"Sometimes you're just where you need to be... After a difficult break-up, Poppy is keen to put the past behind her and what’s better than some relaxing time with her aunt in the picturesque Cornish village of West Par? But life at her aunt Flora’s Dogs’ Home is anything but relaxing. When a poor little pup is stranded at the gates, Poppy takes them for a check up at the local vet, hoping against hope they'll be fine. And there she meets Mack: the vet who is so charming and experienced with the dogs, but selfish and – dare she say it – money-grabbing with his clients.
But underneath that cold exterior, she's sure there's more to the story. If only she could convince him to open up. Because without him, the future of Wagging Tails isn't so assured..."
Comfort romance, good book, great characters and storyline, I give this book 4 stars.
Thanks to netgalley, boldwood books for an opportunity to give an honest review.
Published Oct 25th, 2023

i love these books by saran hope
they are such a fun light hearted read for you to get lost in after a busy day.
poppys story is filled with adventures at wagging tails dogs home
a great read

The story continues with Book 2 and the setting is as lovely as ever. This time, we meet Poppy and the vet, Mack. You get to see hoe Poppy settles in, nursing her heartbreak and trying to move on. I thought it was refreshing how Mack appeared to be less than perfect and at first, Poppy actively dislikes his decision to charge the Dogs' Charity full rate for his work with them. His reasons for being so have to be unpicked carefully.

The Dogs' Charity seems to be under threat due to financial difficulties and this causes Poppy's aunt to take some drastic measures. I enjoyed the characters who all work for the charity and there is humour to be found in them, but most of all, the animals who they are caring for. In the background is the festive season so this makes for an entertaining and appropriate read for this time of year.

In short: Likeable characters and some lovely dogs

This was a sweet read. Gorgeous men and gorgeous animals. What’s not to love?
Looking forward to reading the other books in the series

What a great story, I can’t wait to read the next one!
Poppy has moved in with her aunt who owns Wagging Tails in Cornwall . She’s just come out of a relationship and needs a new start. It isn’t a relaxing break tho at her Aunts dogs home, she finds an abandoned dog who needs vet care. The local vet Mack has just taken over the practice and doesn’t give any discounts, unlike the previous owner and Poppy finds this very disheartening. Is there a reason for this or is he just money grabbing? Can Wagging Tails continue without the vets discounted support?

Loved Poppys and Mack’s story. A lighthearted, feel good story set around a dogs home run by Poppys aunt and volunteers. Brilliant characters, well written and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Recommended
Thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Sarah Hope for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

It was a lot of things but disappointing wasn't one of them, the way the relationship blossoms is what romcoms are made of, healing and warm feeling that you feel hope in finding love and being happy, this is what this book gives to me.

This is a heartwarming romance set in a small Cornish town, centered around Poppy Hargraves, who finds solace at her aunt Flora's dog shelter after a tough breakup. As Poppy reconnects with the dogs and becomes involved in their care, she also forms a friendship with the new vet, Mack. Despite their past baggage and misunderstandings, Poppy and Mack's romance blossoms amidst the Christmas festivities. While the romance plot is fairly typical, the charming setting of the dog shelter and the Christmassy atmosphere add to the book's appeal. The story sheds light on the challenges faced by animal shelters, such as vet bills, and highlights the importance of community support. Overall, it's a pleasant and enjoyable read, with the dogs stealing the show.

After her relationship broke up Poppy has gone to live with her aunt Flora for a while and help out at the dogs home. When she finds an abandoned dog at the gate she takes it to the local vets believing that they will get a discount on treatment as usual. Unfortunately a new vet has taken over the practise and refuses to honour the previous arrangement which is bad news for the dogs home.
Is Mack a selfish money grabber or is there another explanation ?

My thanks to Boldwood Books for a review copy of the book via NetGalley.

Chasing Dreams at the Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home (2023) is a light hearted and feel-good romance which is not a genre I usually pick up but I made an exception for this one because of the setting—a dogs’ home (and really, with 'Wagging Tails' in the title, how could I resist?)—and was glad I did. Only when starting to write this review did I realise that this was a second in series, and not once when reading it did it feel so nor did I ever feel that I wasn’t following along, so this very much works as a standalone.

The Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home is run by Flora and various volunteers in a small Cornish town and to this arrives Poppy Hargraves, Flora’s niece who has just gone through a tough breakup and needs time out until things settle. Poppy used to visit the place every holiday quite regularly and often found comfort here when her parents went through a separation but she hasn’t been here in the last few years. However, she fits in immediately pitching in at the Dogs’ Home, manning the phone and looking after the dogs. When a small dog Dougal is left at the doorstep in not very good health, Poppy must take him to the vet, but it turns out that their regular vet had sold the practice and the new one, Mack, while very caring about the animals, doesn’t offer any discounts. Meanwhile there also seems something the matter with Aunt Flora which the reader can guess the reason for but Poppy doesn’t very soon.

Poppy’s friendship with and interest in Mack grows as they interact, but she also continues to fret over her broken relationship and hope for a reconciliation. There are the usual misunderstandings as well, but of course all turns out right in the end.

Chasing Dreams at the Wagging Tails Dogs’ Home was a pleasant read which I quite enjoyed. The romance aspect of the plot was fairly typical, with two people carrying their own baggage from previous relationships and reluctant to start anything new. But at the same time, I thought Poppy sometimes rather silly in either overreacting to things or even attaching so much to a relationship which she herself acknowledges was over for years. She also seems to lack faith in herself to an extent.

