FYI: TODAY IS NATIONAL PUPPY DAY!
Don’t even get me started on how cute the cover of WHO RESCUED WHO (Berkley) is. It’s a delightful novel any four-legged lover will love. Where can you turn when the world turns against you? When Elizabeth Barnes’ life fell apart she never imagined that she’d be rescued by a new friend on four paws.

The plan was simple: Elizabeth would ignore the fact that she was unjustly fired from her dream job, fly across the pond to settle an unexpected inheritance in her father’s home country and quickly return to reclaim her position among the Silicon Valley elite.

But when Elizabeth stumbles upon an abandoned puppy, she’s shocked to realize that her brief trip to England might turn into an extended stay. Her strict itinerary is upended completely by the pup’s dogged devotion, and soon the loveable puppy helps her to connect with a tight-knit community of new friends on two legs and four, from the aunt and uncle she didn’t know existed, to a grumpy coffee shop owner to two very opinionated sheep. Along the way Elizabeth is confronted by long-kept family secrets, hard truths about her former life and a new romance that might lead her to question everything she knows about love. Because sometimes rescue magic happens on both ends of the leash.

I adored this book! Elizabeth has grown so much from the beginning of the book until the end. She's a social media influencer so her life pretty much revolves around her phone. But then she goes to England, meets family she never knew she had and makes new friends in the small town. There, she realizes what could actually make her happy, and it wasn't attention and all the likes.

She also kinda rescues a dog that becomes hers and they're such a cute pair. It was so funny in the beginning because she was so scared to interact with the puppy because she does not like dogs. But now, she's head over heels over the pupper. The romance isn't the main focus of the story but that's completely ok. I absolutely loved every character in this book.

Come for the adorable puppy on the cover, stay for a fun rom-com that will definitely lift your spirits!

A light-hearted, feel-good story that will leave you with the warm and fuzzies we all need right now!
Like so many, I am struggling through 2020. Between the pandemic and the disconnect in our country, I have been seeking ways to unwind from it all. When I picked up Victoria Schade’s Who Rescued Who, it was a total breath of fresh air. It is love, light, and fun packaged into an adorable and heart-warming story. The perfect book to help you beat those 2020 blues!

Social media influencer and HR manager Elizabeth Barnes shares her entire life online. Afterall, is she truly experiencing something if she doesn’t post about it? Living in Silicon Valley, she has plenty of social media-worthy moments to capture. But when she makes a joke during an interview that jeopardizes her company, she finds herself out of a job and much less to share on social media.

Just when she thinks she has hit rock bottom, her father passes away and her hopes of truly connecting with him and finding a sense of family and home she’d been lacking is gone. Until her uncle contacts her and invites her to England to visit her father’s land that she has now inherited… Her plan is to sell the land and get back to life as she knows it. But perhaps that isn’t what fate has in store for Elizabeth.

Sometimes when everything goes wrong, we find our way to what is right.

I loved the theme of finding yourself just when you feel your most lost. For Elizabeth, it seems that she had gotten so misguided, she needed her life shaken to it’s core in order to get onto the right path. A sweet and fun read, I just completely adored this book!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Who Rescued Who?

By Victoria Schade

Berkley Trade Paperback

March 24, 2020

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Read the excerpt

Focus: Belonging, Love, Family, The Love of a Dog, Commitment, What really matters in life.

Elizabeth Barnes is a social media influencer in the tech hub called Silicon Valley. Everything she sees and experiences has to be posted. She is driven to succeed as a human resources manager at Duchess Games. That is until she jokes about something during an interview at an expo that affects the company’s social status. The next thing she knows is that she’s out of a job and has nothing else lined up.

If that isn’t difficult enough, she has her social media identity and reputation to keep above sea level. Being unemployed and without positive content put her in the survival mode. Then comes the death of her father, who was unable to provide her with a loving and supportive relationship as he closed the door to his heart. She has no idea why he never let her in.

The answer begins with a phone call from her uncle, artist Rowan Barnes. She didn’t even know she had an aunt and uncle. He invites her to his home in England to claim the land she’s inherited. She hopes to sell it and return to San Francisco, but fate has other plans.

