Trust Me, I'm a Vet (Talyton St George)

by Cathy Woodman

[Leah]

I am a huge animal fan – particularly after we adopted our two dogs after moving into their house – so when I was browsing on the Bookseller website one night and I came across an article saying Cathy Woodman was going to be writing a new vets series, I knew I had to keep track of when the book was coming out as it sounded like a fantastic read. I was thrilled when it finally came up on Amazon for release and I was even happier when I was offered it to review.

I’ve never read any of Cathy’s books before so I wasn’t sure what to expect so it came as a nice surprise to be able to slip into the book so easily. The book starts just before Maz takes over as the locum at Otter House and sets the scene really well for Maz to come in and take over from Emma. We’re then introduced to the residents of Talyton St George including Izzy, Nigel and Frances who also work at Otter House as well as the Fox-Giffords who are rivals of Otter House and have their own veterinary clinic Talyton Manor Vets and any residents who bring in their pets to Otter House. It creates quite the atmosphere within Talyton St George and the village is really brought to life with it’s wonderful characters.

As I say, the characters of Talyton St George are all wonderful and all bring their personalities to life whenever they appear. With so many residents I did get a little confused at the beginning of the book, I must admit but as I got to know them all, it became easier to differentiate between who was who. Maz is the main character throughout the book and is also our narrator and I warmed to her immediately. It’s clear from the off she had a difficult time before leaving London and I enjoyed seeing her overcome her heartbreak. I also thought the reasoning for why Maz became a vet hugely believeable and also really heartwarming. I suppose the other main characters were Izzy, Frances and Nigel who worked alongside Maz at Otter House and I must admit that although I found all three prickly in the beginning, I also soon warmed to them. There was a big deal made of the rivalry between Otter House and Talyton Manor Vets but I found myself really liking Alex Fox-Gifford, the son of Old Fox-Gifford and owner of Talyton Manor Vets. He easily dispelled any myths I may have had about him being the bad guy of the piece and I enjoyed his rapport between himself and Maz.

Cathy Woodman really manages to bring the village of Talyton St George to life, as I’ve previously mentioned and although the way in which everyone knew everyone elses business, I fell in love with the village alongside Maz. If you’re going to write a series then creating a fantastic setting is a must and Woodman has managed that with relative ease. Of course there was also lots of drama – as I said, everyone is in everyone elses pocket – but it was all handled within time and there was never too much at any given point. Since the book is about a vet’s practice it’s to be expected that not every animal treated will survive and there were a few cases that had me in tears, I must say. Woodman handled those scenes sensitively though and although the scenes did make me sad, I also understood why they had to happen. There’s a huge plot twist three quarters of the way through the book that really shook everything up, too, and which I did not see coming – making my shock all the worse! I much mention the ending which really set the scene for the second book in the series which I’m eagerly anticipating!

Overall I really enjoyed reading Trust Me, I’m A Vet. It’s rare for a chick lit book to feature animals – and definitely not as many as Trust Me, I’m A Vet features – which made my enjoyment all the better as I am a huge animal lover. This is a must-read for animal lovers and the cute cover should tell you all you need to know. October – and the second book in the series – cannot come soon enough for me, I really can’t wait to read it!