If you are looking for a sweet small town romance read, then this book is for you. It has it all: small town, single father, dogs and dogs, and much more. It's a wholesome romance read. Keep that in mind, and you will enjoy this book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

I loved this book and I've read them all out of order but I honestly have loved the whole series. The characters are well plotted out and the storyline is entertaining.

THE DELIGHT

A second chance on love with some rescue animals? Sign me up, but that felt like a mistake. It was a delight to see rescue animals, it wasn't so much a delight in the love and relationship side.

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REVIEW

Craig Williams is going through a divorce and things just aren't very upbeat. Now he is stuck taking his daughter's Christmas puppy to a shelter. He just wants the problem to disappear when a fiery Megan Anderson unloads on him. Megan's had a bad day taking in another animal to a shelter already over packed and running low on funds. While she usually has an even temper, this is just the last straw. After the first meeting I figured this story was doomed.

Craig was in a bad place to start with and then not in the right frame of mind for a relationship, which he tries to admit. He finds himself in the presence of Megan over and over. Craig is also dealing with a huge life changing, impactful situation that he clearly is still grieving over. Megan and Craig enter  no commitment sexual relationship. And I wish I could say the sex was good. While it is not fade to black, it doesn't get a girl excited either. Megan seems to like it though.

Craig also has a thirteen year old daughter and a ten year old son, whose twin's death and lead to the breakdown of this family. We do meet Jillian, Craig's ex-wife and while I understood why they ended up getting a divorce, it still kind of struck me that they were in love once and the death of their child has totally broken them apart. Craig seems like a reasonable guy for the most part. His ex we don't get to know as much, but she seems to be the root of the problem between them. But again, this isn't really the point of the story, more a I don't know why Craig even got in a relationship with Megan. Or how he could feel so deeply so quickly after the divorce.

Megan is also dealing with her own issues. She resents her mom for moving on to quickly after her father's death. She recently broke up with her fiance. Finally, she is now in charge of an animal shelter after the last one has a heart attack and decides not to come back. I can't say she is hurting for money, but it isn't something she throws around as she lives in an apartment that won't let her take in dogs.

The two are attracted to each other, but keeping it a secret from everyone because it wasn't supposed to be a life commitment or even dating. Craig's daughter volunteers at the shelter after she came back for her puppy which had already been adopted out.

But here is one very hard issue I had in all of this, because it was passive aggressive. Craig goes on a trip with a buddy and Megan sends a package for him to open when he gets there. It's contains condoms. Just because he was clean and banging her didn't mean the ones he bang down there will be clean is her reasoning. Craig calls her on it and says he's not interested in others. So this isn't a serious relationship, he isn't sleeping around. Megan wouldn't confront the issue head on so she sends condoms to deliver a message. Never mind the fact they aren't using condoms when they are together.

The other thing that got me and I usually don't stuck on it, but there was a ten year age difference. Craig had 3 kids and was moving into the mid life. Not that he couldn't find love, it just seemed he felt more manly with a younger woman. Megan was younger and wanted to find love and have a family. I can't say Craig would have been against more kids, but you figure after 10 years of not having more, starting over isn't what he is looking for.

A lot of things happens at the critical point in the books. A series of events that create the perfect storm. Once again Megan runs instead of dealing with it head on. She does resolve another issue in the process, but it felt like she didn't even give Craig a chance and she was already finding him failing before he had a chance to prove her right or wrong.

Overall there were just too many of my issues with the story to find a lot of pleasure in the reading. Nothing is every easy in real life and this story does mirror life. Everything ends somewhat happily, but to get there took so much effort and sometimes some really dozy of solutions. Overall, it's a good story, just lacked the greatness or even some good sex scenes to make me believe these two really couldn't get enough of each other. Just wasn't there.

