Book Review: Dog Gone Back Soon (Cyrus Mills #2) by Nick Trout

When Dr. Cyrus Mills returned home after inheriting his estranged father's veterinary practice, The Bedside Manor for Sick Animals, the last thing he wanted was to stay in Eden Falls, Vermont, a moment longer than absolutely necessary. However, the previously reclusive veterinarian pathologist quickly found that he actually enjoyed treating animals and getting to know the eccentric residents of the tiny provincial town-especially an alluring waitress named Amy.

So Cyrus is now determined to make Bedside Manor thrive. Not an easy goal, given that Healthy Paws, the national veterinary chain across town, will stop at nothing to crush its mom-and-pop competitor. And the rival vet practice isn't Cyrus's only competition; a handsome stranger shows up out of nowhere who clearly has a mysterious past with Amy. To top it off, Cyrus finds himself both the guardian of a very unique orphaned dog and smack in the middle of serious small town drama.

Dog Gone Back Soon is the second book in the Cyrus Mills series by Nick Trout.  I reviewed the first book in the series, The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs here.  It's not necessary to read the first book before this one, although the story picks up right after The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs ends.  

The story is written well and flows smoothly.  There are some great moments with animals, as is to be expected with a book about a veterinarian.  The characters are growing in depth in this second book, and we are introduced to some new ones.  I enjoy the quirkiness of the small town community.

A couple things in the story just didn't sit well.  Cyrus falling for and going along with the blind date and all it entailed went too far for me.  Then Cyrus diagnosing a human without the man asking for one and without any testing, Cyrus just blurting it out, was irresponsible and stupid.  While Cyrus is a bit of a bumbler, he's not irresponsible or stupid, so that scene wasn't believable.

Everything with Stash, the labradoodle was wonderful.  I wish there was more with him.  Actually, I would have preferred more animal interaction throughout the whole book.  

I was given a copy of Dog Gone Back Soon in exchange for my honest review.  I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to anyone, especially animal lovers.

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

Book Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, , she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.

I'm not sure what to say about this book.  I've had it on my reading list for ages and finally got to it, just to find it wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped or imagined.  Alice, after she lost her memory and thought she was twenty-nine and pregnant for the first time, was a sweet character.  Her story was written in third person, but the author didn't take advantage of that "all knowing" style of writing, everything was shown as Alice perceived it.  Interspersed in Alice's story, there were diary entries from Elisabeth, Alice's sister made to a psychiatrist, Dr. Hodges; as well as letters to an old beau written by Frannie, their adopted grandmother.  These didn't add to the narrative at all, and would have made Alice's story flow better if just left out.

For me, What Alice Forgot was just an ok book.  There are some really good moments with the children as she tires to learn to relate to these little people she doesn't remember.  There are good lessons to be learned about moderation, in life, in family, in friendship.  

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

Book Review: What a Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr

An unsettling, emotional and suspenseful novel of the unshakable bonds of motherhood, in which Michelle Mason not only loses her memory after a deadly car crash, but can't find her 16-year-old daughter, the one person who may know what happened that day. But the deeper Michelle digs, the more she questions the innocence of everyone, even herself. A dramatic portrayal of the fragile skin of memory, What a Mother Knows is about finding the truth that can set love free.

 The story has an interesting if not unique premise.  People waking up from a long coma with memory loss is a well used plot, so an author needs to have some uncommon twists and great characters to capture the readers.  Unfortunately, this book didn't have either.  The main character, Michelle, wasn't very likeable, although she was pitiable.  Her husband was overly annoying.  Michelle's search for her daughter was kind of interesting, but things didn't make sense or totally add up to the ending.  The book did show the strength and endurance of a mother's love, which is always something to praise.

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

Book Review: The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs (Cyrus Mills #1) by Nick Trout

After fifteen years, Dr. Cyrus Mills returns to rural Vermont to inherit the Bedside Manor for Sick Animals, the failing veterinary practice of his recently deceased and long-estranged father. Cyrus, a veterinary pathologist far more comfortable with cold clinical facts than living, breathing animals (not to mention their quirky, demanding owners), intends to sell the practice and get out of town as fast as he can.

Then his first patient—a down-on-her-luck golden retriever named Frieda Fuzzypaws—wags her way through the door, and suddenly life gets complicated. With the help of a black Labrador gifted in the art of swallowing underwear, a Persian cat determined to expose her owner’s lover as a gold digger, and the allure of a feisty, pretty waitress from the local diner, Cyrus gets caught up in a new community and its endearing residents, both human and animal. Sensing he may have misjudged the past, he begins to realize it’s not just his patients that need healing.

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs is a winsome tale of new beginnings, forgiveness, and the joy of finding your way home.

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout is the first book in his Cyrus Mills series.  It's a sweet book about going home and being forced to face old demons.  It's written in first person narrative, so the frustrations and emotions of the main character, Cyrus Mills are easily felt.

Some of the characters fell a little flat, almost feeling like a caricature of a person, such as the over-sexed Crystal.  My favorite character was Harry Carp.  The complete love and devotion between he and his dog Clint was so touching, it makes the whole book worth reading for anyone who loves animals.

The book is written in a smooth, easy style to read.  Everything takes place within five days, so things keep hopping along.  There are no real surprises in the story, and the ending bordered on fairy tale.  Still, it's an endearing, enjoyable read.