The story is set at Christmas time and this was as aspect of the book that certainly appealed. There’s plenty of Christmassy atmosphere throughout, with Secret Santa events at the home, a Christmas market, shopping for presents, caroling, ice skating, hot chocolate and mince pies and out course a Christmas meal. For the characters this brings out different reactions with Poppy disliking Christmas having forgotten her love for the festival in the past, while Mack enjoys every aspect of it including every single song.

My favourite part and the reason I picked up the book in the first place was the Dogs’ Home and that was very well done. We meet the various residents, some like Ralph, a staffie, who’s a permanent resident, Dougal, a cockapoo, who arrives when Poppy has just come in, Eden and Fluffles who are adopted, and many others.
There's also a pet 'hoarder' unable to care for his dogs and cats due to his own ill health whom the home must convince to give up the animals. Highlighted in the book is the issue of vet bills which are a constant concern for dog homes and shelters with some veterinarians offering only small discounts and having to rely on donations alone to cover bills. An issue that definitely needs talking about and I’m glad the author raised it.

Overall a nice read, with the dogs/dogs’ home and Christmassy-ness adding to its charm, especially the former.

I always love a good Sarah Hope book/read and this one didn't disappoint. Poppy is just where she needs to be after a breakup and all she wants to do is get past it and over it. So what better way than relaxing in a lovely Cornish village with her aunt.

This is a book to escape into and enjoy while sitting in a warm and cosy holiday location. I really enjoyed the light-heartedness of it and found it very entertaining, fun and romantic. A quick and easy, cute and cuddly, fun and entertaining book which I enjoyed and must say smiled all the way through it.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Cornwall, rescues and a cute story: the perfect novel if you need to relax and escape to a lovely place.
Well rounded characters, a lovely setting. Uplifting and heartwarming
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is an utterly adorable romcom with one of my favorite themes in all the world - DOGS! I really loved the setting of the Cornish village - I thought the author really used this setting well to get the reader into the world of the character of Poppy. Any book that involves a handsome vet that helps save and heal animals is for me! I was very smitten with the characters and was rooting for them every step of the way. This isn't groundbreaking or going to win any awards but it was so heart warming and lovely. I definitely recommend this one!

"Chasing Dreams at Wagging Tails Dogs' Home" by Sarah Hope. What can I say other than I enjoyed it and read in one day. Who doesn’t want to escape to a small Cornish village by the sea and a dog rescue…

The Cornish sea air, old friends, and cuddles with a cute pup...

Sometimes you're just where you need to be...

The setting of a tiny village called West Par sounded breathtaking, I could picture it especially as I have visited small villages along the coast of England. It had everything you could want in a story love, family, community and second chances.

I found the characters to be well developed, and multi-dimensional. There were multiple sub-plots like the Mr Thomas’ dogs and the fate of the rescue to keep you engaged and interested in the outcome.

I will definitely read other books by this author.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Boldwood Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really loved book 1 in this series, which focused on Ginny. Ginny reappears in this book, so in that sense it is good to read book 1 first, but it is not a must as this story focuses Poppy and her aunt Flora, the owner of Wagging Tails Dogs' Home.

Just like book 1, there are lots of dogs in this story, some that we get to know better than others. I loved the dogs! The characters were also brilliant. Poppy was so sweet and a kind heart but didn't love Christmas. How is that possible. The new vet in town, Mack, came across as grumpy and not the friendliest, but a Christmas lover. How confusing?! Needless to say, there were reasons for both Poppy and Mack feeling and behaving as they did and things change throughout the story as these two characters grow closer.

A lot of this story was also Flora's, but it's not mentioned in the synopsis so I will not give anything away, but it will definitely touch you!

I absolutely adore this series, from the furry four legged friends to the great community of volunteers at the Wagging Tails' Dogs Home, this is just gorgeous read perfection.

And when you add in a rather sexy vet, even if he is presenting as a slight Scrooge - well a Christmas loving Scrooge to be precise.

I loved getting to know Poppy who has come to stay with Flora for the holidays, while she tries to get her life back on track, and she seems to a special affinity to one or two of the dogs in particularly.

She's less keen on a vet who won't give the charity a discount, especially as the dogs' home relies on donations to keep going.

From Christmas shopping, to Christmas lights, music, to trying to persuade an animal hoarder that they should give up some of their dogs, there is a lot of festive spirit in this book.

I loved every second of it and once again surprised at how fast I was able to read this, which is a sign of how much I was enjoying this story.

Dogs and Christmas, plus some romance, what an amazing combination.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

this is the second book in the series, but you can read it as a stand alone. very sweet story and setting. I read the first book also.

This was a nice read but I would let say it was one I throughly enjoyed reading.

I found some parts a bit unrealistic, especially when Poppy and Mack kept ‘accidentally’ bumping in to each other. And I found that it all seemed a bit rushed with their relationship, with Poppy not long at all out of a relationship herself.

Overall, not the best novel but was still a nice, easy read. I liked the Christmassy descriptions.

This is the second book in this series and I hope there will be more to follow. Any book written by Sarah Hope will give you a great story and one to be read and enjoyed. 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

This book was a slow starter for me, actually almost dnf, but kept going.

After a breakup and divorce, Poppy temporarily moves in with her Aunt Flora, who runs a dog rescue. Poppy spent a lot of time there growing up, so it’s her happy place. When she meets the new vet, she discovers that not everyone has the small town, support each other spirit.

I really didn’t care much for Poppy, and only a bit more for Mack. The cast of volunteers at the rescue were confusing and unnecessary, no one seemed to have defined roles.

I’m sure there are many people who will love this story, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.