Book ~ "Rescue Me, Maybe" (2015) Jackie Bouchard

From Goodreads ~ If you lost both your husband and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone? Maybe your closest friends. 

Unfortunately, Jane Bailey’s closest friends are on the other side of the country. That’s where Jane plans to go now that she’s free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. 

But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle’s southwestern small-town B&B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop. With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she’s determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She’s also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B&B’s irritating guests and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. 

Can Jane keep her sanity - and her secret that she’s not really a grieving widow - while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home? 

Jane's husband, Ryan, had recently died of cancer.  Her dog, Barnum, passed away two weeks later of cancer.   Jane is in mourning ... for her dog.  She had fallen out of love with Ryan but before she could leave him and move back to San Diego, he got sick and she stayed to take care of him.  Once Ryan was gone, she still had to play the part of the grieving widow in front of her mother and his parents.

She hates Ryan's hometown of Philadephia so makes plans to move back home to San Diego.  Her uncle and aunt own a B&B in Arizona so she agrees to help them out for three months while her aunt recovers from surgery.  On the drive to Arizona, she comes across a stray dog at a rest stop.  Rather than leave her there, she takes the dog and drops her off at a shelter when she gets to the B&B.  Working in the kitchen of the B&B is perfect for Jane because she hates people but loves cooking and baking.  She's counting the days, though, 'til she can head to San Diego.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and found it well-paced.  Jane is a self-professed curmudgeon and story is written in first person from her point of view.  I thought the narrative was snarky at times and funny.  It sounds like it would be a depressing book but I found it humorous.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Though Jane doesn't sound like a likable character, I liked her.  I found her funny and sarcastic.  She's tall and slim and doesn't care how she dresses ... her mom is always trying to get her to dress better.    She has names for the people who stay at the B&B that aren't usually flattering.  As much as she isn't a fan of people, she has a huge heart for dogs.

I look forward to reading more by this author.