*** 3.5 ⭐️ ***

Katie McGrath is an elementary school hero, surviving a shooting 6 weeks after getting stood up at the alter. She is in need of a change of scenery but is a teacher at heart.

In a dual storyline, Mark, Katie’s ex-fiancé, gets tangled up in a family business of money laundering and the drug trade, only to have regrets of standing Katie up in exchange for power and riches.

While this was definitely a story of survival, second chances, and starting over, it was also jam packed with federal crimes and familial dysfunctions. Each chapter had both storylines of Katie and Mark, neither of which converged and really felt like reading two novellas in one book (with Mark’s storyline fizzling out with no resolution). There was also an insta-attraction for Katie and Sam after she switches schools, which was less than believable since there was no “show” of attraction, just “tell.” In addition, the discord within some students’ home lives felt rushed and thrown in for shock value rather than having purpose in the story.

All in all, this literary fiction had less than minimal spice and felt very juvenile in the language used (zero swear words and few characters shouting or yelling) with a small town flavour that was sickeningly saccharine.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!
After being jilted at the alter and surviving a school shooting Katie has had enough of Albuquerque and finds a new school in a small town in Tennessee. There she wants to keep a low profile and not be known for what happened the day of the shooting. Her new house just happens to be next door to the towns widowed chief of police and his adorable twin daughters.
We get caught up in the children at the school’s personal lives and Chief Sam’s duties keeping the town safe.
The only thing that confused me was why the author gave us a side story of Mark, the man who jilted Katie at the alter and his new horrible wife.

Love this author, always appreciate her stories and they keep my attention. I would recommend this author to everyone. You won’t regret it.

This author is a favourite of mine and I will instantly read her books before knowing anything about them because I know I always really enjoy them. The next best day is heartfelt, charming and totally unputdownable. The children are always described just as most children are sweet and innocent and I love how the author portrays the dialogue of children e.g emergency is 'mergency. I loved that the main character is such a strong and courageous and kind human. I can't praise this book highly enough but I hope you will read it.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This was just a wonderful book to read and it was just easy to lose yourself in the story. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This was such a GREAT read! This series touches my heart with it's fantastic characters who love their community and all come together to help each other when needed. Sharon Sala is a wonderful writer!

This is a simple story with equally uncomplicated writing. I think it turned a little too faith-related towards the middle. Halfway into the book, I felt like I was done. I skimmed the rest and felt like it was similar to the first half. the author has done a great job fleshing out the people, but everything was fixed a little too early for my taste, if this book was shorter I would have liked it a little more. The ex-fiance was also a little strange to be part of the whole. Overall I think this will appeal to people who like a little more straightforward story than I do. Since I did not properly read it all the way through, I cannot provide a complete review.

The beginning of The Next Best Day could be taken from any news headline, anywhere across the country, a big city, or a small town. It has, sadly, become our reality. This story hits the reader with a deeply emotional look at what brought Katie to this smaller town, how even after these events, she’s still learning to cope and go about her daily life without constant fear. While I love this author’s work which is full to the brim with healing eventually, this introduction will be heart-wrenching for many, and perhaps triggering for others.

Katie has settled into a much smaller town, keeping to herself, and teaching her students. She’s trying to be more open, less fearful like she once was, but it’s an everyday battle. She’s enjoying the mischievous antics of the neighbor’s twin daughters, never realizing how much these sweet little ones would help her heal.

Sam’s wife died giving birth to his most precious gift, his twin daughters, Evie and Beth. And though life has been hectic, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He’s devoted himself to his daughters, but he’s also beginning to feel ready to face life beyond being a single father. His neighbor has obviously gone through some hard times. It’s his job to notice little things, and she gives off the sense that she’s seen too much, and been hurt too deeply but is bravely pushing onwards.

I enjoyed Katie and Sam’s story. They’ve each been hurt in some of the deepest ways possible and have come out the other side as survivors. I liked them and adored the twins so much. I really didn’t like Mark’s side story. He should have been a one-and-done for his actions. I, frankly, skimmed through any on-page time that Mark had. In all, this is one of those stories that will linger on after the final page. I’d definitely recommend it.

*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.*

Sala provides a goos solid read.
The book does open with a pretty traumatic situation which causes Katie to move across the country to a small community in Tennessee.
Across the street is widower Sam with his adorable twin daughters.
I enjoyed the story after she arrived in Borden’s Gap. The romance with Sam was satisfying and Katie finally finds her family.
I didn’t understand the Mark aspect part of the story and why it was even explored. I thought it could have been excised.

