Publisher's Weekly Review
Kerr's outstanding debut contemporary adds an element heretofore missing from romance novels: narration by a wiley, interfering honey badger. All Fluffy wants is for the Black-Haired One (aka zoo owner and single dad Bowie Wilson) to partner with the female biped (aka home-for-the-summer marketing professional Katie Underwood) and make babies. Naturally, the bipeds have more complicated lives than a yenta honey badger, and they do their best to push back against Fluffy, Katie's matchmaking mom, and their own screaming hormones. Back in their high school days, Bowie did his cruel adolescent best to make Katie's life miserable because she wasn't as pretty or popular as his girlfriend. Katie bears the scars to this day, and at 29, she is positive she wants nothing to do with him. However, when she shows up with a litter of abandoned cougar cubs and volunteers to help feed them, nature runs its inevitable course. This hilarious story is sure to delight both Fluffy and contemporary romance fans. Agent: Sarah Phair, Trident Media Group. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
When Katie Underwood discovers a trio of cougar cubs, she calls the local zoo for guidance and comes face to face with Bowie Wilson, her high school bully. He's handsome as ever and a changed man, but she'll never risk her heart again for anyone, especially him.Katie has quit her underwhelming marketing job to come back to her tiny hometown of Sagebrush Flats and help her family after her ex-cop father is injured in a shooting. On a walk, she discovers three abandoned cougar cubs, calls the local zoo, and is stunned when Bowie shows up to rescue them. She's enraged that he doesn't remember her and disconcerted to realize he's still capable of making her "hormones dance a happy little jig." When Bowie clues into their shared background, he's mortified, but Katie ties her plan for revenge into a brilliant marketing idea for the struggling zoo that he simply can't turn down. The two create a social media campaign, and Katie even volunteers to help care for the adorable cubs. Spending time at the zoo, Katie meets Bowie's daughter, Abby, and acknowledges that Bowie has become an honorable, hardworking single father and zookeeper. Falling into a sexual relationship is easy. Truly seeing Bowie for who he is and forgiving his past transgressions is harder, but once he protects her from a family enemy, she begins to understand his brutal past. And when a vengeful former lover attacks their relationship, Katie must clarify her feelings for him or risk losing him forever. Kerr's debut is original and touching, handling a bundle of sensitive subjects with wit and heart. The occasional scene told from the perspective of the zoo's rascally honey badger is a bonus delight.Clever, fun, and poignant. A standout debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Kerr's small-town romance with a fresh setting of a family-owned zoo brings a regretful former high-school bully together with the target of his pranks. Katie has returned to town to help her parents after her policeman father is shot. Bowie is a single father trying to keep people coming in the door of his declining small zoo. He hires Katie without realizing that she hates him for the suffering he caused her, and she turns her ire into a brilliant social media PR campaign by having Bowie kiss a pig and recreate other stunts he forced on her. Time with baby cougars, Bowie's wonderful 11-year-old daughter experiencing bullying, and disclosures about why Bowie became a bully help Katie realize that he may be the man for her, even if she doesn't want him to be. The zoo setting, including the short scenes from the point of view of Fluffy, a matchmaking honey badger, make for very enjoyable reading. Fans of pet romance novels will thoroughly enjoy Kerr's love-at-the-zoo tale.--Amy Alessio Copyright 2018 Booklist
