Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: Freckles 

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

LENGTH: 170 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 14th, 2016

BLURB:

Carter Embree has always hoped to be rescued 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 helps ease Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes that Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse into 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 good-bye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds that 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 hero, he can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

REVIEW:

How can you go wrong with a holiday romance story with a puppy?? Not possible! This book is so sweet!

I love the differences between these two main characters. Carter is a lawyer, a little uptight, a little lonely, just lost a boyfriend, and gained a puppy. Sandy is a vet tech, happy, motivated, a pet lover, and attracted to the uptight man who shows up at the vet clinic with a little bitty puppy. Carter is clueless about how to care for Freckles and desperately needs help. Sandy brings not only help with the puppy, but also helps Carter come out of his boring life, into a life of love. Carter is stuck in a job he hates, and it takes Freckles and Sandy to get him out of it. Sandy has an odd family situation, and Carter and Freckles give him the stability he needs. Freckles needs a home and love, and gets that from both men. Basically they all get exactly what they need!

The side characters were wonderful too. Carter’s coworker Brenda is exactly what he needs to balance out the crazy at the firm he works for. Sandy’s niece Alexis is a fun addition to their odd little family, and brings the opportunity for Carter to be a hero to pet owners. Carter and Sandy’s mothers make appearances and they were equally odd, and show exactly what went in to making the two men so different. Then of course there is Freckles… a little bitty bundle of poop and trouble! There are also some cameos by characters from another series by Amy Lane, Tommy and Jonah!

I swear I could tell an Amy Lane book even if I didn’t see her name on the cover, but I can’t figure out how. There is just something about her style of writing that is so familiar to me, but I don’t have the knowledge to describe it. Her books just have the perfect combination of strong characters, good stories, and emotion. Sometimes that emotion varies, happy, sad, stress, excitement, anger, fear, she gets them all in, usually in the same book! We know she writes lighter books and darker books, this one is certainly a lighter book, I’d dare to say it’s fluffy. As a holiday story should be! Especially one with a puppy!

This is a fun and fluffy holiday story, I’m reading it right before the election and it is exactly what I needed. Something sweet and gentle, familiar and comforting. Proof that people can find love and puppies! Read this book and enjoy it!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Riptide Publishing

Amazon