I enjoyed reading The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala. The characters in this story will warm your heart. Happy Reading!
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I enjoy Sharon Sala's small town faith based series and had high hopes for The Next Best Day. After a school shooting at her school Albuquerque, Katie McGrath moved to Borden's Gap, Tennessee for a fresh start. She has a lot to heal from, abandoned at birth, raised in foster care and being dumped by her fiance as well as PTSD from the school shooting, Katie plans to take the summer to get to know the town and her neighbours. She meets the twin girls across the street while they are walking their dog and she befriends them. Their father, Sam Youngblood is the local police chief and he offers his support to help her adjust. With the wonderful people in town and the cute neighbours, she finally begins to heal.

I am going to start by saying although I enjoyed this story, it was just full of way too many tragic situations. I love reading about people overcoming tragedy and bad experiences, but Katie had them coming at her from everywhere. I will say that I loved Katie's character and I was happy to see her find romance and a family, but there were other things that I just didn't like. Sharon Sala always includes more than one storyline and this one continued to explore the story of Katie's ex-fiance, which I really didn't care about. Throw in a storyline about a drug cartel and it just went over the top for me. A story of second chances, healing from trauma, community and family would have been far more enjoyable without Mark's story.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Katie and Sam. Katie is an elementary teacher who has had some life changing experiences. Sam is the the chief of police. Sam has twin girls. Katie moves to town and Sam lives across the street from her. There is an instant attraction. They start dating. They fall in love and get married.

Prior to this book, I had only read one other book by Sharon Sala and that was 'The Best Of Me', the final book in the Blessings series. I loved that one so I was hoping for the same experience with her latest book. It turned out to be a mixed-bag. I liked reading about Katie McGrath's new beginning in Borden's Gap, Tennessee and Sheriff Sam's twin daughters were adorable but there were moments where I felt Katie and Sam's love story was rushed and forced. There was also another story thread of Katie's ex-fiance Mark and his new wife (which involved drugs and a cartel) and that felt totally out of place. It didn't add anything to Katie's story and the plot overall....that is unless the author plans to turn this into a new series of books with Mark making an appearance again later on.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca and the author for the e-Arc of the book.

Sharon Sala is a favorite of mine. I've been reading her books for years and this one didn't disappoint. It's got some really hard, but important stuff in it. Teaching is so important and Katie is a wonderful example of what we wish all teachers aspired to be. My heart ached for her so many times, but she just kept moving forward. I was so glad that eventually she landed in the right place...a place that needed her and a place that she really needed. I loved her relationship with Sam and the twins too. The twins were the best!

I so enjoyed this book! A warning to some that it does have several triggers in it. I didn’t like a part of it, but luckily it didn’t last long. I would recommend this book!

Are you looking for a sweet small town romance? Well look no further than The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala.

In this book we meet Katie, a 29 yr old who about to get married but finds out of the day of the wedding her fiancé eloped with another woman the day before. Then within a matter of six weeks from that sad day Katie is shot while protecting her students during a school shooting. This leads to Katie suffering from PTSD. After the events of the pass several months Katie decided to pack up her bags and move to Borden’s Gap, Tennessee.

There she meets her neighbor and police chief Sam and his twin 6 yr old daughters. Sam helps Katie to heal from her past. There are some delicate subjects that the book touches on and the author really handled them beautifully.

Thank you to Sharon Sala and Sourcebooks- Casablanca for my advance copy for review purposes.

The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala was another wonderful read! So many things happen in this book that may be triggers for readers. I would recommend that you read the blurb before committing to reading the story. Ms. Sala tells the story of a young teacher who has been through the worst experience a teacher can go through. Yet handles her trauma with such grace. Relocating to a new smaller town will she meet her destiny? Read The Next Best Thing and find out for yourself!

Katie survives being left at the alter and then a school shooting. When she moves to Tennessee to start over she doesn’t know where life will lead her. Another great book by Sharon Sala. ARC from NetGalley.

I went into the book expecting a swoon-worthy romance and I definitely was not disappointed in that respect. Katie leaves Albuquerque and relocates to a small town in Tennessee after coming through a traumatic life experience. Her opoosite neighbour Sam Youngblood, who is the town's police chief, widower and the single father of twin girls, instantly captures her interest with his charm and kind nature.

The story travels with these two characters as they try to figure out a different life that they hadn't expected to have and get over the mental blocks that their previous life experiences had created in them. In a way, it is a story of faith and second chances which is sweet and heart-warning as well.

But the story doesn't stand out that much because of the excessive meandering into the lead characters' minds the author tends to indulge in. At places, there are some excessive information which takes away from the story. In spite of these shortcomings, it was a nice experience to read the romance developing between two extremely likable and decent people. In fact, I loved Sam Youngblood's character very much. And Katie's journey fills up our heart with joy.

I really loved this book it was set in a small TN town I also loved Katie's character it was so sad how she had to endure so much in her career as a teacher I really loved how her and Sam's relationship evolved.