Book Review: "Norah's Ark" by Judy Baer

Chick lit for pet lovers

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.

Norah's Ark by Judy Baer is published by Steeple Hill (2006)