The Lonely Hearts Rescue by Missouri Vaun, Morgan Lee Miller and Nell Stark

Pages: 300

Publisher: Bold Stroke Books 

Released: 11th of October 2022 

When a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast, the animals at the Lonely Hearts Rescue Shelter need love, and so do the humans who adopt them.

Something About You by Morgan Lee Miller. After rescuing a cat stranded in the hurricane, animal control officer Reese Shepard is adamant about finding shy, timid Apollo the best forever home. When she discovers Apollo giving cheek rubs to Hannah Marsh, Reese’s high school crush, she’s captivated by her all over again.

Force of Nature by Missouri Vaun. Rebekah Hawks has stepped in to help with hurricane disaster relief. Challenges are no match for Rebekah. At least until she agreed to foster an impossible dog. Rebekah has no choice but to seek the aid of handsome local dog trainer Rory Maclaren. But who is training whom?

Test of Faith by Nell Stark. Rescuing a dog is a dream come true for Faith Kincaid—and a chance to prove to herself that she really can, in the words of her therapist, “commit to commitment.” When Faith takes her new best friend, Pinoe, to the vet, she can’t stop staring at Dr. Delphine Wu. Del is completely out of Faith’s league. Or is she?

What I Have to Say 

This book has cosy written all over it. It's so warm and full of love. Revolving around the Lonely Hearts Rescue Centre, in a world where everyone seems to be gay (or at least everyone adopting or working at lonely hearts anyway) each story starts with a person agreeing to adopt or foster a pet, only then to meet the woman of their dreams along the way. It was simple and perfect and made for great reading. 

As it's a animal book, obviously I have to dedicate a paragraph on the animals in the book! Though I felt there could be more animal content (because who doesn't need more animal content?), the stories were full of cute moments between the animals and their owners. I would have liked to see more of Apollo the cat's rehabilitation, but Buffy the Cav cross and Cotton the dachshund (what better name is there than cotton??) featured a lot in their respected stories and there were moments that I really loved. 

The romance was simple, I could have done with more conflict in the first story as it all seemed a little easy, but with three short stories in a three hundred page book, there was not much room for elaborate stories. I liked all three main characters and their love interests, so I was fairly easy to please. 

Basically if you're LGBTQ+ (or just like reading about gay characters) and love animals then you couldn't really find a more perfect book to read. 

My thanks go to Bold Stokes Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

 

The Dog Who Saved the World by Ross Welford

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416 

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books 

Released: 10th of January 2019 

When eleven-year-old Georgie befriends an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual-reality 3D version of the future.

But then a deadly disease threatens the life of every dog in the country and Georgie’s beloved dog, Mr Mash, gets sick. And that’s only the start of her troubles.

Soon, Georgie and Mr Mash must embark on a desperate quest: to save every dog on earth, and maybe even all of humanity …

… without actually leaving the room.

An extraordinary quest with the biggest stakes of all, and a huge idea at its heart, this is time travel – but not as you know it.

Trigger Warnings: Illness, animal death, dead parent 

What I Have to Say 

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A DOG LOVER. From the title, my dog loving heart thought "oh good, a nice heart warming book about a dog saving the world." Never have I been so wrong. I mean, sure I read the blurb and therefore must have seen that there would be a deadly dog disease going around, but I guess I hadn't really connected it to the sort of mad cow disease sort of illness that means mass slaughter of animals. There were some really grim scenes in this book. And though the main character does warn you to look away at certain points, it's probably best not to read it if you get really upset about dogs being killed in books. 

Other than that though, it was fairly good. It left me with the same feeling that I'm coming to know well from Ross Welford though: Nothing quite lives up to the beauty that was Time Travelling With a Hamster. It's probably a case of a really amazing first book that other books just can't reach the same heights as, rather than anything lacking, but it leaves me deflated all the same. No matter how great the characters are, how quirky the story is, it's just not Time Travelling With a Hamster. 