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

Book Review: Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

The bestselling author of WHERE THE HEART IS returns with a heartrending tale of two children in search of a place to call home. Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.
MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.

Made in the U.S.A. is not an easy book to read.  Lutie and Fate are a brother and sister to whom life has not been kind.  Despite Lutie's best efforts to keep herself and her little brother safe, things keep going wrong.  Las Vegas is definitely no place for kids!  

The tension builds as Lutie keeps making the wrong decisions.  Those she thinks are friends may not be.  But she and Fate are homeless and she will do almost anything to survive.  

The story is written well, though rather dark.  Where the kids end up is almost too fantastical for a believable ending.  Still, Letts did show Lutie struggling to deal with the things she was forced to do.  It stayed a few degrees away from a fairy tale ending which kept the book more believable.

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

Book Review: Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo

In his slyly funny and moving new novel, the author of The Risk Pool follows the unexpected operation of grace in a deadbeat, upstate New York town--and in the lives of the unluckiest of its citizens. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, and Jessica Tandy.

I decided to try this book when I read the synopsis and it mentioned slyly funny.  I love a book that can make you laugh even under the saddest circumstances.  Richard Russo does just that in Nobody's Fool.  Poor Sully, the main character, can't catch a break in life; although, truth be told, he never tried very hard.  He shuffles along on his bad knee attempting to make a living, deal with family, and solve his love life.  Things keep falling apart on him, but through it all, he has a good heart that shines through.

 I give this book 4 Bookworms.

Book Review: Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

Talk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change. But Novalee is about to discover hidden treasures in this small Southwest town--a group of down-to-earth, deeply caring people willing to help a homeless, jobless girl living secretly in a Wal-Mart. From Bible-thumping blue-haired Sister Thelma Husband to eccentric librarian Forney Hull who loves Novalee more than she loves herself, they are about to take her--and you, too--on a moving, funny, and unforgettable journey to . . . Where the Heart Is.

Looking at the other reviews for this novel, it seems people either love it or hate it.  Maybe because my roots are in the South, I'm on the love it side.  The characters are endearing, the story is engaging; there is heartache, but also an extra dose of southern comfort from friends and neighbors to get through.  Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts is that kind of down home southern story that you can just sink into with a glass of sweet tea by your side. 

 I give this book 4 Bookworms.

Book Review: Love Letters from Ladybug Farm (Ladybug Farm #3) by Donna Ball

Renovating a broken-down mansion in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley gave three lifelong friends a welcome second chance. But after taking the biggest risk of their lives, are these women also willing to risk their hearts?

All the effort Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget have put into transforming an historic but overgrown farm into an upscale winery and special events business is paying off-Ladybug Farm has been chosen to host a society wedding. What this really means is that they are about to be invaded by warring mothers-in-law, a Bridezilla, and a completely clueless groom. They have their hands full keeping Ladybug Farm from descending into total chaos.

But there's something about a wedding...

Love Letters from Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball is the third book in her Ladybug Farm series.  Three longtime friends decide to change their lives and buy a mansion/farm in Virginia.  All their money goes into the repairs it needs and it's a constant challenge for them to stay afloat. 

The strength of this book is in the relationships.  The three friends, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget are there for each other through every hardship.  They laugh and cry together.  They also are quick to include others into the little family they have built; the mansion's old housekeeper, a young boy who shows up on the estate, a crotchety handyman, and more.

Donna Ball's writing made me laugh and cry as I read about the travails of these three friends.  I was also a bit jealous not to have such a friendship! The book is an enjoyable read.

 I give this book 3 Bookworms.

 

Book Review: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

A mystery, an unsolved crime and one of the most unforgettable characters since Mark Haddon's Christopher. Meet Maud ...

'Elizabeth is missing' reads the note in Maud's pocket in her own handwriting, and the one on the wall.

Maud's been getting forgetful. She keeps buying peach slices when she has a cupboard full, forgets to drink the cups of tea she's made and writes notes to remind herself of things. But Maud is determined to discover what has happened to her friend, Elizabeth, and what it has to do with the unsolved disappearance of her sister Sukey, years back, just after the war.

A fast-paced mystery, an unforgettable voice: you will laugh and cry but you'll never forget Maud.

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey is an absolutely beautiful book!  I've never read anything like it, and it's one of the few books that keeps me thinking.  I received a copy of the book for my honest review.

The subject of aging and dementia is forefront in today's society and Healey does a masterful job with 80-yr old Maud.  Written in her voice, I could feel Maud's frustration with her memory over her missing friend as well as what happened to her sister decades ago.  As the story progresses, Maud's memory deteriorates even more.  

Despite the memory struggles, Maud never gives up.  She writes herself notes, she tries everything she can think of to find her friend Elizabeth.  Maud's flashbacks to her childhood when her sister went missing show how strong she was even then, always pushing to find the truth.  I found myself crying, realizing that even if she found out what happened to Elizabeth and her sister (or if perhaps she had already found out) that she would never remember.  So she would always be searching.

The story shows the pain children go through as their parents age and can't take care of themselves; the difficult decisions that have to be made.  Maud's daughter and granddaughter have to endure her repeatedly not recognizing them.  It reminded me of my father and his mother, and left me wary of the future with my aging parents.

Elizabeth is Missing is charming and hauntingly provocative.  Do yourself a favor and read it.

 I give this book 4 Bookworms.