Forever Home

The second installment—with new protagonists—in Whisler’s military-veteran “Dogwood County” series (following Rescue You). Retired U.S. Marine Delaney Monroe, in search of a fresh start after her father’s death, moves to a new town to open a motorcycle repair shop (the dream she and her late father shared). She moves into a small apartment above her new workshop, gets frequent visits from the previous shop-owner’s sweet pit bull, joins a gym run by another retired Marine, and has a few run-ins with local police detective Sean Callahan. Delaney and Sean’s competitive gym rivalry turns into friendship, then romance, as Sean helps Delaney recover her father’s prized motorcycle when it’s stolen. Delaney begins to drop her defenses, helped by a former Marine with PTSD, the pit bull, and Sean. The romance is a slow burn that builds as the stolen-motorcycle mystery unfolds; there are references to the protagonists of the first series installment and hints about the promised third installment, which add to the novel’s charm.