Book Review — The Coppersmith Farmhouse by Devney Perry

One old farmhouse brought them together.
It could also tear them apart.

• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (Kindle)
• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (Paperback)
• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (iBooks)

Oh my goodness, this was such a gorgeous book!! It’s such a thrill to discover a new author whose writing you love and reading this book was like experiencing old-school indie romance heaven! Pure gold! It was about an Alpha sheriff who, while grouchy at times, was also incredibly protective, possessive, and swoony who then fell for a single mom with a little daughter who moved into his town to start their lives over. My heart was racing for so much of the story!! I loved these characters. I cared for them. The romance was hot and heart-warming, the writing was strong, and there was even some intense suspense that kept me glued to the page. Oh, and the epilogue brought all the feels! I went into this book blind, I’d never heard of this author before, and I LOVED it!!

You know that feeling you get when you start a book and you just know deep down that it’s going to be a winner? I could feel it with this book. Two pages in and I was completely hooked and connected to the story. The writing was so smooth and compelling. I actually remember that I literally could not stop smiling while I was reading the first few chapters not because the story was funny, but just from the joy of reading such a genuinely good book.

Those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning will understand what I mean when I say that reading this book was like being transported back to 2012! Devney Perry was a completely new-to-me author and when I read it, the book didn’t even have any reviews or anything to look at, but now that I’ve read this, I can’t wait to read everything she writes next! She has a whole series of interconnected standalones planned and I’m so excited for the rest of them!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, THIS story starts out with the heroine, Georgia, who moves to a very small, remote town in the hopes of giving her and her young daughter a fresh start in life. They’d suffered heartbreaking losses and, after having been gifted a farmhouse, she took it to be the perfect opportunity to begin anew. However, she didn’t count on Jess Cleary, the grouchy, yet incredibly gorgeous, local sheriff to throw her world off its axis.

Turns out, he had a good (if not misguided) reason for being so grouchy with her. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll let you discover for yourself when you read the book. But he did mean well and what I loved most was that, once he realized the error of his ways, he did everything in his power to make amends, set things right between them, and show her what a good man he was. But he wasn’t satisfied there, something about this woman kept pulling him in and, even though her heart was guarded, he then made it his mission to convince her that they belonged together.

Actually, here, I’ll just show you the blurb:

One old farmhouse brought them together. It could also tear them apart.

Gigi has just uprooted her whole world to start a new life. The unexpected gift of a farmhouse in small-town Montana is just what she and her daughter need to escape big-city loneliness. The last thing she needs is attitude from the town’s sheriff, the most perfectly attractive and ruggedly handsome man she’s ever laid eyes on—and a complete jerk.

Jess knows all about women like Gigi. Beautiful. Sexy. Scheming. She’s stolen his sanctuary, the farmhouse that should have been his. But along with a face full of freckles, she’s got a sharp wit and a backbone of steel—something he doesn’t discover until after making a complete fool of himself. If he can earn back her trust and win her heart, he might just find the home he’s always needed.

Jess was such a fantastic hero! Protective, possessive, with a no-bullshit attitude. Certainly a little overbearing at times, but just soft, kind-hearted, and swoony enough to make you love him. There’s just something about a big powerful man who turns into a total sweetheart when caring for the child of the woman he’s falling in love with that is UTTERLY HEART MELTING!!!! Despite him being hot tempered, it was crystal clear that everything he did came from a good place and there was no doubt that he’d lay down his life for his two girls without a moment’s thought.

Seriously. THE SWOOOOOOON.

Around eight o’clock, he announced it was time for him to be heading home. [My daughter] and I walked him to his truck, where he knelt to say good-bye to my girl. He caught her chin between his thumb and the side of his index finger.
“I had fun getting to know you tonight, Rowen.”
She gave him a wide, beaming smile and turned to me. “He’s like a prince from my movies. Can he be your boyfriend, Mommy?”

Georgia was a wonderful heroine too! A loving mother, a strong woman, and very level headed and reasonable (which is such a welcome quality in a romance heroine). She sometimes came off as insecure but that was rooted in her past. Once burned, twice shy. She and Jess butted heads a lot — with him being such a bossy alpha and her being a strong woman who wasn’t about to be bossed around by anyone. He had a helluva lot of moments that made me a little ragey and go ‘Oh my God! He did NOT just say that?!?!’ but the fun thing was that once he explained himself, he actually usually made a lot of sense so it amused me to no end to watch him and Georgia work things out between them. I really enjoyed seeing them bicker and then make up and I loved that there was really no stupid drama. They had disagreements (like every couple) but I could always see where both of them were coming from.

“You’re going,” he finally said, breaking the heated moment. “Even if that means I have to pick you up and carry you to my truck.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I hissed.
“Try me.”
My hands fisted on my hips. “I’m not going.”
He jumped up the steps and came back into my space, forcing me backward. Then he bend down so his nose was centimeters from my own.
I was expecting him to order me again or actually pick me up and carry me away. So his voice, gentle and soft, caught me off guard.
“Georgia, give me a chance to show you that I’m not the asshole I’ve been this week. Please?”

Her heart was guarded with good reason, having been through a very bad experience with her daughter’s father, but Jess broke down all of her walls by showing her what it was life to be loved by a man who would stand by her side no matter what. I loved the way they compromised and complimented each other as they fell in love.

Their romance was heart-warming, incredibly sweet, and once they got serious, things also got HOT and steamy! But I really appreciated that their relationship grew at a such believable rate — no insta-love, and yet not too slow a burn. The characters felt very real and even though they were each flawed, they were consistently written and their flaws made a lot of sense for who they were. I keep saying this but I was so impressed with the writing.

“You know, I want to take care of you too. If you’ll let me,” I said.
He let out a long frustrated sigh. “You do, Georgia. Every day. Creating a warm place for me to come to every night. Letting me unload after work. Pushing back when I’m an asshole. Arguing with me. Calling me ‘honey.’ Being my girl. All those things are what I need and how you take care of me. And if you’d get gotta your head, stop doubting me, you’d see that I’ve been letting you take care of me all along.”

There’s more than romance in this book too and while I’m often not a fan of side stories, I actually loved the ones in this book. There were occasional slow spots in the story but I never once lost interest. For a small town though, they sure had a lot of drama and with a recent string of crimes throwing their usually peaceful life into chaos and danger, Jess’ job because considerably more intense. And as the book went on, these suspenseful elements really built to a point that kept my heart pounding — and this provided a great contrast to the warmth and heart of the romance.

This story had a lot of feels!! I teared up a few times and swooooooned endlessly. It had all the elements I loved — an alpha hero, a strong heroine, an adorable kid, a suspenseful element, strong sexy romance, a dash of mystery, and the epilogue (which is one of my favorite things in romance books) WAS GOLD!!!!! All. The. Feels.

As you can probably tell, I was so impressed with this book. It had everything I could want in a romance and the writing was amazing. For me, writing style is so important. I actually value it more highly than whether I like the storyline. But with this book, everything about it was gorgeous. The cover was stunning and completely captured my interest, the title was unique and intriguing, then from the first few pages, the writing drew me right into the story, the characters captured my heart, and then the romance brought in just the right amount of the emotional depth to fully round this story into a memorable book that is easily one of my top recommendations of the year! I LOVED IT!

Rating: 5 stars! Contemporary Adult Romance. Can standalone.

• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (Kindle)
• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (Paperback)
• Buy THE COPPERSMITH FARMHOUSE (iBooks)

________________________

Series of standalones.