Love in small-town Colorado
This is another Christmas f/f romance book by Rey / Clevenger set in the small town of Rocky Springs in Colorado.
The two main characters Kit and Shawn first seem to be worlds apart: Kit who left the town to seek a career in LA until she is forced to return home but only temporarily and Shawn, the people-pleaser, who never left town and stayed to help her family and friends. Kit‘s new dog kind of brings them together and their dogs have an immediate friends-affair. The humans - as always - take a bit longer to acknowledge their attraction and to find out that they have a lot in common: both are at a crossroad in their lives. Question is whether they travel the road alone, stop moving at all or - and this is a big challenge - to find a way to travel together. And after years one of them eventually stands to their queer identity which is a good addition to the mix.
Two cute dogs, two main characters who have chemistry and once they give in to it have their attraction heat up their houses and bedrooms make up for a relaxed holiday read.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

In A New Leash on Love Jaime Clevenger and Aurora Rey bring to light two very different characters, both of whom are at a crossroads in their life and in need of finding their next step. The main difference is that Kit knows that she needs to find out what comes next but Shawn is stuck, thinking she is happy even though she is giving up on her own desires through a need to help everyone around her. The two women had grown up together with Shawn being friends with Kit's brother.

Following the end of the ending of the television show that had been meant to give Kit her big break in California and while recovering from surgery, Kit is forced to return to her mountain hometown of Rocky Springs to stay in the cottage at the back of her parents place while working as an interior designer for her parents' business, alongside her obnoxious brother. She doesn't know what she wants to do next, but she does know that there's no way she wants to stay in Rocky Springs long term.

Meanwhile, Shawn is living in Rocky Springs with her dog, Milo and part owner (alongside her sister) and cashier for the local bakery that specialises in making cupcakes. She thinks she is content with her life and will do anything to help anyone whenever needed. However, in doing so, she has given up on her own dreams including the opportunity to go to college when she was younger. She has no intention of ever leaving Rocky Springs.

The two women are reunited when Kit's newly adopted dog, Olive, escapes her control while walking in the park before bumping into Shawn and sending her coffee flying. When Shawn offers to help train Olive the two women start to spend more time together and a bond quickly forms. However, neither of them knows where any relationship could go given that Kit has no intention of staying in Rocky Springs and Shawn has no intentions of leaving.

With the two women spending more and more time together including Shawn taking Kit on an "I Heart Rocky Springs Tour" to try to convince her that living in the mountain town isn't so bad and Kit starting to plant seeds of an idea that could encourage Shawn to consider leaving town. A roller-coaster of emotion ensues with the two women quickly becoming hot and steamy while also beating down their own internal fears about how any relationship could work long term.

With a bit of Christmas spirit, a little family angst and lots of spice, A New Leash on Love is a wonderful comforting story of new beginnings. A fantastic comfort read for the holiday season that leaves you rooting for the two main characters to find a way to make things work.

I am grateful to Jaime Clevenger and Aurora Rey and the publishers for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily and any opinions are my own.

Jaime Clevenger and Aurora Rey bring warmth, charm, and just the right amount of spice to A New Leash on Love, a holiday romance that centers LGBTQIA+ characters in a small-town setting. With heartfelt moments and relatable dynamics, this story captures the complexities of connection, community, and taking chances on love.

The protagonists, two of the very few openly queer individuals in their quaint hometown, share an instant chemistry that feels authentic and endearing. What starts as casual companionship over the holidays quickly evolves into a deeper connection, as both characters navigate their growing feelings. Their budding romance is peppered with moments of humor, vulnerability, and genuine intimacy, creating a delightful balance between emotional depth and lighthearted fun.

The book shines in its relatability, particularly for readers in the LGBTQIA+ community who might recognize the challenges and joys of finding connection in less-than-diverse environments. The authors’ attention to detail in building the protagonists’ personal struggles and shared moments adds layers to the narrative, making their journey not just romantic but profoundly human.

While the story’s focus is on the romantic journey, the larger question of whether their relationship can thrive beyond the confines of their hometown adds a meaningful tension. This theme resonates with anyone who has grappled with balancing personal growth and romantic commitments, making the story universally appealing.

Clevenger and Rey deliver a cozy, festive romance that is as empowering as it is swoon-worthy. A New Leash on Love is a must-read for fans of holiday romances and LGBTQIA+ stories, offering a sweet reminder of the magic of taking risks for love.

Rocky Springs is the last place Kit Hartman wants to be. But when the home renovation show that was supposed to be her big break gets canceled, she has no choice but to return to the sleepy little mountain town and take a job in the family business. The only good news is that she finally has time to adopt a dog.

Olive might be a perfect dog someday. For now, she’s a naughty handful. And when she knocks down an attractive stranger at the dog park, Kit realizes she’s in over her head. Especially since the stranger is someone she recognizes. Shawn McCoy never expected to run into Kit at the dog park, let alone offer to help train her dog. But helping everyone in Rocky Springs is what Shawn does best—and keeping busy means there’s no time to think about a life or an identity that breaks the mold.

