Must Love Dogs (Must Love Dogs, #1) by Claire Cook

Must Love Dogs (Must Love Dogs, #1) Reviews

• 
  Laura (Kyahgirl)

  2/5; 2 stars; C
  
  Below average contemporary romance. I think the author did a reasonable job of portraying h9w confused and messed up people from broken relationships are but there were too many irritating characters to make me enjoy this aspect of the story. I found myself wanting to give Sarah a whack on the head for being a spineless ninny half the time and her boundary issues with her family were a big part of that. So, no, I won’t be reading any more in this series. It was a teeth grinder.
  
  On the bright side, the narrator, Carrington Macduffie, was pretty good.
• 
  Nicole

  I read this book because I love the movie and really didn't even know there was a book. So, I borrowed it from my local library.
  
  Sarah is much more flaky, gullible, naive with no backbone in the book. She's a complete mess and she doesn't know what she wants. She has a connection with John from the start but she somehow won't commit to him and goes on a wild, unnecessary, goose chase for "Mr. Right."
  Her family is always surrounding her and giving her advice, which she usually just does the opposite of, or just hears what she wants to hear to go do what she wanted to go do in the first place, just to end in shambles for no damn reason at all.
  I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed and as if I was missing part of the story and much open ended. I am aware that there is a part two, now, but it came out 12 years later. So, I am guessing that it wasn't part of the plan this whole time.
  
  I really thought that I would love the book since I loved the movie which is odd. I usually love the book more so than the movie...so, now I am sitting here feeling weird about the whole thing.
  
  All in all Sarah wasn't unlikable. I just wish she would have made up her mind a lot quicker like at the beginning when she should have just known but she was just apparently lying to herself.
  Not an awful story just wasn't what I was expecting.
  
  Never watch the movie before the book.
  
• 
  Elaine

  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.
• 
  Bren fall in love with the sea.

  This book was a little to cutsey for me. I read it long ago, after seeing the movie which was not bad and which, (surprisingly) I preferred over the book.
  
  It did have some LOL funny moments and as far as contemporary romance goes, it is not bad. It's a quick read too but it was not terribly memorable although it was cute.
  
  It is a good book to read if you are tired of dark, intense mysteries. I do not read much of this genre but it wasn't terrible.
• 
  Sally906

  it was OK, very average. I had a bit of trouble connecting to Sarah - just didn't ever come to care about her. So in the end I found it a bit of struggle to stay focused and finish.
• 
  Alaina

  Okay so I knew that this was a movie and then I saw that there was a book. So, I definitely wanted to read the book before I decided to watch the movie. Well, let's just say that I'm happy I read the book and that I probably wont watch the movie.
  
  Must Love Dogs is pretty cute title and has a pretty cute cover. Anything with or about dogs is a-okay in my book people. However, this book was just okay in my eyes. The characters were kind of meh to me throughout the book. I'm happy I read it but that's about it.
  
  This book is about Sarah, who is recently divorced. Sarah really bugged me throughout this thing because she was just so freaking gullible and naive. Like no women at 40 (I think that was her age - I can't remember right now) should be that freaking naive about anything! Plus, the whole no backbone just irked me. UGH! Let's just say that she was beyond frustrating to me.
  
  Then there's John, who was her "mr. right" but she didn't really think that because she's a hot mess and conflicts herself right and left. I seriously just wanted to lock these two in a room, throw away the key, and walk away.
  
  After all of that back and forth, there's the ending. I was okay with it. It didn't really wow or satisfy me. It was just an ending to me.. even though it did feel like rushed through? In the end, I didn't really think about it and I don't really want to think about it right now either..
  
  Overall, it was meh. The characters were meh or frustrating. I don't think I will reread it ever again and I know for sure that I wont watch the movie either.
• 
  Michele

  Most of this review is more a review of my first experience with an audiobook. Toward the end I'll discuss the book itself.
  This was my first audiobook. When I decided to take my 5 mile run to the treadmill (rather than the roads) one day, I decided to check out an audio book online from my local library, to hopefully break the monotony of a treadmill workout. I chose this book because I remembered thinking the movie trailers looked cute (will now have to watch the movie) and it seemed an easy enough "read" that if I occassionally drifted off mentally while running, I wouldn't miss much. This book accompanied me for most of my runs over the past week.
  