Everything about England is foreign to her and it’s not simply because it’s another country. Rowan and his wife, Trudy, treat her as if they have known her all her life. They have so much love to give and want her to live with them. There’s this wonderful, innocent puppy that she finds that loves her, as well. There are friends that welcome her into their lives and one man who loves her, but she has to break away from her former life.

WHO RESCUED WHO is about recognizing where you belong. About having the courage to allow yourself to love and to pull away from society’s impersonal hold on your soul. And only then can you truly love and be loved. It’s also about mistakes that severe family bonds and the only way to repair the damage done is to tell the truth.

I loved the cover. I loved the characters’ interaction and personalities, and the fact that they seemed real. I didn’t like how Elizabeth was willing to leave everything and everybody for financial success. She should have seen the value of her family, friends and the man who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Would love to see a sequel with these characters.

four adorable puppies out of five

Denise Fleischer

gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com

April 12, 2020

Thank you, Berkley, for our gifted review copy.

I am so glad this book came into my life! This is such a heartwarming tale with family, second chances, a picturesque setting, and a sweet little dog. Schade definitely gives me more than I bargained for as there is the death of a parent & discovering of family.

These are the types of stories a wounded or aching heart craves. So much to love about this one.

After getting fired from her tech startup job, Elizabeth wants (1) revenge and (2) a more prestigious new job. But first, she gets a call from an uncle she didn't know existed who says she's the owner of a plot of land in England. She sets aside her career plans for a two week trip. But when new family, friends, love interests, and an adorable puppy enter her life, it's harder to leave than she expected.

Sometimes you just want to read a happy little dollop of whipped cream of a novel. A pandemic leading to a global crisis is one of those times. This fuzzy little book was exactly what I needed during a storm of anxiety and stress. I love dogs, so the cover wasn't a turn-off for me, but I will say that it's not exactly a classic dog-focused book. There are lots of cute puppy scenes, sure, but there's a lot more going on in this novel too: big character arcs, career drama, beautiful landscapes, and more. I'm pretty over the "millennial learns there's more to life than her smartphone" bit, and the ending was a little anticlimactic. But overall, this was a fun book that definitely lightened my mood. And for that, I'm very grateful.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

I loved reading this! From Uncle Rowan’s first hug to the gorgeous English countryside, this story is rich with narratives that invited me into each scene. Animals, including a border collie, two spoiled ewes, and especially a tiny puppy, are as essential as the human cast. The characters are beautifully depicted and memorable, and the plot has interesting twists and turns that beg for eager turning of the pages.

Elizabeth Barnes, the chief marketing officer at Duchess Games and unaccustomed to failure, found her life in San Francisco turned upside down. Due to a faux pas at a trade show, she was unemployed and without her stock options. She struggled to find a new company to call home and watched her social media standings with an anxious eye multiple times a day. In the gaming world, however, she is being shunned, with no employment future in sight. She then received a call that could change her life. Or at least, the next few weeks.

Elizabeth’s mother, who had doted on her, passed away when she was only twelve. Her father, who was distant at best, died only six months ago. She had no siblings and no other family members. When a call came from a man in England claiming to be her Uncle Rowan, brother to her late father, she was skeptical and expecting a scam. Rowan was from the same town her father was, and knew her middle name, but couldn’t someone find that if they looked hard enough? Rowan said he had inherited what should have gone to her father, and as his heir, Rowan and his wife Trudy want to give it to Elizabeth. Rowan promised to email the documentation to her, then discuss her plans to claim the land. As promised, Rowan sent a copy of the document regarding the property and a couple photos, one of Trudy and Rowan, who had some of her father’s features.

Elizabeth made travel plans with a tight itinerary so she could get back to her real life and find a new position. She would spend a couple days in Fargrove, get the paperwork initiated to sell the property, then take a short tour of England and hurry back home. She would have many new photos for her social media to keep building her brand as a businesswoman.

