What do You think about Must Love Dogs (2005)?
"This was a perfect holiday read, although truth be told I started before I left for holidays! If you are in your 30's, and dating, thinking about dating, or just remembering dating, this is a fun read that will leave your nodding your head in agreement and laughing out loud! The charactors are zany enough to keep you entertained, but realistic enought that you don't roll your eyes and give up on the story, and the story itself isn't original or groundbreaking, but this author has a way of reeling you in.[return][return]From the Publisher:[return]Claire Cook'S Beguilingly Original Ready to Fall struck a vibrant chord with its ""perky take on midlife angst"" (Publishers Weekly). In Must Love Dogs she gives us a contemporary Everywoman in a big rollicking south-of-Boston Irish family--a zany novel with the flavor of Nora Ephron, Susan Isaacs, & Jeanne Ray's Julie & Romeo. Forty-year-old Sarah Hurlihy, a divorced pre-school teacher whose life is her classroom, is about to meet her first date in more than a decade. It was the ""Must Love Dogs"" that hooked her in the personal ad, & now she is scanning her neighborhood caf for the man with a yellow rose. And find him she does, but her prospective date turns out to be . . . her father. In Must Love Dogs, such hilarious missteps abound. Widowed Billy Hurlihy, with six adult kids, is seeing at least two women. But he & Sarah aren't the only Hurlihys with romantic challenges. Her brother Michael, for one, has a rocky marriage that Mother Teresa, his St. Bernard, just may put over the edge. With self-deprecating humor & a laugh-out-loud view of the way we live now, including shar pei/Labrador crosses & a transgenerational body-piercing experience, Must Love Dogs is a perfect beach read that melts the heartache of dating with warmth & humor.[return][return]Why I Liked/Didn't Like the Book:[return]Like I said, this was a wonderful holiday read! I loved the charactors, and once in a while it is great to read a book that mimics real life, but with happier endings, and normal-available-single men who turn out to be okay in the end! At any rate, I'd look for another of Claire Cook's books and pick it up for a fun read!"
—Miranda
I picked this book up as a free download and whilst I have heard of the film, I have never seen it or know anything about it, so the story was completely fresh to me. I enjoyed it immensely, a light hearted fun story of a forty year old divorcee, Sarah, attempting to enter the dating world by placing a lonely hearts ad. There are some very funny moments in the book which has a host of larger than life characters, including some very cute kids who, to be honest, did seem a little too precocious for pre-schoolers. I liked the way the author kept the story moving with the three "candidates" who had replied to Sarah's ad, as I was never quite sure which one of them she was going to have a relationship with, as the plot got quite twisty turny.To sum up, a good romantic comedy which I enjoyed although I did find the ending to be rather abrupt and unsatisfying, almost as if a couple of chapters of the book were missing at the end.
—Elaine
I am not sure why I never read this one, but it was an enjoyable, light read. Ok, minor annoyance here....but if the book features a St. Bernard puppy, why change that (see movie cover book). At least the original cover had a Saint puppy. Top pet peeve of mine - putting a different breed on the cover other than the one featured in the book - that is like bait and switch to me. Of course, I know the author has little control over it. Yet, I am picking up the sequel and there is a Bernese Mt. Dog on the cover - surely the Saint Bernard is featured in the sequel. Back to this book - Yes, Sarah could be annoying with her indecisiveness and I found Dolly's character to be a distraction; but overall, I enjoyed the witty dialogue and there were several laugh out loud moments for me. Not coming from a big family, I enjoyed reading the dynamics of this Irish family. I obviously liked it enough to immediately start the sequel. This is one situation where I am glad that I didn't read the original so long ago as I have a terrible memory when it comes to sequels that are published even a year following the first one, let alone 10 years.
—Amy
