Books Read: Cathy Woodman - The Village Vet

Source - Received from publisher to review

In Talyton St George, vet nurse Tessa Wilde is on the way to her wedding...

It should be the happiest day of her life. But then her car hits a dog, and though the dog is saved thanks to the Otter House vets, her wedding is not.

Animal welfare officer and part time fire-fighter Jack Miller spends his life saving animals and people. As one of Tessa's oldest friends, he feels he has the right to interrupt her wedding and rescue her from a marriage that can only end in tears.

But does he? Tessa is sure she doesn't need rescuing, least of all by Jack. 

When they begin to work together at the Animal Rescue centre, however, Tessa begins to wonder whether being rescued by Jack might not be such a bad thing after all.

The Village Vet is the latest installment in the Talyton St George series from Cathy Woodman but in this one we're introduced to some new characters although some of our old favourites, Maz and Alex, make brief appearances.

When Tessa's limo hits a stray dog on the way to her wedding she should have seen this as an omen of the events that were to come, one of which would be that her childhood sweetheart Jack will interrupt the ceremony itself telling her she's making a big mistake.  This causes her to question whether she has rushed into the wedding to fiance Nathan, especially when he can't even say those three important words to her, so she decides not to go ahead with the wedding. 

But as she later discovers Nathan isn't all that he seemed, he's been hiding stuff from her not least the fact that he's bankrupt and has amassed debt in her name including the wedding bills that she's left to pay whilst he goes ahead on the honeymoon without her!

Tessa's aunt Fifi comes to her rescue and offers her a unpaid live-in position at the Talyton Animal Sanctuary meaning that she at least has somewhere to live but the job will mean that she will come into regular contact with Jack, an animal welfare officer.   Can she forgive him for ruining what should have been her perfect day or will she realise that he's actually saved her from a lifetime of heartache with Nathan? 

I loved the fact that we were introduced to a new element to the village life, the animal sanctuary, and the many characters, both human and animal.   As a dog lover myself, I would have to say that my favourite character was the stray dog Buster and the connection that he had with Tessa.

I do have one little niggle though and that is the title of the book, The Village Vet, as neither Tessa or Jack are vets and the setting is not at either of the vets practices!  But I can overlook this fact as it was an enjoyable book to read and I'm looking forward to reading more books, and hopefully meeting new characters, in further books in the series.  Talking of which the next book, Vets in Love, is due out in November.

If you've read the other books in the series then this is a must for you so why not head to Amazon to grab your copy in paperback or e-book format.   I'd like to thank Arrow Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to review.