From the moment she arrived, William, who picked her up for Rowan and Trudy, called her Bess. Nobody ever called her Bess! But Bess is to Rowan and Trudy. They are the most welcoming people she has ever met; she is not used to their warmth and welcome. She meets their dog, Major, and is immediately terrified. She has been afraid of dogs since she was a child, and is convinced that this dog is going to do her in. And sheep – why does she have to meet the ladies? To her horror, there is no service in the rural area for her phone! She must walk to town to find a coffee shop to upload photos and check her accounts.

Her first delay in leaving was for the party celebrating Rowan’s retrospective, 50 years of his famous paintings put on display at a London museum. When she thinks she might get some excellent photos with impressive people to post, she changes her itinerary. The night of the party was interrupted by a heavy storm. Trudy fell and had to go to the hospital. Elizabeth found a tiny, trembling, soggy puppy, and had to figure out what to do with it until Rowan and Trudy returned. She couldn’t take a puppy on her trip, much less back home.

It’s true that our pets choose us. Elizabeth called the tiny puppy Georgina, and she was told that the pup chose her to be her human. Georgina loved several humans but adored only her. Elizabeth did website redesign for the owner of the coffee shop. Rowan asked her to help catalog his life’s paintings. She met a man who she felt, for the first time ever, she could love. Rowan even encouraged Elizabeth to pick up palette and brushes to begin painting, which she hadn’t done since high school. She made delightful friends who genuinely cared about her. All these and more made it hard when she was pursued by a virtual reality gaming company back home.

The characters are defined as richly as rural England. At first, I didn’t like the driven social-media queen Elizabeth was. Her insecurities and fears were peeled away one by one and seeing her depths were eye-opening. I began to like her more as the story continued. James, the man Elizabeth wants in her life, even if long distance, is very much an enigma at first, other than being an incredibly handsome brewery owner. I especially liked Rowan and Trudy, who should have counterparts in every family. They are so wonderfully loving and kind.

The plot was unpredictable, keeping me engaged once I got past my initial dislike of Elizabeth. There were times when I wanted to reach in and tell her don’t do that! At any given time, there is humor, drama, sadness, and hope. For women who prefer sweet romance, the spicy scenes are mostly short and can be skimmed past. What Elizabeth will do when the siren song of her career cries out seems simple, to return to real life rather than the fairy tale of Fargrove. I highly recommend this delightful women’s novel!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Thanks to Chick Lit Central and Berkley Publishing for a digital copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Who can resist the cover of this book? This was a sweet rom-com that was easy to read and enjoy. Likable characters, a family with a few sad secrets, animals including the adorable puppy on the cover, a young woman at loose ends who meets an attractive single guy when she travels to a small English village...we know how this will end but sometimes that's just what we want - this book was like comfort food (a warm chocolate brownie or macaroni and cheese - or both!). I highly recommend this heartwarming novel.

Who Rescued Who
Victoria Schade
Berkley, March 2020
ISBN 978-0-593-09883-7
Trade Paperback

From the publisher—

Where can you turn when the world turns against you? When Elizabeth Barnes’ life fell apart she never imagined that she’d be rescued by a new friend on four paws.

The plan was simple: Elizabeth would ignore the fact that she was unjustly fired from her dream job, fly across the pond to settle an unexpected inheritance in her father’s home country and quickly return to reclaim her position among the Silicon Valley elite.

But when Elizabeth stumbles upon an abandoned puppy, she’s shocked to realize that her brief trip to England might turn into an extended stay. Her strict itinerary is upended completely by the pup’s dogged devotion, and soon the loveable puppy helps her to connect with a tight-knit community of new friends on two legs and four, from the aunt and uncle she didn’t know existed, to a grumpy coffee shop owner to two very opinionated sheep. Along the way Elizabeth is confronted by long-kept family secrets, hard truths about her former life and a new romance that might lead her to question everything she knows about love. Because sometimes rescue magic happens on both ends of the leash.

Just a couple of months ago, a story about someone who rescues a pet would have been very heartwarming, of course, a feel-good tale to pass a few hours of comfortable reading. That’s all true with Who Rescued Who but life today gives it a whole new meaning and, while I’m sure there are other newly-released animal rescue books, this is the one that came to my attention and I’m SO glad it did.

