“This heartstring-tugger is certain to win fans.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED Review for A New Leash on LoveAnimal portrait painter Mia Chambers and architect Ben Thomas have volunteered at the High Grove Animal Shelter for years, and they share a complicated history. Ben has secretly loved Mia all this time, but she was married to his best friend. Now she’s newly widowed, with a young son, and … widowed, with a young son, and Ben doesn’t know how to tell her what’s in his heart. All he can do is stay close, help her as much as she’ll let him, and watch for the right moment to bare his soul.
When a dozen adorable border collies get dumped in St. Louis’ biggest park, everyone at the shelter mobilizes for a large-scale rescue. Rushing to the park to round up the frisky collies, Ben and Mia unexpectedly plunge into a new phase of their entangled lives. Who knew that opening their hearts and homes—to animals in need and to each other—would lead to so many upheavals…and new beginnings…?
Rescue Me Series:
A New Leash on Love (Book 1)
Sit, Stay, Love (Book 2)
My Forever Home (Book 3)
Love at First Bark (Book 4)
What People Are Saying About Debbie Burns:
“[A] warm, wonderful story.”—Romance Junkies for A New Leash on Love
“A tender love story…will win the hearts of animal fanciers.”—Publishers Weekly for My Forever Home
“It captured my whole heart.”—Urban Book Reviews for Sit, Stay, Love
“Sexy and fun.”—RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars, TOP PICK for A New Leash on Love
more
Great book
4.5 Stars for Love at First Bark
This is only the second book I have read in this series and I need to go back and read books 1 and 2 because I’m falling in love with everything about these books, I love the plots, I love that they are set around rescue shelters and I love the characters and what about the puppies who can forget them….
This book starts off a bit sadder than the previous book I have read, Mia is recently widowed bringing up her 7 year old son Ollie and she finds herself turning more and more to Ollie’s godfather Ben. Mia and Ben has a connection way back in their college days but a mix up lead them in different directions but is the timing right now …..
Love at First Bark is an emotional read, it has adorable characters as well as some adorable puppies that we get to meet when someone dumps a dozen Border Collie pup in the park and the team from High Grove Animal Shelter get to work rounding them up and let’s not forget the deaf mother and her puppy that Mia fosters only to fall deeply in love with both of them. A second change romance with the perfect mix of love, humour and sadness make this a great read.
I haven’t read the rest of the series, but I’m seriously adding it to my wish list for future reading. I mean first of all, we have the cutesy title…just try and tell me you didn’t smile when you read/said it. Second, that cover! An adorable pupper, the snowy scene, and our potential couple walking through the drifts…can’t you just feel the love? Last on the “why should I read this” roster, the story!
Really, the story is what brings the greatest joy here. The characters, both the two and four-legged ones, will endear themselves to your heart while the tale itself will speak to your soul. It’s not that something utterly dramatic and earth shattering happens, but it’s monumental enough to them and relateable enough for readers to have you caring right alongside each of them, come what may.
All in all, this book has SO much going for it! Love, loss, family, puppers, and enough feels to shut down the power grid to the big apple (still blush-worthy versus scorching!)…it’s a great combination that’ll have you SITting down for a moment only to find yourself STAYing straight through to the end. Seriously, I was flicking epages so much I didn’t even stop to update my Goodreads status! Recommended for Contemporary Romance fans.
**ebook provided for review; opinions are my own
Mia Chambers has taken her son Ollie and left her husband Brad after he cheated on her. While in the process of divorcing him he dies. Their friend Ben Thomas, who was not only Brad’s best friend but also Ollie’s godfather, has been instrumental in helping Mia get through Brad’s funeral. He continues to be her hero by still being there to help her where he can and also help with Ollie. Mia volunteers at High Grove Animal Shelter as does Ben. They both participate in the rescue mission when twelve border collies get dumped in a nearby park. This nets Mia and Ollie a mama dog and her pup. Ben was more than happy to assist. Mia feels a little guilty about being attracted to Ben. Ben, on the other hand, has been in love with Mia since before they officially met. He stopped in a lecture hall on her campus and heard Mia give a speech which really resonated with him. Ben asked his friend Brad to arrange a meeting with Mia but missed it when his father became ill. Both Brad and Mia assumed Ben was not interested so they ended up getting together and then getting married.
Love at First Bark by Debbie Burns is the fourth book in her Rescue Me series. This story is filled with fun and entertaining doggy adventures. The interaction between the characters is fun also. The journey to a HEA for Mia and Ben should be an easy one considering how well they know each other, but life usually doesn’t work out that way. It didn’t for Mia and Ben. I enjoyed reading about the ups and downs of this journey. Ben’s patience with Mia was admirable. I also enjoyed seeing characters from the earlier books in the series and getting updates for them. This is always a plus for me when reading a series.
Debbie Burns has written a fun, heartwarming story of love, family and trust. As usual the dogs from the shelter add great enjoyment to the book.
I loved this return to the High Grove Animal Shelter. Mia and Ben are wonderful characters, looking to move forward after the death of Mia’s estranged husband/Ben’s best friend. Figuring out what that looks like for the two of them is the tricky part. Add in Mia’s seven year old son (who is Ben’s godson), Mia’s mother, her former in-laws (who resent Mia and her decisions), the delightful friends from the animal shelter, and adorable dogs, and you get a captivating story of friendship, moving beyond old hurts, hope, family, the healing power of pets, and love. Awesome! I look forward to another return to St. Louis and the Hugh Grove Animal Shelter.
I won this book. Ms. Burns is a new-to-me author, but one that I will definitely be reading again. What a great book! I loved the crossed history of the two main characters Mia and Ben. Ben has loved Mia for quite some time, but she ended up married to his best friend. When Mia’s husband dies, the field is somewhat open again, but things are very complicated and it’s going to be some time before Ben can come clean. As he tries to help Mia (she’s very independent) with the troubles in her life, her son AND with some dogs at the shelter where she works, that empty spot just might get filled.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
3.5 stars
I love all the dogs in this book! This a slow-burn, second chance romance. When we first meet them, Mia and Ben are likeable characters with a decade of baggage hanging heavily between them. As godfather to Mia’s son, Ben is a constant in her life after her husband’s death, but Mia doesn’t realise how long Ben has had feelings for her.
Parts of this story are quite dark. Mia’s marriage was complicated and she’s struggling as a widow with a young son. Ben struggles with the morality of his feelings for Mia. Fortunately, the dogs in the book bring joy and the potential for fresh starts. This is a very slow and angsty read. Even when Ben and Mia start to explore their feelings, Mia’s mother-in-law complicates things further.
For me, the relationships in this story feel more real than most romance novels. I read this while on holiday and it was quite a bit heavier than I’d expected from the title and cover. I liked the characters and I think I might have enjoyed the story more if I’d read it in a different time and place. I’m never a huge fan of kids in romance and this felt a little bit too much like a Hallmark family film at times. There isn’t much heat in the book and little opportunity for any chemistry between Mia and Ben to develop.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
Love at First Bark is a book on Friendship, Love and Family with a high dose of puppies thrown into the mix, making this a good read.
Mia is at odds. Her recently deceased husband left her in a world of turmoil. Mia was in the process of divorcing Luckily she has Ben, her late husband’s best friend, and godfather to her son Ollie, by her side.
Ben wants to be there for Mia and Ollie is every way but he’s full of guilt. He never let Mia know that it was actually him who has been in love with her since before she ever started anything with her husband.
With the help of a litter of puppies and their shared love of volunteering at High Grove Animal Shelter, the two start to open up to each other and see that love has always been there. It’s just presenting itself in a new way now.
This book is full of heart and if you love puppies you are going to love this book. A little angst and a lot of love is what Love at First Bark is all about.
I have enjoyed each book in this series for the story but mostly for the dogs. The series centers around a shelter in St Louis and the various employees and volunteers. I love how the shelter is very proactive in getting pets adopted and roping in local celebrities to help in their mission. It doesn’t hurt that some of those well known local names find love in several of these books.
This book is a little sadder than others at least to start. It focuses on Mia who is a recent widow. She has a 7 year old son, Ollie, and while she was about to divorce her husband he ended up dying unexpectedly. Enter Ollie’s godfather, Ben, who has always had a thing for Mia yet a mixup in college created a new path for each of them. Mia also has some not-so-nice inlaws that seem to think their son could do no wrong. They are about to find out how wrong they are in that thought process. While I’m not sure we truly find out their feelings once they know the truth, there is a hint of shock and perhaps it is an eye-opener.
Ben is a very caring man and it is very surprising that he is still single. That could be due to his interest in Mia all these years, he could be battling some of his own demons about his life, or maybe no one else measured up to his standards. I love how he takes an interest in a teenager and shows him how to be a kind and caring young man.
Then there are the dogs…we can’t forget them! A crazy woman lets loose a pack of border collies (around 13 I think). Mia becomes a foster “fail” when she falls in love with a mother and her puppy that are both deaf. I loved it and how it really helped Ollie move forward past his dad’s death.
Overall this was a great story and I can’t wait to see who might be featured in the next book in this series. We give it 4 paws up.
Another AWESOME release in the Rescue Me Series from Debbie Burns! Adorable Border Collies help Mia & Ben along their journey to happily ever after! Don’t miss this one.
I have not read the previous books in this series but I really enjoyed this story because I love dogs, rescues and love. This is a new to me author and I will definitely read her again. This is a fast read with a sweet story that even though at times was emotional, all ended well. Mia and Ben are attracted to each other and have known each other for a long time. The problem, she was married to his best friend who died and now he is in turmoil with his emotions because he has always had a thing for her. Mia is trying to focus on her son and their life and wasn’t planning on anything more than that for a while. But as we know, life has a way of presenting what’s next to us even when we don’t plan on it. Great story about friendship and love and of course rescue doggies!
After reading the previous book in this series, I was eager to get a chance to read this book early. Once again, Burns delivers a heartfelt, poignant read full of emotion. When the four-legged characters are done well, they have a way of stealing the scene, and these rescue pups definitely hold their own. Mia’s son, Ollie, is adorable, and his playful, sweet interactions with the hero, Ben, are what really steal the show.
Everyone is still reeling from Brad’s death. Although he and Mia were in the process of getting a divorce, her son Ollie still lost his father and Ben lost his best friend. None of this changes the fact that Ben has been in love with Mia since he first laid eyes on her, but it certainly makes things more complicated, as do the shocking revelations Mia has in store.
While this story has its strong points, some things were a little disappointing to me. There is far more telling than showing, and while it would take some time to edit, it’s not a difficult fix, and it’s far more likely to engage the reader. I also got slowed down by long narratives that, for me, didn’t add anything or help to move the story forward. Sometimes, less is more. My other issue is with incorrect names. Megan for Mia, Monica for Ava and a random Lilly tossed in with no mention elsewhere. It seems like a simple enough thing to keep a list of name changes and do a search/replace on the final copy.
In my opinion, these are all far more editing issues than author issues, which is the reason I didn’t leave a lower rating. The storyline is strong, the characters are compelling and there are plenty of tugs to the heartstrings. Hopefully you can focus less on the editorial issues and far more on these winning characters and heart-stealing pups.
*I read an early edition of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide feedback and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source.