An excellent start to the Rescue Me series. I enjoyed reading this book so much, I had to go and read the next two books in the series. Being an animal lover, I liked that the shelter played such a big role in the story. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

My review can be seen at RT Book Reviews - 4.5 stars / TOP PICK

4.5 stars - I love finding new authors and this author does not disappoint. This debut author has written a great story with many things going for it; romance, believable story & likable characters. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

How could I resist this sweet, cute cover? Or that adorable puppy? It promised to a sweet, cute romance. It was a little more intense than I expect in a cute and sweet romance but it was a hopeful story, full of heart.

Craig is recently divorced, and still figuring out his new life. Megan has been single for a year, since breaking up with her fiance. Their first encounter doesn't go well, with neither having a good impression of the other despite their mutual attraction. But they find reasons to bump into each other and then they get involved. Megan and Craig quickly develop strong, intense, passionate feelings about each other. Their feelings for each other help them to open themselves up and deepen other relationships in their lives. Burns skillfully portrays the ups and downs of relationships of all varieties and the importance of opening your heart.

Craig had a lot of baggage - emotional baggage relating to his failed marriage, and his determination to b an active part of his children's lives. He's a good father and he works hard at making sure that he and his ex are a united set for their children, despite the divorce. I appreciated that Burns didn't take the easy way of making Craig's ex the cold wife or the shrew or on any way evil. She was a good person dealing with the tragedies that life dealt her. Relationships amongst all three adults stayed civil and mostly courteous. There was no trash talking, and that was a refreshing change. It was the second romance I read recently where exes and their current partners had a civil, respectful relationship. I hope this is a new trend in romance!


The animals and the shelter were more than just window dressing but were integral to the story. I have several friends who work in animal rescue and their experiences resonated with what Burns portrays. She gives us a fascinating look at shelter life and the intricacies of rescue work without overtaking the romance. With so much time spent on the animals, this may not be the book for you if you are not an animal person.

There was a trope introduced at about 60% in that I didn't like, it's one of my least favorites. And that one led to another least favorite trope - the big misunderstanding because they failed to communicate. You're adults people, talk to each other. From there, the story was wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes. Soap opera elements, check. Annoying tropes, check. Happy ending, check.

"A New Leash on Love" showed us the possibilities in taking a chance and not giving up on life or love. It's ultimately a hopeful story. But it wasn't a wow, that's amazing story. I had trouble with how fast they moved and how quickly things became intense, especially when they were both on the rebound. But I loved the respectful interactions, and all of the animals. The next time you want a romance with substance, that's more than fluff (which I like sometimes, there's room for a variety of stories), and you love animals, pick up "A New Leash on Love".

If I have to tell you the biggest winner in this book, it’d have to be the shelter. As an animal lover myself-a huge dog person to be exact- reading about how a shelter works and how the animals and people interact, what goes through the minds of those who work there and how they manage the place, interested me more than the romance itself.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t get into the storyline of how Megan and Craig fell in love, I couldn’t even pinpoint when they forged an intimate relationship before taking that big step forwards. It felt as if their bonding took place off the pages and we got the details of what happened after. As interesting and emotional as the shelter storyline was, Megan and Craig’s romance was that passive.

Craig’s personal life was in shambles and it was emotional and though it could’ve used more detailing and care, I’d have accepted it if the romance was there to hold the fort. And all the shelter stuff and staff were interesting but still not enough to save the romance. I just couldn’t click with either Craig or Megan, and that was just sad.

I’m prepared to give the series the benefit of the doubt though, because we all know how first books can be tricky in a series.

I’m adding two spoonfuls of this story into my hodgepodge and hope romance will rise again in the next book.

This story brings out more than a fair share of tears, but the characters are well written and overall it was a good story.

To a certain degree, this was a hard story to read because of the subject matter. Craig Williams lost his son a few years ago. The boy was born with a weak heart but at about 10 years of age, he appeared rather healthy and participated in sports. So his death was sudden and threw the family in turmoil. This lead to Craig and his wife getting a divorce and his two other children all trying to deal with the loss, first of their brother and then of their family. So there are a lot of depressing feels going on as we start our story.

