Maybe village life isn't so bad after all in Jules Wake's latest novel, A Girl's Best Friend. The summary says: "Welcome to your new cottage in the country - complete with grumpy vet, village gossip and a very muddy dog ...
City girl Ella wants to take refuge in the country, lick her wounds and work out what she's going to do with the rest of her life. She certainly doesn't want to have a four-legged house guest or anything to do with village life. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of Wilsgrave have other ideas.
Settling in to her godmother's house for a few months of R&R, Ella finds herself the reluctant babysitter of a badly behaved Labrador - and her plans of staying mainly indoors scuppered. But as she's forced into wellies and into the village's way of doing things, Ella meets people who make her think again about what she really wants out of life and love, starting with her new furry best friend." A Girl's Best Friend is out in April 2018.