’s obviously the slant of the series. Either way, Chase and Izzy dance around each other and succumb to the attraction then have to struggle to deal with ghosts and their past.
It touching and delectable with a couple of sizzling scenes. Chase’s daughter is another heartstring that they both can’t help pulling.
Lovely.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Find Your Way Home begins the Small Town Dreams series where those with adventurous spirits are called to relocate to a remote New Zealand town on the brink of becoming a ghost town to settle down, open their new businesses, and embrace both the town and their new lives. The remoteness isn’t for everyone, and there are some concerns about whether these newcomers will really stay… people like Chase Kelly who isn’t convinced that Isabella Montgomery or her friends really know what they’re in for by upending their lives to start fresh here in the area he loves and wants to see grow. But, Chase is about to be a bit surprised… in more ways than just his misjudgment of Isabelle.

As much as Chase annoyed me at times with his know-it-all attitude and natural grumpiness, I also adored the man for his love of his daughter, his need to save his dying town, and the slow journey from grumpy man to smiling, embracing, loving man he would become simply by loving Isabelle… eventually.

Oh, Isabella has had a rough awakening by losing her job and being dumped by the man she was to marry. She could hang her head and whine, cry about the injustice of it all but that’s not her way. Seeing the call for adventurous spirits to relocate to Brightwater, New Zealand is the perfect chance for Isabella to do what she really wants with her life, in a setting far removed from the bright lights and chaos of the city or her former lifestyle. That she gets to go on this adventure with friends, Bethany and Indigo, and have that chance for a do-over is a gift… but one that comes wrapped in one adorable young girl and one grump father who is convinced she isn’t cut out for the remoteness of her new home.

I loved Find Your Way Home, and the connection it has with the Alaska Homecoming series. The title fits Izzy and Chase so well for these two are in fact, finding their way home to each other, to people who accept them just as they are… eventually. Chase had to discover who Izzy really is, and not the woman he believed her to be at first based on an assumption and a comparison with an ex-wife. Izzy had to see beyond the grumpiness and wariness that Chase has shrouded his life with to the man he truly was before life changed his attitude. I loved Isabella’s interactions with Gus, and the townsfolk as well. She knows what she wants, and even if all Chase had to offer was a friend with benefits relationship she still would have fallen for him but when they trusted each other and their own emotions when risks were taken, that’s when this couple shines. I had such a good time with this one and cannot wait for Beth and Indigo to find their forever loves as the series continues.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

I love a good Jackie Ashenden story. She writes a love story that is well crafted and thoroughly enjoyable. This time she takes us to New Zealand and to a beautiful land reminiscent of her Alaskan series, Deep River. In fact, you could say this is a spin-off of that series. Chase Kelly is a ex Sas fighter who has always felt that the beautiful town he lives in is his responsibility as it was started by his ancestors. He is the de facto mayor of this town and does not want the small town to die. He requests that the women from Deep River come to try to start a business there. Izzy is one of those women, and although both are extremely argumentative, there is quite the attraction. But he has a twelve year old daughter, and wants to keep their attraction secret. The best laid plans…. A very cute story and the beginning of a new series, I really enjoyed this story.

Find Your Way Home is a new small town romance set in New Zealand. It is the first in the Small Town Dreams series. The first book follows Isabella Montgomery after she jumps on an airplane to Brightwater, New Zealand as part of the towns revitalization project. The project is led by ex paratrooper Chase Kelly and from the moment the two characters meet there is unexpected sparks.

Isabella was recently fired from her job as an oil executive and the same day, her fiancé dumped her. Heartbroken and alone, she hears about the plan to revitalize Brightwater and before she knows it she is haphazardly packing a suitcase and boarding a plane. She is joined by fellow passengers Bethany Grant and Indigo Jameson. Together, they are the first people to come into town and attempt to open a new business.

It is Chase's idea to partner with sister city Deep River, Alaska hoping that it will bring people to Brightwater. His family were one of the towns first settlers and he is determined to perserve the legacy of the town. Isabella is the last kind of person he expects to join in on the revitalization. She reminds him of his ex wife who hated living in Brightwater and one day just up and left him and their daughter. He predicts that Isabella will do the same; and she set out to prove him wrong.

Isabella immediately falls in love with the small town and small town loving. Yes, there is limited cell phone and internet service. And the closest town is over the mountain (literally). She feels such a strong connection to the people. Setting up the gift shop with Bethany and Indigo has been exciting for her and as much as she hates to admit it Chase has a way of making her heart flutter.

I enjoyed watching Isabella and Chase's relationship evolve. Both are scared of getting hurt but both feel the connection between then. Isabella also develops a connection with his daughter Gus, which is honestly so sweet. The small town Brightwater is also very sweet and although there are a few bumps in the road, it grows to accept Isabella as one of them. I really did enjoy the evolution of these characters and their relationships.

Find Your Way Home has all the elements of a small town romance. The characters are engaging and their romance is so easy to root for. It is about new beginnings and acceptance, and it is beautifully written. I look forward to coming back to Brightwater and watching the next romance unfold - especially since the characters involved have already bumped heads!

