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Friday 25 April 2014

Blog Tour - Follow me home by Cathy Woodman



The village midwife and a young shepherd find love in the new novel from the bestselling author of Trust Me I'm a Vet and Country Loving, set in Talyton St George, Britain's most romantic town. Life has been tough for village midwife Zara. Recently divorced and living with her grandmother, Zara is struggling to get back on track. Until one day, love walks in, in the form of an abandoned puppy. Although Zara adores her new friend, the puppy causes havoc wherever they go, so she is grateful when local shepherd Lewis offers to train her. But Lewis has an ulterior motive for helping. And though Zara may be able to trust him with her naughty dog, can she trust him with her bruised heart?

Spring is here, with summer around the corner. Where better to relax and be transported to than Talyton St George. I love my annual visit to St Talyton's, meeting up with old friends at the vets and also meeting new villagers as Woodman introduces us to new characters in her books.

In Follow me home we meet the village midwife, Zara, her sister, Emily, who is married to a local farmer, Murray, and their temporary shepherd, Lewis. Zara has many storylines within this book, initially delivering her long awaited niece; her living arrangements as she has moved back in with her elderly grandmother following her divorce from her husband who she still regularly sees in the village but then in a professional capacity when his new girlfriend becomes pregnant and also a possible new romance with her sister's maternity cover shepherd, Lewis. It was great that Zara had so many different storylines - I especially enjoyed her role as a carer for her nan, as with many elderly people she did not want to go into a home and Zara tried to cover up the severity of her dementia to other family members for too long. I also enjoyed Poppy, Zara's niece, who adds a child's voice to the story, and I loved her childish opinions and that honesty that only a young, adorable child can get away with.

I always find myself getting absorbed into Cathy's books, following each character's story with interest. This book also contains reference to Tessa and Jack, who live and run the Talyton animal rescue centre. Tessa is pregnant with their first child and there are complications with the pregnancy. Their story has been told in a separate novella 'The Three of Us by Cathy Woodman' but they are mentioned through out Follow Me Home. Readers have also met Tessa and Jack earlier in the series when Jack interuppted Tessa's wedding and led to Tessa cancelling the wedding and starting a new relationship with Jack. I enjoyed returning to this relationship and would recommend that fans read the short novella that Cathy has recently released about their pregnancy.

As always, Cathy has written a fantastic book, one which can be slipped into holiday luggage or devoured on a Sunday afternoon in a sunny garden. It is great to catch up with regular characters, who I would love to have as friends, I would actually love to live in Talyton St George, and also make new friends. I can't wait for my next visit to the village and look forward who Cathy introduces us to next, or who we revisit - i am hoping that Cathy writes more of the short novellas as I really enjoyed The Three of Us.

Thank you to the publishers, Arrow, for sending me the book to review and also to Cathy Woodman, for visiting me at my blog as part of the blog tour - please see the banner at the top of this blog post to visit other blogs taking part.

1 comment:

  1. Hello Sarah
    Thank you very much for welcoming me on my tour with the latest Talyton St George book, ‘Follow Me Home’, which tells the story of village midwife Zara, and the new mums and babies she cares for. I loved writing about the new characters, including the shepherd Lewis striding through the fields with his crook and mobile phone, and a rather naughty puppy!
    X Cathy

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