Tails of Love

Title: Tails of Love

Author: Lori Foster, Stella Cameron, Kate Angell, Dianne Castell, Ann Christopher, Marcia James, Donna MacMeans, Sarah McCarty, Patricia Sargeant & Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

ISBN: 9780425227688

More Information: www.penguin.com

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

I have been waiting to read this anthology for a while now and finally picked it up this weekend.  In general, I love stories with animals and throw in some romance, I'm in book heaven.  After reading this anthology, it was definitely worth the purchase.

Man's Best Friend by Lori Foster
4.5 stars - Erin Schuler worked late one rainy night and in her haste, stumbled over a wet, abandoned puppy.  Anxious to take the pup home, Erin got in her car and realized it won't start.  Having no choice, she called Gary Rutledge.  The one man she had been avoiding for the past few months.

Imagine this being the last few chapters of a romance novel.  Whatever problems the two had were summarily overcome with little fuss.  The attraction and their love appeared believable since their past history was brought up often enough throughout the story.  Great writing with great dialogue.  A sweet, sexy tale.

A Knotty Tale by Stella Cameron
4 stars - Rose Gibb and Simon Falzone were next door neighbors and because of their shy nature, secretly admired each other from a distance.  It was up to their dogs and cat to get these two together.

The short story was interesting since it came from the humans' and pets' POV.  The writing was good and the humor made you smile.  The dogs and cats were absolutely charming.  The romance was sweet but could've been stalkerish if their feelings weren't mutual.  But still sweet all the same.  I wished it was a few pages longer for an epilogue.  That was the main reason I gave it a 4.

Norah's Arc by Kate Angell
3.5 stars - All Mike Kraft wanted was to build his lot with no problems.  Except the goat from the next door petting zoo was intent on ruining him.  The goat's owner, Norah Archer, tried his temper with her wacky animals but her feisty nature intrigued him.

If this story was the normal length of 180+ pages, I would've given it a 4+, but as is . . . It was love at first lust but I wasn't sure why and when he fell in love with her.  Other than that, the goat was the absolute best part of the story.  His antics were so cute and funny and the way the hero handled each situation was swoon-worthy.  Overall, it had great potential but it was not there just yet.

The Pursuit of Happiness by Dianne Castell
3 stars - Rex Barkley loves Jane Garrison.  But he wasn't sure why she loved him.  To prove her love, he told her a "secret" that could either break or make their relationship.

One word: weird.  It was kind of silly for the hero to test his girlfriend by saying he was a werewolf.  The plot revolved around this concept and the events to made her believe it was just strange.  It didn't really make sense to me.  My least favorite.

Atticus Saves Lisa by Ann Christopher
3.5 stars - Cruz Shaw has always loved Lisa Evans.  However, Lisa refused to love Cruz in return because she doesn't deserve to feel love.  Her main focus is take care of her disabled brother.  After all, it was her fault her brother was in a wheelchair.

I love the honesty of the hero's love and attraction to the heroine and knew how to make her confront the true issues holding her back.  Other than that, this story was overall okay.  Nothing outstanding.  A hot read.

Rescue Me by Marcia James
4 stars - Adam Baumgardner found an abandoned dog behind his restaurant and brought it to the nearest no-kill shelter.  What he didn't expect that the shelter was ran by his former college sweetheart, Dr. Claire Mendelsohn.  After meeting her again all these years, Adam realized what a huge mistake he made and there was no way he was going to let her go again.

Sweet and simple.  All the characters were nice without any artifice.  The plot was straightforward.  For some readers, it might be a bit dull but I like it.

Lord Hairy by Donna MacMeans
5 stars - Hannah Waverly was not her stepmother's ideal lady but Hannah didn't care.  After running into a huge dog on her walk, the dog instantly bonded with her and followed her home.  Unfortunately, her stepmother didn't appreciate it and kicked Hannah and the dog into the stables and refused to allow Hannah to go to Lord Ashton's ball.  However, the servants had a different idea.

LOVE IT!  This is the only historical.  And normally, I'm not a fan of historicals but this tale just connected with me.  It was sort of Cinderella-type tale with a lovable dog as a fairy godmother.  The hero and heroine were absolute sweethearts and matched perfectly for each other.  Great dialogue and writing.  Love the subtle humor.

Danny's Dog by Sarah McCarty
3.5 stars - Separated after the death of their baby, Kathy hadn't seen her husband, Walt, for six months.  But now she needed his help with a dog she had rescued.  But what Walt wanted was his wife back.

Usually I don't like these kind of plots.  However, the writing and the characters drew you in.  The emotional turmoil that the two endured will bring a tear or two to your eyes.

Scaredy Cat by Patricia Sargeant
5 stars - Thomas loved his owner Kendra Willis and doesn't think her current boyfriend deserved her.  A few houses away, there was the perfect mate for his owner.  However, a pack of alley cats were in his way.  How was he going to get them together?

Absolutely adore it.  I sincerely wished that this story was the usual 180+ pages because there was so much plot that could be fleshed out and maybe, a more satisfying romantic ending for the hero and heroine.  But as is, it was still a riveting tale of a cat's true love and devotion to his owner. This was more or less from the cat's and Kendra's POV.  The hero didn't get much action time and there wasn't a lot of romance.  And the ending was open ended.

A Man, a Woman, and Haggis by Sue-Ellen Welfonder
3.5 stars - Jilly Pepper was in Scotland to fulfill her grandmother's death wish.  What she didn't expect was to encounter a ghost and Kieran MacColl.  Why did the ghost keep bringing Jilly and Kieran together?

The only paranormal story.  It has a few appearances of ghost.  But they weren't essential to the plot per se.  This was pretty simple, predictable story.  The cast of characters were nice and the writing, well done.  But nothing special to make this story stand out.

The pages are about 30-40 pages long.  So, it was a breeze to get to one story to the next.  All the writing in this book were generally very good.  No doubt about it.  All the stories have a well thought out plot, considering the page limit.  All the short stories revolved around any type of animal, not just your traditional cat and dog.  There was a general mix to funny to hot to serious to sweet reads.  So there is something for everyone.  If you like romances that have engaging characters with cute animals thrown in, this is definitely up your alley.  But if you are looking for plot-intense reads, skip it.  It's an anthology after all.  In conclusion, if you have the time and cash, pick it up.