Review: THEIR SURPRISE REUNION by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the Book

ISBN-13:9781335051493 Publisher:Harlequin Publication date:04/29/2025 Series:A Matchmaker Knows Best Romance , #1 Edition description:Original Large Print Pages:336

Friendship can turn to more…

When you least expect it!

Kayla Harding knew she’d reached rock bottom when she forced herself to walk through the front doors of Loaves of Love, the food bank in Medina, Ohio, one Saturday morning. Happily, what she finds there is a loving community of people who offer her not just food, but friendship and hope. She also finds Sean Copeland, a former crush, father to six-year-old Jackson and small-town football coach, who volunteers at the food bank. But Kayla is still reeling from her divorce, and Sean is a recent widower. Can they find it in their hearts to fall in love again?

My Thoughts

This is a clean romance with some drama built into the story that kept me fully engaged. Kayla Harding returns to her hometown of Medina, Ohio after a rough divorce. There she finds herself needing to use a food bank because her resources are low and her cupboards are almost bare. At Loaves of Love, Kayla meets a former friend from high school, football star Sean Copeland who is now a widower and an assistant coach. Raising his six-year old son Jackson alone since the death of his wife Danette the previous year, Sean is kind-hearted and jumps right in to help Kayla learn how to make a loaf of bread at the food bank. Their friendship progresses normally, with Kayla hiding secrets and Sean leery about a new relationship. I enjoyed the humility that Kayla showed and also the realistic scenes in which she was ashamed to have to ask for food. I really liked the character of Edna, the lady who ran the food bank and who helped Kayla feel more comfortable about needing help. There were a lot of characters in this sweet romance, including Kayla’s demanding boss and Sean’s teasing family. The cast of characters added to the drama as well as the character development of the protagonists. The novel was an entertaining read that also presented the truth about what can happen when you are starting over and have little recourse but to ask for help. Told with compassion and a lot of love, this is a memorable story of a couple who find each other in the most unlikely place and who help each other to discover truths about themselves and each other.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray writes Amish and Inspirational romances for Simon & Schuster, and Kensington, Harlequin, and contemporary women’s fiction for Blackstone Publishing. With over a million books in print, and translated into more than a dozen languages, her novels have been Holt Medallion winners and Inspirational Readers Choice and Carol finalists.

Shelley has been featured in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today. She has also been interviewed on NPR as well as numerous regional radio stations. Publishers Weekly calls her Walnut Creek series “A slow-burning, enjoyable romance… Embedded in this quaint story is a poignant message about the importance of community, compassion, and doing what’s right rather than what’s easy.”

Shelley has hosted several well-attended ‘Girlfriend Getaways’ for Amish reading fans. Her most recent Girlfriend Getaway, hosted with bestselling novelists Amy Clipston and Suzanne Woods Fisher in Sugarcreek, Ohio, was filmed by BuzzFeed and highlighted on NetFlix’s Follow This episode on the popularity of Amish fiction.

Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and later obtained her master’s degree in educational administration. She now lives in southern Colorado near her grown children, walks her dachshunds, bakes too much, and writes full time.

Website: Shelley Shepard Gray