#NetGalley Book Review: Who Rescued Who by Victoria Schade

The cover is adorable and the story gets there eventually.

Who Rescued Who
by Victoria Schade

File Size: 2526 KB
Print Length: 351 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0593098838
Publisher: Berkley (March 24, 2020)
ASIN: B07TSWP85J
Genre: Animal, Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Where can you turn when the world turns against you? When Elizabeth Barnes’ life fell apart she never imagined that she’d be rescued by a new friend on four paws.
The plan was simple: Elizabeth would ignore the fact that she was unjustly fired from her dream job, fly across the pond to settle an unexpected inheritance in her father’s home country and quickly return to reclaim her position among the Silicon Valley elite.
But when Elizabeth stumbles upon an abandoned puppy, she’s shocked to realize that her brief trip to England might turn into an extended stay. Her strict itinerary is upended completely by the pup’s dogged devotion, and soon the loveable puppy helps her to connect with a tight-knit community of new friends on two legs and four, from the aunt and uncle she didn't know existed, to a grumpy coffee shop owner to two very opinionated sheep. Along the way Elizabeth is confronted by long-kept family secrets, hard truths about her former life and a new romance that might lead her to question everything she knows about love. Because sometimes rescue magic happens on both ends of the leash.

Review:
Elizabeth Barnes is a workaholic who has no life beyond her job and her obsessive social media focus. She is experiencing a bit of shellshock and a lot of anger after being unfairly fired from her dream Silicon Valley job. While trying to figure out how to get her feet – and life—back on track, she gets a surprising email from a man claiming to be her uncle. The problem is she never knew she had an uncle in England.

Elizabeth finally decides to take a quick trip to England to settle the unexpected inheritance which will provide a financial cushion while she is trying to get back into the work market. Elizabeth is surprised to find a warm welcome and soon growing friendships in the small backwater village of Fargrove. Elizabeth discovers a man she is interested in and stumbles upon an abandoned puppy who adopts her. Everyone tells her that she is responsible for the puppy since she found her.

Elizabeth is surprised to learn her uncle is a well-known artist. She hadn’t planned to remain in Fargrove but finds herself staying to help nurse her aunt after a fall, help her uncle categorize his many unrevealed paintings, train a new puppy, and nurture a possible romance. Meanwhile, she continues to fret that she has limited cell phone service and she fusses over her minimized social responses.

In spite of a rocky start, Elizabeth is soon wrapped into the community with everyone hoping she will settle on the land she has inherited and strengthen her developing relationship with James. When Elizabeth is offered a job to get back in the scene of Silicon Valley, will she walk away from her uncle and aunt, her puppy Georgina, her new friends, and James?

I was drawn to the adorable puppy cover. Unfortunately for over 50% of the book, I had a hard time coping with Elizabeth’s very self-centered and self-absorbed attitude. She was given wonderful opportunities but was too focused on her Silicon Valley elitism to really see what was in front of her. Her romance interest tried to resist getting involved, but once he did, instead of pushing Elizabeth to talk about the future they ignored the topic or he sulked. I found it hard to understand why no one really pushed Elizabeth to consider her choices.

I really enjoyed the art aspects of this story and the wonderful natural setting with dogs and sheep included. Jame's beer business added interest too. Although I am glad I finished, I had to struggle to get to the end because of the primary character. Apparently many other reviewers did not have this problem so if you can handle a character who needs a swift boot a good talking to, you would likely enjoy this book.

Source: NetGalley Requested 2019 but Received 2020. This qualifies for 2020NetGalley and 2020Alphabet goals.