How to fetch a family
Bookshop owner -- and recently heartbroken -- Lucy Tucker
never imagined how dramatically life would change once she started fostering
Buttercup, a pregnant golden retriever. The biggest change? Growing a lot
closer to the businessman next door, Calum Ramsey, especially after the two of
them help Buttercup welcome her five puppies into the world. One romantic night
later, and they're expecting a baby of their own! Stunned at first, steadfastly
single Calum is now dutifully offering marriage. But Lucy doesn't need
rescuing. She wants the true-blue happy ending they both deserve.
This was a sweet friends-to-lovers story. Lucy moved to
Spring Forest to start over after her fiancé ran off with her best friend. She
opened a bookstore and fosters a pregnant golden retriever named Buttercup. She
made friends with fellow business owner Calum, who owns the bowling alley next
door, Pins and Pints (I love that name!).
I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship
between Lucy and Calum. Thanks to the betrayal by her fiancé and friend, Lucy
has a hard time trusting anyone. She introduced herself to Calum when she
bought the building for the bookstore. She notices his good looks and charm but
doesn't allow herself to look at him as anything other than a friend. Calum was
attracted to Lucy from the start but respected her "friends" decision.
Having been burned in a relationship during college, Calum has no plans to
settle down soon. His business keeps him plenty busy and gives him an excellent
excuse to avoid anything serious. It was sweet to see that Calum cares about
Buttercup as much as Lucy does.
Calum helps Lucy the day that Buttercup has her puppies.
The intense emotions of the event lead to them giving in to the feelings that
flare up between them. But passion overcomes common sense, and soon Lucy discovers
she's pregnant. Once he's over the shock, Calum finds himself happy about the
baby and looking for ways to make Lucy a permanent part of his life. However, Lucy's
trust issues cause her to maintain some distance between them. Both of them
also have had problems with unreliable dads, which affects how they look at
parenthood.
I loved Calum's protectiveness toward Lucy and how he tried
to take care of her. It can be an uphill battle because Lucy is very
independent and reluctant to depend on anyone except herself. The more time
they spend together, the deeper their feelings grow, but neither says anything
about it. Not only do they fear rejection, but neither wants to mess up their
friendship. Things are progressing well between them until Lucy witnesses a
confrontation between Calum and his father that sets off her insecurities.
After a huge blow-up, she leaves and tells him she needs space. I ached for
both of them because they were miserable apart. When Lucy calls her mom, she unloads
her fears and worries and gets honest and straightforward advice. She has much
to think about as she continues to avoid Calum. But when a medical emergency
occurs, Calum is the first one she calls. Some emotional moments at the
hospital showed how deep Calum's feelings were. I loved seeing them finally let
go of the fears that kept them apart and look to the future as a family. The
ending was adorable, with Buttercup playing a significant role.
I loved Buttercup and the part she played in Lucy's life.
She was Lucy's friend and confidante and gave her someone to love. I liked how
she took Buttercup to the bookstore with her. It was easy to see how much Lucy
loved her and hated that she would have to give her up. I didn't understand
that part since she could have applied to adopt Buttercup herself. The scene where
Buttercup had the puppies was terrific, and I was so happy that Calum was there
too. One of my favorite things was the names that Lucy gave the puppies: Fritter,
Pancake, Beignet, Waffle, and Grits. It made me laugh that the author described
the two girl pups as the wild ones. 
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