Dog Person: A Novel, by Camille Pagán

Publication April 4, 2026

First, a personal note. While I was initially psyched to read an entire book/romance through the eyes of a loyal old dog, my enthusiasm dimmed with the passing of my own loyal old dog. As such, this was an unexpectedly tough read for me. It was a good story, however,  and I, of course, adored Harold, the old dog. It was fun to see his doggie take on things both profound and mundane, from squirrels to books and romance. Tasked by Miguel's late wife Amelia May, Harold is determined to help Miguel find his way through grief and find love again. Of course, it has to be someone Harold approves of, too. Hey, he is a dog.

The story centers about Miguel realizing he's about to lose his beloved bookstore that Amelia May and he started. She was a romance writer and had adopted Harold despite his less than cute looks and quirks. While I was a bit mystified about why she didn't ensure that her writer's royalties didn't go to Miguel given that she did have time, one must cut her some slack given the circumstances. Now Miguel's maybe last shot at saving the bookshop, the appearance of a popular author who bailed on him, leads Miguel to set out with Harold to find that author and convince him to appear. Well, he doesn't exactly find the author but maybe the next best thing is he finds the author's sister, Fiona, and her young daughter, conveniently named Amelia May, too. Oddly enough, Fiona doesn't much like dogs but, hey, her daughter does and falls in love with Harold. And this is where the story takes off.

Bottom line, I won't detail the plot, it's probably predictable  While it's certainly a romance, it's also multi-layered, dealing with grief, loss, and how to find one's way out of the shadow of grief. I liked the dog's point of view although I occasionally wished we could get more of a feel for what was going on in the humans' minds. You'll definitely feel the pain and hope of these characters, not to mention Harold's emotional roller-coaster perspective, too. Dog lover's, make sure you have tissue handy as you read the epilogue. There's more I could say but for now will leave this as it stands. I liked it but didn't enjoy it, if that makes sense, but that's on my own personal path, not the book. Thanks #Ballantine - #DelacortePress for making this early peek available to me. The timing didn't work as it turned out but I enjoyed the read nevertheless, which speaks highly of the author's talent.