Review: The Vixen & The Vet by Katy Regnery

The Vixen and the Vet by Katy Regnery
June 17, 2014
325 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance 18+
(Contains: detailed sex, sexual references)
Source: eARC from publisher for Honest review

Book Synopsis:

Burned by an unreliable source, Savannah Carmichael, returns to her hometown of Danvers, Virginia with her once-promising journalism career in ruins. Given the opportunity to get her skin back in the game by writing a patriotic human interest piece, Savannah turns her attention to the town hermit, Asher Lee, a wounded veteran who returned to Danvers eight years ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

After an IED explosion in Afghanistan took Asher’s hand and disfigured half of his face, he's lived a quiet life on the outskirts of Danvers where the locals respect his privacy…that is, until Savannah Carmichael comes calling in a borrowed sundress and a plate of homemade brownies. When Asher agrees to be interviewed by Savannah, he starts feeling things for the beautiful reporter that he hasn’t felt in years.

Misfits in small-town Danvers, Savannah and Asher create a bond right away, touching each other’s hearts in ways neither thought possible. When a terrible mistake threatens to drive them apart, they’ll have to decide if the love they found in one another’s arms is strong enough to fight for their hard-won happily ever after.

My Review:

While The Vixen and the Vet can be described as a twist on Beauty and the Beast, it really is so much more. This is not just some modernized retelling of a beautiful woman meeting a mangled man, them falling in love, and living happily ever after. This is a touching story that may hold a lovely lady and a disfigured man on the exterior, but there are far deeper waters underneath the surface and a rich story to behold.

I won't rehash the synopsis. Instead I will tell you how much I truly enjoyed how Regnery progressed the relationship between Savannah and Asher. I enjoyed the premise of Savannah's journalism piece being the catalyst for the growing repertoire between these two kindred spirits who'd had a rough time about things in life. I felt the genuine spark between the two of them heat up and flame to life. I loved how they were able to open up to one another and see each other in a true light, blemishes and all. There were so many beautiful moments where they had to see not only the reality of each other, but the reality of those around them. Looking beyond some scars was just one piece to their puzzle, and the twists and obstacles they were presented with to test not only their relationship, but who they were and wanted to be individually, was very well done. Their story grabbed me from the start ("The twelve most important milestones in any relationship" - brilliant), and I blew through the pages to the very end, loving it all.

The characters themselves are amazing. Savannah is pretty, ambitious, smart, and kind-hearted, but she is not without her flaws. She's been through a lot, and has some big decisions in her life to make. I loved that she wasn't perfect. But she was so very good with Asher. Even though I cringed at some of her choices, I admired her and hoped in the end she would be worthy of my respect. Asher is fantastic! He's been broken and hurt and hidden away, but once he gets just that niggling of direction from Mrs. Potts to open himself up just a crack, it was a beautiful thing to watch him slowly come back to life. As he learned that he was more than his injuries, we got the privilege of seeing the beauty of his heart surface. Then, just like Savannah, I no longer saw his scars but saw the man himself. And then to see the two of them together was absolutely lovely. Their romance wasn't always easy, but that's what also made it felt entirely real and natural and I couldn't help but root for them. They were also quite steamy together, so be prepared. There were also some lovely secondary characters (good and bad) that really added to the dimension of the story.

I loved The Vixen and the Vet. It is a beautiful love story capturing the heart of looking beyond the surface, of falling in love with a heart as well as a face, of fighting for yourself and your life, of overcoming fear and heartache, and embracing hope and life and love all over again.

5 STARS

Book Links:

AMAZON  *  GOODREADS