It's A Vet's Life (Talyton St George)

by Cathy Woodman

[Leah]

Cathy Woodman’s Talyton St George series has become a firm favourite with me – there have been three previous novels set in the small village, and the fourth It’s A Vet’s Life is the most recent. It’s the third (of the four) to feature Maz Harwood and all at Otter House Vets and it’s rather like coming home and putting on your favourite slippers and dressing gown. It’s one of the cosiest book series around at the moment, and I love the comfort that comes with knowing who the characters are already, where the land lies with everyone, and seeing how their lives are currently panning out. Not to mention, all the goings on at the vet which as an animal lover is both saddening at times, but also makes me immeasurably happy.

It’s A Vet’s Life is the third novel, as I mentioned, to feature Maz Harwood (the previous two being Trust Me, I’m A Vet and Must Be Love) and I’m crossing my fingers it isn’t the last, as Maz seems to have so much mileage to her and I love seeing how her life has come on since she moved to Talyton St George. How she came as a free, single, City woman and how she’s bedded down and had a baby, and gotten engaged, and how she’s generally just settled in to country life. This third outing sees Maz trying to keep up with everything life brings – looking after her son, George; trying to keep her relationship with fellow vet Alex Fox-Gifford going; planning her wedding to said vet; and making sure all runs smoothly at Otter House. It’s pretty much a novel about life as a working mother, if I was to put it bluntly but that makes it sound drab and dull which it most certainly isn’t. (Life is never drab and dull in Talyton St George!).

The novel is pretty much the same as the previous two, with a lot of vet comings and goings and Otter House always being full to the brim with patients. All the previous characters return – all the past patients are back, Emma, Maz’s parter at the vet’s, is back, but there are some new faces, too, in the shape of Will, the new trainee vet at Otter House. It’s not an exciting novel, but there’s something there that kept me hooked. I personally really like reading how Maz treats the animals, and I like the fact Maz is in a stable(ish) relationship and although that not might be everybody’s cup of tea, well, it suits me perfectly. The characters, the setting, the things that occur, it’s all totally enjoyable for me, and I found myself whizzing to the end in a bid to see how it would all pan out!

Despite the predictable nature, there is a massively shocking twist that occurs during It’s A Vet’s Life. It’s not something you see in a Chick Lit novel, it’s not something I expected, and although it sort of made sense for it to occur there was also a part of me that was a bit sickened at what happened. Part of me felt it was out of place in a novel that’s generally not known for being shocking like that. It didn’t put off my enjoyment of the novel, but it did give me pause for that, did give me a jolt. It’s A Vet’s Life was just as good as its predecessors and it made me cry. That’s just what I expect now, every time I read a new Otter House novel – it’s inevitable with a novel that centers around a vets and around sick animals that not all the animals will survive and the thought of animals dying always makes me teary and I inevitably end up crying whilst reading Cathy’s novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, it’s a brilliant addition to the series and is probably my favourite so far. I look forward to more from the Otter House Vets in future, because the series is still as fresh as it was two books ago and I love reading about Maz and co.