When Maz Harwood moved from city life to country life, it was the best decision she had ever made. Not only is she partner at Otter House Vets alongside best friend Emma, but she also has a fantastic boyfriend Alex Fox-Gifford, despite the fact he owns a rival vets to that of Emma and Maz. Not only that but Emma is finally pregnant after years of trying and Maz is pleased for her best friend. However after tragedy hits, Emma finds herself having to take time off and Maz ends up having to run Otter House along with locum vet Drew and new girl Shannon. When Maz herself gets some unexpected news, her relationship with Alex is put to the test along with her relationship with Emma. Can Maz manage to placate everybody or will the fallout from Maz's news ruin everything she's worked so hard to build up whilst living in Talyton St. George?
Picking up Must Be Love was like putting on a comfy pair of slippers. I knew all of the characters from the previous book, Trust Me I'm A Vet, I knew how the book had flowed and I looked forward to carrying on the journey with Maz and co. in Talyton St George. Must Be Love picks up a little while after Trust Me I'm A Vet finishes although it's not strictly necessary to read the first book before this one as all is explained sufficiently. Whereas Maz was just finding her feet in the first book, in Must Be Love she's settled in her job and her home life and it was nice to see her continuing life. There were, as you might expect, a lot of hurdles for her to overcome although it was nice that her love life barely wavered throughout as I find it very convenient when an author gets a couple together only to break them up in the next book.
What I like best about this new series, is the way country life is presented. Talyton St. George might well be a fictional village, but it could quite easily be real. I found myself imagining Otter House, imagining all the other shops as well as the Manor where the Fox-Giffords work. As I said in my review of Trust Me, I'm A Vet, everyone is so close-knit in such a small village and it's not the type of closeness you usually find in a Chick Lit novel. The village is like a character in itself, along with Otter House, since most of the action takes place in and around Otter House, which sounds like the most charming vets I've ever heard of!
There are many other characters who work at Otter House as well as the many, many pet owners but it would take me a long time to discuss them all. One thing I will say is it is the most well-rounded cast I've ever come across! Everyone makes their own impact, from the pet owners to the pets themselves and although there are many wider characters, I had no trouble at all keeping up as everyone had their own traits that set them apart. Must Be Love did make me cry, because fictional or not, I had to see any pet pass away or have to be put down and it's to be expected that that will happen throughout the book since it takes place in a vets. Cathy manages to keep the book fairly light-hearted whilst also managing to touch on some more serious issues and I applaud her deftness of touch. I really hope Cathy is working on more books in the series, as it is a series worth reading and as long as Talyton St George lives, there'll always be gossip and stories to fill books with! Hugely recommended.