Besides the obvious attraction of a cute puppy, Ms. Schade has created a really good tale full of what makes family and friends mean so much to us and we’re treated to a bit of mystery, romance and family secrets along the way. Bess is an especially appealing protagonist, one we can really sympathize with when she’s faced with more than her share of angst-causing adversity and the people and animals, especially Georgina, that soon surround her are just as engaging. I loved watching Bess come to terms with the past and learn to be the person she’s meant to be. Perhaps best of all, we get to escape our current health/economic/political crisis for just a little while and, these days, that’s a very good thing. Ms. Schade and her publisher had no way of knowing how timely this would be but we readers surely do benefit from serendipity.

We’re a household of four rescues, including three cats and one dog, and the pup on the cover of this book reminds me of our Rosie even though they don’t look at all alike. What they do have in common is an intense stare, as though they don’t want to miss even a nanosecond of their humans’ attention. Rescues KNOW they’ve found a forever home and love their people just as much in return, certainly more than some humans do. If you can, please consider rescuing a critter—of any kind—and help out an overwhelmed shelter at the same time, won’t you? 🙂

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, April 2020.

The cover is adorable and the story gets there eventually. My Rating 3.75.

Elizabeth Barnes is a workaholic who has no life beyond her job and her obsessive social media focus. She is experiencing a bit of shellshock and a lot of anger after being unfairly fired from her dream Silicon Valley job. While trying to figure out how to get her feet – and life—back on track, she gets a surprising email from a man claiming to be her uncle. The problem is she never knew she had an uncle in England.

Elizabeth finally decides to take a quick trip to England to settle the unexpected inheritance which will provide a financial cushion while she is trying to get back into the work market. Elizabeth is surprised to find a warm welcome and soon growing friendships in the small backwater village of Fargrove. Elizabeth discovers a man she is interested in and stumbles upon an abandoned puppy who adopts her. Everyone tells her that she is responsible for the puppy since she found her.

Elizabeth is surprised to learn her uncle is a well-known artist. She hadn’t planned to remain in Fargrove but finds herself staying to help nurse her aunt after a fall, help her uncle categorize his many unrevealed paintings, train a new puppy, and nurture a possible romance. Meanwhile, she continues to fret that she has limited cell phone service and she fusses over her minimized social responses.

In spite of a rocky start, Elizabeth is soon wrapped into the community with everyone hoping she will settle on the land she has inherited and strengthen her developing relationship with James. When Elizabeth is offered a job to get back in the scene of Silicon Valley, will she walk away from her uncle and aunt, her puppy Georgina, her new friends, and James?

I was drawn to the adorable puppy cover. Unfortunately for over 50% of the book, I had a hard time coping with Elizabeth’s very self-centered and self-absorbed attitude. She was given wonderful opportunities but was too focused on her Silicon Valley elitism to really see what was in front of her. Her romance interest tried to resist getting involved, but once he did, instead of pushing Elizabeth to talk about the future they ignored the topic or he sulked. I found it hard to understand why no one really pushed Elizabeth to consider her choices.

I really enjoyed the art aspects of this story and the wonderful natural setting with dogs and sheep included. Jame's beer business added interest too. Although I am glad I finished, I had to struggle to get to the end because of the primary character. Apparently many other reviewers did not have this problem so if you can handle a character who needs a swift boot a good talking to, you would likely enjoy this book.

Source: NetGalley.

A big hearted book filled with hope, humor, and four-legged love! Victoria Shade swept me away with this adorable story, made me smile, and forget about the crazy World for a few hours. So if you’re looking for that perfect comfort read look no further. Elizabeth has lost her job and is feeling lost when she receives a phone call from an uncle she never knew she had. Her uncle informs her that since her father passed she is the owner of a parcel of land in the UK and he wants her to come see it. Elizabeth is intrigued, why has she never heard of this uncle? With nothing better to do she decides to head to the UK, meet her long lost uncle, sell the property, and quickly return to the US. She never expects to be charmed by her uncle and aunt, enchanted by a puppy, and enticed by a man.

