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

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

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!

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

The perfect narrators for an amazing story!

This book was the perfect listen for me, I was in a pretty deep reading slump, and sometimes you just need familiarity to get out of it. That’s what Catherine’s writing for me it’s familiar and comforting, her books always feel like visiting friends, yet somehow being completely unpredictable and unputdownable, and making me suspicious of every single character introduced.

Chasing Shelter was soooo good. I have adored Keely through out the series so far but I loved getting more of her! Ellie is the perfect foil to trace and his grumpiness, I loved the way they understood eachother. Especially the way Trace knew that Ellie needed to be in control of her own life even though he struggles with needing control In his own life!

Also how the hell am I suspicious of every single characters YET STILL DIDNT GUESS THE BAD GUY! 😂

I loved this audiobook, the narrators did an incredible job and just brought Ellie and Trace to life perfectly! They made the story feel so cinematic, and I loved every minute of this listen!

Grumpy Sunshine Perfection

I had high hopes for Trace and Ellie's story, and this did not disappoint. An adorable little girl, protector single dad, city girl running away, and side characters we already know and love...all combine to create a beautiful story of hope, love, and overcoming the past. Now, it wouldn't be a true Catherine Cowles book without crazy twists and turns you don't see coming with the most epic "big bad" reveal!

I adored this little family so much and really fell in love with the Bestie relationship between Keeley and Ellie. It was so organic and beautifully written. One thing that not everyone mentions is how well Catherine writes children (and pets) to really make them part of the story and not just a side character for the "single parent" trope.

the mom is amazing

love the series and can't wait for the other stories but want to take a moment and shout out to the mom. has all of her kids been shot or in the hospital in the span of what? 2 years? they were in danger so often I would not be surprised she has a heart attack.

Why did it have to end?!

I wish I could read/listen to anything by Catherine Cowles every day of the week. I have been waiting for Trace’s story for a long while. I was hoping before book 4 was released it would have been his story. He was a remarkable father, co-parent, and loverrrrr. Although I was expecting for his ex wife to try to drag him through a custody battle the way she was so snarky every time he asked her for help. But I’m glad that Ellie tried to always include her and I’m happy she came around to support their daughter and accept her as the new step mama. If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to be convinced to read this book. You’ve likely already read the books prior to this in the series. It hits. It slaps. It’s good. It’s hot. Yasss.

Wowza What a Story

In this book we get Trace and Ellie's story. From the opening of this book you can just feel the connection between them. There are so many twists and turns that you wonder will they get that HEA or will others make sure that never happens? The narration will have you hooked from the first word to the very end. I definitely recommend it to anyone. An absolute must own