If you push all that aside though, it really was a great book. Easy to read and with some really fun lighthearted moments. It's so interesting to see Welford's depiction of a near future where disease has changed our lives in so many ways, where UV lights and hand-sanitiser are part of the regular routine to keep these things at bay. The quirky professor with an AR machine was also great fun, though I really think eleven-year-old children should know better by now than to go visit a stranger just because they're invited! 

Basically, it's good, but potentially upsetting for dog-lovers. Maybe go read Time Travelling With a Hamster instead. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this copy for review. 

Evie's War by Holly Webb

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 300

Publisher: Scholastic 

Released: 4th of October 2018 

In the seaside town of Whitby, when the United Kingdom is on the cusp of World War One, Evie and her family are touched by tragedy when Evie's younger brother Alexander dies unexpectedly.

As Evie's mother and father struggle in their own ways to come to terms with their loss, Evie's older brother David distracts himself with the ever-growing threat of war and Evie and her sister Kitty find ways to keep their spirits up.

But when the threat of war turns into reality and David enlists in the army, Evie's mother is truly heartbroken. And as the family does their best to contribute to the war effort, they also struggle with the sacrifices each of them are forced to make.

Based on the real-life bombing of Whitby in 1914, this beautiful, powerful and important read by Holly Webb is devastating but also wonderfully uplifting

What I Have to Say 

This was everything that I wanted from Skylark's War but didn't get. I loved setting, the relationship between the family members, the angle of loss that was clear from the very start of the book. I loved the way that Evie and her sister Kitty contributed to the war effort (especially the horse blanket) and I loved love loved the dogs. 

I've never thought about dogs during wartime, as so as not to spoil parts of the books, I won't say too much now, but the dogs were definitely my favourite part of the book. It can be hard to find decent representations of dogs in fiction sometimes, but Max and Brandy were perfect. Max was definitely my favourite, he was just written so perfectly. 

The backdrop of Whitby was a very interesting one. I've never read a book set in one of the seaside towns during wartime before. The way that the war touched them in such a massive way, with the bombing of Whitby and the ship really brought home the danger of the war in ways that home front war books often doesn't. 

This was such a sad, dramatic story and was written in an uplifting way. It's a hard balance to write about the subject matter in a way that treats it serious and puts across the horrors of war while also leaving the reader feeling uplifted.

If, like me, Skylark's War left you a little wanting or you just want to see more of the home-front during WW1, I would definitely recommend Evie's War. 

My thanks go to Scholastic for providing me with this copy for review. 

Goodnight, Boy by Nikki Sheehan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Publisher: ONEWorld Publications 

Released: 6th of July 2017 

A tale of two very different worlds, both shattered by the loss of loved ones. Tragic, comic and full of hope, thanks to a dog called Boy.

The kennel has been JC’s home ever since his new adoptive father locked him inside. For hours on end, JC sits and tells his dog Boy how he came to this country: his family; the orphanage and the Haitian earthquake that swept everything away.

When his adoptive mother Melanie rescues him, life starts to feel normal again. Until JC does something bad, something that upset his new father so much that he and Boy are banished to the kennel. But as his new father gets sicker, JC realizes they have to find a way out. And so begins a stunning story of a boy, a dog and their journey to freedom.

What I Have To Say 

This book was made special by the way it was written. As one boy's monologue to his dog, it was different to a lot of things. Even other books written in monologue haven't come close to being as good as this one. I think that's partly because as JC tells the dog his story, he often has to stop and come back to the present because something is happening with the dog. 

I found that this story really captured me. Often monologue stories can be a little dull, but there were so many threads and little mysteries that kept my attention fixed on the story. What happened that caused JC and Boy to be locked into the kennel? When will Melanie come back? All these little questions keep me interested and reading to the very end. 

JC's voice also just made me care for him a lot. His voice was so young and he had been through so much, it made it so easy to connect with him and want the best for him. 

This was definitely a very interesting book and it's made me more interested in reading more like it. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and ONEWorld Publications for providing me with this copy for review.