Book Review: A New Leash on Love by Debbie Burns

A New Leash on Love
by Debbie Burns

I actually read the fourth volume in this series previously, and enjoyed that enough to want to read the stories of the characters who populated the background of that tale. A New Leash on Love is the first in the series, centered on the High Grove Animal Shelter, a no-kill animal shelter in St. Louis, Missouri.

In this first volume, the central character is Megan Anderson, a young woman filling in as the temporary head of the shelter. Her match is Craig Williams, a marketing exec going through a divorce and hiding some baggage he’s carrying. When Craig shows up at the shelter to surrender a chocolate lab puppy, which has proven to be more than his 13-year-old daughter can handle, he and Megan have a very antagonistic first meeting. However, as his daughter Sophie becomes a young volunteer at the shelter, he and Megan have to see more of each other, and they realize they both made incorrect assumptions.

The chemistry of the characters is very nice, and there are a handle of memorable supporting cast. The descriptions of how a no-kill animal shelter operates, and how the staff of a shelter try to rehabilitate abandoned or surrendered animals so that they can find new “forever homes” really added a nice layer to the storytelling.

I wouldn’t call it one of the best romance novels ever, but it is a pleasantly charming start to a series, and makes me want to read more.

[This is only the first in what has become a five-volume series (so far), as of 2020. If you like this, you’ll enjoy the rest of Debbie Burns‘ books.]

[ official Debbie Burns web site ]

See Scott C.’s review of Love at First Bark, the 4th volume in this series, on BookGuide in December 2019

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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