Four years after the death of her wife, high school counselor Sarah O’Shaughnessy has great relationships with her students but can't manage to put herself back out there emotionally. All that's about to change when Kat and her mom, Lauren Emerson come into Sarah's life. The two are fleeing the deep south and the bullies in Kat's old school. Sarah and Lauren are drawn to each other and become great friends, but their attraction is unexpected, and complicated. Problems abound as Kat is Sarah's student, and Lauren is still married. None of this deters their growing bond, however, and if they can work through the issues, both women may just find a way to be happy.

I enjoyed this book and breezed through it pretty quickly. I'm not always the biggest fan of teenagers, but I loved Kat. She's been through a lot but is a sweet kid with just enough cheek who also has a strong bond with her mother. She makes some great friends, one in particular whose personality takes up the entire page and then some. Lauren and Sarah's friendship and budding romance is very sweet, and there is enough tension to keep things interesting.

Trigger warning, there are mentions of sexual assault, nothing too graphic, but that trauma is a big part of the healing process for all of the characters, and it's handled tastefully. Though this book touches on some tough subjects, there are plenty of heartwarming moments, and it speaks to the power of healing and surrounding one's self with supportive and loving people. I'd recommend it if you can handle the tougher parts. It's worth it in the end.

Wow this was a fantastic read! This was more than a simple lesfic. Yes there was romance but there were so many more layers. Lauren returns to her hometown with her 17 year old daughter in order to help both heal. On first day of school they meet Kat's school counselor, Sarah. The road these ladies take is bumpy but so well written it felt like you were there with them. I absolutely loved Lauren and Sarah as our leading ladies. Kate and Brooke stole my heart as well. This is an extremely multidimensional book that I'm so thrilled I was allowed to read!!

My, my, my what a slow burn for the four leading ladies, especially Sarah and Lauren. It was interesting and a bit different to have two budding romances occurring simultaneously with one older Sarah and Lauren and one younger Bridgett and Kat. There was so much going on with the couples that depth of story seemed to be lacking. I felt like I was missing out on parts of the story because so much was touched upon but lacked detail.

This is a solid debut novel, but falls short by trying to do too much. There are two couples, and the story also deals with 2 x first time coming out, social anxiety, grief, hate crimes and other issues I won't mention so as to avoid spoilers.

I liked all four main characters and found them interesting individually and collectively. Lauren and Sarah are the main couple and their relationship is the very definition of a slow burn romance (if you're a reader who doesn't like waiting til the end for the couple to have sex, then maybe skip this one). I liked that they stuck to the whole 'we shouldn't get involved until it's appropriate' thing. Most books involving a 'forbidden' component have the characters give in to temptation. These two don't, even in situations where I was sure a trope was about to appear. This also allowed for them to spend ample time getting to know each other and build a believable relationship.

I didn't really need the Kat and Bridget story (nor am I a fan of multiple family members coming out in one book), but their storyline was still interesting enough.

The major flaw is that there are too many issues crammed in and this means some of them (including a rather major issue) get short shrift. This was particularly annoying given the nature of this major issue (or what I considered to be the major issue, YMMV), as I didn't feel was given enough attention considering the gravity of the situation, and there was no real resolution to be had there.

Still, it's a solid debut, with good characterisation, and an enjoyable enough read. I give it 3.5 stars but I've rounded down, because I just can't give it four.

I didn't feel this one, mainly because in the beginning it read more like a pamphlet than a novel. It felt like the issues handled in this book are dear to the author's heart (and why wouldn't they be) and she had a list of what she wanted to include and constructed the story around it. It got a bit better as the novel progressed.

Another issue I had were the overly dramatic or very inner-monologuey last sentences of each and every chapter. Annoyed me greatly.

I wanted to like this but it just wasn't for me.

Where Love Leads dealt with many current topics such as bullying, rape, sexuality, divorce, parental neglect /support and of course, finding love. The storyline was presented in such a way that engaged the reader from the start. The characters were very believable in their actions and dialogue. The reader felt the emotions the characters were having such as overcoming the pain of despair to the realization that hope abounds.
It was refreshing to see that the two main characters, Sarah and Lauren, acted as responsible adults and in the best interest of Lauren’s daughter, especially in their pursuit of their own developing relationship. Overall, the author wrote a beautiful love story, not only with the main characters, but with the secondary ones as well.
Where Love Leads…offers the reader a pleasantly good story with remarkable characters that will remain with you long after the novel is finished.

Hm... this debut novel tried to be several things -- contemporary romance, young adult novel, family drama, social drama, hate crime awareness drama... The author wanted to put too much in just one story, and that is why it is lacking real depth in each area of interest. Everything is touched upon, but not enough to pull off at least one really strong plot point. It is a pity, because the author obviously has some good ideas or even experiences in each department.
Despite all said, this is not a bad first novel, I liked all four main characters and the setting, and will read the next book by this author. I have a feeling that she has potential to do better.

Sarah and Lauren are a great match. This book does a slow burn romantically, but it's beautifully written about the second half of a lot of adults lives. It's about finding love again, or for the first time in the second half of life. This first time author crafts a beautiful story and gives insight into the personal lives of the characters and how these starts a bond between Sarah and Lauren. It's a well written book and I highly recommend it.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34999004-where-love-leads" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Where Love Leads" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493315511m/34999004.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34999004-where-love-leads">Where Love Leads</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16788501.Erin_McKenzie">Erin McKenzie</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2000060811">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review. <br />The storyline between Sarah and Lauren moved slowly with some bumps and a rushed ending. While I feel the book could've benefited from being more fleshed out, it is still a pleasant debut from Ms. McKenzie.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

I am rating this book 3.5 stars but thought I would round up for a debut author.

I enjoyed the characters in this book, the story line and the issues that were covered. I liked that we had a number of POV in Lauren and Sarah and with the teenagers Kat and Bridget.

There were a few areas where it just didn't quiet hit the mark for me. The first thing (without giving much away) there was a horrible issue that Kat had to deal with about half way through the book. I felt that the issue was moved past too quickly for me which made it feel not very realistic. I think you should be careful to use something like that just to add drama instead of actually properly dealing with an issue like that. The other was Lauren and Sarah's relationship I felt the pace just didn't work for me in that it was extremely slow and then in the last chapter everything kind of happened. I would have loved to have had more with them discovering their relationship in the book. I think I also would have liked an epilogue in this book to round everything up.

As a whole I enjoyed the book and felt that it was a good debut book for Erin McKenzie. I will keep any eye out for her future work for sure.

This was a beautiful story with multiple characters and engaging plot threads. A heart warming romance that also tackles bullying, cyber stalking/bullying and acceptance of those that dare to be different.