North of Broken & Furever Home

by Holly B. Gutwillinger

Renley Nelson is struggling with midlife melancholy and fractured family bonds. Her marriage is crumbling, her sons are distant, and her mother's mind is slipping into places Renley can't follow. When her best friend begs her to join a dog rescue mission in Ontario's northern wilderness, Renley sees a chance to escape her failing life.

As she helps the dogs heal and adopts not one, but two high-needs dogs, she finds the strength to mend her relationships and reclaim her place in the world.

In this dual narrative between woman and dog, both must learn that healing requires the bravery to stay—even when everything inside you wants to run.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 14, 2026

Reviews

[Heather Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

One think I discovered in my 2025 reading life was how much I enjoyed POVs from animals and inanimate objects throughout the story.

In North of Broken & Furever Home you follow two stories. First you have Renley, a woman dealing with crippling anxiety, a dead end job and grieving the death of her beloved dog. She is struggling being an empty nester as her boys go away to school and her relationship with her husband is strained. Her only joy is her volunteer work at the local shelter but even then she questions her abilities.
Then you have Sully, a scared and timid pup trying to survive the wilderness with a pack of strays including his brother that feel he is more dead weight than helpful.
When their paths start to cross during a rescue mission that sees the dogs brought into the safety and comfort of the shelter, their instant connection helps to bring them both out of their shells and help them both find purpose.
A heart warming and sweet story of the power that animas bring into our lives and how important they become as members of our families.

[T || · Rating 5 out of 5]

North of Broken & Furever home by Holly B. Gutwillinger

My review:
Thanks to the author Holly B. Gutwillinger & Olivepresspublishing for this ARC.
NOB&FH is a dual narrative between the FMC Renley - a wife, mother & friend. And A dog. Renleys marriage to Jesse and her life is crumbling around her. This story features midlife melancholy and family ties fracturing. With this dual narrative, both Renley and the dog have to learn the key point - that healing requires the bravery to stay - even when everything inside you wants to run.

From the beginning I felt sorry for Renley - something as simple as misplacing keys - asking for help to recieve none.

And omg the dog POV (Sully) when i read the first chapter from Sully's POV I almost cried it was cute as hell. I feel sorry for that lil doggo.
Omg... I cried like such a girl at the bear scene 😭😭😭... so so sad.

And poor cash. This was such an emotional soppy read for me. But im glad if the positive ending.

5 stars ❤️

[Liisa Kovala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly Gutwillinger’s North of Broken: Furever Home is a moving story about love and acceptance. Renley is a highly relatable middle-aged mother of two, a nearly empty-nester, struggling with anxiety, and frustrated at her job, but she finds joy in volunteering at the local shelter. Through Sully’s point-of-view, Gutwillinger writes with compassion about his experiences as a dog grieving for his mother and rescued by humans only to encounter a strange new world. The reader comes to love both characters and understand their individual struggles and their need for connection. North of Broken: Furever Home is a touching story of grief, belonging, friendship, and healing that will stay with you long after you have finished the last page. Thank you to the author for sharing an advanced reader copy with me.

[Kaity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Olive Press Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge dog lover, so I was very excited to read about a dog with his own POV. I loved this book. It was very good. The dog POV was very enjoyable, as was the main characters.

[Emily Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

received arc of book.

this is such a beautiful story of one woman's journey of self-discovery. be prepared to cry.