Behaving Badly

Miranda Sweets is an animal behaviorist. Things with her career are moving along nicely but her personal life is suffering. Miranda and her fiancé Alexander have recently split due to an incident, which left Miranda unwilling to stay with him. Another painful part of Miranda's past is bringing her down as well. Miranda was involved in something horrible that devastated another's life. Sixteen years have passed since the event but Miranda has suffered the guilt and shame ever since. When an opportunity arises to make amends, Miranda hesitantly acts upon it. Miranda is not sure what to expect when she contacts David White again, but her growing attraction to him is certainly a surprise. Miranda knows she is falling for David but what will happen when he finds out who she is and what she has done? Behaving Badly started off slow for me. There are a lot of details about the doggies' problems, and teases of several mysteries for a while. As the story progressed though, I became quite involved in the plot. I was very anxious to see what would happen between Miranda and David, both of which are wonderful characters. Miranda's parents and her best friend Daisy offer entertaining bits to the story as well. Animal lovers (particularly dog) will find reading Behaving Badly delightful. The suspense of the story and the endearing characters are what pleased me most. Nannette Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I was really impressed by this unusually entertaining, but also poignant book which had me laughing and crying in turn. Miranda Sweet is an animal behaviorist - or pet shrink. She has no problem working out the neurotic behaviors of the animals she sees at her clinic - whether it be deluded dachsunds, stir-crazy cats, or introverted iguanas. But understanding the behavior of men is not so easy. After one shocking incident newly single Miranda has given up on them altogether. But then she meets a handsome photographer - and they fall in love. But this gives her a huge moral dilemma - because she already has a dreadful connection with the guy from years before, which he does not know about. Should she confess to him the shameful thing she did, and risk him rejecting her - or keep quiet? The mystery of what it was Miranda did those years before, and which affected him so badly then - and still affects him now - kept me turning the pages. In addition to this darker part of the story there was lots of fun and humor with the animals themselves, and with Miranda's lovely friend, Daisy, whose long term boyfriend won't commit. But the overall theme of the book is about courage and also forgiveness - finding the courage to tell the truth - and the forgiveness to forgive. For me this elevated it far above the usual girl about town chick lit offerings into something very moving and worthwhile.

Isabel Wolff's "Behaving Badly" deals with Miranda Sweet who is an animal behaviorist (somewhat of a psychologist for animals) who helps her clients to understand why their pets are behaving in strange manners such as tearing the house down when his/her owner leaves the house or bullying other pets. Miranda enjoys her job immensely and is successful at what she does. Her love life however is not so great. Fresh from her breakup with an upcoming TV star, Miranda is determine to move on, with the help of her best friend. She met photographer David whom she believes would make a great partner but in order for the relationship to continue, she needs to settle a part of her past which haunts her daily. It's a shame that "Behaving Badly" is not published in the U.S. as I think this is one of Isabel Wolff's better books. The plot was clearly written, the characters were likeable (especially Miranda's best friend, Daisy) and I find the problems that Miranda's clients had with their pets simply fascinating. The author also did a great job in keeping certain parts of the books a mystery to engage her readers to continue reading the book. Overall, this is a better than average chick-lit!