Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: A Furever Home
SERIES: Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue Multi-Author series
AUTHOR: Kaje Harper & Gabbi Grey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 290 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 9, 2025
BLURB:
A Furever Home
Arthur
When I was squeezing seven rescue dogs and a horde of cats in my small house, all I wanted was to not turn away a pet in need. Opening the Safe Haven Pet Rescue was a dream come true. But when I get hurt, standing between a man with a gun and a stray dog, I realize I still can’t do it all.
My injured leg, a concussion, having to lean on my friends, and realizing how helpless I feel, throws me back to my childhood when nothing I did ever seemed to be enough. But there’s one silver lining. Brooklyn West. He’s the kind of guy who holds a stranger’s hand in a crisis. He’s great with my dogs, even cranky little Chili, and really seems to want to help the shelter. I like watching him be a protective big brother when his sister turns up on his doorstep, even though I think there’s pain underneath his sunny smiles. But as we move toward friendship, I keep looking for the strings, for the catch, and wondering how I’ll pay him back, because nothing in my life can be that sweet, or that simple.
Brooklyn
I went through a slice of medical hell, and came out the other side with enough money to move to the opposite side of the country and start the doggie daycare business of my dreams. The cherry on top of that good luck is meeting Arthur Bjornsson. Big, wild-bearded, soft-voiced Arthur is the kind of guy my family would’ve ridiculed. He’s warm-hearted and willing to throw himself into harm’s way right in front of my eyes to save one pathetic stray dog.
He’s the kind of guy who gives me back some faith in humanity. But when my underage sister Cheyenne shows up on my doorstep, on the run from the family I thought I’d escaped, my old life and new collide. I want to help Arthur, get to know him, and, as he heals, I want more than just friendship. But Cheyenne brings legal risks, a teen on the other side of my bedroom wall, and the threat of retribution from our family. The simple relationship I thought Arthur and I were building is suddenly messy as hell. I don’t know how we’ll get through this to reach the furever home I so desperately want.
A Furever Home is a fur-baby-filled, hurt-comfort, small town romance between two men whose only chance at a family is to build one themselves.
REVIEW:
I didn’t realize what the level of intrigue and drama that would be involved but that opening chapter clued me in real fast. And I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!
Arthur is living his dream. He runs the day-to-day operations of the Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue and lives upstairs with his fur babies. Making sure all animals have a safe and healthy place to stay until they are adopted into loving families has been his dream. He knows that with his physique and age, love has probably passed him by, unlike all his friends. But his fur babies fill him with love and he’s comfortable with that. When Kevin, a 13 year old that frequents the Rescue and is a fierce protector of animals, calls Arthur in a panic over a man with a gun trying to shoot a dog, Arthur rushes over to save the boy. While running to the house in question he, and a stranger walking there, hear a gunshot and rush to the back yard. There they encounter a horrifying situation. Kevin has put himself between the older gun wielding man and is claiming that the dog is a coyote killing his chickens. Arthur gets Kevin out of the way but is shot by the elderly man in the process. Brooklyn has recently moved to Gaynor Beach and operates a Doggy Daycare at his recently converted home. After Arthur is shot he throws himself over the bloody man until First Responders arrive. But he can’t help but follow Arthur’s pleas to help his animals at the shelter. And that means helping the injured but gorgeous hero too.
This story had so many twists and turns that made me realize that both these men are not only survivors but hero’s in their own right. And they had so much in common. Both men were of no use to their homophobic parents.
- Both men were surviving a medical emergency.
- Both men loved animals.
- And both men protected children from evil people.
And the biggest thing, both men were strongly attracted to the other no matter how short a time they had been together.
I loved that Arthur was willing to let Brooklyn go when his Brooklyn’s underage sister, Cheyenne, showed up to flee their parents and their demands she marry the older widower friend of her parents. The same awful bully who tormented Brooklyn throughout his school years. But, despite his injuries, Arthur was immediately back to help defend them from danger. They became their own family to protect and take care of each other.
What I didn’t like was Arthur lying to his doctors so they would ease up on his care. Those headaches could easily have developed into even more serious complications when ignored…and almost did. Thankfully Brooklyn started recognizing when Arthur was in pain and set him down. Neil at work too!
I had done a Gaynor Beach book before but hadn’t realized that this was a spin-off and I’m going into the series as it has evolved. Usually that makes me very leery. But I love both Kaje and Gabbi’s books and so here I am. What I discovered is, though I wish I hadn’t missed Colin & James (James is Arthur’s best friend), Shane & Theo (Shane is the Shelter’s Manager and good friends with Arthur) stories, along with Danny/Rob & Phillip/Jeremy, Neil/Sawyer, I quickly understood how each of these men were tied to Arthur and how they were worried about him. I hope to rectify that situation soon.
This was an uplifting story of caring people and resilience against overwhelming at times odds. I highly recommend it. It can be read as a standalone, like I did, but I believe it would be even better with all the stories.
RATING: 
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