Sheridan “Dani” Reed is a recently unemployed photojournalist living in New York City. Her boyfriend is vacationing without her, and her best friend has abandoned her for a job in the south.Is a quarter-life crisis a thing?After accepting a freelance job in Louisiana for Southern Style magazine, she feels the bleakness of her life back in New York fading in the rearview mirror. Getting back to … the rearview mirror. Getting back to her southern roots seems to be just what she needs to lift her spirits and spark her creativity. During her stay, she meets playboy Micah Landry and his colorful family. She knows she should avoid him and keep things professional, but his southern charms are hard to resist.
Through the lens of her camera, she finds the beauty and soul of the Landry Plantation, but it’s her beauty and soul that capture Micah’s attention.
When an unexpected phone call takes her back to New York, she’s forced to face the life she was trying to escape head on.
Will her trip and the Landrys only become fond memories, or will Dani find her way back to them and her beloved south?
In their debut novel, Jiffy Kate bring you a story of love, adventure, and finding a place to call home.
more
I stumbled upon Jiffy Kate after finding them at an event. They are lovely, lovely women and as I would come to find out after reading Finding Focus, great storytellers. Dani and Micah captured my heart. Their story is sweet and sexy and just… the whole take on going home down south and finding yourself again is something I completely relate to. I totally recommend this read and anything Jiffy Kate writes.
These is the first story I have read by Jiffy Kate. I thought it was a wonderful story and I look forward to reading the next book.
4.5 Cranky Stars
Oh who doesn’t love a good old country boy who loves his mama and his family but can also cook and is a charmer with the ladies? I’m talking about Micah Landry. He owns two restaurants with his brother and has no intentions of settling down. He loves them and leaves them which may be his only flaw really. When his family and their beautiful plantation home is up for a feature in a prominent southern magazine, he wasn’t expecting Dani the photographer with red hair and a body built for sin. Yet that’s not all that attracts him to her it’s so much more there is a pull and he hopes to explore it. When he finds out she has a boyfriend he sticks himself in the friend zone vowing to always be there for her and boy does he come through in a big way.
Sheridan “Dani” feels stuck in her life. She lost her job and her boyfriend treats her like garbage. Always belittling her and making her feel bad because she has a gypsy soul and would love to be a freelance photographer. When she lands in French Settlement on assignment she falls in love with the quaint town because it reminds her of her hometown of Laurel Mississippi. She even falls in love with the Landry family because who doesn’t love them, they are an amazing bunch. When she starts getting close to Micah, she knows she needs to keep it firmly in the friend zone because she loves her boyfriend right? When she is called back home and forced to take care of the idiot who left her for a random vacation that didn’t involve her the truth stares her in the face. Decisions are made and it wouldn’t be possible without Micah.
I love the Landry family with all my heart. What’s not to love. The quintessential mom who cooks yummy meals and loves her family fiercely. Despite having money, they are very grounded and work for what they want no handouts in this family. Deacon is the best big brother if not a little overbearing when it comes to his baby brother. Dani’s only flaw was trying so desperately to see the good in someone and having it tossed back at her time and time again. What I love about Jiffy Kate and their books is that every town they mention from Nola to Baton Rouge to Laurel I have been there! I can picture it so well in my head and that’s an extra bonus. I’m going to binge the rest of this series. I can’t wait for Deacon.
This book made my southern heart so homesick. I miss it all, everything from the food to friendly neighbors, crazy heat and humidity, Spanish moss dripping from trees, fireflies, you name it, I miss it. I adore this book. I can 100% relate to Dani and feeling like she’s not sure where she belongs in the beginning. I love the Landrys and their southern hospitality, nothing’s better, they’re loud and charming. The dynamic between Dani and Micah was sweet, and honestly at times a little sad and hard to read. Dani having to deal with all of the ladies in Micah’s past would have sent me running, especially after what happened with Graham, ultimately she knew that’s where she belonged. I think it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone, that tug on your heart towards home is always there. Overall this is a great book with fantastic characters and a setting that makes me want to pack up and move.
Omg! This book was so good! I loved the slow burn between Micah and Dani! They definitely had some smoking chemistry happening between them. I can’t wait to read more of their story. I actually think I’m going to skip to book 3 so I can get more of them faster and I NEVER read out of order!
This was a cute and humorous read. I liked the story very well. I was very entertained with it. Can’t wait to get started on Chasing Castles. Jiffy Kate did a wonderful job. Keep up the good work. What a great writing team!
Easy, Fun, Romantic, Heartfelt, Real
Finding Focus is the perfect southern romance with universal appeal. Dani found love and success in NYC but it hasn’t added to her happiness like she expected. Then she loses her love and success in the city but scrapes together a short term job in Louisiana. There she meets handsome charmer Micah and his lovely family and Dani thinks maybe she’d been headed in the wrong direction until she got turned around and headed back south.
Read this immediately if you love: small town romance, city/country romance, southern gentlemen, small towns, Cajun food, eating outdoors on summer nights, mommas and grandmas who greet everyone – family, friends, strangers – with food and hugs, catching fireflies, or road trips.