Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows I'm a sucker for anything dog related. Toss in a dog show and romance with the promised vibe of "You've Got Mail" and I was prepared to fully enjoy. As it turned out, while I can't say I loved it, I also didn't hate it. You know. One of those books simply not for us that someone else will surely love. It's a slow burn romance with dogs and some snappy dialogue, so to each their own.
I never quite warmed up to Cora, though. She meets the attractive Leo when their dogs tangled them up together and dumped them on the ground at the park. I was never quite sure if it was totally because Leo called her little rescue a thing or whether it was because he somehow failed to live up to the rom-com fantasies that immediately popped into her mind that made her instantly hostile. It did have all the makings of a great "meet cute. To make matters worse, she soon discovers he is going to be running an upscale pet shop smack-dab across the street
from them. When she impulsively indulged in some childish pranks after being quite cordially invited to the new shop's grand opening, she pretty much lost me. Some may find them humorous. I didn't, although I did rather admire the first one, I must admit, it was clever, but I've never been a fan of pranksters. Now, true, Leo wasn't exactly winning me over initially but I eventually warmed up to him and at least thawed toward Cora.
Ironically, I found both of their anonymous message board personalities much more likable. Now, true, some of those riddles were groan worthy but they were clever. Being curious about what would happen when, well, one, Leo started working on dog training with Cora to help her prepare for a contest, and, two, when they finally realized they were message board friends, I didn't give up on the book. Things did smooth out a bit as they began to focus on the dogs, which seemed to be when the pace picked up a bit, too. It is both a slow burn and slow start. Since many of my dog show friends do agility, I got a real grin at their trials and tribulations in agility classes. Hence, while I found myself rolling my eyes at times, I also got some laughs while reading.
Bottom line, while not a good fit for me, this story should be a fun one for those who enjoy slow burn romances, quirky friends, sweet grandfathers, dogs, and, well, the friends to lovers trope. while slow going at first, the pace does pick up when Cora has a focus, the pet contest, and it ultimately brings Leo and her together. It's easy to envision some of the scenes in your head, of course, and you'll find yourself looking for the next online session between them, possibly grinning as you read. Thanks #NetGalley and #Forever - #GrandCentralPublishing for sharing Cora and Leo's world with me. While this one wasn't a major hit for me, I'll definitely check out the author's future books.
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