  It took me though the first run to really get into listening to a book. Initially, I missed the printed pages. I kept imagining how certain words looked on paper, as opposed to being read to me. I wondered if certain passages (such as the personal ads Sarah was reading from the newspaper) were written in itallics, or double-indented and centered. I wondered if the author placed commas and other punctuation where it sounded like it belonged.
  
  After that first 50 minute run on the treadmill, I found myself looking forward to my next run, to continue the book. By the next run, I was able to get passed my initial thoughts, and just listen to and enjoy the book. I found it a pleasant distraction from some brutal runs this past week (lots of heat/humidity!). I just finished it up while doing some long overdue housework (audiobooks just may help my house become cleaner!) and have already downloaded the first few parts of my next audiobook.
  
  As far as a review of this book itself goes, I enjoyed it. I think I also would have enjoyed reading it in actual book form, but I realized this was one of those books that would probably forever be on my "to read" list, but that I would never actually get to. Sarah's family is made of a bunch of charachters, and her escapades trying to find love after a divorce are funny. It's a cute and lighthearted story. Despite the title, the plot doesn't have all that much to do with dogs, so no need to be a dog lover to enjoy this book. More of a romantic comedy, chick-flick of books.
• 
  Maya

  This quickly read novel was a small gem of emotional accuracy and non-overwriting. The story of one woman slowly finding her groove after divorce while juggling family, work, and lonliness left me smiling and satisfied as a reader. Cinema fans: the book is better than the movie.
• 
  Lisa B.

  One of my favorites by this author. Light, funny but still manages to carry a message.
• 
  Jane Gregg

  I love dogs. Spoiler alert - this book is not about dogs.
• 
  Megan

  I really don’t know what to say about this book.
  
  The main character Sarah is in her 40’s, teaches at what I believe was a daycare center, is divorced, and has a rather large family that loves to just show up at her house uninvited, meddle in what little of a dating life she has, and then you have the dad who comes off as a flaky man whore jumping from one woman to the next. Everyone in this family is full of advise that is not always the best and has what seem to be families of their own full of problems. I liked that she tried to make this book about a big happy family but it was kind of short and I feel like a lot of things got left out and a lot of other things got added in that really didn’t add to the story.
  
  When it came to dating part of the book I kind of feel like she really didn’t do anything. Her sister did the “want ad” and then Sarah listen to the tape of the responses and picked 2 people to call. I really didn’t feel like the men Sarah did decided to date were really right for her, maybe that is because she only went on dates with maybe 3 guys and had a phone call with another. Then at the end of the book after very few date she more or less picks one I guess to live happily ever after with, even though earlier in the book she said she just didn’t feel anything for him.
  
  There were a few funny parts and it was a nice light read that didn’t take much time at all I just feel like I really couldn’t tell you in much detail about anyone event that happened in the book. I did like that the main character was seeming to try to change her life for the better and become who she really wanted to be. I never fully decided if I like the main character or any of them besides maybe the brothers dog.
  
  Sadly I really wanted to like this book; however that didn’t happen.
  
• 
  Rebecca

  Ohmigod, lamest book ever. Thank god it only took me like 2 days to read it. How could someone read this and say, lets make a movie? There are so many other good chick-lit books out there and this one was written for like a high schooler. Or did the movie come first and then someone wrote this book? Who knows. I never saw the movie and after this book, I have no plans to EVER see it. Shit, I just looked at IMDB to see who played what character, because I only knew the leads and Dermot Mulroney plays a dude in it and I love him! If it's ever on tv, okay, I won't turn it off. Agh.
  
  Girl is a preschool teacher, divorced and her sister trys to find her a date using the personals in the paper. She makes one for her and guys call her. Girl calls one back and they go out a few times, but the timing just always sucks. Girl also kind of has the hots for a parents of one of her kids and ends up sleeping with him, but realizes that guy from the paper is the one she really likes. Did they even kiss in the book? I can't remember. That is how little impact this book and these characters had on me. Why would she sleep with parents when she really likes Dude? And she knew it at the time! So lame. I did like all the family interactions. Finally! A family that actually likes each other and gets along. Another rarity in chick-lit.
  
