Sue Pethick

Emily accepts an internship at a fish cannery in Alaska to get away from her domineering mother. She wants to branch out and get a bit closer to her dream of being a marine biologist. Emily wants some independence and she's really not looking for romance, but you know....when you are least expecting it, sometimes things just happen. It all starts with a big dog named Bear....who knocks Emily flat right into gross fish guts. Sometimes what starts out badly turns out right in the end.

I don't normally read romance novels, but I made an exception for this one. The cover got my attention first....Bear is just too darn cute! I have a soft spot in my heart for great big loveable dogs! And then I read the blurb and it sounded sweet and cute. So why not? We all have to branch out sometimes. I'm glad I decided to read a romance book. This story is a cute feel-good light romance. Add in the awesome dog, and it made for an entertaining afternoon of reading.

Charming read! Perfect for a relaxing reading escape!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**… (altro)

Please Don’t Feed the Mayor by Sue Pethick has readers visiting Fossett, Oregon. Melanie MacDonald owns Ground Central in the heart of downtown. Since the lumber mill closed, people have been leaving the quirky small town. Melanie sees a news piece on a village that elected a cat to a council seat, and it gives her inspiration. Melanie’s suggests that Fossett hold a mayoral election and her border collie, Shep be one of the candidates. It would be a way to attract tourists to their town. Melanie consults her ex-husband and lawyer, Bryce MacDonald on the legalities. It is imperative that Bryce leave town when a man he put away escape’s custody. One lawyer has already been attacked and Bryce does not want to be next on the hit list. Bryce heads to Fossett to help Melanie with Shep’s campaign. Shep is one intelligent and spoiled dog. He does not appreciate Bryce invading his turf and decides to make things a tad uncomfortable for him. The election is fast approaching, and Ron Blakeley has decided to run against Shep. Bryce takes to the streets to round up votes for Shep and he discovers why Melanie loves Fossett. What happens when the escaped felon tracks down Bryce and a reporter is determined to paint the town in a bad light? Will Shep win the mayoral race? Learn what happens next by picking up a copy of Please Don’t Feed the Mayor.

Please Don’t Feed the Mayor is a light-hearted tale that differs slightly from the book blurb. Melanie loves Fossett and wants to find a way to save the town. Living in Fossett was the bone of contention between Melanie and Bryce which ultimately led to their divorce. Melanie feels that electing Shep as mayor will boost tourism. She contacts Bryce for legal advice and is surprised when he shows up in town. Bryce is now a lawyer at an elite firm in Portland and making good money. He has not stopped loving Melanie and would love to convince her to move to Portland. Please Don’t Feed the Mayor is a cute story filled with off-beat characters. There is the goat farm with the escaping goats, marijuana farmers who use a drone to monitor their property, a man who uses “Horrible Harry”, a rooster, for a truck alarm, a retired chicken farm (I am not kidding), and the woman who manages the B&B has no clue how to run it. The residents are warm, friendly people (except for Ron). I laughed at Shep’s antics (very clever canine). I did find that the story dragged in the middle and there was a lack of action. The activity ramps up for the climacteric scenes at the end. The ending is heartening and will leave readers smiling. There is an excerpt from Boomer’s Bucket List included. Please Don’t Feed the Mayor is a lively, humorous and romantic story.… (altro)

I found this book on a sale shelf at my local library. I was charmed by the cute dog on the cover and didn't read far enough on the back blurb to realize it had a paranormal theme (something I don't usually enjoy). This one didn't overdo the paranormal theme--probably helped by the fact that many of the main characters don't really believe in the paranormal. Emma seems to go along with it because it was what her aunt and Clifton decided on as a theme in the past and she doesn't want to alienate her paying customers who come for that sort of thing.

Emma doesn't seem to be a very good business woman. I suspected someone was stealing from her or undermining her long before anyone in the book seemed to (except Clifton, but he had his reasons). She has ideas but all of them are going to cost her more money--money she doesn't have--rather than trying to work out a new theme idea with what she's already got. I kind of felt like she doesn't see the forest for the trees.

Archie is a houdini--he manages to escape from lots of places throughout the book--a garage, a car, locked rooms, a cottage. He also has been taught tricks by Todd's uncle. He seems like a cute, loving dog, but I don't think I could handle the constant escaping.

It's a cute story, but it's obvious from the get-go that Todd and Gwen don't suit each other and as a reader, you kind of figure that they're not going to make it to the altar with each other.… (altro)

I seldom read a book I loved as much as I loved this one. I am grateful to NetGalley for giving me a copy of the book before its publication. This is one heck of a story! If you enjoy/love dogs, this one is for you. If you are not in that, but love real, feel-good stories, this one is for you. If you just want something to read that is well written, will tug at your heart strings and will be a book you won’t forget soon, this one is for you.
Jennifer Westbrook is a workaholic PR career person, with little time for anything but her job. After a nasty divorce, she adopts a dog from a local pet breeder, naming him Boomer. Though she cares a lot about Boomer, Jennifer never seems to have enough time for him—or anything else besides work, for that matter. One day, Jennifer’s vet diagnoses Boomer with a serious heart ailment, giving him about a month to live. Jennifer knows she has not spent enough time with Boomer, and so decides to take Boomer on a road trip, from their home in Chicago to the West Coast, stopping at attractions and sights Boomer would find interesting, so he can live the last days of his life happily. Along the way, she meets up with a reporter, Nathan Koslow, who ends up going along for the ride. However, things are happening back in Chicago that Jennifer and Boomer know nothing about. Jennifer’s firm sets up a web site to chronicle Boomer’s last days. The site becomes an instant internet hit, garnering fans everywhere—some of whom just like Boomer and his story and others who are going through similar periods of grieving/mourning for their own pets. The road trip turns into a long, involved wonderful trip for Boomer and the two humans involved. However, as the story progresses, there are some twists and turns that cause problems for Boomer, Jennifer, Nathan and everyone else involved in this intensely personal, heart-warming story.

The characters are well developed. It is hard to not to fall in love with the book’s star, Boomer, as he goes about his merry way, seemingly oblivious to the medical problems that plague him. In addition, the relationship between Jennifer and Nathan intensifies, as they discover how their pasts might be influencing their present situations, thoughts and actions. I do not have a pet to hug, so could not, as one reviewer suggested, but, if I had had one, I surely would have. The author has turned Boomer into a real hero, who strives to be everything you might want or desire during this last bucket list trip. I cannot begin to do justice relating how much this book moved me. I could not put it down once I became enmeshed in Boomer’s story and trip, waiting to see what would happen next. The ending was also done quite well. I definitely left this one sadder than when I began (but a good kind of sad, if that makes sense), but happier that I had been able to share this fantastic story about Boomer.… (altro)