Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman

Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman
Buy Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Women's Fiction
Reviewer: Jo Heffer
Summary: Zara's life is anything but simple: she has recently divorced her husband Paul; she is now living with her gran who is slowly succumbing to dementia; and all of the pregnant ladies in Taylton St George are relying on her to deliver their babies. Added to that she adopts an abandoned puppy and enlists the help of local shepherd, Lewis, in order to train him. Hers is such a busy life that it's no wonder that she feels that she has no time for love.
Buy? No	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 468	Date: July 2014
Publisher: Arrow
ISBN: 9780099584926
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Cathy Woodman has written a number of books about life in the Devon village of Taylton St George. These all tell the tale of the comings and goings of the different villagers as they go about their daily lives. You don't have to have read the earlier ones in order to enjoy the stories although if you have read them you are more likely to appreciate the bigger picture.

Follow Me Home tells the story of local midwife, Zara. She has been going through a rough patch having recently been divorced from her husband, Paul, and she has also discovered that she cannot have children herself which makes delivering everyone else's babies a little hard to bear at times. She has also moved in with her elderly gran who, sadly, is showing early signs of dementia. Things start to look up though when she discovers an abandoned puppy which has been badly mistreated. Naming him Frosty, she determines to look after him even when he turns out to be deaf. As she knows nothing about dogs though, she needs help in training him. Luckily, the stunningly handsome local shepherd, Lewis, is available to lend her a hand and a romance between them starts to blossom. And that's just the start of the story.

In many ways this is a light, easy read which could be perfect for summer holiday reading. The main characters are likeable and the story lines are relatively straightforward although very predictable. However, in other ways the book is quite frustrating as it's just too busy. There are too many different plots and they all seem to be covered at a superficial level and before you know it, that part of the story is over and everything has moved on. It leaves the reader feeling a bit short changed and it makes one wonder what is the purpose of some of the story lines. There are some potentially moving and far reaching themes within the story, such as infertility and the onset of dementia, and I would have preferred for these to have been developed further at the expense of some of the minor stories.

There are also so many characters in the book that it is very difficult to keep track of who is who. Therefore it fails to be the light easy read that you can pick up and put down at will as you then have to keep flicking back to remember who the characters are and their relationships with others. I suspect if I had read more of the Taylton St George books, I would not have found it so difficult.

Overall, this was a disappointing read especially because I did not remember feeling like this after reading one other Taylton St George novel. I am not sure whether, after having read this book, I would be in too much of a hurry to read other books from Cathy Woodman.

A much more enjoyable book from Cathy Woodman is Country Loving

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You can read more book reviews or buy Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Follow Me Home by Cathy Woodman at Amazon.com.

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