Such a sweet satisfying story. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and I loved the setting. Elizabeth (who her uncle preferred calling Bess) was such a likable character even though she was sometimes frustrating and a little selfish. She had a big heart and I loved watching her grow throughout the course of the story. There are so many sweet relationships in the story both between humans and humans, and humans and their furry friends. It was great to watch the relationship between Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle Bloom, seriously this book made me wish I had a long lost uncle somewhere out there. The romance in the story was a bit of a slow burn but so worth it. This is just a feel-good book that will give you the warm fuzzies.

This book in emojis 🐶 ☕️ 📱 🐑 🤳🏼 🍺 🐶

*** Big thank you to Berkeley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Is it even possible to walk by this book and not be completely drawn to it?! I mean look at those big brown puppy dog eyes! I was done for when I saw this cover and knew it was a must read.

Can you tell that I like dogs? Well yes I adore dogs and this cover spoke to my dog lover heart and when I saw that it was written by a dog training professional I was intrigued.

I mean it’s not every day that one goes from training dogs to writing books and I thought this would be a fun quick way to spend a few days during the lockdown COVID crisis and I was right. I couldn’t have picked a better more uplifting book to read at this time!

Summary
A few rough breaks lead a woman at the end of her leash to journey across the pond to fetch a suprise inheritance–but the dogs she rescues along the way have other ideas.

The plan was simple: Elizabeth would suffer through a quick trip to her late father’s family homestead in the English countryside, try not to think about how she was unjustly fired from her dream job, claim her inheritance, and hop on the next flight back to Silicon Valley where she can get her life back on track.

The plan does not include rescuing an abandoned black and white puppy. Or bonding with her long-lost aunt and uncle, their Border Collie, and their two very opinionated sheep. Or falling for the handsome local who runs the town’s craft brewery. As Elizabeth’s brief visit to Fargrove turns into an extended stay, she discovers that she has more in common with the new puppy than she realized. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
This was one of the best rom-coms I have read in a while. I picked it up looking for something to escape into because all the COVID and quarantine situation was totally getting me down and I just needed something that was happy and funny and this was that book! I adored every minute of it and read it in only a couple of days!

It was one of those books that just hooked you right from the beginning and was full of snappy and smart dialogue with likable characters as well as animals. I mean totally a winning combo in my opinion! I could totally relate to Elizabeth and admired that she was open to a new adventure by traveling to England. I just adored her and even though at times she was a little annoying, I still loved her and wanted to see her triumph in the end.

Even though there is an adorable dog on the cover, that isn’t the focus of the book so if you think this is just another ‘pet book’ when you see the cover, then you are wrong. This book is about taking chances, finding yourself and love and of course there are dogs in it but it’s not the focus.

Start to finish, this was a book I looked forward to picking up and even though I breezed through it, I loved it and it’s a book I would definitely recommend to all of my friend, but especially those who love dogs!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 336 pages
Expected publication: March 24th 2020 by Berkley
ISBN 0593098838 (ISBN13: 9780593098837)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: rom-com, romance, chick lit

From the moment I first heard about this book, I knew it was one I needed to get my hands on. I mean, come on: family secrets, the English countryside, a lost puppy?! Who Rescued Who practically screamed my name – and I’m thrilled to say it lived up to every expectation.

When Elizabeth is perp-walked out of her high profile tech job, she’s suddenly adrift and unsure of where to go. A startling phone call – from an uncle she never knew existed – sends her packing for England where she’s to claim her inheritance. Elizabeth is determined to touch down, collect the cash, and head back home where she’ll take over the techie world. Life, however, has other plans..

A grumpy coffeeshop owner. A handsome local seemingly straight from the pages of a bodice ripper novel. Startling revelations about the man her father really was before he turned his back on his home country. Two very opinionated sheep. As the days somehow turn into weeks and the weeks give way to a month, Elizabeth realizes these new plans the universe has in mind for her might not be so bad after all.

Like the rest of the world, I’m currently cooped up inside my house. Normally this wouldn’t be a major issue – I’m tailor-made for quarantine life. I’m a total homebody, unlike my coworkers, I don’t need constant in person interaction. That said, as the days wear on, I’m finding myself a little less inclined to pick up a gritty murder mystery. Maybe it’s my version of cabin fever or maybe it’s because spring is finally here and the sun has started warming my neck of the woods, but I’m gravitating toward light-hearted, easy reads.

