This book was cute and not exactly what I was expecting. I really loved the main character and it held my interest for the most part. Didn't love it, but I did like it a lot

The Dog Share intrigued me from the cover alone. During the festive period, I'd read the twelve dogs of Christmas and suddenly realised, I loved reading about dogs as well as seeing them in real life so it was only natural I requested a copy of this book. Thank you for giving me the opposite to read it.

I'm going to start with the positives. It was mostly a fun, easy read with some emotional trauma thrown in. I found the last half of the book to be far more engaging than the first. I enjoyed the character development, and seeing Suzy stand on her two feet after the trials and tribulations she'd been through was moderately inspiring. Plus, Scout (the dog) came across as adorable as can be. I'd have not been able to resist taking him in and saving him from the cold, dreary night either. He brought a light into Suzy's life that she desperately needed.

Ricky was ever the dating father, but his misguided judgments in relationships were problematic to say the least. He did his absolute best for his son, Arthur, even if it wasn't always received well. Being eleven meant Arthur's teenage were fast approaching, so he was starting to settle into the brooding teenager stage early. Their bond was lovely nonetheless, and beneath it all you could tell they really loved each other. The same goes for Harry Vance, Ricky's father and Arthur's grandfather. He had a stern exterior but he was definitely softer on the inside. The years had worn him down but he still stood by his one true love - The Distillery.

For the most part, I liked the characters and their developments. However, I had issues with the first half of the book. It felt a bit scattered and jumpy. It took a long while before I could even begin to decipher what was going on. I also didn't enjoy the addition of the family group chats on WhatsApp. I just felt like they didn't really add anything to the story. Some people enjoy those extras in books, however I usually don't which explains why I may have found them unnecessary. I really wasn't hooked from the start with this book. The pacing felt a little too slow at times.

Whilst it enjoyable and easy to read, I can only give The Dog Share 3/5 stars. It just lacked quality at the start, and didn't capture my attention enough. It was fine, but certainly not the best book I've read so far this year.

So this was my first netgalley book and it was cute!

I will say that I thought it was slow at certain parts and had a ton going on. I sort of wish the main characters met earlier. I'm all for a good slow burn romance, but this was too long. I wasn't even sure if they were the two love interests.

I did like seeing two main characters in a different stage of life. They both already have kids and are in their 40's. So I liked the different perspective!

Overall, Scout the dog is a sweetie who brought into the whole gang together. And I love dual narration.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of The Dog Share in exchange for my honest opinion.
I was excited reading the description of this book - a dog shows up on the main character's doorstep when she needs a friend. Once I started reading and found out it revolved around a whiskey distillery I was even more excited. A dog and whiskey - sounds great, right? Unfortunately, it took almost 60% of the way into this book before I could enjoy it, and I heavily considered DNF from ~30% in. There is just too much going on that has to be set up at the start of the book so that everything which happens later can make sense.
Ultimately, I am glad I stuck with the book because I did enjoy the ending, but I don't think I can recommend it to others.

Suzys life isn't going so great - she's stressed, lonely, running a failing business that her impulsive ex-boyfriend insisted they buy and to top it all off, she's stuck on an island far away from anybody who doesn't hate her.

Well, maybe there's someone who doesn't hate her, maybe even likes her ... Scout. The scruffy, uninvited dog that's decided to live with her for now. But dogs have a funny way of bringing people together, and maybe Suzy and Scout have more in common than she thinks.

This was a cute, lighthearted read about two people brought together by an unexpected fluffy friend with a guaranteed romance fix.

For me, this book felt too slow and there was nowhere near enough dog or dog sharing for a book with this name - but it's still a sweet easy read.

This book had a strong start: a woman with a spontaneous boyfriend who jumped headfirst into purchasing a whiskey distillery without any experience. Within a couple pages we quickly discover he’s jumped ship and left her to tend to a failing distillery.