Craig ex-wife allowed their daughter to get a puppy but things weren’t working out well and they decided to bring the puppy to the shelter. So make things easier on his daughter, Craig brings the dog to the local shelter. Unfortunately, when Craig arrived at the shelter, he was unaware that he would be meeting Megan Anderson after a really bad day. Normally, Megan would have accepted the puppy, knowing she would be able to find a home for him quicker than some of the older dogs, but the shelter was already packed with more dogs than they could handle.

Megan took out her bad day on Craig starting with a lecture on whether he really tried hard to teach the puppy. Of course she didn’t know the circumstances behind the decision to turn in the pup.

But Megan and Craig meet again when Craig’s daughter wants to volunteer at the shelter and they begin to mend their first bad meeting, and while there is attraction, Craig feels that he is not in a good place right now to begin a relationship, so they simply try to build a friendship with Craig and his daughter spending time at the shelter.

There is a lot of good character building, both with Craig’s family and with Megan, but also the people at the shelter. This was not a really sexy read, when they do have sex it was kind of awkward. But if you can enjoy a story with less sexy times and more get to know you, then this is a good story for you.

I was disappointed around the final third of the story with how Megan was acting and decisions she was making. While some of them made sense, others were simply handled badly and seemed to deviate from the smart, level-headed woman we had met so far. I found that threw off my momentum with the story and took me a bit to get back into it after even Megan declared that she didn’t handle things well.

Overall, it was a well written story even with a slightly depressing storyline of death and divorce.

A New Leash on Love by Debbie Burns
Book #1: Rescue Me Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

Megan Anderson’s least favorite time of the year is the after Christmas regrets phase when families who were so stoked to have a new pet at Christmas have suddenly realized the realities of caring for a fur baby. When the acceptance has set in, those families begin surrendering their pets to shelters like the one Megan runs.

Craig Williams doesn’t want to be the bad guy, but he’s been starring in that role for a long time, and as the bad guy, it’s his job to surrender his daughter’s Christmas puppy to a shelter. The whole process leading up to the surrendering of the puppy has been utterly miserable and if he can just get through this, things may actually start to look for him. And then he meets Megan Anderson at the shelter and his day goes from bad to worse. Not only is she angry about his surrendering of the puppy, she’s livid and lets him know in no uncertain terms exactly how she feels about his entirely selfish decision to give up his pet.

To be sure, Craig is cranky about Megan’s outburst, but he’s also intrigued by a woman so passionate about the animals she cares for. As luck would have it, his daughter changes her mind about the puppy and Craig finds himself right back in Megan’s world and happy to be there. Megan falls instantly for Craig’s daughter and his daughter falls instantly in love with the shelter and wants to become involved. As fa as Craig is concerned it’s a win/win and he has no intention of denying his daughter her passion. If Craig is tremendously lucky, he may even get to experience a little of his own passion.

Megan isn’t afraid to date, but she doesn’t do so all that often. Her job at the shelter is a full-time job for two that she does with the help of just a few part-time volunteers and that leaves very little time for a personal life. Additionally, since he split from her fiancé, Megan has been hesitant to give her attention and/or her heart to anyone. But, Craig Williams is a cat of a different color and he is certainly worth her limited free time and attention. The only real difficulty for Megan is the inclusion of Craig’s daughter in her world. Make no mistake, Megan adores Craig’s daughter, but as she finds out more about their family’s background, Megan is hesitant to risk hurting the youngster.

Turns out, dating on the down low is all kinds of sexy and fun, but both Megan and Craig know they can’t go on this way forever. Not only does Craig’s daughter (and son!) complicate their romance, so do issues at the shelter, and Megan’s own past which she hasn’t completely dealt with. It seems every time Megan and Craig gain a little ground, some fresh hell crops up to knock them back more than a few steps. When the final straw lands on the proverbial camel’s back, Megan does the only thing she knows to do, she hightails it to her mother’s house and seeks the solace and resolution she has not often found there. With any luck and a lot of conversation, Megan will be able to deal with her past so she can address her crazy uncertain future and her feelings for a man she never meant to love.

