Guest Review: A Girl’s Best Friend by Jules Wake

Welcome to your new cottage in the country - complete with grumpy vet, village gossip and a very muddy dog . . .

City girl Ella wants to take refuge in the country, lick her wounds and work out what she's going to do with the rest of her life. She certainly doesn't want to have a four-legged house guest or anything to do with village life. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Wilsgrave have other ideas.

Settling in to her godmother's house for a few months of R&R, Ella finds herself the reluctant babysitter of a badly behaved Labrador - and her plans of staying mainly indoors scuppered. But as she's forced into wellies and into the village's way of doing things, Ella meets people who make her think again about what she really wants out of life and love, starting with her new furry best friend . . .

Review: This is just the second book by this author that I have read, and having just finished it I wonder why I have not read more of her work. The story grabbed my attention right from the outset and kept me reading right to the end. 

At the start of the book, we see artist Ella moving into her godmother’s country cottage while she tries to take stock of her life. She is ‘taking a break’ from her long time boyfriend, Patrick, and their hectic London existence. However, her plan to immerse herself in her illustrating work and not venture outside the cottage are scuppered by the arrival into her life of one lively and very very cute black labrador, foisted on her by her mother. Ella had no idea that looking after Tess was part of the deal. The other thing that Ella had not foreseen was the extent to which she was expected to take part in village activities. Through her furry friend, Ella soon gets to know other inhabitants of the village, including dog-lover Bets and rather gorgeous, if grumpy, vet, Devon. As she begins to settle into this very different way of life, Ella takes a fresh look at her life in London and her relationship with Patrick, wondering if all was as marvellous as she thought.

This is definitely an ideal story for dog lovers. Although the main thrust of the tale concerns Ella, labrador Tess and her doggy friends are always present in the midst of the action. Even though both Ella and handsome vet Devon are at difficult points in their lives, with serious decisions to make, there is quite a bit of humour in the story, often connected with the dogs. The villagers too are a source of entertainment as they enrol Ella into all sorts of activities in the absence of her godmother, obviously a pivotal character in the village. I loved the sound of the village, with its strong sense of community and likeable, if sometimes strange, inhabitants. I took a great dislike to Ella’s mother, though, definitely a silly lady. As I say, this book will surely appeal to dog lovers, but not only them; it is a well written and wonderfully entertaining story in which you can quickly find yourself immersed and transported to the countryside.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US