Meg Donohue

Maggie is a bereavement counsellor who works specifically with people who are grieving the loss of their pets. Her practice is new, set up only a few months previously when she moved to San Francisco, and its development is not helped by her own grieving for her beloved Labrador Toby. Toby’s death has awakened a latent agoraphobia in Maggie, who has not been able to go further than her garden gate since he died.

Into Maggie’s life comes Anya, who has only agreed to see Maggie because of pressure from her elder brother. As far as Anya is concerned, she has absolutely no need of a bereavement counsellor because her dog Billy is most definitely not dead, just missing. As far as the rest of her family is concerned Anya is deluded and needs to stop focusing on Billy and go back to college and her job. As Maggie agrees to help Anya, her life and that of Anya’s family becomes completely intertwined.

This isn’t my normal sort of book, but I needed an easy read, and this fitted the bill. It was enjoyable enough, but was let down by some rather fantastical plotting to tie up the loose ends. Really unsure why there a load of puppies on the cover though: as far as I remember no puppies in the book at all!… (mais)

This book has been on my TBR pile for awhile. It is one I started and would put down and not be able to find it again. I won this book as an Early Reviewer book.

Every Wild Heart is the story about Gail Gideon and her daughter Nic. Gail has a radio talk show and Nic is a typical teenager. The relationship between Gail and Nic is one that is close and yet has some trouble.

Gail is being stalked and she thinks it is one of her listeners and she is worried about her daughter's safety. Her daughter rides horses and is starting at a new school. She has an accident while riding her horse and it seems to have changed her.

I enjoyed this story and found the ending a happy one.… (mais)

How to Eat a Cupcake is a light read that I'd recommend for anyone who likes stories about estranged friends coming back together for a cause. Of course, in this case, the cause is a cupcakery, which is honestly the part that really drew me in.

Though the story is slow to get to it, the element that kept me wanting to read was Julia's secret that prompted her to suddenly quit her job in New York and return home to San Francisco. I was wrong with my guess of what her secret was, which felt weird because I'm normally better at predicting these things. It did give me a better perspective on why Julia was acting the way she was in the beginning of the novel and when it was revealed it was definitely a turn for the better of her mending friendship with Annie.

Annie was a character I liked for the most part. She was guarded due to the hurt she experienced in high school and from losing her mother at only 18 years old. I could relate in the way that I'd be lost without my mom if anything happened to her, even though she's not my only family (I'm just very close to her). It was more her playful sarcasm that won me over, especially when it was aimed toward Julia, because it showed that she was learning to forgive Julia's actions as a teenager and give their friendship another shot.

The mystery behind who is trying to sabotage the cupcakery was another plot point that is worth reading for, though the answer is a little weird in my opinion. I think I would have preferred the author to go a different way with it, but it is what it is.

Overall, I liked this book for the most part, and I think others will too, as long as you don't expect too much from it.… (mais)