A Vet with a Big Heart

Seagn (pronounced Shaun) Conway is a bored veterinarian looking for a change in her life. When she discovers a petting zoo with 20 sickly farm animals living in a heart wrenching condition, she contacts the first person wearing a Rockwell Carnival t-shirt. Then, she hunts down the owner, Fatsy, and buys the animals, trailer, and tent with all the trappings for $8,000. Since Seagn is unhappy with her job at Central Avenue Vet, she decides to join the carnival, nurse the animals back to good health, and display the farm animals to curious city dwellers. It will take a while to get the goats, pigs, sheep, cow and Shetland pony back to good health, but Seagn knows she can do it, and damned with money. 

Author Lisa Jacob does a beautiful job describing carnival life in post-Pandemic New England. The characters feel authentic and the scenes of daily carnival life seem spot-on. Also, the relationship between Seagn and her assistant, Moose, a carnie worker, is sweet. 

Carnival Farm is a contemporary romance about a young vet who purchases depressed, malnourished, and neglected farm animals and uses her skills as a vet to present them in their natural habitat to urban dwellers visiting a traveling carnival. 

Jacob’s novel leaves readers wondering what they would do if placed in Seagn’s shoes. It was an expensive venture, took her away from her previous life, and exposed her to people unlike anyone she has ever known. This writer’s criticism is the sparsely spaced attributions forcing me to reread different passages to determine who was speaking. Other than that, the plot moves quickly as you fall in love with Seagn’s kind heart. 

About the Author

Lisa Jacob has been writing since she could hold a pencil and draw a straight line. She wrote fan fiction before branching out into novels and short stories. 

In the early 2000’s, Lisa was a carny in a traveling circus for a summer, where she met her husband. Interested in magic(k), cards, and divination, she lives in Rhode Island with her son and three cats. 

Lisa is also the author of the “Grimaulkin” and “War Mage” fantasy series, as well as Real Magic for Writers.

You can find out more about Lisa Jacob at her website, lajacob.com.

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