Shelter & Sky: Book 1
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
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 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.
Content consideration: This story explores themes of significant loss and grief. For more specific content information that may contain spoilers, visit this book’s page on the author’s website.
Set in Colorado, Even After This by Deborah Clack is the first book in the Shelter and Sky series. Meredith is a widow struggling after the tragic loss of her husband.
Harlan is a movie star with zero dance skills, and in a serendipitous moment, Meredith is paired with Harlan for a dinner date. Harlan seems to take everything in stride, but does he?
As Harlan and Meredith spend more time together, they share several humorous moments, as well as moments with other actors and their families. Meredith also steps out of her shell several times, which was heartwarming.
Meredith’s grief grips her hard at times, but she always seems to have someone there to help her through it. The activities she participates in throughout are interesting and tend to reveal another side of herself. The scenery is often breathtaking and described so vividly that it feels like I am there.
As Meredith gets her life back on track, her relationship with Harlan is filled with fun moments. He definitely gets her and is good for her. The epilogue wraps things up nicely, and a happily ever after is around the bend.
I look forward to continuing their story with the next book. The discussion questions at the end are a nice addition and have the same vibe as the story.
Even After This is a romance that helps push Meredith’s grief aside and opens up a new and different life and world for her.
Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author Deborah Clack is a native Texan who believes in the power of fiction, in the lost art of lip-synching, and that chocolate should be eaten without nuts. A high school AP history teacher for ten years, Deborah earned a master’s degree in education and was awarded Teacher of the Year for arts in education.
