But I Smile Anyway…

So excited to be on the Book Birthday push for the fabulous book The Approval of Sheep by Karey Storey!

The Blurb

The Approval of Sheep

Gordon Slee fears he was never meant to be born. Anxious since childhood after hearing he was an accident, the forty-two-year-old is still struggling to escape the shadow of his high-achieving family.

But a glimmer of hope is on the horizon – a huge promotion within his hotel group is up for grabs, and he is sure that his time has come to make a mark on the world.

However, within his own department, redundancies are afoot. He may lose his job before he gets the chance. Until he learns of a historic covenant that preserves the right for sheep to run through the company’s top London hotel. Could he convince his boss that he’s the man to save the hotel from catastrophe?

Up in Bryn Nefyn, North Wales, live the descendants of the covenant owner. The elderly sheep farmer and his aging hippy brother could use the money the hotel might offer. But along with their strong-willed American shepherdess, they laugh at Gordon’s attempts to negotiate a deal. Surely, they couldn’t use a covenant that’s been forgotten about for over a hundred years.

Or could they?

For lovers of upmarket commercial fiction with a touch of romance and comedy, The Approval of Sheep is an uplifting story about family and love, overcoming adversity and discovering our reason for our place in this world.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.com/Approval-Sheep-Karen-Storey-ebook/dp/B0FNLYFSV6

My Review

The Approval of Sheep by Karen Storey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This debut novel by Karen Storey was a wonderfully well written tale with it’s heart based on a true covenant.
I’ve heard of sheep in London and covenants about them being allowed to run through certain areas according to these ancient covenants, so to have this book’s core being about a similar covenant, was intriguing.
Gordon, our MC is in a bit of a bind at his job, in that due to possible redundancies, he may be out of a job, on top of a failed marriage proposal. He’s feeling quite useless, compared to his heigh flying siblings.
Then with the knowledge of a covenant involving sheep being allowed to run throught the hotel he works at, he tries to bargain for a promotion.
He finds himself in Wales in order to negotiate with the owner of the covenant, and finds himself stuch with some stubborn, untrusting folk and a lot of sheep.
The whole story was highly entertaining, and there were some lovely emotional elements that made Gordon appear more human as the story progressed, and I was more than satisfied with the ending.
A little romance, a lot of self discovery and a shedload of sheep!

About The Author

Karen Storey is an award winning fiction writer and has been featured on the acclaimed book podcast, The Bestseller Experiment. As well as a novelist, she is a prolific short story writer. Her stories have been published in various anthologies and placed in several international competitions. Her memoir pieces have also been published within the New York Times bestselling book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Originally from New York City, Karen lives in Warwickshire, England and has written articles for American in Britain magazine. She lives with her husband, whose surname Storey was the perfect wedding gift. They share their home with a snarky cat who writes Karen’s monthly author newsletters and a crazy little Bichon Frise dog who barks at his own reflection. You can visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.karenstoreyauthor.com

The Approval of Sheep is Karen’s first novel.

Social Media Links –

Instagram karenstoreyauthor  https://www.instagram.com/karenstoreyauthor/

Threads karenstoreyauthor    https://www.threads.net/@karenstoreyauthor

 X StoreytellerK     https://twitter.com/StoreytellerK

Facebook Karen Storey   https://www.facebook.com/karen.okeefe.773

Blue Sky karenstoreyauthor   https://bsky.app/profile/karenstoreyauthor.bsky.social

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Approval of Sheep with bookmark (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days, then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data provided as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, except the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only to fulfil the prize, after which Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. Rachel’s Random Resources is not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

https://gleam.io/TwyjJ/win-a-signed-copy-of-the-approval-of-sheep-with-bookmark-open-int