Book Description Review “Feelgood fiction at its finest. Annie England Noblin has crafted an utterly entertaining tale of unexpected chances and small-town secrets, and it’s as sweet and comforting as a hand-knit sweater and a warm puppy in your lap.” (Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author)“Noblin’s masterful touch hits the sweet spot of humor and tragedy in this heart-felt book about the truest meaning of family, friends, abandoned dogs, and love, amidst a weave of plot-twisting heroics.” (Jacqueline Sheehan, New York Times bestselling author)“I was immediately enchanted! Lively and heartfelt, the characters – both human and four legged – in Annie England Noblin’s St Francis Society for Wayward Pets come alive. I adored it.” (Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author)“Annie England Noblin is an incredibly gifted storyteller. St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets is heartfelt, charming, and funny.” (Meg Donohue, author of You, Me, and the Sea)“Noblin’s books are known for their connection to pets, and the animals are present here… Despite some heavy subject matter…the story is funny and light. Readers will bond with Maeve and her sweet disposition.” (Booklist) Read more 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. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs. Read more Customers Review: Oh – my, this was such a nice surprise! In the beginning I was thinking that it was a light, “between” book to read to take a break from the more substantial books that I love – thrillers and such. About 3/4 way through I upped my potential rating to four stars as the plot became more complicated and meaty. When I finished it I was so pleased and so touched that it has to be a five star read for me. This author does understand people and the characters here are not cardboard cut-outs, that’s for sure! It also has humor, which I loved….”He’s about 15 pounds of crazy in a five pound bucket.” I was not at first impressed with the main character as she seemed pretty immature to me. But thanks to this clever author, she grew on me and I was really rooting for her. Maybe having her wind up with the love interest that she did was a bit too pat (and I don’t like romance stories as a rule), but finding out what the St. Francis Society was really doing made it all better. I enjoyed Happy, the rescued American Bull Dog and the cat, too. I really was a satisfying read.
Sweet and uplifting story with a few grizzly patches. If I had any criticism it seems that there are “loose ends” – perhaps that suggests a series?
From the title, you’d think this would be about pet rescue, but it’s not. Interesting story, but if you’re looking for a “dog story” this isn’t it
I love everything by Annie England Noblin. I am looking forward for her next release.
I loved the book, love the author. I have read all her books.
Favorite Quotes:Your kids ought to be on a birth control commercial or something… I’m pretty sure their high-pitched shrieks would be enough for anybody to beg for the pill.I made a big production of rummaging around in my purse before Holly sighed and handed over her platinum card… “Well, it wasn’t like that dude was going to accept the hairy Tic Tacs in the bottom of that gross purse of yours…”The man standing before wasn’t ugly or anything-he was just… odd looking. With his curly red hair and smattering of freckles combined with his crisp black suit, he looked a bit like how I imagined Carrot Top would have looked if he’d picked a nine-to-five job instead of steroid use.Well, her father is about fifteen pounds of crazy in a five-pound bucket.My Review:I adore this author and always enjoy and revel in her emotive and heart-squeezing tales, clever wit, engaging storylines, and insightful observations of complex social issues. Annie England Noblin is a master storyteller and St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets deftly tackled a variety of thorny and unfortunately all too common situations and did so with agility, thoughtful awareness, and profound sensitivity for such complicated issues as family violence, addiction, adoption and identify issues, teenage pregnancy, poverty, physical disability, and small-town living. The characters were curiously compelling, quirky, well fleshed out, and highly accessible though not always likable. The well-crafted storylines were easy to follow, thoughtfully written, unpredictable, and squeezed my heart between giggle-snorts and smirks with the various threads miraculously came together to form an uplifting and highly satisfying conclusion. I am already eager to see what Ms. Noblin comes up with next.
Immediate connections to characters are a huge thing for me when it comes to reading. If I can’t connect to a character, then ninety nine percent of the time I won’t like it. I’m happy to say that’s not the case here. I immediately connected to Mae as she navigated throw some tough changes in her life. She’s reeling from a very public humiliation and her birth mother just passed away.What starts as a closure for Mae for the mother she felt never wanted to know her—begins a story of love, secrets, and ultimately finding family in the most unlikely places. I loved that the story goes into Annabelle’s past. We grow to understand all the whys and the hows of her life. Mae will finally earn some much needed answers.Things really started to pick up for me once Mae decides to stick around in her mother’s hometown and where she was left with everything Annabelle owned. That included a house, car, some money, and a cool group of women in a knitting club.I thought that I would be getting a light-hearted read about a woman who finds herself after a bad breakup. What I got instead was something much deeper and meaningful that I couldn’t help but tear up. Adored this to the moon and back! |
18 reviews