The Bottom Line: I am a sucker for a book with animals in it and the fur babies certainly helped me to more thoroughly enjoy this book! Both Megan and Craig are very likeable characters who each have a good deal of crap in their respective pasts to make them wary of love and romance. There is plenty of conflict and difficulty in this read to keep the pages turning quickly and enough emotional turmoil to keep one wondering at the possibility of a HEA. Rest assured, dear reader there is an HEA in this one and getting there is so vey worth the time and effort. Though Goodreads lists this read as book one in a series, it can absolutely be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

On the surface A New Leash On Love may appear to be a light-hearted romance with a puppy… and in some ways it is exactly that. Yet it won’t take long to realize that this is a story that digs deeper into human and animal emotions, to situations beyond one’s control and the ways we all deal with the realities of life.

At the moment Megan is running the no kill animal shelter. She’s stressed, overworked, the shelter is at max capacity and she has a rescue dog that needs them when one more walks in the door. What looks like yet another Christmas present that a family could not handle. Yeah, it’s great that they picked a no kill shelter to dump the puppy at… but they should have thought out their new pet purchase a bit better. And you know what is said about that word “assume”. Megan couldn’t have been more wrong about this new puppy’s situation but that doesn’t stop her from practically attacking the man she is seeing as irresponsible.

The last place Craig wants to be is walking into this shelter with an adorable puppy that he wishes they could keep. Recently life has been extremely rough for his family. Death, divorce, selling their home, a new move… it’s all overpowering to the strongest of people. He hadn’t expected to be attacked by one lovely woman when he walked into the shelter. He knew his reasons for being there, she didn’t. Yet he had no other choice and neither did the puppy.

There is so much going on beneath the surface in A New Leash On Love that it becomes such a learning and an enjoyable experience. First impressions aren’t always the best ones, but Craig and Megan get another chance to change how they view each other. A slow, naturally progressing romance will bring two people together, ease some of the family tensions and let love do some healing along the way. We’ll get a better understanding of how no kill shelters operate and of course, lots of lovable, desperately in need of a forever home animals. Unless you absolutely despise cats and dogs it’s going to be difficult not to have a few cases of puppy love here yourself.

I enjoyed my time in this world and would recommend this story to any Romance reader who enjoys realistic situations, likable and believable characters and loves to see animals, not only humans, get a happy ending as well.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Take one guess as to what convinced me to request this book? Yep. The puppers. I cannot resist a cute puppy and so I was suckered in. (Kudos to the person who designed the cover!)

Megan runs the local animal shelter which is a labour of love that requires hard work and a lot of balancing. It's apparent from the get go that all the animals at the shelter mean the world to her. She has the patience to win over their trust and to help them find the right forever homes where they can continue to lead full, happy lives. She meets Craig when he comes in to surrender his daughter's puppy. Life took a dramatic downward turn for his family even before he and his wife divorced. Now his focus is on his kids and work. Understanding that his daughter and ex-wife can no longer manage a puppy in their house, he takes it to the shelter where Megan immediately assumes that he's someone easily giving up on a pet, therefore pegging him as an entitled jerk. He doesn't appreciate her assumption of him but doesn't feel the need to correct her on it either, even if it does bother him. So imagine how confused they are that despite their negative interaction there seem to be sparks flying between them. When Craig's daughter starts volunteering at the shelter, it gives both him and Megan a redo.

