Country Passions

Barleybridge #4

by Rebecca Shaw

When Dan, one of the farm vets, is seriously injured in a car accident everyone at Barleybridge Animal Hospital is shocked. But they have even more to cope with when Scott Spencer, back from Australia, steps in to cover for him. Joy, the Practice Manager, remembers the hearts he broke when he last worked there and also his abrupt departure. She refuses to agree to this appointment, however temporary it turns out to be. So Joy leaves, and Scott slips seamlessly into the Practice routine. But Scott is in for a shock himself, when secrets are revealed which turn his life upside down and amend his attitude to women...COUNTRY PASSIONS is a wonderfully compelling and tender novel in which Rebecca Shaw weaves her magic around the animals and the people in this busy veterinary hospital, bringing them to life and sharing with us their troubles and triumphs.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Romance

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Sunday Times bestselling author Rebecca Shaw is known for her heartwarming tales of country life.
Rebecca grew up in Yorkshire and attended a Quaker boarding school before becoming a teacher of deaf children.
She wrote 28 novels. Her biggest series of 19 books set in a fictional English village called TURNHAM MALPAS chart the lives and loves of the village inhabitants.
A further six novels tell the stories of the vets, veterinary nurses and animals at a veterinary practice in the fictional English market town of BARLEYBRIDGE.
She also wrote three standalone novels.
Rebecca lived with her husband in a beautiful Dorset village where she found plenty of inspiration for her contemporary stories about rural life. Rebecca sadly passed away in 2015, but her stories continue to be enjoyed by readers across the globe.
Rebecca has been translated and sold in Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Norway. She is also published in the US.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ = Quite Good.

Fourth book in the Barleybridge series.
Gentle read, based around an English country veterinary practise.
A murder thrown in as well, this time!

[Jenny L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just gets better and better, as you get drawn further in to the lives of each of the vets at the Barleybridge practice. This fourth book is about Zoe, a vet who up until now keeps to herself, seeming rude and curt. The story begins with Dan involved in a bad traffic accident, unable to work for several weeks and Scott the Australian vet returns to Dorset to take his place. The drama unfolds, secrets are revealed and all told in a very satisfying tale.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light entertaining read about a group of vets in Barleybridge in Southern England. These are fun reads about the vets, their relationships and the scrapes they get into. This is book 4 in the series and a murder did take place in the book (shock, horror). I look forward to moving onto book 5 in the series.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story. I read the previous three in the series from the library and liked them well enough to buy this fourth one. I could hardly put it down.

[Donna Boultwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. Country life with lots of characters.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Life at the Barleybridge Animal Hospital in the heart of Dorset is as busy as ever. Then, suddenly, everything is thrown into turmoil when Dan, one of the farm bets, is seriously injured in a car accident.

"As if this wasn't enough, the staff have even more to cope with when Scott Spenser, just back from Australia, steps in to cover for Dan. The Practice manager, Joy, remembers the hearts Scott broke when he last worked there -- and also his abrupt departure -- and refuses to work with him.

So Joy leaves, and Scott slips seamlessly into the Practice routine. But Scott is in for a shock himself, when secrets are revealed which turn his life upside down."
~~back cover

Scott's back and all the female hearts within ten miles are agog and aflutter. But he's changed, seemingly --because of the death of his mother? Secrets await him, while he slips back into the practice and takes up life as a farm vet yet again. It all comes to a head at the christening of Dan and Rose's new daughter Serena, and the whole community is shocked.

But of course, all's well that ends well, even if after quite a bit of sturm und drang. This is Barleybridge, after all.

[Susan Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters in this book are so annoying and flat.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance, vets, animals and a touch of mystery. The series continues to be entertaining.

[Mrs L T Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant series from Rebecca Shaw she was a truly gifted writer

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's too much of a sameness to all these books by Rebecca Shaw - both Barleybridge and Turnham Malpas.

[Julie Dunnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time based on a Yorkshire village Barleybridge and a vetinary practice. Good characters but rather slow and meandering. Predictable ending which made everything right at too much of a gallop

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a truly wonderful series of feel good novels that restore your faith in human nature. Just the thing to delve into when the horrors of the Ukraine conflict start to overwhelm.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really

[Dawn Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it

[Lynn Hutchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant little book, I enjoyed as I was looking for a light read

[Kerry Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 for me on this one. Easy read with some cute characters. Will definitely read a few more if this series, especially when I’m looking for something light.

[Michelle Benoit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Would enjoy reading others in the series.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trip back to the Barleybridge Animal Hospital in rural England is always a treat. This book is no exception. These books are a fun look at a rural veterinary practice, and they somehow feel real to me; the details seem authentic, the characters are developed enough that their actions mostly make sense.

This fourth book in the series focuses on Zoe, a single-mom vet who, having been burned by a charming male colleague who impregnated her and resigned from the practice. (He didn't know she was pregnant when he resigned).

She's a competent person who has few friends, lives with her nagging bitter widowed mother, and simply tries to do her job.

When a veterinarian is injured in a car crash, the head of the practice brings back the vet that unknowingly impregnated Zoe, and that decision causes no end of fireworks and difficulty among the staff. Long-time office manager Joy resigns because she won't work with the charming vet who gets his job done competently and causes every farmer's wife in the practice to fan herself even on those frosty winter days.

Much of the charm of this series is the interaction with animal owners who are part of the practice. There's a bit of mystery and suspense here as you try to figure out why a farmer's pigs are ill and what is wounding and killing cats in the area.

Shaw has a real talent for making you feel the warmth of these characters. There are no elongated sexual descriptions here, and while there is a romance element in all of these books, it weaves nicely into the overall structure of the book such that you recognize the romance, but you come away remembering the other characters and plot lines she creates.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the first three in this series, but this one was kind of ridiculous. Very disjointed, with people doing silly things with no explanations. Also, if you hadn't read the first three books, you would be completely lost. I had a hard time catching up and remembering who was who and the backstory.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thing about this book is it seemed to have assumed I had read previous books and knew what had gone before, which was not the case. I was given a few of Rebecca Shaw's books, but did not know what order they came in.

This book was charming and easy to read, about a vetinary practice in a fictional village. As it mentions Weymouth, which is near where I live, I guess it is set in Dorset.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realise this book was part of a series until I read the reviews just now......I don't read these before I read the books as sometimes they give too much away....anyhow, I enjoyed the book, the second one I've read by this author, hope to read more....

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great escape into village life. easy reading

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 4th in the Barleybridge series which follows the lives of people involved with an English veterinary practice.

[Bonnie McHenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

very different from the 1st 3 in the series. Alittle bit of suspense and mystery. Liked the new direction. Can't wait to finish the series.

[Di · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I was in the middle of a cross between an episode of " All Creatures Great And Small " and " Days Of Our Lives. "

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it!!!

[Neelima · Rating 4 out of 5]

another simple read...nicely written drama!

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories and lives of country vets in England

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable light reading.