Where can you turn when the world turns against you? When Elizabeth Barnes’ life fell apart she never imagined that she’d be rescued by a new friend on four paws. The plan was simple: Elizabeth would ignore the fact that she was unjustly fired from her dream job, fly across the pond to settle an unexpected inheritance in her father’s home country and quickly return to reclaim her position among … her position among the Silicon Valley elite.
But when Elizabeth stumbles upon an abandoned puppy, she’s shocked to realize that her brief trip to England might turn into an extended stay. Her strict itinerary is upended completely by the pup’s dogged devotion, and soon the loveable puppy helps her to connect with a tight-knit community of new friends on two legs and four, from the aunt and uncle she didn’t know existed, to a grumpy coffee shop owner to two very opinionated sheep. Along the way Elizabeth is confronted by long-kept family secrets, hard truths about her former life and a new romance that might lead her to question everything she knows about love. Because sometimes rescue magic happens on both ends of the leash.
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Started out great but drug from the middle to the end. Predictable.
Such a fun book – but more than that! Not only did the pages turn themselves in a lovely, warm, happily-ever-after story that took me away from the current news, but because it reminded me that I also need to be present. The life we have online is not a real life. Measuring our worth by the clicks/follows/comments is a losing game. Bonus that Schade also shares plenty of puppy raising and dog handling tips, educating people without banging them over the head about shy shelter dogs, new puppies, and working dogs. I read this book in only a few days but wished it hadn’t ended. I’d love to know what happens next.
Elizabeth Barnes was unjustly fired from her job and all she can think about is getting back on top in the tech world. When she finds out she has family in England, she makes the trip and has a set itinerary for what she believes will be a short vacation. Things don’t quite go as planned though. She finds herself with a puppy she rescued and plans to help her uncle for a few months before heading back to California.
I loved this book which is all about love and Elizabeth’s journey of self-exploration. Well-written with wonderful characters, this book drew me in and kept me hooked from beginning to end. The storyline was incredible and this book is a must for animal lovers.
Who can resist the cover of this book? This was a sweet rom-com that was easy to read and enjoy. Likable characters, a family with a few sad secrets, animals including the adorable puppy on the cover, a young woman at loose ends who meets an attractive single guy when she travels to a small English village…we know how this will end but sometimes that’s just what we want – this book was like comfort food (a warm chocolate brownie or macaroni and cheese – or both!). I highly recommend this heartwarming novel.
Thanks to Chick Lit Central and Berkley Publishing for a digital copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.
This was a delightful departure from what I typically read. The cover and title were the first things that appealed to me, and the description clinched it. This crazy cat lady understands the appeal of a puppy, too! It is very well written, with descriptives that bring in the light, colors, and life of the English countryside and the love of family.
I did not like Elizabeth at first. She was so driven that her work and her social media content and followers were all she had in her life. One untoward comment at a trade show ended her years at Duchess Games, where she had worked up to the head of marketing. Her exorbitant salary and stock options were gone. Her name was mud, and there were no job prospects in sight. Her only acquaintances were job related, none of whom wanted to see her.
It is in the silence of this crisis that Elizabeth heard from a stranger in Fargrove, England. Her father had passed away several months earlier. Rowan Barnes called and said he is her father’s estranged brother. She denied having any family members, yet he persisted. He inherited property that should have gone to her father but was unclaimed. Rowan and his wife Trudy want to give it to Elizabeth. The documents and photos he emailed to her offer proof of who he is and the property involved.
Elizabeth planned the trip as she would a business deal. A couple days in Fargrove to look at and make arrangements to sell the property, a few more days seeing England, then back to San Francisco and job hunting. All perfect plans tend to change, however.
Elizabeth’s uncle is the renowned artist Rowan Barnes, a highly successful landscape painter. He is a loving, welcoming man, and Trudy is equally so. She has never met anyone like them. Elizabeth’s father was so closed off from others that it was hard to believe he and Rowan were related. She chose to accept their invitation to stay a couple days longer for a celebration of a 50-year retrospective of Rowan’s work at a museum. That night, her aunt fell; Elizabeth stays a little longer to help with her injuries, then do some work for a coffee shop owner in town, then for her uncle.
This is a place like no other. There is little wi-fi or cell phone access except for a few spots in town, which plays havoc with her social media posts. The people she meets are open and welcoming; she made friends in a very short time. She met the most incredibly handsome man. Once terrified of animals, Elizabeth found a tiny, abandoned puppy. She is slowly but surely losing her heart to Georgina, the adorable pup who claimed Elizabeth as her own, and the beautiful land and its people. Then the job offer came, the chance to return to her “real life”. No friends, no puppy, no loving family. But it was all she knew for many years.
I got to know Elizabeth very well through the novel and began to like and understand her even as she grew to understand her father. I couldn’t have left people like Rowan and Trudy – I would want as much time to get to know them as possible! The countryside is lushly described, and the people are well-rounded. Plot twists bring continual changes throughout, so it is hard to know what Elizabeth will ultimately decide and why. I would definitely recommend this novel to mature audiences, due to a couple TMI scenes and unnecessary expletives. Overall, I highly recommend this novel to women who enjoy a good family drama that highlights the connection between a pet and a woman and a bit of romance.
It’s a rom-com set in the middle of a Rosamunde Pilcher book. It’s got an English village, a rescued dog, a found family and it’s the perfect thing to read on a drizzly spring day when you’re trying to avoid the real world. Go. Read. It. Now.
One of my new favorites on my shelf! This book has everything I love in a good romance – funny and emotional – highly recommended!