Chasing Shelter

Sparrow Falls, Book 5

De: Catherine Cowles

Narrado por: Jason Clarke, Desiree Ketchum

I came here seeking sanctuary, I never meant to fall for the broody single dad next door.

I've spent my life hiding in plain sight, burying my past beneath layers of carefully constructed lies. Moving to Sparrow Falls was supposed to be a fresh start. A place to lay low. But when I end up living next door to the single dad who just happens to be one of my brother’s best friends, everything changes.

Trace Colson sees too much, asks too many questions, and his protectiveness is as infuriating as it is alluring.

And when danger comes calling, it’s Trace who stands between me and the darkness.

But being close to him is its own kind of risk. Because with every heated glance and every stolen touch, Trace tempts me to open my heart, to dream of a life I’d long since given up on. The only problem? Trace has his own demons, and when they collide with mine, the fallout could destroy us both.

Forever.

©2025 Catherine Cowles (P)2025 Catherine Cowles

A heartfelt, emotionally grounded romance

Coming back to Sparrow Falls felt like slipping into a warm hug and Chasing Shelter might be one of my favorites in the series.

The story
Ellie’s life has been shaped by secrets, each one a brick in the walls she’s built around herself. Sparrow Falls was meant to be a quiet reset until she finds herself living next to Trace, the broody single dad who just so happens to be one of her brother’s best friends. Trace is observant, protective, and persistent in the kind of way that both infuriates and intrigues.

As their lives become increasingly entangled, the slow-burn chemistry between them simmers, and Ellie is forced to face more than just the ghosts in her past. But Trace has his own scars, and the collision of their histories may just be the most dangerous threat of all.

What I liked
✔️ The dialogue between Trace and Ellie crackled with chemistry. Their banter was sharp, funny, and full of heart—some of the best back-and-forth I’ve read from Cowles so far.
✔️ Keely absolutely stole the show. Her vibrant personality and emotional connection with Ellie made every scene she was in feel extra special.
✔️ Ellie’s gradual integration into Trace’s world was written with real tenderness. Her journey from guarded outsider to something like family was authentic and deeply satisfying.
✔️ As always with this series, the romantic tension is perfectly layered with an undercurrent of suspense that adds just the right amount of edge without overpowering the heart of the story.
✔️ It was such a joy to reconnect with characters from previous books—this whole community has grown into something that feels like home, both to the characters and to the reader.

🎧 Narration
This wasn’t my first time listening to these narrators, and once again they delivered exactly what I hoped for. Their performances brought out both the emotion and tension in Trace and Ellie’s story with ease.

Tropes & Themes
✔️ Brother’s Best Friend
✔️ Grumpy/Sunshine
✔️ Found Family
✔️ Slow Burn Romance
✔️ Suspense with a dash of danger
✔️ Healing and second chances

Final thoughts
Chasing Shelter is a heartfelt, emotionally grounded romance with the perfect mix of tension, love, and found family. I can’t believe the series is almost over while I’m counting down the days to Kye and Fallon’s book, I know letting go of Sparrow Falls will be tough. If you’ve loved this series so far, this installment is an absolute must-read.

Keely is the star

I freaking love Keely! She cracked me up. Lolli is just a trip and I love her. Ellie and Trace are perfect for each other. The each give each other what they need. My heart is so happy for Ellie to finally have everything she deserves!

More than what I expected

I'm sure this book was highly anticipated. Since book one, I have wanted to know the sheriff's story! And wao wao wao, I'm left with my heart full because I fell in love with this story!! And now I want a butterfly garden and goats!

Protective Sheriff + Sunshine Neighbor = Swoon!

Chasing Shelter takes us back to Sparrow Falls and into the life of Trace, the grumpy, protective sheriff and single dad with a past that still casts long shadows. Ellie moves to town for a fresh start after walking away from a toxic relationship, and fate lands her right next door. What starts as neighborly kindness slowly becomes a deep, unshakable connection.

I loved watching Ellie bond with Trace’s daughter just as much as I loved seeing her and Trace fall for each other. Both carry heavy scars, yet together they find safety, trust, and love all while facing outside threats that test their strength. Catherine Cowles delivers another beautifully balanced blend of romance, small-town charm, and suspense.

Audiobook
Jason Clarke was Trace… protective, gritty, and heartbreakingly vulnerable. Desiree Ketchum captured Ellie’s warmth and spirit perfectly, while letting those moments of self-doubt peek through. Together, they made this story impossible to pause.

Emotional, suspenseful, and full of heart another stellar addition to the Sparrow Falls series.

Swoony Chief & Beautiful Butterfly

I absolutely loved Trace and Ellie’s story. This was a beautifully emotional story filled with family, second chances and love.

Ellie has been putting catering to everyone else while pushing down who she really is. I loved how she found the courage to finally put herself first and not let anyone dim her shine. Trace is the sexy single dad and sheriff in the small town. His past isn’t butterflies and roses. His daughter is his world and I love the gentleness he is with Keely and all the love he gives her.
The chemistry between Ellie and Trace is undeniable. Each moment they are together is another moment they can’t deny there’s a spark. When they gave in it was an inferno.

Jason Clark was absolutely the perfect voice for Trace. His deep timbre gave was super sexy and gave Trace the extra swoon factor. Desiree Ketchum was great for Ellie. She put all the emotion into her voice and was perfect for Ellie. My only issue with her part was that you could tell the parts that were edited in because they were lower and sounded nasally. Other than that it was a great listen.

Catherine once again stole my heart with this group of characters. I loved all the family vibes, especially Super Gram. She is ridiculous and I need that kind of woman in my life. There was just enough suspense/mystery weaved through the beautiful love story to warm my heart.

