Review: The Dad Next Door by Stephanie Dees

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A Place to Call Home 

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Lawman Joe Sheehan is desperate to bond with the daughter he's just discovered he has. But as a virtual stranger to twelve-year-old Amelia, the task seems impossible. Until Claire Conley moves to town. A social worker renovating a mansion into a foster home, Claire is the first person to get through to Amelia. Falling for the single dad was not on Claire's to-do list. But with Joe and Amelia around, the house finally starts to feel like home. Claire's ready to fight to convince Joe that together they've done more than fix a house…they've built a family.

My Review:

The Dad Next Door is about second chances especially after some major life interruptions and revelations. Joe Sheehan is back in his hometown to recover from his injuries he sustained as a police officer. He is back at his hometown where he was considered trouble until his adoptive parents took him in and showed him the kind of love he did not even realize he was starving for. And to his great shock, he finds out that he has a twelve-year old daughter by an ex-girlfriend who drops her off and takes off. Now he has to figure out what his life is now going to look like with a daughter he didn’t know about but whom he already loves. But Amelia will hardly speak to him. Enter Claire Conley who has a bittersweet past of her own and with her Joe and Amelia just might find out what being a family is all about.

Claire is trying to open a children’s home to help get kids off the street and to do something useful like caring for animals, all the while being brought up in an environment where they can be safe to just be children. However some of the town is not willing to let Claire open her children’s home.  Despite the outward challenges, Claire and Amelia hit it off immediately and the more time Joe and Claire spend together renovating her mansion inherited from her estranged late father, the closer they become. But the road to true love is filled with many obstacles and sometimes the biggest ones are those we make for ourselves.

I enjoyed getting to know this couple, this town, and their extended families. I am looking forward to reading more of this family series.

I received a copy of this book from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.