Unexpected Lessons In Love by Lucy Dillon

Initially I was a little on the fence with this book and it took me a good long while to actually settle in to the world Ms Dillon created.  I could understand Jeannie's sudden last minute decision but was frustrated that she was willing to drop such a huge bombshell over the phone - admittedly this became an intrinsic part of the plot and the focus of much of Jeannie's angst.  Once we get past the explosive opening and things start to settle down in to some sort of rhythm I did figure out more or less where we would end up and aside from a few tiny little details (like a bull terrier) I was pretty much spot on.  Despite that I thoroughly enjoyed the book after the first 40 or so pages were out of the way - normally if I have the general plot figured out it lessens my enjoyment.

A full and vibrant world has been created in this book and whilst some of it doesn't hold up to close scrutiny on the whole it is a fairly well rounded plot.  The only sticking point for me was the author's need to crowbar the puppy farming scenario in to the book.  This could very easily have been left out and it did feel completely extraneous to the overall plot and as though it was added for the shock value alone.  Yes, I get the whole "dogs as therapy" thing and I have read enough Lucy Dillon novels to know that dogs will form a good chunk of the plot but it is getting a little bit old now (even Jilly Cooper manages not to write about horses with EVERY novel).

That said the personal development of Jeannie was a lovely read and I liked that she was constantly full of doubts and often outright contradicted herself.  Very human and very real.  The message about relationships was a little less attractive to me and I think that was why it took me a while to really start enjoying the read.  Even if you've only known someone a short time it can still work but the message seemed to be that it would never work if you jump too quickly.

Overall this was a book that required perseverance to get through the early pages (and some of the trickier central sections that felt like canine filler) but I was rewarded by a cracking good read!