My third work by Lila Bruce, and second novel (one of the three is a short story). If I only counted the book length works, the two of them I’ve read, I’d find that my overall rating for the author would be somewhere near 4.65 stars. Including the short story, the overall rating would be closer to 3.7666667. All of which is exciting, I’m sure.

So, this book here. There are three points of view, if I recall correctly. Well, I know there are at least three, and I think only three. The book opens up with one of the three. Obviously enough. And if I had not read something prior by this author, I might have immediately stopped reading. Well, probably not, but it’s hard to continue when the book opens with a character saying how much they hate cats. I mean, that’s just super off putting, you know? I’d like to say that I understood what was going on right around when this character lifted their hind leg and scratched their ear, since that would be fitting, but I caught on earlier.

Viewpoint one: Moose Baldwin. Dog. Specifically the dog of one Ashley Baldwin, who joking calls Moose her boyfriend. Since this cat-hating was expressed through the view point of a dog, I figured I’d not allow that to put me off. The perspective from the dog’s point of view as actually quite good and well constructed. Enjoyable even. For the most part.

Viewpoint two: Ashley Baldwin. High school teacher. Long term resident of, if I recall correctly, small-ish town Georgia (I say small-ish as it is for the most part, but it is also near two colleges). She’s spent the last twelve years attempting to move on with her life but finding it difficult to do so. Move on, that is, from a bad breakup which occurred near the end of College with her longish term girlfriend, who she actually first meet, if the stories are matching up right in my mind, back in high school. Part of the break up was based on how Ashley wanted kids and a house. With, I assume, a white picket fence. Peyton Maxwell, this so far unnamed ex-girlfriend, expressed the view that she didn’t want that. Couldn’t give that to Ashley. Expressed, or implied the opinion (it’s murky) that she didn’t like kids. So, that’s what Ashley has been attempting to move on from. Attempting relationships, breaking them off, trying again, repeat. (There was some comment somewhere along the line that all Ashley had was her dog – her parents, that she was somewhat estranged from, live in Florida now; and yet there are at least two best friends who pop up in the story. I might have misunderstood the comment. Since one of them’s off for the summer ‘elsewhere’, so the comment might have been related to that).

Well, I just distracted myself there, sorry.

Viewpoint three: Peyton Maxwell. Ex-girlfriend of Ashley Baldwin. Recently moved back to Georgia from Texas with her daughter Daisy, in the last six months I believe, and taken a position as a vet at Ridgeview Animal Clinic. There are ‘reasons’ for her return, for return it is, one of which involves living closer to her parents. One may or may not involve being near Ashley again.

Book opened, as noted, in the viewpoint of Moose. Which I mention because he’s at the animal clinic. For fleas. They wander back, when called, to an exam room. Get all settled. Find a vet come in and . . . it’s that ex-girlfriend. Moose, unlike himself, growls and instantly takes a dislike to the vet. Largely due to how tense and flustered his person is when this newcomer entered (plus he doesn’t particularly like meeting new people anyway). Ashley and Peyton somewhat nervously bounce off each other, Peyton offering to get another vet to cover, Ashley saying no, etc. etc. Visit over. Both flustered. At some point the possibility of being platonic friends came up, mayhap on this visit.

Friends:
Ashley – Cassie (fellow teacher, going off for the summer), Melanie - she only seemed to turn up at Cassie’s grill party as someone to rub her hands against Peyton’s leg and make her feel all uncomfortable and drool over how hot Peyton is.
Peyton – um, her parents? Other than attempting to become friends again with Ashley, I don’t recall any specific friends mentioned.
Moose – Elvis – Cassie’s dog. And some others, but Elvis is the one he runs into most often.

Glad I finally tried this book here. I rather liked the first book I had read by Bruce, but the second one – the short story, was such a letdown that I’d been kind of burned and was distrusting my initial impression of the author. Like maybe I had tricked myself into liking the first book or something. But this one was quite good. Solid characters, story-line, pace, humor. Not sure I’ve read a book like this one before. Oh, right. Of course I have. Before I go too far done the road of vagueness, I mean a book involving two people who appeared to love each other but broke apart, only to bump into each other again years later and have sparks fly again. The other book I’d read that had that specific relationship arc, though the stories themselves were different, was “The Thousand Mile Love Story” by Natalie Vivien.

December 22 2015 ( )