And nothing says light-hearted like a novel set in the English countryside that features a ripped-from-a-romance-novel love interest!

There’s certainly some drama thrown in to keeps things moving (the reason Elizabeth’s father left England and never mentioned his brother, what went down that led to Elizabeth’s termination), but Who Rescued Who is just what it sounds like: an incredibly cozy story set in a picturesque English village full of livestock and puppies and shoddy WiFi. The characters are great, the relationships (familial, romance, friendships) are all excellent, there’s even a hefty dose of art piled on! If you’re going to be shut inside for weeks on end, you could do worse than this book. Who Rescued Who is a lovely, quick read perfect for a much-needed pick me up.

3.5 / 5 stars

**Note: I got this book as an advanced reading copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for sharing a fair, honest review. The opinions expressed are definitely my own!

What I liked:
*I am such a huge fan of all things British, so I loved the American-in-England theme and seeing the small English farm town through the eyes of Elizabeth. It added humor and also a real sweetness to the story, and I gobbled that up.
*The central theme of the rescue dog and how that changes Elizabeth and kind of triggers her transformation was really interesting. I love that the author, Victoria Schade, is a dog trainer (like, big-time) and her love and understanding of dogs really shines through. Because I am a dog lover also, this was a huge plus for this book.
*I thought the interactions between Elizabeth and her newly found aunt and uncle were so true to life and really got me in the feels. I loved every minute that they spent together and all the things they learn from each other.
*The romance was SO ADORABLE!
*I loved the quirky side characters. So much fun!

What didn’t work so well:
*I had a hard time feeling sympathetic toward our main character, Elizabeth, at first. She was just so, so caught up in materialistic things and image. Which I know is true to life for many people in today’s world, but it just isn’t the way that I operate and so it made me feel emotionally distant from her. However, I do think it set her up for a nice character trajectory, so that was good.
*Along those lines, I did find Elizabeth’s “transformation” throughout the book a little bit unbelievable, just because it happened so fast, and honestly, I didn’t find much of a glimmer of likeability in her in the beginning. I feel like she was portrayed at the start too simply–there wasn’t even a teeny bit of her internal monologue that hinted at the change that was about to come and that was hard for me. I would have liked to see at least *some* questioning of her materialistic and image-driven ways at the beginning, to make her transformation away from this easier to believe. (I hope this makes sense! Covid quarantine definitely has me rambling!)
*Some of the treatment of life in San Francisco and dealing with tech companies and “image” seemed so over the top. I know I am not totally familiar with that scene, so maybe it really is like that. But for me, it felt like a farce and that didn’t fit with the rest of the book, which was so emotionally genuine.

Those are all my thoughts on this one. This book had its ups and downs, but overall, I loved the character growth and the plot, and the central theme of an adorable puppy who changes a human’s life for the better is one that I can get down with anytime. It’s a heartwarming read, which is something we all need right now. So go check it out!

Elizabeth Barnes's father, a professor of English, died six months ago, leaving a will that required that his ahses be scattered in a particular river in England. This request was a complete surprise to her and she has no real notion of what to do about it. She was also, until quite recently, very busy, as the Chief Marketing Officer of a video gaming company in San Francisco. Now, though, she's unemployed and her reputation is toast, because she was working for a company that run by a completely unethical woman she used to think of as a friend. No one even wants to interview her for a potential job.

And she gets a call from a complete stranger, who claims to be her uncle, her father's brother, and he says that she has an inheritance, some property in the little English town of Fargrove. Reluctantly, she heads off to England, to meet the uncle her father never told her about, and hopefully sell that property to give herself a cushion while trying to rebuild her life.

She's not prepared to like her English relatives, the little town of Fargrovc, a local brewery owner, or the abandoned puppy she finds.

She finds a lot of surprises in Fargrove, some of them about her father and his family, and some of them about herself. It's a whole different way of life she discovers, in Fargrove, with at best spotty internet access, while trying to rebuild her old life, which depends on maintaining her social media presence and not letting the followers and influencers she needs forget about her.

