Couldn`t resist after seeing the cover with all the puppies.
The story starts with Elliot nursing his wife with terminal cancer, a sad beginning.
Thirteen year old Abby jumps in a river and rescues seven puppies after seeing a man dump them.
She can`t take them home as her dad is abusive and her mother and her live in fear of him.
The local pound is full up so she takes them to a shed next to a cabin that hasn`t been occupied for three years and had been broken into.
Then Elliot comes to the cabin after he buried his wife wanting some peace and quiet.
After Elliot meets Abby and the pups he is angry with her but soon calms down and try's to help Abby, he eventually meets Mary Abby`s mam and the friendship grows between the three adults and seven puppies, showing Abby and Mary that life can be good.

I enjoyed this book it had highs and lows and kept you in suspense even though you knew how it would end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reading Seven Perfect Things was a PERFECT way to spend my Mother's Day. I'm not a mama in the traditional sense, but I am a dog mom, and this book really highlighted the ups and downs of that roll, and especially how rewarding the whole experience is! It also says a lot twd the mother - daughter bond that a lot of us share with our mamas. With all that being said, I'm not saying it's a book about moms - just exactly why it was a perfect read for today - of all days.

This book was incredibly good - the character development, the plot pace, I felt like I knew these characters and I was rooting for Abby and her mom throughout the entire thing.

I appreciate the topic of mental abuse being prominent in this book. I mean, the fact that Abby's dad never really hits her mom is very important because she's still very obviously being abused - just in a different way, and I'm very impressed with how Hyde displayed that behavior dynamic between these three characters.

5 gold stars, as always. Catherine is one of my fave go-to authors and I buy everything she writes. Even though I have the free arc/egalley, I still purchased the audiobook. She's just that good! 😻

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

I lost count of how many lives these seven puppies came into and changed for the better. If that's not perfect I don't know what is.

A good read, will have you rooting for the heroes the entire time! Love wins between humans, animals, families, ages. Hard to put down because you want to make sure everyone is ok in the end!

Seven Perfect Things is another perfect book by author Catherine Ryan Hyde. I don’t even need to read the description before I choose one of her books, because I know if she wrote it I will love it. She writes about families. Real families. Not all of the story is happy, but all of it feels real.

Thirteen-year-old Abby Hubble is a special girl. She’s bright, clever, kind. But her home life is not happy. Her father, Stan, is a miserable man who finds fault with everything and everybody, who feels cheated and passed by in life. He hardly even notices Abby exists. Which might be a good thing. To Abby’s mother, Mary, Stan is demeaning, demanding, bitter, verbally abusive, never satisfied or pleased with her or their life together. Not the man she thought she married. She knows she and Abby would be better off if they left their small town and the sad, mad man who runs their lives, but that’s a wish that has little chance of coming true.

Grieving widower Elliot Colvin is a good man, but life seems pointless to him now. Recently widowed after his wife Pat’s long debilitating illness, he doesn’t know how he’ll go on without her, or sometimes even why he would want to. He’s lost right now. Maybe some time at the cabin they used to frequent will providing some solace, some meaning. What awaits him there is not at all what he is expecting.

After rescuing seven puppies from drowning and learning that leaving them at the local shelter will almost certainly result in their deaths anyway, and knowing it is not possible to take them home, Abby hides them in a shed next to an abandoned cabin in the woods. Except that it’s Elliot’s cabin and it’s not abandoned, just unused during the years of Pat’s illness.

The inevitable meeting between Elliot and Abby, and the chance meeting between Elliot and Mary are both innocent and heartwarming, giving them all a glimpse of life that might have been or could be from now on, but is fraught with danger that Stan will find out. Innocent or not, he doesn’t want Mary to have friends, he doesn’t want Abby to have the puppies, he doesn’t want anything that moves them even a tiny bit out of his control.

Of course Stan does find out and what happens next makes this story even more wonderful – sad, hopeless, frightening, yet hopeful and brave. Thanks to author Catherine Ryan Hyde and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of Seven Perfect Things for my honest review. It is another in a long line of wonderful, satisfying books by this author and I recommend it without hesitation. All opinions are my own.

Seven Perfect Things by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a heartwarming and endearing book.

It's about Abby, a thirteen year old girl, her mother Mary, Elliot - a grieving widower who's looking for some peace and...and seven cute, little puppies (that Abby, a great swimmer, has rescued).

