We are all searching, humans and animals alike, for a home…somewhere to call our own. Noelle is no different, in fact she’s more in need of a place to call home than most. After losing her husband in a way that was so damaging that it makes her question the motives of every man to cross her path she’s finding it’s difficult to move forward with life. In addition to this her quite personal struggle with infertility only adds to her heartache. Her only tie to reality, her dog Zeke, is also a tie to her past, but one that grounds her and helps her to know there is hope.Noelle, recently divorced from her very charming husband Jay, can’t seem to disband herself from him. Though he’s moved on and taken up residence with another person, they still keep in constant contact and now with his charm in full swing he asks Noelle the impossible, to take care of his ailing and very rude mother. Jay was quite possibly one of the most annoying characters to begin with, granted a lot of this may have had to do with Noelle’s new distaste for him. He was definitely one of the most selfish characters I’ve ever read, but I was very glad to see him grow throughout the book. And despite my distaste for him, I was glad to see that in the end the connection with his mother for Noelle was a positive one.Throughout Free to a Good Home Noelle struggles with the prospect of moving on with her life. Her debilitating struggle with infertility, enabled also by the rejection from her recent divorce, causes her to question the motives of all the men she comes in contact with. When she meets Jasper, a nomad band member by night and techie by day, she’s not sure she can take the chance on him. It was Jasper who truly stood out to me as one of my favorite characters; he was wonderful to Noelle and extremely patient. In fact there were many times I wanted to whack Noelle over the head for not just going after him! It was obvious to everyone in Noelle’s life that he was just what she needed to take that step towards the “home” she was constantly dreaming of.Overall though, it was the infusion of animals along with Noelle’s journey that made me really love the book. I’m a huge Great Dane fan, they are just adorable dogs, and Zeke was a dog I could have brought home in an instant. You could tell from how Mont wrote about the animals in the story that she truly has a love for them. I only wish we were in a place where we could adopt a dog, because this book almost pushed me to the animal shelter!Free to a Good Home was a delightful read. Noelle’s struggle to find who she is and where she wants to be is something we can all relate to. We all want somewhere to call home, a place where family is, and not always in the conventional meaning of the word family. In the end Noelle finds that no matter her challenges she is able to triumph as long as she’s willing to take a few chances. Oh chick-lit/dog related books! How I love you these days! Some are more chick-lit then dog centric and some are vice versa. This one was more chick-lit and while the Girl worked with dogs, they weren't super central to the plot. The plot was generic, of course, so I am going to say that I didn't really like the protag at all. She was such a pushover! And I know that is the point, but it was to a point of unbelievability. She was married, but has since divorced because she can't have kids and when she divorced, her ex-husband tells her that he is gay! So it's all moot anyway. He moves to Atlanta (from somewhere in the Northeast, it's not important) and asks his ex-wife to check in on his mother. The gall! And she says YES! What the fuck?! Add to the fact that the mother HATES the women and she still says YES? Of course, it all ends well, but lordy, so lame! I liked the new guy she liked a lot, but of course, signals get crossed (sort of like a previous chick-lit/dog book I read) but it all works out in the end, of course. Tried to be different from others, but not doing the best job. Plus, kind of long. Meh.
What do You think about Free To A Good Home (2010)?
this was a great debut novel , i can't wait to read something else from Eve Marie Mont
—mishy
too sappy and predictable altho would make a great beach read...
—Lia
Loved this book on many levels... latest fav!
—Lola
