Rescuing Finley
Series: Forever Home, Book 1
By: Dan Walsh / Narrated By: Hillary Huber
Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
Okay, but it would’ve been better with more Finley
I chose Rescuing Finley by Dan Walsh cuz I neeeeeeded an Animals book for Valentine’s Day, dad blast it! It was the closest I could get to one where the dog was more than just peripheral (I tried Everything but a Dog—review later, and I passed on Must Love Dogs because a reviewer said the heroine was absolutely passionless). So there you go. It’s the best I could do for this year.
And speaking of passionless, let’s just address Hillary Huber’s narration: EGADS! Usually I respect the hell outta Huber, she’s done some mind-blowing work which I’m dying to get around to listening to again/reviewing—utterly mind-blowing, I tell you! But here, oh gosh, soooooo lifeless, especially Amy, our heroine. Amy is a former meth addict who’s been disowned by her family for robbing them blind during her addict days. She is currently in prison for felony theft but has also, very luckily, landed a spot in a program to train dogs to be service animals, primarily for veterans with PTSD. Huber makes her sound like a bloodless rag doll, limp, barely there. While I liked the character, I think I would’ve felt more for her pain and heartache, more for her small joys, had her voice, her thoughts, her dialogue had ANY oomph at all.
So then we get to Chris, an Afghan war vet who is totally suffering from PTSD and has heard about the program from another vet who was basically saved by his own service dog. Huber puts a bit more life into his voice, but still—he suffers from flashbacks which come off as minimal because, again, where’s the oomph?!?
I s’pose that Finley the dog comes off best. He seems lonely, depressed, confused, or happy as his situation warrants, so I guess that at least is good. I just wish there was more of him. He develops from a super depressed dog (surrendered to a shelter for tragic reasons) to a star pupil of the program, learning to love and play and serve.
The love story is nice as it moves slowly enough that one doesn’t roll one’s eyes as things develop rather than burst full-blown with nary a complication in sight. My only problem was that, while Amy and Chris did a lot of sharing and exposed their souls to each other openly and honestly, that still doesn’t mitigate the fact that those are two REALLY broken people. I could just picture Amy dashing off to use again should the going get tough.
So there you have it: My animal pick for Valentine’s Day. It’s the first in what is currently a two book series, and I guess I liked the second in the series a bit better, but ya gotta start somewhere.
Hmmmm… kinda makes me wish I’d given Must Love Dogs a shot. But at least Finley is nice…!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.