Norah's Ark

This was a fantastic romance!!! I loved it! It was so much fun!! If you like animals and romance this book is for you! Don't miss it.

Norah loves pets. Pets love Norah. So it's no surprise she owns a pet store. Pets come before men which mean that Norah doesn't have a boyfriend. That's about to change when the new police officer (who happens to ride a horse) comes to town and Norah catches his eye. It seems also that the guy her best friend is in love with instead wants Norah, and then her best guy friend keeps hinting that he wants more than friendship. But Nick is the guy Norah wants and she thinks that it will be the perfect match except for one small problem. Nick hates dogs, especially Norah's dog. He gives her an ultimatum: dog or him. Norah's choice will have a profound impact on the rest of her life. I'm a pet lover so of course I enjoyed this book. Reading about a woman who loves pets so much and therefore owns a pet shop would be like me owning a book store. I like the town with their street of shops. It sounds like it'd be a really nice place to visit and spend the day. The townspeople were really interesting to read about as well. Lily is eccentric but I would love to visit her shop. I liked Norah's relationship with her elderly neighbor. The new people in town were interesting to read about as well, since the reader becomes suspicious of the son with the recent vandalism creeping into the town. I liked Nick but I'm really glad that Norah did not give in to Nick's demands. I hate reading books where women are the ones that have to do the sacrificing in order to keep their men. I understand that Nick had some fear about past experiences with dogs, but he did not even try to compromise with Norah and Bentley. I almost was happy when it looked like she was going to choose her dog over him. Pets have a special relationship to people, sometimes they are closer friends than other humans because they are loyal no matter what. They love you for who you are and not because of how you look, pets are nonjudgmental unlike people. This book, in my opinion, was so much better than Million Dollar Dilemma. The characters in this story were more likable, and more convincing in character. Wonderful chick lit read.

Ever since reading it's first reviews, I have been anxious to read Norah's Ark. I must say that I enjoyed it as much as anticipated. While I couldn't empathize with Norah's multifaceted dating life, I did relate to her feeling of loneliness after solving everyone's issues. Baer did an excellent job of making this real. One thing: what in the world does Bently look like? The descriptions in the book, Nick's over-reaction to his appearance and Norah's belief that he looks harmless have made me curious. Non-dog owner that I am would like to see a dog that fits my imagination better than the one on the cover...

The author writes with humor and insight and manages to tell a wonderful story in an upbeat, moral way that leaves the reader smiling.

A lot of people love animals, but Nora Kent carries it to extremes. She runs a pet store named, what else, Norah's Ark. A lot of people, like Rick Haley, think she overdoes her passion for pets. She has a mynah bird, named Asia Myna, a parrot named Winky, Hoppy, her Flemish Giant rabbit and Bently, a black and white dog, part beagle, part Staffordshire terrior,and a smidgeon of pit bull. Bently is a neurotic mess. he's afraid of everything, except Norah, whom he adores. In addition to collecting pets, Norah attracts a wide assortment of people too. There's Lilly, who owns the Fashion Diva Shop and who wants Connor, a rich playboy, who is interested in Norah. There's elderly Auntie Lou who owns the antique shop and depends on Norah to watch over her. Joe who wants to marry Norah, and Rick, a mounted policeman with a beautiful horse named Sergeant Thunder. Norah's Ark is packed full of quirky characters and quirky situations. Judy Baer has a great sense of the ridiculous that will keep you laughing all the way through the book. And Bently will steal every dog lover's heart. A fun, enjoyable story from the first page to the last.