FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin was a fun book to read. I enjoyed the characters in this book, but I think my favorite part of this book was the dogs. I am such an animal lover that when books have animals in them, they usually end up being my favorite characters in the book. Throughout most of the book, I was a huge fan of Nathan, but Brydie got on my nerves because at times she seems like she was always whining about her life and her past. There is one thing that bugs me, but in the end, it isn’t really that big of a deal. On the back of the book, she says that Nathan is a veterinarian, but in the book, he is an ER doctor that also works at a nursing home. This just bothered me because I thought I was crazy when I noticed that difference but in the end, I wasn’t crazy. Other than that one point I really did enjoy this book, and I can’t wait until she writes another book because so far I have liked the other book that I have read by her as well.
About The Book
Sit! Stay! Speak! author Annie England Noblin’s novel takes one woman starting over, adds an aging pug named Teddy Roosevelt, and proves the power of a well-baked dog treat.
All she wants is a settled-down life.
What she gets is a dog—and a whole new normal . . .
There he stood in the doorway: overweight, depressed and nearly homeless—a pug named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy was Brydie Benson’s latest problem, arriving on top of her messy divorce and sudden move. Brydie needed a place to start over, so this rent-free home seemed a great idea. She just never counted on Teddy, or his owner, the Germantown Retirement Village’s toughest customer, Pauline Neumann.
And because rent-free doesn’t mean bills-free, Brydie gets a night-shift job at a big-box grocery. Whoever guessed there were so many people who wanted baked goods after midnight?
Then, she gets an idea—why not combine her baking skills with her new-found dog knowledge? And so her store Pupcakes is born. Along with a new start comes a possible new love, in the form of Nathan Reid, a local doctor with a sassy Irish Wolfhound named Sasha. And as fall turns to winter, and then to Christmas, Brydie begins to realize that life is a little bit like learning a new recipe for puff pastry—it takes a few tries to get it just right!
About The Author
Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Her poetry has been featured in such publications as the Red Booth Review and the Moon City Review. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieEnglandNoblin/
Twitter: @aenoblin
Instagram: @aenoblin
Buy A Copy
Add-On Goodreads
Let’s Be Friends
Read An Excerpt
After dinner, Nathan refilled their wineglasses and led her into the living room. Sasha and Teddy had settled there as well, and when Nathan built a fire in the fireplace, Teddy dropped right in front of it and started to snore. Sasha wasn’t far behind him.
“The living room at Mrs. Neumann’s house has a fireplace, too,” Brydie said. “I thought about lighting it the other night, but it hasn’t been lit in ages.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if you burned her house down trying to light the fireplace,” Nathan replied.
“No, I can’t imagine that would make her too happy.”
“Listen,” Nathan said, scooting closer to her on the couch. “I’m sorry if I asked too many intrusive questions earlier. I’m hopeless at small talk, and when I get nervous, I tend to fall back into doctor mode. I swear I didn’t mean to interrogate you over chicken.”
“That’s okay,” Brydie replied. “It was actually kind of nice to talk about it with someone who doesn’t know anything about my life before I moved here.”
“How do you like Memphis so far?”
“It’s getting better,” Brydie said with a sly grin. Between the wine and the fire, she felt deliciously warm.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Brydie watched him watching her. She liked the way his curly black hair fell in his eyes when he was concentrating. She liked the way his T-shirt fit, not too loose or too tight. She liked the way he asked her questions—soft, curious, but not intrusive. It made her want to tell him everything, anything, just to keep him looking at her. Paying attention to her.
But more than that, she realized, there was something familiar about him, comfortable. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but despite the constant butterflies in her stomach, he made her feel calmer somehow. She could understand why people would be drawn to him as a doctor. She could even understand why a woman might visit her elderly aunt in order to be near him.
Nathan moved a hand up to Brydie’s face, tucking a wandering strand of damp hair behind her ear. It sent a bolt of electricity through her, and when he moved his hand away, Brydie felt herself grabbing a fistful of his T-shirt and pulling him closer to her until her mouth was on his, and she could taste the wine on his lips.
Brydie fell back into the couch and pulled Nathan down on top of her. She could feel his hands exploring her body underneath her T-shirt, and she burned with a need she hadn’t known existed until that very moment.
“Do you want—” Nathan began in between frenzied kisses, but before he could finish, the ringing of his phone in his pocket cut him off.
“Ignore it,” Brydie murmured.
“I can’t,” Nathan said, pulling himself away from her with a groan. “I’m on call at the nursing home tonight.”
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret
3 Comments on Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I wrote this book, and I totally agree with you about Brydie being annoying. She made me roll my eyes a lot, because her character is SO not like me. But, I guess that’s important as a writer–to be able to write characters that sometimes make you uncomfortable. Anyway, thanks so much for reading the book!!
I always love books that I end up hating or disliking a character because that shows that I am able to look at the character and believe that they are actual people.
Margaret Tidwell recently posted…First Crush, Last Love by Elizabeth McKenna
Hi Annie. I loved the book. But…why does the back cover say that Nathan Reid is a VETERINARIAN?? As I read through the book, I kept expecting a funny plot twist, where Brydie discovers that Nathan isn’t an MD — instead of a vet. So I felt like a fool when, at the end, there wasn’t a big “reveal.” You should ask your publisher to redo the back cover and remove the word “veterinarian.” Seriously.