This was a fun holiday romance. I love when Clevenger and Rey team up to bring us new stories! Low angst, warm hearts, and definite chemistry between our duo make for a wonderful read by the fire with a warm cuppa. I really appreciated the NB rep. 5⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own

Kit Hartman is reluctantly back home as she recovers from losing her Big Break. Her newly adopted dog, Olive, tangles her up in local shop staffer, Shawn McCoy.

Shawn never expected to run into Kit, and finds themselves volunteering to help train the troublesome hound.

(This is set at the same time as Frosted By The Girl Next Door also by them. It'll be interesting seeing how tight the continuity ends up.)

Kit and Shawn are cute, and i like the progression of the flirting to a relationship.

Side note: Tara is a lot more abrasive and unpleasant in this book than the other. Weird.

The plotline around Kit and her shitty brother also was resolved, but in a half assed, off camera way.

3 stars out of 5. It's okay, not as good as the other. And Tara, specifically, felt OOC compared to the other.

Another fab Christmas romance from two great authors.
I loved the pace of the story, the issues that were raised which contributed to the two MC’s having different views in their home town.
How Shawn begun to emerge as her true self and how Kit understood herself more and how her experiences affected her resulting in them both opening up to each other and developing their relationship. The main issue is would they stay, would she go - how could the relationship work. There were also some hot scenes which were tastefully written.
It was lovely to see the story unfold and also how the roles of supporting characters fitted into their story - oh and of course cute dogs!!
A great read. Thanks to Bold Strokes Books for the ARC - this is a honest review.

Jaime Clevenger and Aurora Rey pair up again delivering two spicy holiday romances. I still fondly remember reading their last pairings, The Mile High City Romances from 2021. Shawn McCoy never left her small hometown of Rocky Springs, Colorado. Shawn at 35 still works in the family bakery just like in high school. Kit Hartman has returned to the town she always wanted to leave. She worked in LA as a designer on a HGTV show till it was canceled. Now she has returned temporarily and is working in her family construction business.

Kit isn’t planning on staying in town and Shawn doesn’t want a fling but a relationship. But the two can’t ignore sparks and chemistry between each other. I like that the story stays in the small town and the focus is on their possible relationship and Shawn coming out as non-binary. I think the story got a little muddled in dealing with Kit’s brother Adam. It’s like the authors couldn’t make up their mind on how big of a villain to make him and still get the ending they wanted. But overall I like the characters and their family relationships.

I love this book and ‘Frosted by the Girl Next Door’ which features a romance for Tara who runs the bakery with Casey are happening at the same time. And it doesn’t matter which book you read first, it is fun to read the other and see where the characters meet up or have overlapping events. Neither book is a spoiler for the other.

Another great book in this world by this pair. Fantastic job by Rey and Clevenger. This basically follows the same timeline as Frosted by the Girl Next door.

Kit Hartman moved back to Rocky Springs after her show got cancelled and to recover from everything. She adopts a dog now that she has time, but still doesn't intend to stay, as she couldn't wait to leave. When she runs into Shawn McCoy, a relationship is the last thing she wants or needs so she thinks a casual thing will work while she's in town.

Shawn McCoy never expected to run into Kit at the dog park, let alone be knocked over but seeing Kit again, all grown up has her glad she did. She never left town after everything and Kit doesn't intend to stay, but Shawn can't resist getting involved with her. Besides Shawn has other ideas and wants her to fall in love with Rocky Springs and her.

It was nice to see Kit and Shawn, especially evolve throughout the book. This was a great, low angst book with finding yourself and pleasing yourself rather than everyone else. I only wish there was a good resolution with Kit's brother, Adam. All that was mentioned was a bookkeeper, that's it.

I would recommend this book most definitely. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful sweet romance by Jamie Clevenger and Aurora Rey.
This duo pairs well together. I have enjoyed all the books they have written together.
This was a low angst, and friends to lovers Christmas season read.
This book did a great job at self care, exploring themselves and growing. The secondary characters were well done, pertinent to the story.
This book runs concurrently with their first book, and I was happy that there weren't any repeat scenes as MCs in both books as sisters working together.
I hope to see more books from this duo in the future, I enjoy their books separately and when they collaborate.

I want to first thank Bella Books via Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read A New Leash on Love by Jamie Clevenger and Aurora Rey. This opinion is solely my own. I can not say enough positive things about this book! Love HEA? Read this book! Love Holiday Romances? Read this book! Love books that include adorable puppies? Read this book! Love books with a LOT of spice? Read this book! This book follows Kit, who has to return to her conservative stuffy hometown because of a failed television show and Shawn the hometown "help everyone who needs it." It follows their trials in trying to navigate their relationship while figuring out what each wants for their future. And there is an adorable pain in the but dog, that of course brought them together, named Olive. I absolutely loved this book! I gave it 5 stars and will definitely recommend it to anyone interested.

A New Leash on Love was a fun end of year read, perfect for this time of year. My main reason for requesting this book was that I love a romance with pets, I even have a specific tag for it on The Storygraph so I can always give recommendations if people ask :D Olive the dog was a very worthy edition to the tag, little matchmaker that she was.