  Grade: C-
• 
  Stephanie

  For the longest time I had absolutely no idea that this story originated as a book, but having fallen absolutely head-over-heels in love with the movie, I decided to try it out when I stumbled upon a copy at my favorite used bookstore. Putting aside for a moment my opinions of film-versions of bestselling books (because I could talk all damn day about it) I'm prepared to talk warmly about both of them.
  
  Claire Cook typed out a masterpiece when she dotted the final i in Must Love Dogs. I absolutely adore this book, cover to cover, word for word, character for character. I really feel like I could get along with the character of Sarah Hurlihy, as well as her sisters, which is really important to me when I'm reading a book. Her situation is modern, relateable, and written in such a way as to make the audience completely feel for her. The supporting characters are just flat-out charming, especially the characters of Sarah's dad, and of course, the lovable and outrageous Dolly. Love her!
  
  The literary storyline is very different from the film version, and considering that I saw the movie first, I was unprepared for what I received, but needless to say, I was exceptionally pleased with the whole story. Must Love Dogs is definitely one of my most favorite books.
• 
  Slayermel

  This book has very quickly been added to my favourite’s shelf; it had me laughing out loud so many times I had to keep checking around me to see if anyone noticed. *giggle*
  
  I found the characters in this book were so real and easy to relate too, you know people just like them as well as being able to compare yourself and your own insecurities to them.
  
  Sarah Hurlihy is a divorced forty something who seems to be going through a bit of a midlife crisis, she's depressed and feels utterly hopeless when it comes to her personal life, all she lives for is teaching her preschool class. Sarah's sister Carol tries to give her a bit of a push back into the dating world by helping create a dating classified for Sarah. What happens next is downright entertaining, especially when you add in Sarah's odd yet loving family, and the fact that her widowed father is also out there circling the dating classifieds.
  
  I need to look into seeing the movie now, to see how it compares. This is definitely a book I could read or listen too again.
  
  Oh yeah and all I have to say is "Dolly, what a hoot but I think I would have killed her" *laughing*
  
  I definitely recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humour who likes romance / chick lit.
  
• 
  Debbie

  Very cute!
  
  Fluffy and soft, this book was the perfect quick read in between novels containing heavier material.
  This is not a bad thing.
  
  The writing was great, and despite the material being about a forty something year old women trying to find a date, the story was very entertaining! I generally don't care for chick lit or romance novels. However, I looked forward to picking up my kindle each evening and guessing which guy would ultimately be the "one" Sarah picks! Sarah and her family were great and a pleasure to spend time with. Dolly was my favorite character. I wish she had more screen time.
  
  I will not read anymore in the series. I have something against a novel turning into a series simply because of the popularity brought on by the original. But that's just me.
  I will likely never watch the movie either.
• 
  Peggy

  A quick, sweet read about a forty year old preschool teacher, recently divorced, looking for love. Sarah meets several men but she is not impressed. All kinds of antics occur, like her answering an add to find her widowed father is the writer. She almost gives up, but in the end she finds a suitable guy.
  In between, she meets all kinds of odd and strange people, like Dolly, dad's old girlfriend, who serves the whole family raw turkey and talks about herself in the third person.
  
  The title is taken from one of the personal adds that her father placed, but her father doesn't have a dog and neither do many of the other people who populate the book. But...dogs seem to be a magnet to finding a partner!
• 
  Jodi Schulz

  I vaguely remembered seeing this movie and thinking it was cute, and so when it came up as a 99 cent kindle deal I decided to get it. I have read other things by this author and thought they were fluffy chic lit. This book is just dumb. It is not even enjoyable chic lit, it is just dumb. I read it over New Years weekend when it was rainy and cold and still could not find it enjoyable, it was just boring.
• 
  Heather

  I am so ashamed of myself for even picking up this book. But what can I say? I was looking for a fun, light read. It was definitely light, but not fun. After two pages, I put it down. I picked it up again only to wish it wasn't a library book so I could burn it or throw it across the room. Stupid, stilted prose. Crummy, crummy, painfully embarrassing dialog. Yikes. Double yikes.
• 
  Kristy McRae

  Absolutely loved this book! Sarah is a great, believable character--very easy to relate to. I loved her zany Irish family--they were good for many laughs throughout the book. I lost count of how many times, while reading, I thought, "I've felt that way" or "I've done the exact same thing!"
• 
  Kecia

  This book is to reading what junk food is to eating.
• 
  Snarktastic Sonja

  Listened to this one for free on audible plus. I wish I had gotten to it sooner, as I would have moved on in the series, but it is leaving audible plus. It was good enough to listen to, but not good enough to pay for.
  
