The second book in Small Town Dreams, All Roads Lead to You tells the story of Finn Kelly and Beth Grant. Both have encountered loss, but Finn is lost and can’t seem to find his way back. Can Finn find his way to Beth, or will it be too late, a story of learning to let go, love and understanding I enjoyed this story and look forward to Levi and Indigo’s story.

This is Book 2 in the Small Town Dreams Series by this author. It is a heartfelt romance between Beth and Finn. These flawed but likeable characters, the unique plot, and the descriptive landscape make for an entertaining read. Their sizzling chemistry and strong connection are undeniable as they navigate the bumpy road to their forever after. It is a love story with enough drama, grief, humor, steam, sweetness, frustrating moments, twists and turns, and engaging secondary characters to keep the reader interested. A page turner with a happy ending. It can be read as a standalone but you enhance your reading pleasure if you read the other book in the series.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

This is a beautiful story set in a small town of Brightwater I adored Bethany and Finn's story it was so heartbreaking with the amount of loss that they endured I look forward to reading more by this author.

Overall, I enjoyed it! Grumpy-sunshine trope ☀️ with some depth to it shown through both male and female POV. There is one thing that irked me a bit, that was the old-fashioned and almost controlling way Finn handled a certain situation...

I also discovered that this is actually the second of a series and while it can definitely be read as a stand alone I think that reading the first book would have provided a bit more context for the three American girls being in NZ.

Thanks to @netgalley for a chance to read this one! It’s out now!!! 3.5 stars ⭐️

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of All Roads Lead to You! This is the second book in the Small Town Dreams series and I was approved for book one back before it came out in April, but life got in the way and I wasn’t able to read it before it came out, so when I was approved for All Roads Lead to You, I made sure to go back and read book one before this one and I’m so glad I was able to read both of these books because they’re so incredibly cute!
All Roads Lead to You 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: A grumpy wilderness guide who just wants to be left alone.
A cheerful jewelry designer determined to get him to open up.
A breathtaking New Zealand town that inspires second chances.
An unlikely love that won't be denied.
Brightwater Valley, New Zealand, is beautiful, rugged, and home to those who seek adventure. Finn Kelly loves everything about guiding wilderness hikes, except the part where he has to interact with people every day. But when sunny jewelry designer Bethany Grant moves into town and involves herself in every aspect of his life, he wonders what it might be like if he let in some of her light...
All Roads Lead to You was such a cute book! Beth and Finn were such great main characters who had both been through such trauma but had decided to deal with it in very different ways. I’m not normally one for unexpected pregnancies being a huge plot driver in books, but it’s understandable as to why it was such a big one in this book. I liked how we were able to see Beth and Finn grow from their trauma and grow together and Beth become a bigger part of Brightwater Valley- which is the cutest little small town! Although this wasn’t the normal kind of book I’d read, I definitely enjoyed it, and man, I’m still waiting super eagerly for Indigo and Levi’s book because they’re definitely my favorite characters in this series! Make sure you pick up any and all of the Small Town Dreams books today!

Link to be added once blog post goes live

"Alternatively … I’d settle for proof that Finn Kelly knows how to smile. “
" I know how to smile. I just don’t smile at you. “

I loved this book! The characters are amazing and the story always gets to me! Beth and Finn are adorable! I love how Beth tries so hard to get Finn to talk to her. Finn is a loner and it’s always quiet. It was funny Reading how he would try to run away from Beth and yet fail every time. No matter how hard he tried to resist her in the end he couldn’t. I was actually happy to see that Beth and Finn actually end up together earlier on in the book than I expected. We get more scenes with them together! I loved though how much Beth and Finn communicated with each other. They had some complications with their relationship and yet Finn was always making sure that they were on the same page. Whenever something was bothering Beth, Finn would get her to talk to him. Finn has a hard few years with his wife passing. He doesn’t want to love another woman. That made for some hard talks with beth and it took a while for him to work past that. I love that in the end they are able to work through their challenges! This book features some amazing supportive friends! This is the second book in the series but can totally be read as a standalone. The first book features Finn’s brother and I cannot wait to read the third book featuring Finn’s playboy friend and Beth’s shy friend!

Read if you like:
3rd person dual POVs
Small town romance
New Zealand romance
Grumpy hero
Opposites attract
Open door romance
Forced proximity

I enjoyed reading this book. It was quick and sweet.
Check this book out if you are fans of
Accidental pregnancy
Small town romance
Sunshine vs grumpy .

There are trigger warnings like grief, death due to cancer, post partum depression but I liked how it was so well dealt.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

With this one we get grumpy vs sunshine with a hint of hate to love. This one is super fast and then dealing/learning though past tramas for both of them. We get the setting of isolated small town New Zealand that everyone knows everyone. We get past players from book one- but this could be read as a standalone-if need be.
The tramas take up a lot of this book for me, so it was slower compared to her other books. I can’t wait for the next one!!

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

3 stars!

I chose "All Roads Lead to You" by Jackie Ashenden for its setting alone, but I didn't know it was the second part of a series. Luckily, it can also be read as a standalone novel. This is a grumpy/sunshine, accidental pregnancy, marriage of convenience, and alpha male romance set in New Zealand. "Outsider" Beth and much-loved local Finn find themselves entangled in each other's lives for more than one reason. Can they make their relationship work?

Everything about this story is the definition of "fine" apart from the setting, which is very well described. You really get the sense that this story is *actually* set in New Zealand. The characters are fine. Alpha male Finn has to learn to compromise for someone else after his tragedy set his world on fire. He's clearly in love with Beth, but he shoves his feelings down because of his previous experiences. He treats her like crap because he's mAd At ThE wOrLd, but she wears him down with her sunny eyes/striking hair/curvaceous cleavage, etc. The doe-eyed Beth has to let someone else in after a massively life-changing loss. She's clearly in love with Finn because he's broody/treats her like crap/she has to wear him down because *eVeRyOnE hAs To LiKe HeR. The plot is fine. I kept waiting for some big surprise or reveal (apart from the obvious), but nothing ever occurs because it's pretty predictable. My heart wasn't tugged in any meaningful way. It's got some old-school values about marriage and pregnancy and a woman's place once she gets pregnant, but I had to put my values aside and realize that that's what some women want. Not my cup of tea, though. Also, who the F is still raw-dogging on the first date with a total stranger in 2022?! Geeze Louise!! Luckily, it's a fast read. If it had been longer, my irritation probably would have been ampler.

TW: discussions of illness, death (including infant loss), depression, volatile upbringings

Thank you to NetGalley, Jackie Ashenden, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

I loved this book and devoured it in a day. It is an emotional book and I did cry. Loved how Finn really saw Beth. She seems so cheerful to everyone, but he thinks it’s all fake. She understands him and his loss. Loved how they got each other to open up, but will they open up their hearts? It’s very heartfelt and I loved their happy ever after. I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy and I recommend this book.

The second in this wonderful series by Jackie Ashendom takes place in New Zealand, and is another in her small town romances, with a grumpy hero, Finn, and a perpetually sunny Beth. The topics in this story range from grief, depression, one night stands,and friendship. Beth is the second of our three women who have come to New Zealand to start over. There is an instant attraction between the two, but Finn is trying to deny it. He has lost his first wife to cancer and DOES NOT want to fall in love again. There is an HEA, but i really thought we might never get there. I shouldn’t have worried as Ms. Ashendom wonderful writing and character building comes through.

I like this small town. I like the characters and how they are involved in each other’s lives but not in an intrusive way, unless it’s warranted.
Beth and Finn have both suffered loss but Finn is afraid to feel again. I love the grumpy to cheerful trope. Finn even refers to Beth as sunshine. Until one act propels them into having some tough conversations and choices.
I got weak in the knees when Finn called Beth honey.
He can lead me into the wilderness anytime.
Go down to NZ and check out this community of caring.

From Deep River, Alaska to Brightwater Valley, New Zealand...

Beth recently moved to Brightwater Valley, New Zealand for a fresh start, away from Deep River, Alaska.
She's the sunshine jewelry maker who has such a thing for the ever so grumpy, Finn Kelly.
Finn has a tragic past, a widower for five years who much prefers the outdoors and lack of people. Especially the cheerful people like Beth.
4.5

This story portrays how broken spirits can sometimes find peace and mended hearts by being willing to become vulnerable again, even if it means risking the pain of loss again.

Both Finn and Bethany have experienced gut-wrenching loss in different ways, and they seem to instinctually recognize each other's woundedness. And in their mutual place of pain, they feel the stirrings of hope for a future that includes something more.

But in every way, they seem to fall in love in a Benjamin Button kind of way, start their romance backward, yet ultimately ending up together, right where they should have been all along.

I was surprised to learn that this was the first book in the series, since Bethany has two close friends, one who has already found her "happily ever after," and the other who seems on the verge of finding it. So, I thought perhaps it was the second book in the series.

It will be interesting to see who the next books in the series feature.

I will say that the book is a bit steamy, so if you're looking for a clean romance, this isn't it. But regardless, it was still an enjoyable storyline.

Thank you to Jackie Ashenden, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Crazy story for sure.
Cute story obsoletely!
A story about working through one’s grief to find happiness again.
There is humor throughout the story to lighten things up a bit.
Overall, a enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

All Roads Lead To You is the second book in the Small Town Dreams series set in Brightwater Valley, New Zealand. I highly recommend reading the books in order, they have slight overlap and the previous book will give you insight into the characters. Each book follows one of the women who came to town and the man they were meant to meet.

Finn Kelly is content with his life, he enjoys his work with his brother and loves his town. Some might call him grumpy or brooding, but he can live with that. He's not looking for anything more as he's closed himself off from that potential years ago So although he's not perhaps happy, he's not willing to rock the boat, until Beth comes to the valley. She is sunshine and happiness and everything that Finn has told himself he doesn't want.

Beth had come to New Zealand to start fresh, she's putting the past behind her and is choosing happiness. She's excited about the new venture and watching the small town grow. There's only one issue, Finn. He doesn't seem to like her and she's determined to find out why and hopefully make him smile. She's not prepared for how project make Finn smile is going to impact her and reopen the past for both of them.

The settings of this romance story was so beautiful and enchanted. I wish I could travel one day in this life on those lands because we don’t get that many books set in other places than US or UK .
Now the romance part left me wanting much more. I get the heartbreaking past and how she wanted to start a new life and get away from that.
But I found their interactions and overall feelings too stretched out and not genuine.
I know that most readers will enjoy it for a good reading time.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Best part about this book is the picturesque small town. I loved the vibes this town gave.
As for as the romance goes, not something I'd remember for ages.
I liked the grumpy×sunshine part of it but then it soon turned into a one night stand and accidental pregnancy, which to be honest I'm not a fan of.
I really appreciated how the MCs back stories that was filled with grief and sadness and well represented it was.


Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This romance really digs into tough topics, while still managing to be sexy and sweet. Depression, loss, and grief don’t sound like good topics for a romance, but the author makes it work.

Thanks to NetGalley for eARC.