This is a second-chance love story in the sense that it's a second chance at life and love. Both have suffered losses and neither is feeling too brave to jump in. I thought it was fascinating that Megan who is so brilliant at gaining an animal's trust is not so quick to trust another human. We get her and Craig's side of the story but I was nicely surprised to get his daughter Sophie's perspective as well. I thought it added an interesting layer to the story to include his child's observation. Thanks to the three of them I got a better feel for them as individuals with and away from each other and their take on what has been happening. Let's not forget that the setting is an animal shelter. I really enjoyed reading how Megan worked with and trained the dogs. (Yes, I was trying to pick up some tips myself.)

A New Leash On Love is an adorable, feel-good read that leaves your heart full. It's the first in the Rescue Me series and I'm looking forward more from Debbie Burns.

~ Bel

I have said this before but I am a sucker for any book that has dogs in it and this one has not one but MANY dogs since Megan runs an animal shelter. The biggest plus is how much it brings shelters to the front and gives the reader a look into how shelters operate and that it is not easy or cheap to run them and perhaps donations will be made after reading this book!

Megan and Craig are destined to be together but they don't know it at first....Craig has baggage from his first marriage and he has 2 children. Megan was engaged before and his some issues after watching her parent's marriage and her mother's subsequent remarriage when her father dies. This leaves her with a lot of questions that she has let sit and fester somewhat instead of addressing them head on until she finds herself in a situation and has to have that talk with her mom. So as you can imagine there will be miscommunication between Craig and Megan and mostly because they don't know they can be honest with each other.

I thought that many parts of this story was sweet with a little spice from Craig and Megan's intimate relationship. There may be a 10 year age difference but when it comes to matters of the heart that really doesn't matter much, we love who we love despite all. Megan develops good relationships with Sophie and Reese (Craig's children) but they don't know she is dating their dad which is ok because it doesn't put any pressure on any of them to like each other for any reason other than liking each other for who they are and not because they might "have" to like each other.

Overall very enjoyable and a fun read.

At first meeting, I thought Megan and Craig had sparks. Craig comes to the no-kill shelter where Megan works to surrender a Christmas puppy that has become too much to handle with his current family situation. Megan thinks that he is just another dumper and sort of lashed out at him. So I was expecting sizzle and a lot of banter between the two, once Megan learns that it isn’t the case.

Unfortunately, the spark diminishes, and Megan became more passive, meek, and lost her confidence. Craig also has too much baggage with the tragedy in his family and the divorce. I didn’t feel the chemistry between these two and I can’t find myself believing in them in the long run.

I’m not very fond of the way the story goes as well. I genuinely think the situation with Craig’s family is still a bit of a mess… and adding the *spoiler* pregnancy *spoiler* storyline didn’t won me over.
On the plus side, there are a LOT of animals, and it was impossible not to feel the pulls at my heartstring with at least one of them. Most probably Sledge, the German shepherd, the first animal to make an appearance in this book. My heart just felt for this dog and I am so happy that Megan and him bonded throughout. I am rounding up the star rating for the animals.

This is #1 in the Rescue Me series.  I love reading books with dogs in it.  It has become a favorite of my.

Megan Anderson is running a shelter and is very compassionate in what she does.  Craig Williams drops off their Christmas puppy because of things that changed in his family's life.  

This book made me think that not everything is as they seem.  Take Craig for an example.  Megan thought he did not want to deal with a puppy because they are a lot of work.  She did not know the entire story until later. This book also had me sad, happy, and everything in between.  What Craig and his family have been through is a lot to handle.  I think Craig needed Megan as much as she needed him.

Great book with lots of emotions!!  Believeable characters!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!
Melissa

All anyone really wants, animal or human, is to find love and that safety and security that comes with it. I don’t know about you, but when there are animals in need of safe homes where they find love and hope, I go all melty inside. Playing on those emotions, Debbie Burns brings us animals and people who need love and security that comes with it. Craig gets the unhappy task of taking his daughter’s puppy to the shelter after the ‘newness’ has worn off. In the midst of an acrimonious divorce, this is one more in the long list of detestable tasks that have become his life since the breakup. Megan spends her life trying to provide good homes and love to the many dogs in her care at the shelter: and when Craig arrives, obviously callously dropping the pup, she’s at the end of her rope. She lights into him with very well-placed and targeted jibes, and tempers and words fire off – not a strong moment for either of them.