  The narrator did a great job, but the audible version was messed up a bit as the chapters did not show up correctly. This mad it very hard to follow the chapters if you missed something. In addition, the story itself was quite jerky and jumpy.
  
  Ultimately, I enjoyed the story and I am sad that I won't be moving on.
• 
  Sheila Burke

  This story was so incredibly cute! Creative, well-written and paced, and very enjoyable. I had a hard time putting it down. Well worth the time to read.
• 
  Debbie Cohen

  Loved this book from page one. Was bummed to finish and then I found out it is part of a series -- can't wait to read the next book!
• 
  Särah Nour

  Romantic comedies are rarely as well done and as charming as Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook, a fun, light read with warmth as well as wit. Though rom-coms typically do not appeal to me, I found this one to be a highly enjoyable tale of a midlife crisis and the trials and tribulations of courtship.
  
  Must Love Dogs tells the story of preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy, who, having tired of spending evenings at home watching The Brady Bunch, attempts to venture back into the dating scene after her divorce. Hilarity ensues when her bossy older sister places a personal ad for her behind her back that, to her dismay, reads, “Voluptuous, sensuous, alluring and fun. Barely 40 DWF seeks special man to share starlit nights. Must love dogs.” Before long, Sarah finds herself juggling more men than she can handle—each more quirky and questionable than the last—while getting caught in the middle of the romantic escapades of her widowed father, and the entrance of a Saint Bernard puppy into her life.
  
  Sarah’s rapport with her large Irish-American family—which includes five siblings—ought to be painfully familiar to those who have experienced the constant meddling, lack of privacy, and general wackiness that comes with a claustrophobic family environment. Sarah, ever the multi-tasker, often finds herself the mediator between her sister and her rebellious niece, as well as between her roguish father and his girlfriend, all while attempting to comfort her brother throughout his marital problems. Meanwhile, every failed date, faux pas and awkward situation she endures provides fodder for embarrassing stories at future Thanksgivings.
  
  In a culture that idealizes youth and has many a novel out there about young people falling in star-crossed love, a 40-year-old divorcee for a heroine—with all the imperfections and insecurities as any woman her age, in her position—is a breath of fresh air. A dryly witty, self-depreciating narrator, Sarah is relatable enough for readers to feel as though they’re having lunch with her at a café, listening to her funny stories of romantic entanglements and familial mayhem.
  
  Must Love Dogs ought to strike a familiar chord with readers with large families or tumultuous love lives, or those who just enjoy a good laugh. It would allow one to take a break from the drama of their daily life and enjoy someone else’s for a change.
• 
  Miranda

  "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!"
• 
  Piepie | The Napping Bibliophile

  Very fluffy story, and if I was picking a book to be made into a movie, I would not pick this one. It just does not stand out to me.
  
  The story is dated... mention of fax machines and instead of online dating- which is prevalent today -some of the characters meet through a sort of telephone/voice mail system.
  
  Claire was okay, but she didn't strike me as being very motivated. Her idea of a great night was sitting in front of The Brady Brunch with wine and Cheerios - or wine with macaroni and cheese! Seriously.
  
  Her family was meddling and nosy. I would throw a fit if any of them showed up at my door uninvited, as they often seemed to do. One time, Claire's sister showed up to drop off her niece unannounced! I especially hated Dolly. She was pathetic and annoying... and also had a tendency to show up where she wasn't wanted. I couldn't believe the time she showed up at Claire's house and just camped out on the sofa and later helped herself to Claire's kitchen.
  
  The narrator was good. My favorite voices that she did were Molly Green's mother, Patrice; followed by June, a close second.
  