This is my second by the author (I absolutely loved her 'My Name is Anton) and I really like her writing style. It's so engaging and lucid that you just flow with it. Seven Perfect Things doesn't have many twists and turns but it's so engrossing that you like reading every moment and conversation.

Abby is so smart and compassionate. I could understand Mary's dilemma and lack of confidence and Elliot is just so good (too good to be true, but I'd like to believe such people exist). And the puppies are so adorable.

The love story angle is unconventional, and I like it. It feels real and genuine.

Overall a feel good story.

I really loved the first half of this heartwarming story but then once I hit the half way mark it all seemed too obvious. I thought Abby was lovely and Elliot almost too good to be true. I’m not a fan of romance books so that’s perhaps why it fell a bit flat. The parts with the puppies in were so accurately written it made me long for another pup!

I love CRH books and this story was so good!! I just loved it!! Was hooked from the first page !! Highly recommend

Catherine Ryan Hyde has a way of writing people who come together and make each other better. This book begins with 13 year old Abby rescuing 7 puppies who have been thrown into a river to drown. Abby's home situation is such that she knows she cannot take the puppies home so she finds a place to keep them and takes on the project of taking care of them. In the mean time, Elliot has just lost his wife and is dealing with his grief. He arrives at his hunting cabin to find 7 puppies! As the story goes on, Elliot and Abby help each other and their new relationship spills over into their personal lives and futures.

I loved this. I loved courageous Abby and soft hearted Elliot. I loved Mary and how she found the courage with Abby's help to reach for a solution and change the trajectory of their lives. Add a bunch of cute puppies and what is not to love about this story.

My sincere thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.

Puppies and people looking for love and contentment, a lovely read. lots of layers in their stories, lots of decisions, and lots of reexamination of their lives. Love the joy they find! Simple read, but very satisfying and absorbing. Highly recommend!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to #LakeUnionPublishing and #NetGalley for the ARC.
This is a great book that kept me interested from beginning to end. A book that makes you feel hopeful and just makes your heart feel good, I call books like this feel good books because they leave you feeling good at the end.

Seven Perfect Things delivers what it’s prolific author is known for: lovable characters and a layered story that will pull strongly at your heartstrings. I was rooting for these broken characters from
page 1. It continues to amazing me that Hyde writes about two books per year, and I’m here for it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

*
*
*
#SevenPerfectThings
#CatherineRyanHyde
#NetGalley
#LakeUnionPublishing
#ReneesReadingGroup
#bookreview
#fiction
#puppylove
#bookstagram
#whatshouldireadnext
#nytbestsellingauthor

What a wonderful, sad book! Be forewarned this book does contain some abuse but is not described in detail. Who can't enjoy a book with puppies on the cover? This book ripped at my heart strings in so many ways but I enjoyed reading it and I was happy Abby found a friend. We might be surprised where you may find love! You will not want to put this book down once you begin to read it.

I received an ebook from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

Abby Hubble, lives with her mum Mary and father Stan in the foothills of Sierra Nevada mountains. Her father is a grumpy man and both Mary and Abby are extremely unhappy. The only thing Abby enjoys is being on the school swim team, she's a strong swimmer, one day she notices a man throw a sack off a bridge, she dives into the water and saves the seven puppies inside. The local dog pound is full, she cant take them home and she leaves the puppies in a shed near an abandoned cabin. Abby promises them she will be back the next day, she doesn’t have a lot of money and she’s determined to look after the puppies.

Elliot Colvin is a widower, his wife Pat has recently passed away and he’s not sure what to do. He’s on leave from his job, he has no children and he decides to go stay at his cabin. When he arrives, the cabin has been broken into and he finds the seven puppies in the shed. Abby arrives the next morning, he knows a thirteen year old girl didn’t break into his cabin, steal his property and he can understand why she wanted to save the puppies.
Abby and Elliot are both lonely, they become friends and together care for the puppies. Abby seems to be the only person who understand how Elliot feels and she also wishes he was her father instead of Stan.

Stan Hubble is controlling, he suddenly takes Abby and her mother Mary on a road trip, Abby's devastated that she might never see the puppies and Elliot again. Mary needs to find all the courage she can muster to get her and Abby away from Stan and try to find Elliot and the puppies.

Seven Perfect Things is a story about hope, friendship, kindness, cute puppies, being brave and taking a chance. Catherine Ryan Hyde’s books always tug at your heart strings, this one certainly does and it's a lovely story.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and five stars from me.

