A Change of Pace (Northern Lights, #3) by Freya Barker
ABOUT THE BOOK
Once a man who lived by the letter of the law.
Newt Tobias will do anything for his little girl. Even take early retirement, sell his city home, and move to cottage country, hoping that the simpler life will provide a better balance for his troubled teenage daughter.
Yet, not long after they’ve settled, he finds himself toe-to-toe with a stubborn, fiery-tempered woman with pretty brown eyes.
Once a recluse preferring to live alone.
Working with troubled adolescents, Frederique Marchand doesn’t suffer fools and won’t put up with bullies. Especially handsome strangers like Newt who think they can run roughshod over her. She loves her work, but on her own time, she much prefers the company of her menagerie of animals.
But with the welfare of a teenager at stake, she must put aside rocky first impressions and work
with a man who needs her as much as she’ll come to need him.
MY REVIEW
I am a big fan of Freya Barker with her mature characters, her very real and heartfelt stories, and serious subject matter. A Change of Pace does not disappoint.
A single parent with a troubled teen. A family therapist with a troubled past. A story of challenges, hope, and happy endings.
Frederique “Freddie” Marchand has been through a lot in her life. She’s a smart, strong survivor who is about to face another challenge by herself until a handsome man with piercing baby blue eyes and his troubled daughter move to town and give her life new meaning.
Newt Tobias is worried about his daughter who is withdrawn and hurting. At his wit’s end and against his better judgment, he takes her to Freddie Marchand, a family therapist who uses animals in her practice to get her patients to open up. As time passes and he sees his daughter’s behavior improve, his own outlook on life changes for the better by a beautiful and selfless woman after his own heart.
Freddie and Newt’s first meeting is eye-opening when Freddie stops an assault in progress and the two exchange words. Newt’s anger is the protective retired cop in him questioning her judgment in a volatile situation. Freddie is a confident and successful family therapist who is normally not questioned about her actions. That first butting of heads is a great beginning to a slow build of attraction and passion. I love Freddie’s therapy dog Boulder and her wonderful menagerie of rescue animals at her home. What a fantastic way to use animals to help children and teens express their feelings naturally.
There is so much going on in this incredible and sensitive book including alcoholism, bullying, depression, cancer, and much, much more. It sounds like a lot, but as always Ms. Barker does her magic by capturing the extreme emotions and placing them in very honest and genuine situations. If you enjoy stirring romantic suspense filled with bits of humor, frightening events, and believable characters, give this book a try.
Please see my reviews for more Freya Barker books: Victim of Circumstance, Tracking Tahlula, Life and Limb, and Cabin 12.
Thank you to Ms. Barker for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook with no expectation of a positive review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today’s bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills, and chills in their lives.
Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for
“Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!
Follow Freya on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, Bookbub, and her newsletter.