Review: Rescue Me

Rescue Me by Sarra Manning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Margot is a 36 year old, plus-sized fashion designer who lives in fashionable North London. Will is a former investment banker, burnt out, and working in his family's floristry business in North London.

After Margot is rejected by both her boyfriend and her cat she decides she is more of a dog person anyway and wants to rehome a rescue dog, something small and fluffy that she can fit into a Louis Vuitton dog bag (okay I totally made up the Louis Vuitton bit, but you get the picture). She has very clear ideas about the sort of dog she wants, the way in which the dog will fit into her life and how things will change for the better, you know lots of fun walks and dog-friendly pub lunches not so much late-night wee walks in the pouring rain and poo-bags (speaking as a dog owner).

Will has spent the last year in therapy and is desperate to break free, he feels he has made great progress in reconnecting with his family, okay he hasn't got any friends or any thoughts of a significant other (or even a date), but baby steps. In fact, Will thinks that offering to spend time with rescue dogs, maybe even take one home for a day or two could be the first steps towards engaging with others.

Margot and Will end up co-pawrenting (yes they went there) a shy female Staffy called Blossom. They are different in almost every conceivable way, apart from their devotion to Blossom. At first handover days are more akin to divorced parents exchanging children, but gradually they become closer, they could even be friends.

I don't know how Sarra Manning did this, she took frankly unlikeable individuals and slowly over the course of the book turned them into loveable characters. This book clearly shows the difference between our imagination and reality when it comes to dog owning, and makes you love Blossom anyway.

If you like gentle romances, annoying families, interfering friends and soppy dogs then I think you'll love this as much as I did.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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