Even After This Audiobook By Deborah Clack cover art

Even After This

Shelter and Sky, Book 1

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Even After This

By: Deborah Clack
Narrated by: Jeanine Bartel
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When you're ready to live again, love often has a way of finding you.

Four years after tragedy, Meredith Harper is tired of hiding in her corner of Texas and living life like a game of dodgeball. She packs up her grief, awkward social graces, and sizable life insurance in search of a vacation and an investment property in Colorado Springs. A botched dinner reservation throws her into the path of a bona fide movie star, and Meredith pushes through her comical celebrity neurosis to discover he is charming but a terrible dancer.

A viral video of a daring rescue makes Harlan Holcombe's celebrity star stronger, with millions of his fans deeming him a real-life Hercules. But a minute of heroism doesn't absolve his past mistakes. As Harlan and Meredith spend more time together, he helps her believe there might be more for her not just in life but in love. And she might be part of the solution to restore the legacy he fears is tarnished. But what happens when the path to redeem his mistakes collides with the path to redeem her loss?

A poignant and humorous contemporary romance of second chances with swoon but no spice, grief and healing, celebrity meets reluctant widow, love after loss, and new beginnings. This clean and wholesome love story will delight fans of Abby Jimenez, Katherine Center, Annabel Monaghan, and Cara Bastone.

©2026 Deborah Clack (P)2026 Recorded Books Clean & Wholesome Contemporary Family Life Genre Fiction Funny Tearjerking Witty Romance
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All the stars for this amazing book! Even After This gutted me, then put me back together in such a beautiful way. I rarely cry while reading, but this book had me sobbing while experiencing all the emotions. The inexplicable grief & loss was expertly balanced with delightful humor, endearing characters you just want to hug, & an utterly swoon-worthy celebrity/second-chance romance. This tender story deals with some soul-wrenching, heavy subjects that may be difficult for some readers, but Deborah Clack’s gorgeous writing handles all of it with grace, humor, & sweet new beginnings.

After four years as a young widow, Meredith Harper’s ready for a fresh start. Armed with a sizable life insurance payout, she leaves Dallas for the mountains of Colorado Springs seeking both a getaway & an investment property. She doesn’t expect to be surrounded by celebrities staying at her luxury hotel during a movie shoot. And she definitely doesn’t expect gorgeously handsome Harlan Holcombe to ask her to dance. Meredith’s past (comical) run-ins with famous people have gotten her banned by her family from meeting anyone who’s remotely a celebrity, but Harlan’s endearing lack of dance skills & the spark between them make him feel refreshingly human. Getting to know the man behind the Hercules moniker, she discovers someone caring, thoughtful, & looking for a new beginning too.

I loved this book! Meredith felt so real. Her emotions, humor, & the ways she carries her immense sorrow is relatable & admirable. She’s been through the worst & is slowly emerging on the other side. Her struggles with birthdays, holidays, thoughtless comments, & even well-meaning family & friends felt honest & revealing. I loved seeing her experience love & happiness again.

Harlan is the whole package: movie-star good looks, a local hero after rescuing a young woman, but also shaped by his own heartache & mistakes. He knows just how to love Meredith. It’s not easy & she puts up plenty of roadblocks, but I loved how thoughtful & caring he was even when Meredith pushes him away.

I listened to the audiobook version & absolutely loved the narrator! She did such a brilliant job bringing these characters to life. I appreciated the emotion she infused into her performance. It was the perfect amount.

Highly recommend this refreshingly original, touching story! Can’t wait for the next book in the series.
CW: loss of spouse & children, IVF, miscarriage

A poignant romance that’ll stay with me.

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How is it possible to have a book completely rip your heart out AND YET also make you laugh like a hyena???

This book is heartbreakingly beautiful and oh so funny. Grief is a major player in this story. But what Deborah Clack does well is balance those scenes with laugh out loud scenes. Neither felt forced and they flow seamlessly throughout the book. The humor kept me from feeling overwhelmed by the grief. We're not held in those painful scenes for too long. I felt like I was seen with this book - because in the midst of my deepest grieving seasons, humor is what I cling to.

Grief isn't something most people want to read about... I get it. Many of us read to avoid real life. And grief is just plain hard. But what I loved about this story is that it shows us that it is OK to grieve. It shows us what it means to be able to grieve for as long as we need to and what it looks like to start moving beyond the deepest hurt. It shows us that all of it can be messy and yet beautiful. And funny.

But if you can hold on during the grief, you will find a humor that is surprising and delightful and seriously had me wheezing.

And the romance! Harlan steps up to the plate and shows Meredith that her grief doesn't scare him. And watching the two of them fall for each other - cue the swoons!

Heartbreakingly beautiful with humor

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This story touched my heart in the best way.

Even After This is a breathtaking, emotional romance that reminds us that even after deep loss, life—and love—can begin again.

Widow Meredith Harper escapes to the beauty of Colorado, hoping for space to heal, when she meets celebrity Harlan Holcombe. Their instant connection is gentle, uplifting, and full of hope as Meredith slowly begins to rediscover joy, purpose, and the possibility of a future she never imagined.

This is a clean romance (kisses only) with no spice, but the emotional depth more than delivers. I laughed, I cried, and I felt completely invested in their journey. The story is refreshingly original, deeply inspiring, and carries such a rewarding message about healing, courage, and opening your heart again.

The themes of grief are handled with tenderness and care, making the romance feel authentic and meaningful.

Content warning: loss of a loved one and the grieving process.

And can we talk about that gorgeous cover and title? Absolutely stunning—and perfectly fitting for such a beautiful story.

Quote:
“When you’re ready to live again, love often has a way of finding you.”

If you love emotional, hope-filled contemporary romance that leaves your heart full, this one is definitely worth the read.

🫶🏻This story touched my heart in the best way.

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