Book Review: Dreams of Arcadia by Brian Porter

3⭐
Genre ~ fiction
Setting ~ Texas
Publication date ~ May 29, 2023
Est page Count ~ 261 (28 chapters)
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ debut, veterinarian, farm life, family mystery, animal death

My review:

Nate has accepted a job in his deceased father’s hometown as the new veterinarian assisting Dr. Templeton’s practice. Some folks are not too pleased when they learn who is father was. We tag along on the mystery of why that is right by Nate’s side.

As with a lot of families, the dynamics are messy. Some family members are welcoming, while others would just as soon not see him again. I liked his relationship with his teenage twins daughters, but I wish they got to see each other more. The conclusion of the mystery was a good one and I’m glad I didn’t see it coming. There’s, also, a mystery with the cows, which was nicely solved.

Overall, I thought this was a solid debut. It was slow moving in parts, but there is no doubt that the author knows his stuff since he is actually a veterinarian. It’s very descriptive, and sometimes repetitive, with the procedures, and often graphic. Being a veterinarian is not always fun and there are some instances where everything does not go as planned, so be prepared for animal death.

*Thanks to the author for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

Veterinarian Nate Holub takes a job in his father’s Texas hometown, wondering if a city boy has what it takes to be a country vet. As he struggles to adapt, Nate reconnects with his family and discovers that his father’s accidental death thirty years earlier was much more complicated than he realized.

Nate delves into the past, afraid of what he might find. He encounters a resentful cousin, a wary town patriarch, a reclusive uncle, a beguiling hidden garden, and a mysterious illness. Nate is drawn to the Holub family farm, where he seeks refuge in nature and tries desperately to reach Viola, his inscrutable grandmother. The farm is a place that haunts his memory, a place where dark secrets dwell.

Dreams of Arcadia is a touching portrait of an American family. It explores the enduring ties that hold us together and bind us to the land.

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