Home in Your Arms

Home in Your Arms by Charlotte O'Shay is a beautiful sweet romance that I really enjoyed. This book was very delightful in every sense of the word, and a perfect escape from the weather and the pandemic. I highly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Wild Rose Press and Charlotte O’Shay for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!
Karla Payne’s childhood sweetheart was home from Afghanistan for only a day before being struck by a car and killed. After that, karla threw herself into her tavern and her small town community. For five years she build a thriving business and connections she could never break, but she’s still not happy. Army 1st Sgt. Zane Blackthorne doesn’t know why he came to Vermont and the small town his old army friend grew up in. Joe’s friendship was the closest thing Zane had to a brother and he was still reeling after his loss. When Zane and Karla cross paths, sparks fly and as hard as they try, they can’t deny their feelings.
This book flew! I looked down at once and realized I was already at 40%, but nothing had really happened yet. While this is a romance, the main focus of the story really is the healing and growth that comes after losing a loved one. I think the general plot was fantastic and what we got was a well written book with likeable characters, but I wanted more! I feel like everything was explained to us but we didn’t really get to experience it as readers! I’m not a fan of instant love and while this romance is a slow burn, they quickly move from friends to more! I thought this was going to be a squeaky clean romance but there’s a tasteful amount of steam.
This is the second book in Charlotte O’Shay’s Deerbourne Inn series and while this can be read as a stand alone, I think I would’ve connected with the characters more if I had a little more context!

Is it possible for two lost souls to help each other heal and find love? Home in your Arms is a heartwarming story that explores that question. It is a touching and sweet story about Zane and Karla, two vulnerable people who deserve to be happy and loved. I savored every page of this small town romance. All the details and descriptions made me feel as though I was right there with them. The characters have layers and depth and I immediately connected with them. They had great dynamics between them and I loved all their interactions and the chemistry they shared.

Zane and Karla are not looking for love when they first meet. Zane doesn’t think he is worthy of love and Karla has given up on love and life since her fiancé was killed by a hit and run driver. Karla broke my heart. She is tough yet fragile as she tries so hard to cover her broken heart from everyone. She works all the time in order to keep herself from thinking about how lonely and unhappy she is.

Zane has just retired from the military and is passing through the small town of Willow Springs. Zane is quiet and reserved, and not sure what to do with his life now that he is done with the military. He has no family or friends, he is completely alone in the world.

This was an emotional story with complex characters but it also had some fun and lightness to it. Karla is surrounded by caring people, although she does get frustrated with her protective brothers, nosy neighbor and her meddling mother. Willow Springs is a small, quaint town and the people who live there are friendly and in your business. I enjoyed reading Zane and Karla’s story. They deserve to be happy and I found them easy to relate to and I cared about them.

A new to me Author, and a book I could not put down. Karla and Zane feel love has passed them by; they had opportunities with others but did not make it to forever.

Former Army Sgt. Zane heads east to a job interview; along the way, he looks up his late driver Joe’s girl. As he enters town, everything is just how Joe had described it. I love all the small town descriptions. Later needing a meal, he goes to Karla’s Tavern. When they finally meet, the conversation flows as he tells her stories about Joe. Can two broken souls heal each other? Will they fight or act on their attraction to each other?

Thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press, Inc for the free copy in exchange for my voluntary review.

4.5 Stars!

Home in Your Arms by Charlotte O'Shay, is a well-written small town romance. I felt the connection between the two main characters almost immediately, and their evolving love affair was amazingly romantic, fun, and compassionate. This is the second book from the author's Deerbourne Inn series and it can be enjoyed as a standalone.

I received a complimentary copy of Home in your Arms in exchange for an honest review. I read this as a standalone, not realizing it was part of a series. It was very easy to jump right in. The writing was well done, and the character development was good too. I like the backstory about how Karla and Zane met, and it was fun to see their relationship development into something special. What a great way for them to celebrate "Joe."

I received this arc from Wild Rose Publishing books from an honest review.
A wonderful story of loss and if you deserve a future. Karla Payne who owns the local tavern in town she had love at one time but by listening to her mother she waited for Joe to come home from his service only to have him killed a few days later in an accident.
Five years later and still taking care of her tavern she is not looking for love or a guy, she has closed herself off to all of those feelings. When retired 1st Sgt. Zane Blackthorne leaves service he decides to drive through his friend’s home town. While there he decides just by chance to look in on Karla which at first shocks her then becomes a pleasant diversion from the daily grinds. Everything changes between them after Zack breaks down and after she goes to help him, they are stuck overnight. After that everything changes between them and yet each is nervous and scared to go further with their feelings towards one another. Finally, one of them takes the leap and you have a good story, overall a very good book with many different topics discussed with good characters as well. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at
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An entertaining and well written romance. Good plot and character dynamics. I highly recommend this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.