Find Your Way Home is the first book in the Small-Town Dreams series by Jackie Ashenden. The series is 
based on three women who leave the United States and move to the small, isolated town of Brightwater Valley in New Zealand to start new businesses and hopefully rejuvenate the town.
Izzy Montgomery worked at her family’s company, Montgomery Oil and Gas in Houston. Her life turned upside down when the board of the company informed her, that they could not continue in the green energy direction with members of the “old guard” and asked her to leave the company. That same night at the company gala her fiancée Josh informed her he couldn’t marry her because he had fallen in love with someone else. Without thinking she packed a few things and left Houston to help with the project in New Zealand her brother had told her about. After some rough days of traveling, she and three other women arrive to meet a grumpy Chase who oversees the town project. She didn’t account for the fact it would be so isolated and without normal conveniences, but she was determined to make the best of it and get their business started.
Chase Kelly’s family had helped settle Brightwater Valley and he took didn’t want the town to die off. He wanted to save and restore it and then bring more people and tourists in. He had suggested the initiative to restore the town and then took charge of organizing it. He wasn’t expecting anyone like Izzy who would challenge him and who he would find so attractive. After his wife left him and his daughter, Gus, years before, he stopped having committed relationships. He loved where he lived and wasn’t going to commit to someone again who would leave him because they hated the small town and the isolation. He thought he could get Izzy out of his system but their one day together only made him crave her more. Can he open his heart again and trust Izzy to stay?
This was a great book and was well written. The book took place in a gorgeous setting, and I loved all the descriptions that painted a picture for us. The story was well written, and the pacing was perfect. The characters were likable, and the townspeople were charming. I did feel like the ending was a little abrupt, but it did lead us into the next book which I look forward to reading.
Book Info:
Publication: April 26, 2022 | Sourcebooks Casablanca | Small Town Dreams #1
He’s hell-bent on telling her what to do.
She’s determined to make it on her own.
They’re both going to learn a thing or two about first impressions.
Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, is beautiful, rugged, and home to those who love adventure. But it’s also isolated and on the verge of becoming a ghost town.
When the town puts out a call to its sister city of Deep River, Alaska, hoping to entice people to build homes and businesses in Brightwater, ex paratrooper Chase Kelly is all for it. He sees the benefits of building the economy, but only if those who come to Brightwater are ready for its challenges. Former oil executive Isabella Montgomery and her plan to open an art gallery don’t seem up to the test. Now Chase is determined to help her learn the ways of his formidable hometown.
