Louisa is fed up with
every aspect of her life. Boyfriend, job, flat - all these need an
instant and radical makeover. And so she decides to change it all in
favour of a carefree existence, exchanging her house for a trailer, her
car for a motorbike, and her smart clothes for leisure wear. And, most
of all, she starts a new business, as a dog counsellor. With her best
friends Maddy and Clodagh she embarks on a new regime - to meet
different people, discover new places and find a fabulous new man. Her
business brings her immediate and extraordinary rewards, as she meets
the owners of dogs whose problems often seem to echo those of their
owners. But whatever the stresses of her new life, Louisa has the
support of her two friends. If only that could last forever...
Comment: I plan my monthly reads beforehand so that I can feel like I'm organizing my time and I tend to be pretty dedicated to that goal but once in a while I also pick books at the library that I don't have in my TBR but something about them catches my eye. That is why I got this one, it was available in the "highlights" shelf they have at the entrance and that I often check for inspiration.
In this book we met Louisa, an Irish young woman who feels tired of her life despite the good material things she owns because of her job. One day she decides to change everything, to stop being a psychologist always hearing bout other people's problems and she decides to become a sort of "dog whisperer" and creating a service for those who can't control or manage their dogs. While entering this fascinating new world Lou learns a lot about herself because she can't just stop being a helper and the more clients she has, the more she sees herself in their owners lives instead of just teaching them how to calm down. But with new experiences come new emotions and there's life... can Lou find stability at last?
By the cover and summary on the back, I expected this to be a chic-lit story. I confess the protagonist's decision to leave everything to a life of the unknown didn't feel as much as freedom but more craziness but I can see the appeal and why it would be a good start. It was interesting she would be focusing on something different, that's for certain.
When the story begins, Lou seems to be a very whiny person and, to be honest, the first chapter was a real turn off, so annoying Lou seemed to be.
I can't tell if the author just wanted to stress that and from chapter 2 Lou seems to change radically or if she wrote chapter 1 one day, out it aside for years and when she started again, her vision was a new one...the reality is that chapter 1 feels like part of a book, the rest of another.
This is the first book I try by this author so I can't compare but the beginning of the story is pretty much on the wave of lightness and comedy and silliness. It was turning out to be everything I imagined and I could see myself just turning the pages without being really connected to the plot.
However, as the chapters advanced, I could tell the tone of becoming different and it felt more like fiction instead of silly chick lit. I actually liked how the story evolved and the "serious" situations the characters were facing even though that wasn't as obviously developed by the author as I would expect.
I confess I was enjoying myself at this point. I was eager to read, the story has flaws but I could ignore that because it was easy to turn the pages and the characters were interesting, even when they went out at night and got drunk. (Thankfully, not often)
Lou is a fascinating protagonist, it's obvious she has issues regarding her childhood and her mother and we see that in how she so honestly advises others, how professional she is while still admitting she should think more of her own behavior. I liked that she was a professional but not an infallible human being.
The secondary characters were key to make this work and some were really special. There's a subtle romance developing but that only gets more obvious at a certain point; I don't think I would have been shocked if nothing had been said between Lou and her love interest since my focus was on her personal development and not that of her romantic life.
Again, I was surprised by how much I was enjoying things.
Then, the author does three things I don't think were as well done because, considering the tone until then (mildly woman's fiction, a bit chick lit in between), I don't understand the need for drama. There are two events that I felt were used just to shock because there was no advance in the plot; only to show us how emotional Lou really was but that wasn't that difficult to see or expect! Then, another situation regarding one of her clients was also out of nowhere. Could it be someone advised the author to add something for the final pages as a twist? If so, I would say it was a serious miss.
Everything considered, this was a surprisingly positive book for the most part. Yes, I disliked some elements or some choices made by the author but the majority of the time I actually had a good time reading. I don't know if I'll read other things by the author but this was an average good read which I liked a little extra for the surprise I got by this not being as silly as I imagined.
Grade: 7/10
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