Skip to main content

Review: Love in the Headlines - Small Town Shenanigans #0.5

Love in the Headlines book cover on blue background

I am so excited that I was able to read this book for the Clearly Christian Readathon's contemporary buddy read this month! Love in the Headlines by Penny Zeller starts off the Small Town Shenanigans series as a standalone prequel and is an absolute joy. Combining a newspaper rivalry with a dog scheme and plenty of sparks, I couldn't help but chuckle at just how true the series name became.

Book Synopsis

Can paper and paw prints draw these two nemeses together?

All Carleigh Adams wants is a relaxing evening. But Sullivan Theodore IV, her wayward shih tzu, has other plans. After escaping from home, Sullivan Theodore unlawfully enters what Carleigh assumes is a stranger’s house via a doggy door. Much to Carleigh’s horror, it is actually the home of her coworker and nemesis, Trey “The Irritating” Montgomery.

Trey Montgomery has had to work with “Quirky Carleigh,” his top competitor for the best articles at The Oakville Daily, for the past two years. It’s safe to say that she and her criminally-minded pet are his adversaries. Trey’s attempts to keep his distance from her are demolished when their boss thrusts them together as The Oakville Daily Duo, forcing them to work as a team on every. Single. Article.

Petty crimes and crazy shenanigans in Oakville soon draw Carleigh and Trey into doubling as detectives. When dogs, including their own pets, begin to mysteriously disappear, Carleigh and Trey join forces to uncover the culprit. As they work to report the daily news and solve the crimes in Oakville, can these two stubborn reporters find love in the headlines?

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

I love it when the characters are known for their shared faith. Seeing Trey and Carleigh interact with each other is pure bliss because at the end of the day, they may be rivals, but they also care for each other as believers. It's from this background that they are able to grow in their fondness for each other, especially when they're thrown together as the Oakville Daily Duo for the newspaper they work at in their small town. This is a charming story filled with dog antics, a troublesome van, side quests into other townspeople's romances, and investigative sleuthing. Readers can't help but smile at seeing how this Daily Duo tries to outdo each other at every turn.

More than the shenanigans that take place with the dogs and newspaper stories, I appreciate that relationships are central to this book. It's evident that these characters come from loving families, and the scenes where they impart wisdom are a blessing. The transformation from rivals to more is subtle but beautiful as Carleigh and Trey pray about their future and about one another. If you're looking for a romance where God is clearly the glue holding a couple together, Love in the Headlines will have you rooting for this dynamic duo from start to finish.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📱
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available to you or you don't qualify for one 😊 List last updated: October 27, 2026 Christian Publishers 10ofThose Availability: U.S., Canadian, and U.K. residents Format: Only books published by 10ofThose qualify for review requests so as to avoid impeding with other Christian book review programs Genre: Christian non-fiction, children's books Email for availabili...

All the Cheese

I've been coming across content within the past several weeks that has stereotyped Christian books (and other mediums) as being cheesy on Christian accounts. While this isn't a new label or even a new topic, what has surprised me somewhat has been seeing more Christian authors jump into this conversation who wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. Although some authors will name others whom they believe are writing non-cheesy fiction, I feel as though the damage has been done by repeating this blanket statement. While readers have freely been engaging in this type of commentary for some time, it's been interesting to see authors chime in, where in some cases, there seems to be an emphasis on self-promotion over reflection. I'm not stereotyping and saying that all authors or even the authors I'm connected to respond with this tactic (because I really don't think they do!), but there are a few out there from my limited experience who seem to respond to this disc...

Mortality and Reading

This is a topic that has been resonating for me over the past few days, ever since I saw James Trevino's Instagram reel about why you shouldn't finish every book you start. In it, he breaks down the math of how many books we'd be able to read in a lifetime, based on reading a set number of hours per day and the average lifespan. He then compares this number to the number of books that are available worldwide. At first glance, it made me realize that I would have a lot of unread books, no matter whether my life is short or long. There's just too many books to read. Thinking about when my life might end led me to think about the types of books I read and how I'm currently filling my time. I don't think it's a coincidence that right after this crossed my mind, I was listening to  The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis where he espouses a simple but profound line that stopped me in my tracks: "If you don't read good books, you will read bad ones." Thi...