“Take me, all of me, broken and in pieces, or say to hell with me.”WARNING!This book will break your heart!From the best-selling romance author of THE EDUCATION OF SEBASTIAN comes a sexy, heart-breaking and heart-warming story about one man and his dog. (Standalone)* * * * Alex is lost and alone, with only his dog, Stan for company. He doesn’t expect kindness from anyone anymore, but sometimes … kindness from anyone anymore, but sometimes hope can be found in the most unlikely places. He has a second chance at happiness, but there’s a dark side to Alex, and a reason that more than one person has called him crazy.
Single mother Dawn is doing just fine. Except that her ex- is a pain in the a*, her sister isn’t speaking to her, and her love life is on the endangered list.
At least her job as a veterinarian is going well. Until a crazy-looking guy arrives at her office accompanied by an aging dog with toothache. Or maybe Alex Winters isn’t so crazy after all, just … different.
Dawn realizes that she’s treated him the same way that all the gossips in town have treated her—people can be very cruel.
Contains scenes of an adult nature.
This is a standalone novel with no cliff-hanger.
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I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
When I first heard about this book, I thought that it would be a nice and sweet story about a man and his dog but I should have known better! Because from experience I know that Jane Harvey-Berrick writes emotional stories and this story was no difference. For me that’s also one of the things that I love about her writing, her ability to give us a story about an intense, emotional damage man and Alex Winters is absolutely all that. And then you have his dog, sweet and loyal Stan. I really liked the fact that the writer also wrote some scenes from Stan’s point of view.
Dawn is a single mother in a small town, after getting hurt by a man many years ago, she’s very suspicious about love and men. But then who wouldn’t be when the man you loved and trusted, not only hurt you but also destroyed your relationship with your sister and caused a big scandal in your small town. So now Dawn just focus on your daughter and her job as a veterinarian. Everything is going well until the day when a new man comes to the practice with his old, sick dog. A mysterious, quiet man. Dawn doesn’t know what to make of him or the gossip that he could be very dangerous. But the more she gets to know him, the more she starts to like him and her daughter is just crazy about him and his old dog Stan but then some things happens that make Dawn doubt him and her own judgement. Alex Winters is a quiet man for a reason. He’s also a very emotional damaged man. He lost his trust in people, the only reason he’s still alive today is because of his dog Stan, the only being that he loves and trusts completely. But then he meets Dawn and her daughter Katie and he feels hope again for the future but trust is a delicate thing. Can a woman who find it hard to trust men and a man who has lost trust in life, have a future together?
This is a wonderful story of never giving up hope. Even when you think that everything is lost and that you are all alone, there are people and beings out there that will support you no matter what. My heart just broke for Alex and everything he went through. I was so happy for him that he had Stan with him. Dawn had a good heart but there were times that I wish that she has some more faith in Alex but if you got hurt like she did, I can understand that it’s difficult to trust a man again with your one and your daughter’s heart. This story was told from different point of views and I liked that very much. And I really, really loved the fact that Jan Harvey-Berrick gave us an epilogue. I really needed that and I’m so glad that I got one.
Another good read from one of my favourite authors. For me the star of this book is Stan the rescue dog. I’m not that sure of the H, surely not a big fan of his but his saving grace is his love for animals. Dawn with her little daughter and her convoluted past involving her sister and ex-husband is a tangled web but it all works out in the end. When one reads this author’s book she always does her research very well. One of the sordid subjects in this story is about dog fighting. We read about it in the news sometimes but in this you get up close and feel the ugly side of humanity, how heartbreaking this is. A four star read from me.
After reading a couple of dark and twisted romance novels I was in the mood for something lighter, and One Careful Owner fit the criteria. I was hooked from the beginning and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to these intriguing characters. Especially Alex, because he was such a complex and mysterious person and I wanted to know what happened to him. I fell in love with his dog Stan, and I loved that we got a few short chapters told from his POV. I think more authors should have a chapter or two in their book be told by a pet.
Dawn is a very strong and independent woman, who always puts her daughter first. I totally understood her hesitation towards Alex, because she didn’t know much about him. I loved Dawn’s daughter Katie so much, she was honest and so sweet. I loved her interactions with Stand and Alex the most. Alex has been through so much and it is very difficult for him to hold on to the good things. Dawn and Katie gave him a new home. This book had a few very heartbreaking scenes that had me crying my eyes out. The secondary characters were very interesting, I especially was fascinated by Stella (Dawn’s sister). I wouldn’t mind her getting her own book.
One Careful Owner is a contemporary romance with a couple of emotional scenes. I love Jane’s writing and she did a great job with this book as well. Dogs played an important part in this book and as an animal lover I was really happy about that. The main reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars was because of the ending. In my opinion it was rushed. For me the story wasn’t over yet, Alex and Dawn had still things to figure out and they needed to grow more as a couple.
“Courage isn’t always in the grand gestures, but for a man like him, it was simply walking out of his own front door.”
I am completely spent! This book, oh my God, this book. Please heed the warning, this book will break you heart. It will break it into a million pieces, again and again, and again. And just when you’re at that point where you don’t think your heart can handle any more, Jane Harvey Berrick slowy, and carefully, and beautifully, pieces it all back together.
Honestly, I can’t stop crying thinking about this book, as I go back over the sections I highlighted. I seriously want to crawl into my Kindle and hug Alex. What a sad, broken man, My heart ached, literally ached for him. He is the best kind of character, a character that will pull at every single one of your heartstrings.
I just don’t even know what else to say. I’m completely overwhelmed with emotion over this book, from the wonderful characters- Alex, Stan, Dawn, Katie, and even Stella, to the heartwrenching and frustrating situations they all go through. One Careful Owner: Love Me, Love My Dog will make you feel – it will make you feel sad, angry, hurt, frustrated, happy, content, but most of all hopeful. Hopeful that, even from the deepest, darkest depths of despair, there is light at the end of the tunnel…you just have to be willing to fight through to find it.