Kit and Shawn were two very distinct main character with clear voices of their own, and they're not afraid of open communication (mostly :P) and I absolutely loved that!

I loved the rep in this, and how it influenced their small town living. it felt realistic without being over the top negative.

Thank you Netgalley and Bella Books for providing me with an ARC!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this 2nd book in this series

was great to be back in rocky springs and this time learning more about shawn and kit

shawn was literally swept off her feet ..... by kits dog.... kit has only just had her dog for couple of days and already knows she is out of her depth but with shawn offering to help train her dog maybe it wont be so bad...

but shawn use to be kits brothers best friend when younger so though kit takes the offer of help she is also staying as far away from shawn as she can...

its not going to be easy as kit is refurbishing casey new shop which is right next door to the shop that shawn works in and its the best cupcake shop in town....

with family drama abound for kit and her growing attraction to shawn her plans of leaving are getting harder

as for shawn her life is just going to get more complicated

really loved being back in this town with the same characters plus getting to know a few more.... i did have a tear for one scene that seemed very poignant to shawn.. that scene was so well written...

looking forward to reading more from these two authors they write so well together

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


I was surprise to get a book with Shawn and Kit they are the characters who were somewhat starting something in the background of Frosted Girl Nextdoor. Kit was reluctant to return home but since what she thought what was going to be her big break didn’t happen she decides to take a job in her family business. She finally gets to adopt a dog name Olive but is a handful when she gets offer to train her by Shawn who always tends to lend a hand. They get to know each other as they realizes Rocky Springs may never change doesn’t means that life can change for the better I like that it’s was low on drama characters have chemistry a cozy romance.

This is the companion book to Frosted.... in this one we get the story of Kit and Shawn (who were having their story in the background in the other book). They get close, but, while Shawn wants to stay in town, Kit cannot wait to get out.

It got mired in the middle a little bit. It slowed what was a well paced book until then to a grinding halt for a character twist.

It wasn't just a character's realization, that would have been fine, but, it went from a romance novel into a political pamphlet in a lot of ways for twenty or so pages (thankfully it did sorta get back to romance after that).

It also meant that because all the time had to be given to this twist (it wasn't a bad twist, it was even a twist that made sense, I just didn't like how the twist was balanced with what otherwise was a really cool novel). So, because of the twist a bunch of the stuff that had been introduced in regards to Kit's family was just sorta dropped towards the end. Oh, the story was 'finished', sort of, but, after all that wind up, it was one sentence that concluded it.

I just wish that the story had kept going as it had and the twist had been been better integrated into the rest of the story so I didn't feel so yanked out of the narrative.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!

A New Leash On Love is my first book by these authors and I enjoyed it! I learned after starting this book that it's set in the same universe as Frosted By The Girl Next Door by the same authors, but I haven't read it and didn't feel like I missed anything reading this without it.

There is a lovely wintery Hallmark setting without it being too focused on the holidays which makes for a cozy backdrop. The romance starts off with an adorable (re)meet cute and features adorable dogs in addition to the blossoming romance between Kit and Shawn. The chemistry between Kit and Shawn seems very genuine and not too rushed.

There were a few plot points that seemed like they would be pivotal (Kit's family relationships and health concerns) but then never got addressed in the end. I felt like those parts could have used a bit more development but it doesn't take away too much from the story!

I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys queer contemporary romances. It has several on page spicy scenes so that is something to keep in mind as a reader as well!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bella Books for the eARC!

A charming, small-town romance. Kit’s reluctant return to Rocky Springs leads to an unexpected connection with Shawn, thanks to her mischievous new dog, Olive. Kit and Shawn’s chemistry is genuine and heartwarming and the story balances romance and self-discovery. While the pacing felt a bit rushed in places, it’s an enjoyable, cozy read perfect for fans of sweet, small-town romances

A New Leash on Love is another Clevenger and Rey collaboration set in Rocky Springs, Colorado, with some of the same characters as Frosted by the Girl Next Door from Bold Strokes Books. This book features Shawn McCoy who works at McCoy Cupcakes with her sister, Tara, and Kit Hartman who is running the renovation project for Casey at The Sweet Spot.

I enjoyed this book much more than the first one since the main focus was on the two main characters with limited outside influences (I.e. Pavia from Frosted). Shawn and Kit developed a solid relationship, made each other stronger and strive for more, and they had good chemistry. The intimate scenes were also hot and varied with props from The Sweet Spot 😅. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A New Leash on Love is set in the same world as Frosted by the Girl Next Door from the same authors, however, you do not need to have read the other novel before reading this one; both can be read as stand alone stories. This novel follows two incredibly likable and realistic main characters, is light on angst and unnecessary drama, and highly features two adorable dogs. It is set in winter, with a holiday backdrop, but the holidays are not the primary focus of the story.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a classic contemporary romance story.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley.

Frosted by the Girl Next Door was the first book I read by these two authors. I didn’t realize A New Leash on Love was about the same town and characters. I did enjoy this book and it delved into the relationship between Kit and Shawn. It was a nice love story with lots of good spice. Too bad someone didn’t give Adam a blanket party, though. He was one giant jerk. Well done, ladies.