But, despite the harsh words and not knowing him, Craig knows that Megan was at least partially right in her assessment. And that flicker of honesty with his interest in her choices to work at a stressful and often outwardly thankless job makes him curious. Perhaps seeing things through her eyes will bring him some healing, and some hope.

Slowly Burns uses the burgeoning friendship between Megan and Craig to share their stories of heartbreak and relationship difficulties. Cleanly paced and carefully revealed, the two are brought together in a way that feels natural and plausible, with plenty of doggie antics and tail wags to go around. Character driven with few moments of real drama that are successfully and quickly resolved, the story has plenty of moments that readers will enjoy. A wonderful debut and introduction to a series that will be a favorite of many.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” http://wp.me/p3OmRo-9bx/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

A NEW LEASH ON LOVE by Debbie Burns is the first book in the Rescue Me series. It is filled with relatable and very likable people. It all centers around the no kill shelter that Megan Anderson works at and has been running since the director got sick. There she meets Craig Williams, who has come in with a puppy surrender. He seems well to do, nice clothes, nice car, and she is aggravated that he seems to be dumping the puppy without any guilt at all. To say that fur flies during their first meeting is an understatement.

Craig has had his share of heartache. He has only been divorced for less than a year which came after a family tragedy that no one can move past. He has been trying to make his kids happy and make their lives less stressful, and surrendering the puppy seems like the right thing to do. A NEW LEASH ON LOVE will have you holding back tears at the emotional roller coaster Debbie Burns puts her readers on. The characters have all been through so much and before long, you will find yourself cheering them on and hoping they find their happily ever after.

Megan has had her share of heartache as well. She lost her father when she was a teenager and has always resented her mother for moving on without her dad. She also broke up wth her fiancé not too long ago. Neither Megan or Craig is looking for any kid of relationship, but it seems that’s all they can think about. A NEW LEASH ON LOVE is the perfect way to spend the afternoon, on your couch with your favorite beverage. Soon, you will be falling in love with all the animals and people in this heart warming and sweet story. Will Megan and Craig ever be able to heal their broken hearts and move on from their painful pasts? Read this wonderful contemporary to find out! I can’t wait to continue this fun and sweet series!

I really enjoyed this book. I was pleasantly surprised very early in the book when I realized that the story was set in St. Louis. It is always a lot of fun to find some familiar places worked into this kind of story. I really liked how much of a role the shelter played in the story. The animals and the shelter are a big part of this one. This was a really well told romance that had a very realistic feeling.

Megan and Craig meet in a rather difficult situation for both of them. Let's just say things don't go too well for either of them at their first meeting. They both really show how mature they are and their second meeting is definitely improved. They find themselves really being drawn to each other as they spend more time together. Their relationship really moved at a natural pace.

Megan works at a no-kill animal shelter. She is actually the one who is running the place on a day to day basis. She has a lot of responsibility to deal with and her job can be really tough at times. I loved all of the staff at the shelter and the animals really were wonderful. I thought it was a whole lot of fun having so many animals play an important role in the story.

Craig has had more than his fair share of heartbreak. He really was such a good man. He is very focused on being a good dad to his children. He wants to do whatever is in his power to make their lives better. He isn't really looking for a relationship when he meets Megan but knows he needs to take a chance.

I really liked the characters in this book. Megan and Craig were both incredibly likeable and they seemed so perfect together. I could totally see this pair together for the long haul. There are a few dramatic moments and I liked how everything worked out in the end. Nothing in the book was overly drawn out and the pacing of the story was very well done.

I would recommend this story to fans of contemporary romance. This was a really heartfelt romance with characters that have been through a lot. This is a debut novel from Debbie Burns and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in this series.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley.