Book Review; Walk Away With Me by Darby Davenport

Author: Darby Davenport
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Published: 19th March 2013 (TODAY)
Pages: 104
Format: Ebook
Source:: ARC from Author
Add It: Goodreads, Amazon UK, Amazon US

Summary:
What is Charlie Rockwell supposed to do when the sad Rottweiler’s eyes connect with hers through the TV screen and work their way straight into her heart? She adopts him without a second thought or the slightest knowledge how to take care of the large, needy dog with the traumatic past.

Ethan Porter is not happy when a savage Rottweiler picks a fight with his mild-mannered Golden Retriever at the dog park. But his anger quickly dissipates when tears begin to form behind the eyes of the dog’s beautiful owner—eyes that are far too familiar for his liking. Disregarding his instincts, Ethan can’t deny her plea when she asks him to teach her the basics of dog ownership.

Can he ignore the fact that she bears a strong resemblance to his ex and finally learn to trust again? Will she find committing to both man and dog more exciting than the freedom of a single, unrestrained life?

A man with a painful past, a woman who fears commitment, and a dog with only one more chance at life—together, can they find love?

it all begins

If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you’ll know that I only recently started reading romance novels. It was never something I was really interested in but then I decided to give it a go and found myself to really enjoy the genre. It is easy to read, nice and light, and is something that is nice to read when you want a break from the hard-hitting dystopians and epic fantasy books. Thus, when I was offered the chance to read this book, I decided that I would take the chance on it. It is here I feel I should also mention my attitude towards dogs. When I was very young, I was petrified of dogs, I never wanted to be near them and would simply cower around them. Then I met my best friend who had a dog and I would be at her house ALL the time, thus allowing me to see that dogs are actually really cute and totally super friendly. So now I really love dogs and would love to get one for myself – my mum despises them – thus I was also very intrigued by how dogs played a part in this little novella.

with a chance

One of the most important things to a romance novel is the plot. Readers know, essentially, what is going to happen by the end of the book so it’s nice to have little surprises along the way and the plot of this novella definitely manages to shock the reader and keep them guessing. It was compelling and hard to put the book down as I read through it and my heart was pumping for a lot of it. What makes this book even more enjoyable is the fact that you’re not just seeing the relationship between the male and the female, but you’re also getting relationships between owner and dog, lover and dog, and dog and dog. It was the perfect combination of relationships that really pulled me into this story and made my heart pump in completely sporadic ways. This book keeps the heat up with the perfect combination of action, sexy scenes, emotional moments, and individual space. It just worked really well together.

between two people

It is easy to state here that the characters of this book were really well-developed and you were able to see not just the people they were but the reason they were the way they were which is incredibly difficult to do in a small novella! At first I didn’t like Charlie, I found her to be a bit irritating but I couldn’t put my finger on why. But then I got to know her a bit more, saw more of who she was and suddenly found myself liking her and her journey. I wanted things to be okay for her and Rugby. Then there was Ethan, then one who you were supposed not to like to start with but who I enjoyed from the start. You were able to see so much of Ethan straight away and I liked that. It was nice to see more of him as the book continued and I really liked the journey he took. But really, for me, it was Tuck that stole my heart away in this story. From the first moment we meet this adorable Golden Retriever, I was smitten with him. I wanted him to be my dog because he was just so friendly, lovely, and seemed to just have this heart of gold. Of course, Rugby was just as adorable as well, but Tuck just won me over.

that could change

While, essentially, this is Darby Davenport’s first attempt at romantic novel writing, it is not her first book and this is very noticeable through the writing style which is crafted well and was truly compelling. I enjoyed the style of the writing and found it to be used in an easy pace and made it easy to read without wanting to throw the book down. It is clear that Darby knows what she is doing and if this is just her first foray into romance writing then I look forward to seeing what else she has on the way. I really liked the way the chapters were broken up between the two different perspectives and how each character had a clear and distinctive voice. It made the book more enjoyable and entertaining and that is always what you wish for in a novel.

absolutely everything

All in all, Walk Away With Me was a novella that is easy to read quickly, is compelling and really gets your heart thumping – for more than just the heated scenes! It is the perfect mix of action, sexy scenes, fun, emotional scenes, and animal love. For me, it was the perfect book to lighten my mood after reading some darker stories, although I did find myself tearing up towards the end until I could finally breathe again. In this short novella I truly went through so many emotions and I find that to be such a wonderful and amazing thing. I would recommened this novella to anyone who likes romantic fiction, or to anyone who loves animals and would like to witness a lovely and sweet story surrounding them. It is the animals that bring these two characters together but they also play a large role in the characters’ lives throughout the novella which is nice to see. They weren’t just there to be plot points. Thus, if you want to read a good, but unfortunately short, book, then you should pick up Walk Away With Me.

** I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. **