A New Leash On Love

Starred review from May 8, 2017
Burns’s auspicious debut contemporary is a warm cuddly tale full of dogs, cats, kids, and genuinely likable adults. From the moment they lay eyes on one another, Megan Anderson and Craig Williams rub each other the wrong way. She manages a St. Louis no-kill animal shelter and he’s brought in his daughter’s chocolate Lab pup to surrender it for adoption. Putting instant attraction aside, Megan assumes he’s a typical “dog dumper,” the type who buys a pet as a gift but is ready to get rid of the critter as soon as it pees on the carpet. Craig sees her as a judgmental do-gooder unable to accept that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances. The friction serves to heat up a relationship that neither is ready to handle. Yet his daughter, the animals, and a well-constructed plot all contrive to push Craig and Megan together. This heartstring-tugger is certain to win fans who are yearning for a wholesome summertime read. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Agency.

The theme is second chances in this audiobook, delightfully narrated by Stina Nielsen. Megan runs an animal shelter, spending her days caring for animals as a way to shelter herself from heartbreak of the human kind. At first, she's disdainful of the man who surrenders his puppy; then she becomes intrigued by his story, which is a sad one. They begin a tenuous friendship, each deciding he or she isn't ready for romance. Nielsen does a wonderful job capturing Megan's hesitant optimism, and voices the children in the story without artifice. Her male voices aren't deep in range, but all characters have distinct enough inflections to keep them discernable. A refreshing love story without a lot of contrivances, this is a perfect audiobook to unwind with. L.C.L. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine