There's a lot of info out there about how Bishops, Cardinals, and the general Nobility reacted, but I haven'the seen anything on what the reaction to the Act was at the local smaller-town level.
Follow-up question, how would their views/sermons have changed following Henry VIII's excommunication in 1538? Would it have come as an unpleasant shock to them ("Bishop never told me nothing!"), or was the writing on the wall as obvious as the medieval equivalent of a giant flashing neon sign?
To a certain extent this question requires a certain explanation of the nature of Tudor government. The size of the state in this period was absolutely tiny, the number of actual bureaucrats directly employed by the state was almost non existent. As such, almost all the functions of government (like ensuring that the army would be available to the king when he called and keeping his peace) had to be carried out by notables of every village on a voluntary basis for no pay. Think offices like the church warden, local sheriff and of course, the local parish priest. Further, religion was deeply political but also personal. The salvation of one’s soul literally depended on getting the forms of religion right. As such Henrician reforms – charging for baptisms, raising the spectre that the children of poor parents might go to hell for want of money – for instance raised particular ire and were deeply personal to the people involved. The basic point is that doctrinal and religious matters, like breaking from Rome and changes to the liturgy like those introduced in the King’s and Bishop’s books were certainly on the pay grade of local functionaries and they would not hesitate to take action.
Now, it does seem that the official reformation of Henry VIII had a very mixed reception and that priests and others definitely did take individual positions for and against his legislation. If you want to read a detailed case study of the reaction of a single priest and village I would urge you to read "Voices of Morbaeth: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village" by Eamon Duffy. He tracks very well the reception of the reforms from one conservative priest in a small Cornish town and his struggle, against increasing official pressure, to keep the old forms alive into the reign of Elizabeth I. In general it seems that areas in the south east, closest to London and the centre of royal power, embraced the religious changes of Henry VIII more quickly than the periphery. What is most striking however, is that there was very little positive enthusiasm for the reforms outside the small core of reformers around the king himself and in the big towns like Bristol. Most often reactions ranged from indifference and resignation to outrage. Of particular note would be the iconoclastic campaign started by Henry from roughly 1540 onwards. In the vast majority of cases it was state agents who toppled Rood Screens and statues, while the parishoners stood by helplessly. Then, when the agents, were gone they would often either put the statues back up again, or hide them in the hope that a new more sympathetic regime would come to power. This was incidentally what happened when Mary came to the throne – all the Catholic paraphernalia which had been hidden away in basements was dusted off and put back into service, a possible testament to the continuing Catholic feeling. The most obvious example of violent resistance would be the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. This was a truly massive revolt and can be mostly attributed to popular reaction against Henry VIII's religious reforms. The second of their list of demands (made at Pontefract) was “the supremacy of the Church touching "cura animarum" to be reserved to the See of Rome as before.” I.E, the retraction of the Act of Supremacy.
So, in conclusion. Yes, local functionaries and priests did not think that the reformation was above their paygrade. Popular reaction to the reforms was very mixed, mostly ranging from indifference and resignation to fierce resistance and armed revolt. That said, I have only touched on the reign of Henry VIII, a much fuller picture would be gained if we had looked at the reigns of Edward VI and Elizabeth as the regime became more radically protestant. If you wish to read more I would urge you to take a look at “Voices of Morbaeth” and the “Stripping of the Altars” – both by Duffy. There really is no better place to find well organised primary source documentation of the English Reformation. I hope that I have covered some of the detail that you wanted, but as you can see, this is a massive topic that people have literally written books on. If there is anything that isn't clear or is just wrong then please say and I will do my best to answer/correct any mistakes.