SEVEN PERFECT THINGS is a story about joy, where to find it, how to know it when you see it, and the courage it takes to hang on to it once you have it.

I was never a dog person until my family got one in January 2020. Now my purebred boxer is my best buddy and I could absolutely relate to so much of what Abby must have been feeling with those pups! I could easily picture the rescued pups and my heart felt full just thinking of them. I was enraptured!

I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen in this book before I even started reading it and everything was lining up to be that way, when all of a sudden a new twist popped up, changing the story and my prediction completely. It made the book even more intriguing, I was more curious and couldn’t put the book down once that happened. It became more like the previous books written by this author that I have grown to count on and love. She has such a talented way of pulling in the reader and creating a bond between the reader and her characters that is so strong that the reader becomes imprisoned to the book, there is no putting it down (at least not easily).

I really loved these characters, their stories, their growth and maturity. I love so much about this book and it is hands down one of the best books I have read in a long time.

The story of these perfect puppies, tossed in a river by an abusive man, captured my heart, as did the three hurting characters who rally around them. Abby, 13, rescues the puppies and takes them to a shelter, which has no room. She hides them in a cabin in the woods, where Elliot, a grieving widower, discovers them. Abby’s father is a cruel man, and Abby and her mother Mary suffer greatly because of him. When Elliot meets Mary, Abby so wishes they could find new life together. A poignant story that breaks, then heals the heart.

Pub Date 04 May 2021
#SevenPerfectThings #NetGalley

Thanks to Catherine, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

This was an absolutely delightful YA book about family, love, loss and bravery!
Another amazing read from one of my favorite authors! I absolutely loved how this book had a touch of suspense! She touches on the very difficult issues of grief and domestic violence in a sensitive way and leaves you feeling whole!

Seven Perfect Things is another winner from my favorite author. I can always count on her uplifting stories to restore my faith in humanity. This one was especially heartwarming because of the seven adorable puppies that brought everyone together. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance copy to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this touching novel featuring Katie, a tenderhearted thirteen year old. She sees a man stop his car on a bridge, toss a heavy bag into the river and speed off. She notes parts of the bag are moving. There is something alive inside. A member of her school's swim team, she jumps in braving the cold water and swift current. Grabbing the bag and reaching shore, she rips it open. Out pops the head of a coughing and sputtering puppy. And then another and another. Seven bedraggled puppies in all.

Katie knows her mean father would never allow her to keep them. Her attempt to leave them at the full animal pound fails. The only other option is the abandoned cabin up the mountain from her home. Her plan to save the rescued puppies becomes complicated when the owner of the cabin shows up. Elliot hadn't been to the cabin in years. He's only done so now to clear his mind after the long illness and subsequent death of his wife. Can an unlikely friendship form between a grieving middle aged man and a tender hearted girl with seven puppies to take care of?

Hyde covers some serious issues in this novel. On the one hand is a recent widower dealing with the loss of his his wife from a wonderful marriage. On the other hand is a troubled marriage with Katie and her mom harshly controlled by an abusive man. Hyde has done well to contrast the two situations. When is it right to flee? How can a woman ever feel worthy of respect and love after being so mistreated? And how could one teenage girl ever take care of seven rambunctious puppies?

Hyde's writing style is a pleasure to experience. I found the novel so engaging I zipped through it in two days, all the time rooting for Katie. I hoped so much she would find lasting happiness. It was she who gave us food for thought:
“It's impossible to not be happy with seven puppies climbing all over you.” (960/4427)

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley for an honest review. When Abby was walking home she saw a car on the bridge and someone threw something over the railing. She went down to see what it was, and it had landed in the river. She saw there was something moving so she dove into the river. When she finally pulled herself and the bag out of the river, she discovered it was 7 puppies. She took them to the pound, but they were full, and she was told they would be put down, so she took the puppies. She tried to find a place to keep them. She found a cabin she thought was abandoned and kept the puppies there. The man, Elliot, who owned the cabin had just lost his wife and couldn't be at the house, so he went to the cabin and saw the puppies. Then he met Abby. Let's just say that 7 puppies and a 13-year-old wormed their way into his heart.
As Abby went up to the cabin every day to take care of the puppies she started wishing that. Elliot was her father instead of the one she had. We soon learned how her father was and what he was capable of. Abby was a determined girl and she and her mother made it to Elliot's house where there were 6 puppies and when you read the book you will love the story of where number 7 is.