This book contains:
- suggestion of cheating on a wife
- assault and attempted rape
- health concerns during early stages of pregnancy
- elder abuse.
Molly, who I’d always thought of as a side character in this series, is our main character. We know she’s a kind-hearted, generous vet based in Glensheil who’s single. She’s highly driven and successful in her business and is now looking into offering classes for difficult dogs.
Cam is someone we’ve never met before but quickly learn has history in Heartcross. He’s going through his own difficulties, if I tell you what they are it will ruin the story for you. But it’s definitely juicy!
Some side characters that help make the story what it is are Dixie and her dog Darling. Dixie has recently been put into a care home and so Molly ends up with Darling who isn’t much of a Darling. Let’s just say she makes some of the difficult dogs look well mannered!
Molly meets cute guy at a hotel, has a one-night stand and he ditches her before she wakes up in the morning.
Three months later when she’s just had her life turned upside down her mystery man (Cam) rocks up in the most unexpected way possible. He’s nothing like she remembers and is left coming to grips with her sudden change in circumstances, coordinating the village to successfully execute a miracle and figure out what’s happening with Cam.
I think there were a few aspects of this book that missed the mark in a way that I haven’t felt with Christie’s books before. One subject I’m particularly touchy on and I know the vast majority of people would say I’m overreacting while the other one I’d like to hope people would agree with me. Otherwise, the book flows in Christie’s normal balance of comedic moments and the sweet heartfelt connections that you can’t help but gush over. There were even a few times I was tearing up in sadness and happiness, just like you should if you were living those moments. That’s how real Christie made them feel!
The first one is the difficult dog’s stuff. I happen to own a particularly difficult dog and I can assure you; a weekend conference DOES NOT equip you to suddenly be able to say you’re a qualified dog trainer, ESPECIALLY for difficult dogs. There is SO MUCH I could say about this topic because I’ve been living the reality of this for the past 16 months, but this isn’t the time or place to go into those details. My dogs Instagram account is where I talk about that stuff.
The second area that missed the mark was the assault and attempted rape. Why was this not reported to the police? Especially given everything we know about the characters involved; I would have expected that to be reported. Just because the guy had been drinking doesn’t excuse the behaviour. And it did feel like maybe because he had been drinking it was “ok” for him to do that without getting into trouble with the law. We didn’t need to read the actual reporting, just a mention that it had happened would’ve been enough, so I’m quite surprised by that omission.
Author Bio
Christie Barlow is the number one international bestselling author of fifteen romantic comedies including the iconic Love Heart Lane Series, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Kitty’s Countryside Dream. She lives in a ramshackle cottage in a quaint village in the heart of Staffordshire with her four children and two dogs.
Her writing career has come as a lovely surprise when Christie decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. Christie’s dream was to become a writer and the book she wrote to prove a point went on to become a #1 international bestseller in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
When Christie isn’t writing she co-presents The Book Show on Radio Northwich, enjoys playing the piano, is a keen gardener and loves to paint and upcycle furniture.
Christie is an ambassador for the @ZuriProject alongside Patron of the charity, Emmerdale’s Bhasker Patel. They raise money and awareness for communities in Uganda.
Christie loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