  The preschoolers that Claire taught were an odd bunch. If I were to teach kids as young as that, I would not teach them about dances and countries around the world. I would not expect them to need to know all of that. Most of them battered around words that I would have thought were too mature for their vocabulary... I mean, what preschooler goes around saying "marsupial"?? Maybe it's a school for gifted kids?? I don't know, but it did not make any sense to me.
  
  Actually, this story did make me laugh at times. It was interesting seeing someone else's awkward forays into the dating world. I will, however, not be continuing this series.
• 
  Cyndy Aleo

  I've been burned out on women's fiction for quite some time now, and especially burned out on women's fiction that's been turned into a movie starring Diane Lane. It seems to be a specific genre or something that just drives me nuts, but when author
  Allie Larkin tweeted a recommendation for Claire Cook's Must Love Dogs, which was free on Amazon, I decided to take a chance.
  
  Sarah Hurlihy is 40, childless, and newly divorced. At the encouragement of one of her sisters (she comes from the stereotypical huge Irish family), she first answers, then runs (well, her sister runs it for her) personal ads to get back into the dating scene. Most of the meetings she has are hilariously funny (those who saw even the movie trailer, which is all I saw, know that her first one is actually answering her father's ad), and as she gets back into the dating scene at the same time as her widowed father, the entire family is drawn into the resulting dramas.
  
  Cook has an incredible voice, which makes even the most hokey scenes hysterically funny. Being approximately Sarah's age and divorced (although I have kids), I could relate to the little things like the pathetic "don't want to cook for one" things Sarah would come up with (she has a mac 'n cheese method for the box mix I seriously want to try).
  
  In the end, Must Love Dogs was a quick, fun read and I'll be looking for more of Cook's novels in the future.
• 
  Laura

  This was the first time I read a book about a movie, instead of the other way around. I have never seen "Must Love Dogs", but judging by the trailers, people are better off watching it instead of reading this adaptation. The story is not the only thing to blame for my negative feedback. I can't really think of a romantic comedy I've read that I thoroughly enjoyed. As I've said before, I'm happy to be given any book titles you've liked in this genre.
  
  "Must Love Dogs" is a story about a divorced woman in her 40s who teaches preschool and has nosy sisters who put her name in the classifieds to get her dating again. The rest of the book is about her dealing with the men she meets, and dealing with her family's involvement in her new life. She seems like a woman who has one foot in and one foot out in every situation. I'm discovering that when an author leaves her character in limbo like that over and over and over it frustrates me, the reader. I was pleading with each chapter to show me some sort of rise and fall in story line as I eventually started skimming toward the finish. There didn't have to be a dragon, but could there at least have been a point where she just snaps to release some of her built up frustration (and mine)?
  
  
• 
  Christy

  Preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy, encouraged by her close-knit Irish Catholic family, begins to think about dating after being divorced for two years. Sarah answers a personal ad in her local paper, only to find her date is her widowed father; something her family finds hilarious. Sarah’s sister Carol places a personal ad for Sarah which starts Sarah on the path to weeding out prospective dates. One or two hold promise but Sarah can’t seem to find the time for any relationship to marinate while dealing with her father’s overzealous and overjealous girlfriend, her brother Michael’s marital problems, and her sister Carol’s rebellious teenage daughter. Will she find someone to spend the rest of her life with or will Sarah be forever doomed to taking care of the rest of her family?
  
  Claire Cook has penned a fun romantic comedy depicting the pitfalls of dating and family life. The book moves at a fast pace, placing Sarah in the midst of some pretty humorous situations, surrounded by loving family members and interested would-be beaus.
  
  
• 
  Cathy Tully

  Absolutely loved the fast pace, great characters and terrific dialog of this novel. I have never seen the movie, and didn't even put the titles together until after I finished, so I have no idea if the movie does it justice or not.
  
  Claire Cook is my new favorite writer. Her fictitious family are so wonderfully real that you want to be a member of the clan, or a least a fly on the wall at one of their holiday dinners. Her New England town and Irish American sense of humor made me home sick for NY where I grew up. But my favorite character is down in the dumps Sarah Herlihy who still has not bounced back from her divorce. I don't like going into great plot details, but will tell you that keeping Sarah company as she moves forward with her love life, is a very enjoyable ride.