It has been a long time since I've read a Jackie Ashenden book. My mistake! I plan to go back and read her series before this as someone else suggested! I enjoyed this small town, single dad, enemies-to-lovers read. It was well written with a great storyline and wonderful characters. Loved them ALL. The pain in Chase and Isabella's lives broke my heart. I was so invested in them. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC of this book. This is my voluntary and honest review.

The angst heat is moment one for these two, Izzy is just off a horrible breakup and getting let go from her job plus 3 days of travel and Chase doesn’t get off to a good start, but the chemistry with these two is fire- the type that you try to get out of their system with quick hotel sex but doesn’t work. They try to sneaky in a small town but yall know that doesn’t work at all. Add in real feelings we get a wonderful story.

This is a perfect setup for this series and I love the NZ setting and Jackie does an amazing job of setting up the small town and area. (Trip anyone?) I can’t wait for the three girls to also grow their friendship and to have Finn and Levi on the page as well! Gus is also a fun addition to the cast.

4 stars
3 steam

ackie Ashendon brings Deep River, Alaska (and a little bit of Texas) to Brightwater Valley, New Zealand in her latest small town romance, the first in a new series.

Chase Kelly loves his home in Brightwater, but he can see it’s slowly dying. Small town living isn’t for everyone. Unable to handle the isolation, so many have left for what they see is greener pastures. But Chase has a vision to bring new business to the valley with people who will make their home there. Remembering an old sister city pact with Deep River, Alaska, he devises a plan to get craftsmen and entrepreneurs from Deep River to come in and set up businesses, I

Isabella Montgomery’s life is falling apart. She needs to get out of Houston and escape her problems. When her brother (who left Houston for Deep River long ago) mentions the opportunity to be a part of the first group to head to Brightwater, Izzy jumps at the chance.

Izzy and Chase clash from the first. Chase is determined that the newcomers will do things his way, Izzy listens, then goes about it her way anyway. But underneath the animosity there is a slow fire of attraction. Chase, having been burned before, is determined to keep Izzy at a distance. Only there just aren’t that many places to hide in a small town. Chase knows Izzy isn’t a casual kind of girl and Izzy knows Chase isn’t a forever kind of guy.

I liked the premise of of the book, trying to bring new life to the town that means so much to the people who love there, though I’m still not quite sure why Chase had to look all the way to Alaska to find people willing to start a business in the valley. But no time was given to that devoted to the premise other than a reference here and there to the crafts being created by the women who came from Deep River with Izzy. I did enjoy meeting all the characters in the valley, though. I look forward to learning more about them in the future. It's pretty clear that this book serves to transition from Deep River to Brightwater Valley with lots of foreshadowing of stories to come.

Find Your Way Home by Jackie Ashenden is the first in a new series that has ties to the Deep River, Alaska series. Except the series takes place in the small New Zealand town of Brightwater Valley. I enjoyed the Deep River Series so I was looking forward to this. I was not disappointed but found it to be an awesome read. The small town has various types of characters much like my own small town so I could relate. Three friends, Isabella Montgomery, Bethany Grant and Indigo Jameson show up hoping to open shop to help revitalize the dying town.

Chase Kelly is determined to help his town but he may go about it a bit heavy handed. Isabella may be unaware of the challenges ahead for her but she is no quitter. This is a case of the grouchy verses the sunshine. My money was on Isabella all the way. Along the way romance happens. Wonderful story that shows where there is a will there is a way.

This is a new author to me and I really liked this book. A small town romance with 2 great lead characters that made for an enjoyable read.

This was cute small town romance about 3 women who move from Alaska to a small town in New Zealand to start up a store to help the old town thrive again. We follow new comer Isabella as she tries to start a new life in New Zealand after some big changes in her life. She instantly clashes with the man who is trying to keep his town alive and invited the women from a sister town in Alaska to help him get started. I wouldn't say this is enemies to lovers but they two definitely clash in the beginning of this book. I enjoyed their relationship for the most part but I do struggle with people becoming engaged after a few weeks of dating and this book has those vibes. I enjoyed the authors writing style and I am excited to pick up the next books in this series that follow the other two women who come to New Zealand. Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca for my #gifted copy for review!

3.75stars--FIND YOUR WAY HOME is the first instalment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult SMALL TOWN DREAM romance series-a spin off from the author’s ALASKA HOMECOMING SERIES. This is thirty-five year old, New Zealander, ex paratrooper and single father Chase Kelly, and American, former oil executive Isabella ‘Izzy’ Montgomery’s story line. Isabella is Zeke Montgomery’s sister (THAT DEEP RIVER FEELING-Alaska Homecoming #3).

