Tails of Love

Title: Tails of Love

Author: Lauralee Bliss, Pamela Griffin, Dina Leonhardt Koehly & Gail Sattler

Publisher: Barbour

ISBN: 1586601121

More Information: www.barbourbooks.com

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Ark of Love by Lauralee Bliss
4 out 5 stars

Brian Davis had to hire his friend's sister, Rachel, for his pet store.  As expected, Rachel created more money woes than actually helping.  But when the fate of the store turned for the worst, Brian was surprised who stood by his side and soon realized that maybe humans can be as reliable as animals.

Even though Brian had this tendency to be negative throughout the bulk of the story, I never felt any angst or depressing vibes.  It made him more human and relateable.  Who hasn't felt those feelings once in their lifetime?  The author did a wonderful job of balancing the hopelessness of the store's situation and that fate had something else for him.  Rachel stood by Brian, helping where she could.  I found her admirable and a strong heroine, even though she was written as a secondary character.  Though their time together was short, the adversity put before them made them a strong couple and their love could hold up in tough times.  Overall, a well-written, quick read.

Walk, Don’t Run by Pamela Griffin
 4 out of 5 stars

Kerry accidentally locked herself out on her sister's balcony.  With a little canine help, Jake came running to her rescue.  But after some misunderstandings were cleared up, friendship blossomed between them.  However, Kerry overheard (and misunderstood again) some things and ran away.  Soon after, Kerry came upon an injured dog and immediately sought help.  What she didn't know was that the vet was the one man she wanted to avoid.

This would have to be my favorite of the four.  It was simple and sweet, with a dash of humor that you can’t help but be charmed.  Jake was an ideal hero.  He was amazingly understanding when it came to the heroine.  He wasn’t vindictive when Kerry ran away from their relationship and welcomed her back with open arms.  However, I did find him a little finicky at the start.  But after the first two chapters, he really come into his own and one can’t help but fall in love with him.  Kerry was the usual klutzy heroine, who was a little moody at times.  My only gripe would be her reasoning for pushing the hero away in the end.  The excuse was kind of lame and really made no sense.  Other than that, worth a read.

Dog Park by Dina Leonhardt Koehly
4 out of 5 stars

When Matt blamed her sweet Welsh Corgi of biting his Great Dane, Lynne took great umbrage and refused to pay any vet bills.  Fuming, she hoped to never see the man again.  Unfortunately, the new youth pastor at her church was none other than the man from the dog park.

It was hard to say about this one.  I found the defensiveness and the need to be right in the heroine’s attitude in the first few chapters a little childish.  So it took time to develop an affinity with the heroine.  Besides that, the plot was decent but a little tight in certain scenes.  The best aspect of the story was the romance developed slowly and gave their feelings more validity.  Matt was absolutely charming and inspiring.

The Neighbor's Fence by Gail Sattler
 4 out 5 stars

Their cat and dog did not like each other and were constantly making a ruckus in the yard.  However, due to complaints about the noise, they had to find a logical solution together, even if they didn't really like each other.  As they spent more time together, Bill and Heather began to see redeeming qualities in one another.  But Heather had too many relationships blow up in her face.  When their pets disappeared, they must unite to find them before it was too late.

Another goodie.  The saving grace in this story was the awesome hero, Bill, and his honest, in-your-face feelings.  Bill was amazing in observing the dynamic between the heroine and her sister and went out of his way to assure her of his faith.  Heather was a struggle to like since she needed a push from her sister to realize her feelings for the hero.  I love the fact that when they first met, they disliked each other and thought the other was “okay” looking.  There was no instant attraction.  The author did a great job of making the romance more realistic and more relateable to everyday life.  Overall, funny, realistic plot and great hero made this story my favorite.

Normally, I never really expect much from romance anthologies but “Tails of Love” surprised me with its well-written stories, decent plots and engaging characters, especially the last 3 heroes.  I would highly suggest this.  If you love animals and inspirational stories, this will be up your alley.  The reason I didn’t give this 5 stars because I would not read this again any time soon but I’m definitely keeping this one for my shelf.