Puppy Love by L.T Smith
Ylva Publishing (paperback), 2013
182 pages
http://www.ylva-publishing.com/ylva-verlag-e.kfr.–l.t.-smith.html
BLURB FROM THE COVER
Ellie Anderson has given up on love. Her philosophy is “Why let someone in when all they do is leave?” So instead, she fills her life with work and dodges her sister’s matchmaking. Then she meets Charlie—a gorgeous, brown-eyed Border Terrier. Charlie is in need of love and a home, prompting Ellie to open the doors to feeling once again. However, she isn’t the only one who is falling for the pup’s charms. Emily Carson is her rival for Charlie’s affection, thus starting what can only be classed as a working relationship. By allowing herself to love Charlie, can Ellie open her heart to anyone else?
EXTRACT
I remember in vivid detail the very first time I fell in love. I wasn’t looking for it, never planned on falling completely under the spell of another. Despite that fact that I had spent thirty-three years without knowing how the sensation would feel, I accepted without a question, without a struggle. The moment I looked into the dark brown depths of my intended’s eyes, I felt the part of me that craved a connection of some sort had suddenly come to life again.
REVIEW
First off, I want to make two things clear – the title of this novel is twee and sort of nauseating. The pooch on the front cover is cute but sort of nauseating as well. Not the best combination I admit. I bought Puppy Love on the strength of Smith’s other great novels Hearts & Flowers Border, Beginnings and Once. Puppy Love like Smith’s other novels is lesbian fiction and won’t appeal to everyone.
I really enjoyed Puppy Love. Smith offers a very light read. This made a pleasant change because I’ve read some pretty dense novels recently so it was good to take a breather. I like first person narrators when they work well and Smith pulls this off with Puppy Love. The characters were very well written and I was impressed by the fact Smith avoids lesbian stereotypes (i.e. the manly butch one and the long-haired feminine one). I’m a dog person and cute little Charlie tugged at the old heartstrings. I wanted to adopt him as well. I liked the way Ellie and Emily’s relationship develops, all that pretend we’re not flirting and don’t fancy the pants off each other while taking Charlie for walks. There were some very funny moments especially in the first few chapters as Ellie turned into a blithering idiot around Emily and they fought for Charlie’s affection. I found it quite sad when Ellie reveals some details about her past including the fact her parents threw her out on the street when she told them she was gay. I would have like a bit more focus on this especially since her mother turns up at one point and is less than pleasant. Puppy Love is essentially a love story but Smith manages to avoid all of the pitfalls of writing in this genre. I didn’t want to puke once and enjoyed what I was reading until the final page.
RATING
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