Told from dual third person perspectives ( Chase and Izzy) FIND YOUR WAY HOME follows the building romance and relationship between thirty-five year old, New Zealander, ex paratrooper and single father Chase Kelly, and American, former oil executive Isabella ‘Izzy’ Montgomery. In the wake of losing her job, and a failed engagement with an attorney back home in Texas, Isabella Montgomery , along with her two friends, Bethany and Indigo, head to New Zealand to start a new business venture in Brightwater Valley, a small town that is slowly dying without some much needed start up entrepreneurs but the trio’s welcome to Brightwater is questionable at best including the less than welcoming attitude of the town’s so-called mayor Chase Kelly, a man who stirs something deep within our story line heroine. As Izzy, Indigo and Beth set out to uncover what is needed in Brightwater Valley, our heroine finds herself in a friends with benefits relationship with Chase Kelly, a man whose past is mired in abandonment and loss. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Izzy and Chase, and the potential fall-out as Chase doesn’t do romance, and refuses to accept anything long term with our story line heroine.

Chase Kelly is a single father whose ex-wife abandoned their family leaving Chase to raise his now twelve year old daughter, alone. Trying to keep his private life separate from family and the Brightwater Valley busybodies at home, Chase offers Isabella a friends with benefits only relationship fearing another abandonment when Isabella decides it’s time to go home. Izzy Montgomery had no plans to leave Texas but losing her job, and without the support of family or friends, Izzy finds herself in Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, on the precipice of starting over. Having lost both her fiance and her job within a matter of days, Izzy convinced herself she didn’t want a permanent relationship only to discover that her heart wanted something more. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Izzy’s friends Beth and Indigo, as well as Chase’s daughter ‘Gus’, his brother Finn, and friend Levi, all of whom are partnered with the Pure Adventure NZ. Finn and Beth’s story is next.

FIND YOUR WAY HOME is a story of love and loss, acceptance and new beginnings. The character driven premise is engaging and captivating; the characters are broken but healing; the romance is seductive.


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Organized and organized.

I rather liked that Chase Kelly was organized and a planner, ex military.
I rather liked that Isabella "Izzy" was organized, an event planner and a planner.
They meet in NZ, though a sister city program with Deep River (From Alaska to New Zealand).
The cities and Chase and Izzy have a lot in common, though Chase doesn't like people and Izzy is excellent at managing people.
Its about starting over for Izzy and Chase letting Izzy in.

Recommend.
4.5

WOW!!!

This is the first book in a new series, and what a great start! I can't wait to read the next book!

After losing her job and fiance in one day, Izzy decides to join up with two women from her brother's town and move to New Zealand for 3 months. When she, Beth and Indigo arrive in Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, after a harrowing drive through a mountain pass, the first person they encounter is Chase Kelly, former paratrooper and the person organizing the revitalization of his home town. Chase is surly and gruff, and not a particularly welcoming person.

As the ladies spend more time in town, Izzy learns more about Chase, his past and just why he is surly. They have instant chemistry that they try to deny for a bit, but finally give in. Let the fireworks begin, and let me tell you, they rival any July 4 celebration!

This was a fast, fun read that promises to be a great series. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Isabella escapes to the small town of Brightwater, New Zealand in order to do small business & open an art gallery. Ex paratrooper, Chase wants nothing more than to return his small town to its full glory. So naturally an outsider & a local butt heads pretty much everytime.

This book had two of my favorite tropes of all time: hate-to-love & grumpy×sunshine. The writing was really easy going & flowy, especially the description of the small town & it's beauty.

Isabella was a very likable character with so much burder from the past, I loved seeing her grow. Chase was a handsome grump & a single dad who did everything for the ones he loved.

The chemistry & tension was sizzling between these two. What started out with hate then turned into a friends with benefits situation to finally coming in terms with their feelings was fulfilling; although I did find the book a bit fast-paced.
Can't wait for Beth & Finn' book.

Thank you netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC, all thoughts are my own.
Comment

The Kiwi and the Southern Belle

If you enjoyed your trip to Deep River, you're going to love this excursion to Brightwater Valley. Zeke's sister, Isabella, is at a crossroads in her life, so when she finds out that there's a vacancy on the three-person contingent from Deep River to Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, she doesn't hesitate to take this last minute jump into the unknown.

Chase is hoping that the newcomers will help revitalize his small, remote hometown, drawing in tourists as they highlight the natural beauty of the region through their combined businesses. But he's more than a little wary of the city girl, Izzy, whose lack of outdoors experience is only exceeded by her stubbornness. Turns out they both have a lot in common, and his adorably mature twelve-year-old daughter is the perfect catalyst to bring them together.

I love this author's world-building, with such beautiful details that envelope the reader in a cloud of contentment and adventure. I loved the character development and the hints of future pairings as our Alaskan (and Texan) natives get settled in a new country so far from home. Chase and Izzy get a very satisfying HEA, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in this series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. Since this is the beginning of a series, I can only hope the next few books will be about the supporting characters of this book. I truly loved all the people in this book.

Izzy is dumped by her fiancé and fired from her family’s corporation just a few weeks shy of her wedding. Since she has always felt like she had to do whatever her wealthy parents wanted her to do, she is tired. She finally wants to live on her own and make her own choices. She learns about a small group from Alaska heading to New Zealand to set up a business in an attempt to save a very small city. At the last minute she decides to join them. Little does she know that she may meet her match once she arrives in anew Zealand.

This book deals with getting over heartbreak and learning to trust again. I thought it was wonderful and I will read the others in this series.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are mine without biases.