Vets on Call by Cathy Woodman

Today I am joined on the blog by one of my favourite authors, the wonderful Cathy Woodman who is going to be talking to us about writing her new book Vets on Call.

When I was writing Vets on Call, I really enjoyed my return visit to Otter House to catch up with some of my favourite characters there. I've always planned to write Shannon's story which is inspired in part by the wonderful and dedicated vet nurses I have met while working as a small animal vet. If you've read Must Be Love and It's a Vet's Life, you will have already met Shannon and some of the animals she cares for. 

 Planning Vets on Call took me back to when I was a newly-qualified vet starting out in practice. I'd been called out at night and at weekends when I was a student, so I thought I knew what being 'on call' meant, but I don't believe anything could have prepared me for the reality. The phone could ring at any time, usually just as I'd decided to go to bed or prepare a meal, not that it mattered when an animal needed urgent treatment, or a client needed reassurance.

 I never knew what was going to happen next, being woken in the small hours by clients whose dogs had swallowed a variety of objects from kite strings to needles, or whose cats had been run over. There were the happy occasions, such as the successful Caesareans, bringing tiny puppies and kittens safely into the world, and the sad ones, such as the sick elderly dogs who had deteriorated over the weekend to a point where they couldn't be saved. 

I couldn't have got through it without the support and good humour of the vet nurses who were on call with me. Shannon in Vets on Call is caring, compassionate and hard-working, just like them.

Thank you for stopping by and talking to us Cathy I think this is why I enjoy your books so much because you have lived the life that your characters are living so your experience and love for the job and animals shines through in your books. 

Motorbike-riding, leather-clad Ross looks like a bad boy, but underneath the leathers, he’s a good-looking charmer and he soon worms way into the hearts of everyone in Talyton St George. Even vet nurse Shannon warms to him. So when she needs a place to live, it makes sense to move in with Ross. Just as a friend, of course. As they grapple with escaped snakes and feral cats, their friendship deepens, until they can’t deny their feelings for each other any longer. But when a terrible accident leaves Shannon’s life in tatters, it changes their relationship forever. Because how will she ever know whether Ross is staying with her out of love or pity?

My Review

One of my favourite authors is Cathy Woodman, each year I eagerly await her new release hoping that it will still be set in the idyllic village of Talyton St George and so I was over the moon when the cover to Vets on Call was revealed and as I headed over to read the synopsis I found that once again we would be returning to village.

Otter House is getting busier by the day so a new vet is coming to the clinic in the form of a young, motorbike loving guy called Ross and it isn’t long before he has everyone warming to him especially our lovely vet nurse Shannon. Shannon is desperate to move out and Ross can’t bare it much longer living with Sophia so the pair decide to become housemates, but should they be mixing work with their personal lives?

Cathy Woodman has delivered another cosy, romantic read and I found myself slipping easily back into the village and vet life again thanks to this authors effortless writing style. Talyton St George seems like such a familiar place now and although we have returned to this village time and time again in Cathy’s books it never gets bored, I love coming back to this welcoming village where everyone knows everyone and there is a great community feel.

We have a new character this time, Ross, and he fits in so well at Otter House he sure is the eye candy for this book. Our main character is the lovely Shannon who we have met before and it is great to see how she is getting on at Otter House and she seems to be really embracing her role as vet nurse. We also so the return of some much loved characters, Maz, Emma, Penny, Frances and of course not forgetting Tripod our furry member of staff!

I loved the storyline and although the romance between Shannon and Ross was predictable I really didn’t mind I was enjoying watching the love between them blossom and just as I was getting caught up in their love life with my rose tinted glasses on there is a twist that made me gasp. Cathy Woodman writes about a horrendous event and she makes it feel realistic which is why it is so shocking to think that this happens in daily life and yet she dealt with this in such a delicate way, and explores the aftermath of the event too.

Cathy Woodman has never got the recognition she deserves and I will continue to promote her books in every way I can because her books are easy to follow, well researched, idyllic setting with lovable characters her books just wrap us up in her cosy literary world. I am not a big animal lover myself and yet these books just have me hooked from the first chapter. I sure hope we have more books from Cathy set in Taylton St George.

Paperback               Kindle


Vets on Call is released on the 9th April.

I am giving away a copy of this fantastic book enter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway