Release Day Review: Freckles by Amy Lane (Giveaway)

Title: Freckles

Author: Amy Lane

Release Date: March 8, 2019

Category: Contemporary

Pages: 137

Dreamspinner Press

Small dogs can make big changes… if you open your heart.

Carter Embree always hoped someone might rescue him from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help.

Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who eases Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse of the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be “Super Pet Owner”—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says goodbye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive. He can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

4 Stars 

This began to sound familiar the more I read, but it was sweet to revisit these guys.

This book has been previously published, so if you still have a copy, it's not necessary to get this one; essentially nothing has changed, not one thing that I can think of, and that's not a complaint.

This is a really sweet tale of a geek type lawyer, Carter, who hates his (possibly the most horrible ever) boss, enjoys the demands of his work on his super brain, but believes himself not to be relationship material. He's just come home to find his one-night stand turned boyfriend of three months - his longest ever relationship - has moved out, citing him never being there as the reason. Carter then finds himself the unexpected dad of a cute puppy, but like with relationships, it sounds as if he has as much talent with animals. Here's where funny, smart, sassy, Sandy, a vet tech studying to be a vet, comes in.

There are no major dramas or highs or lows in this tale, as it's mainly feelgood and all the guys are really nice. Amy Lane's humour was on point and I found myself snorting more than a few times. I've not read many of her books, but not one has been less than a 4* tale.

The story ends in the start of what feels like *the* HEA that both Carter and Sandy have come to hope for. I think neither had expected to ever find someone to put up with them, as they saw it, and yet both found in the other a guy who had their back and best interests at heart. The tale does end really, really abruptly, and I didn't remember that. I turned the Kindle page, expecting to see the guys in their new lives, with plans and prospects and lots of happy, satisfied pet owners, only to find out that the book had ended with nothing but a short synopsis of what might happen. Had the author shown me that HEA being lived, I'd have rated this 5* for its genre.

ARC courtesy of Bayou Book Junkie and Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure.

4 stars

This was really a sweet and feel-good book. Both the main characters, Carter and Sandy, were kind and then we add Freckles, a tiny, cute and sometimes sassy dog and it was the perfect light-hearted book. It was a slow burn with the two MCs getting to know one another but it worked well for the story.

The first interaction between Carter and Sandy had me giddy with how hilarious but sweet it was. Carter had just gotten Freckles and his wakeup call with all things dog related was funny and endearing. It was not until that point that I felt like I could connect to Carter as a MC.

Towards the end of the book it was definitely a bit cheesier than it was at the beginning but I felt like it was true to the characters. Sandy and Carter were strong on their own but they clicked well and it was clear that they helped each other. Their dynamic was solid and easy to read about!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

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