Kind of slow going, and the lack of communication between the characters at times was annoying. ( )

I read this book without reading the first one in the series and felt I didn't miss anything. Trout brings the reader up to speed on Dr. Mills' situation in bits and pieces without slowing the pace of the story.

Charming is the perfect word to sum up the novel. The small town setting is charming and so is the romance. I mean, how can you not smile when you hear the name "The Bedside Manor for Sick Animals"?

The author is a veterinarian so you know he'll get the medical details of the patients right. This would be a great summer vacation read for someone who likes animals. ( )

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had no clue this was #2 in a series when NetGalley sent it to me to read. That being said, I'm not really sure I missed much in book #1 that would have made my review higher in stars. There was nothing wrong with the book, it just was a little too "cutesy" for my liking. I enjoyed Cyrus and his approach to taking care of animals combined with his love of solving a good mystery. Overall it was a good story, just not one I would be drawn to nor is it one I think I would buy for myself to continue reading the series. ( )

Last week, Cyrus Mills, veterinary pathologist, came home after the death of his long-estranged father, expecting to wrap up the business of his dad's veterinary clinic, Bedside Manor for Sick Animals, and return to his own life. Instead, he stayed to take over the practice.

This week, he's discovering what he got himself into.

His new girlfriend, Amy, is acting strange and apparently spending time with a drop-dead handsome guy who seems to have some connection to her past. Money is a major issue for many of his clients, challenging his ability to make diagnoses without running all the tests he thinks are best. A house call for an overweight cat turns out to be a teenager's attempt to set him up with her mother.

And Healthy Paws, the national veterinary hospital chain with a clinic in the next town over, sees an opportunity to put him out of business.

Cyrus is a nice guy who has spent the last fifteen years protecting himself from emotional hurt, who is finding out he needs to open up just to function in Eden Falls, VT. His essential decency is what sucked him in to keeping his father's veterinary practice open in the first place, and it is now the cause of both most of his problems, and most of his victories.

A very enjoyable light read. Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

Better the second time around. Cyrus is getting his feet under him and the town is adjusting to him. Looks hopeful. ( )