There are points at which I wanted to give her a good shaking. Elizabeth arrives in Fargrove thinking that every sound a dog makes that isn't barking is growling, and spends weeks being terrified of Major, her aunt and uncle's herding dog, who is all too clearly trying to charm her. This is, though, an essential part of Elizabeth's education. She's honestly quite a decent and kind person, if one with habits and assumptions about the world that could only work in certain subsets of the tech industry.

James Holworthy, the brewer, Reid the beekeeper and coffee shop owner, and Harriet and Des, along with Rowan and Trudy Barnes, are well worth getting to know. Rowan, we learn, is a very successful artist, with a long career, and a collection of his own works that needs to be organized and cataloged. And I've only barely mentioned the puppy Elizabeth rescues in a rainstorm, Georgina, he is delightfully charming and manipulative, as all good puppies are.

Be patient with Elizabeth through the first part of the book, and this becomes a very rewarding story.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

This was the perfect uplifting, charming and heart warming story that I didn't know I needed right now. I immediately like the main character and I loved surprise inheritance stories so i was hooked right away. The beginning is a tad slow but it picks up quickly enough. I also found the setting to be really fun and I immediately wanted to take a trip to the English countryside! Also important to note - there is no animal harm or death in this book in case that is a trigger for you (it is for me!).

When she's fired from her job over something she said, she's at loose ends. Then she gets a phone call from a man who tells her he's her dead father's brother. She's not sure she believes him but when he invites her to come and visit, she decides to go. After all, she nothing holding her at home.

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It's being published today.

She sees similarity between him and her father so it must be true. He tells her he'll explain what happened later.

When they reach the house, she enjoys meeting Trudy, his wife. Then he shows her his painting studio, which is a barn. He asks her to help organize his pictures. He wants to show them off in a galley. She agrees. She's not sure what to do when he sets up an easel for her with paints and brushes. It's been a long time since she painted. But she finds herself beginning again.

Then she finds a puppy in the woods. She picks her as her human and she brings her joy. She also meets a man that she falls in love with. But despite all the positives, back home in America is where her job offer comes from. She hates leaving but she must if she's to acquire the job. She goes back but she's not fond of the games they are creating. And her heart hurts for what she's left behind.

Will she listen to her heart or will her head win?

I’m in dog love, book love, familial love, and love love, all at once. This is the sweetest, heartwarming, snuggling, feel-good book!

In the beginning, I wasn’t too sure about Elizabeth. She was so self-absorbed and consumed by social media, work, fashion, and her phone, that I found it hard to like her. It didn’t take long, though, to understand some of the reasons she was the way she was. I sympathized with her and cheered for her, hoping she’d make a change and find ‘more’ to her life. Once she traveled to England, she began to change, and by the end of the book her growth was exponential.

So, this cover is adorable. Right? Who could resist falling in love with the adorable pup? I’m normally not a fan of dogs in books, only for the fact that sometimes they overtake things and the key characters fade in the background. That isn’t the case here. The pup adds so much to the story—heart, companionship, loyalty…

There are so many elements to this story. It showcases romance, family, community, friendships, and the importance of belonging. All of these elements blend together, along with the revelation of long-kept secrets, to provide a lovely feel-good book.

Who Rescued Who is a witty, beautiful, inspiring, uplifting, full, and satisfying treat.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

Elizabeth is recently out of a job and at a crossroads, while recovering from job loss she gets a call and some information that she has family in England that would like to meet her and give her her inheritance. So with nothing to lose and no current ties to CA, she heads to England for what could be a quick trip, but of course it isn't!

I loved this story. Although the plot isn't anything new - "oh I have family I didn't know about and inheritance", but for some reason this one felt unique and different and I liked it. I think it is a combo of loving Elizabeth the character and dogs! I love how there kept being great reasons for her to stay in England and to continue to get to know these new family members.

This is one of those sweet cute books that is perfect for a weekend read or could even be a beach read. I love when I come across a book that has a great storyline, but is all just nice and sweet and easy to read.

While I absolutely adored Georgina (the puppy) in this book, the book itself just wasn't for me. I didn't connect to the main character, Elizabeth, at all. I did like the English countryside setting and some of the other characters, it just wasn't for me overall.