We met some new characters that I am intrigued with and of course Fallon and Kye are still a mystery I need to unravel. I can’t wait to go back to Sparrow Falls.

Chief & Blaze

After a messy breakup, Ellie Pierce heads to Sparrow Falls for a fresh start and to follow her brother Lincoln. She didn’t expect her new neighbor to be Trace Colson, grumpy town sheriff, single dad, and total heart-stealer. But it's his sparkly six-year-old daughter, Keely, who really steals the show.

If you were a boy-band-obsessed, bow-wearing, unicorn-collecting girlie, this book will light up your inner child 💖

Between the emotional backstories, the swoony romance, and the hilarious sibling banter, this series just hits. Keely adds the perfect dose of light to Ellie and Trace’s shadows, and the found family vibes are everything.

🎧 Pro tip: the audiobook, narrated by Jason Clarke and Desiree Ketchum, is a total win. Go hybrid if you can.

And yes, I’m counting down the days for Fallon and Ky. The finale is coming. I'm not ready.

Sweet read

I have been waiting for rule-follower Trace’s book for along time, and it was such a fun read. His relationship with his daughter Keely was the sweetest. She was just a bundle of chaos and he was so structured. I loved how polar opposite Ellie was from Trace. Ellie was just full of life and just radiated joy. Her and Trace’s interactions in the beginning were hilarious because of his annoyance of her. Ellie continually called Trace “Chief,” and his nickname for her was too funny. The story flowed well, and once again I was fooled as to who the bad guy was. Hopefully someday I will be correct. Lolli was once again the funniest character, and I just love her craziness. I loved that we also got a glimpse of Dex who will be in the new series by Catherine. Now we wait for Kye and Fallon's story!

Tropes
❤️Age gap
❤️Forced Proximity
❤️Single Dad
❤️Sheriff
❤️Brother’s best friend
❤️Romantic Suspense
❤️Small tow

Outstanding narrations; most brilliant story.

There are audiobooks that are fun to listen to and then there’s a story that invades your mind, captures your heart, and grabs you in a chokehold. 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓽𝓮𝓻 is that book. Narrators Desiree Ketchum and Jason Clarke bring this small town, romantic suspense story to life beautifully. Brilliantly narrated, this is definitely one of my favorite audiobooks of the year.

The Colson family of Sparrow Falls already owns my heart but they hit me with a bit more emotion in this book. There’s Trace Colson’s heartbreaking backstory, his beautiful daughter, Keely, his special bond with his foster brother Kye, and the attraction he tries to fight to his next door neighbor, Ellie.

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓽𝓮𝓻 is book 5 in the Sparrow Falls series, a stand alone, but we’ve met and gotten to know so many of the Colsons in the previous books that I highly recommend you start with 𝐹𝓇𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒮𝒶𝓃𝒸𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓇𝓎, book 1. The family banter, grandma Lolli in all her outspoken glory, plus how the Colson siblings lovingly torture each other in their group text messages is fabulous fun as only Catherine can write it.

This is a must read and better yet, a must listen! Thank you Catherine for Trace, Ellie, Keely, and the entire Colson family. Sparrow Falls is one of my favorite places to get lost.

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.”
Ellie Pierce to Trace Colson.

This is story was amazing!

This story was the best! The plot, the characters and all the small town feels made me love every minute of this book.

Ellie is finally free from the claws of her father and ex fiancé. She is ready to live the life she always wanted and there is no better place for her to be than Sparrow Falls, the small and charming town where her older brother lives and in a way her adoptive family too, "The Colsons". For the very first time in her life she feels home and welcome specially by her neighboor next door that is no other than single father and town's sherif Trace Colson.

Trace is a single father sharing custody of Keely with his ex wife. He always needs to be in control of the situation, chaos is something he doesn't want or need. When Ellie moves next to door to him he knows he is in trouble not just because his daughter adores her but also because he can't deny the enormous attraction he has for her. While they are very different in some aspects of life they fit and balance each other so well.

When outside forces come into town and Ellie becomes the target of a stalker, Trace is there to protect her at all cost and the more they spend time together the less they want to be away from each other but Trace is willing to do anything to keep Ellie safe even if is pushing her away.

In a true Catherine Cowles book she will keep you guessing until the very end to find out who is the true villain in the story and like always for me is very shocking. I listened to the audiobook of this story and if you have the chance to get it I definitely recommend it because Jason Clarke and Desiree Ketchum did an amazing job bringing the main characters to live with all the emotions that made me fall in love with this story even more.

🎀Neighbors to Lovers
🎀Grumpy/ Sunshine
🎀Single Dad
🎀Found Family
🎀Frenemies to Lovers
🎀Small Town
🎀Tragic Past
🎀Touch Her and die vibes

My favorite book in the Sparrow Falls series!

"You deserve someone on their knees for you, not someone forcing you to yours." So, let's talk about my FAVORITE book in the Sparrow Falls series! CHASING SHELTER IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. Ellie, Trace, and the sweetest little girl, Keely were EVERYTHING. Trace and Ellie are opposites in the best way! Orderly sheriff meets sunshine soul. Her calling him “Chief”? Hilarious. She knows exactly how to push his buttons… until he realizes she’s exactly what his life has been missing. Trace's protectiveness when someone starts threatening Ellie was so fierce! Total swoon! Catherine continues to weave that signature magic into every page of the Sparrow Falls series, but Chasing Shelter is so special. Jason and Desiree completely brought their story to life in the best way possible! These two were incredibly SPECTACULAR!