After those first few pages I was anticipating the build-up of a RomCom story (as the cover and description suggests), however, the story is a slow one that doesn’t entail much romance or comedy. There are two main characters and they end up meeting at the halfway point of the book. There is a dog in the story that enables them to meet but I was hoping that part would have happened much sooner.

Overall I was left wanting more from this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson.

So as someone who loves visiting Scottish distilleries, especially those on islands, I thought this was such a cute book! The title was a little misleading as I was expecting it to be more about the dog share aspect and this was a super slow burn romance. They don't really meet until after halfway through the book.

But I appreciated the starting over aspect of the book and trying to save her ex-husband's horrible business decision to buy a distillery on the island of Sgadansay in the Hebrides. The descriptions of the island were my favorite part of the book. I liked that Suzy found a community and friends in trying to turn the distillery around.

I was a bit wary when I started this book since I had read some not very good reviews.
But I loved it right from the start, loved the way it is written, loved the setting, the characters, loved everything about it!
Yes, it's true, not a lot of romance going on here, but there's so much more to it! There's Suzy's story, what she went through with Paul, the relationships with her family and her kids. There's Ricky's story, what happend with his son Arthur's mother and his relationship with whom I find the greatest character in the book (apart from the dog Scout): his father Harry.
There's real life here, with feelings and bad and good days, not only a sappy love story.
A beautiful, beautiful, heartwarming story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dog Share is an adorable love story that's not so much about romance as it is about loving yourself and loving the rascal of a dog that upends your life for the better. I loved Suzy's development throughout the story and world-building made me feel like even more engaged in the story. For me it was a little light on the sappy romance, but overall a great story!

3/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very slow slow burn. So slow, it was kind of boring. It took me a while to understand the story because it jumped around a lot. Once I got used to that writing style, I was able to follow along. I liked the main character, Suzy. There was nothing too special about her but she seemed like a nice woman, someone I would probably befriend. I liked her friendship with Cara. I feel like the description of the book isn’t fully accurate to the story, though. I thought Suzy and her love interest would be sharing the dog from nearly the beginning but her new friend, Cara, is the person she meets early on and shares the dog with. She doesn’t meet her love interest until 60% of the way through the book. Again, the slowest slow burn. The story alternates between Suzy’s and Ricky’s points of view so we knew what they were both up to and could predict when their lives would become intertwined. I liked them both and I did like them together but I wish there would have been more of them together. This book felt more like the story of a women and her life than a romance story. I enjoyed this book but like I said, it was slow. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t special either.

My full review of this book will be shared on my blog https://jenrosewrites.blog/ on the date of publication.

For now, what I will say is that it’s a sweet, slow burn romance set in Scotland. Whilst it wasn’t what I expected it was an easy, light read.

The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson was really heartwarming and wholesome. I found myself struggling to get through the book at first but once I really got into it I really enjoyed it. The whole concept of the book, about someone's life really hitting a rough patch and making their way back to a new normalcy is something that was great to read. I was also really surprised at the age of the main character, I wasn't expecting it to be about a middle aged woman. But over all it was really great. I liked seeing this part of someone's life, the somewhat of a midlife crisis, and the new puzzle pieces of life being put together anew. I was hoping for a little more romance than was offered, and I wished it occurred sooner in the book also. It's safe to say this book isn't for everyone, it seemed like a slow burn for me but I was really looking forward to seeing the main character pull through so I stuck to it. But I can see some people being turned off by the pace. I think this would be a really great book for maybe older people. It was a great read, definitely would recommend to the older crowd. Slow burn, uplifting and I'm starting to really enjoy Scottish/English settings like in this book.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

In these times of lockdown, this is the perfect read! Take a trip, meet new people AND there's even a dog!

Suzy has problems to solve and really needs a friend. Her ex has dumped her, leaving her with a business in dire straits when a dog turns up at her door. Taking him in, she finds he makes the perfect companion - always providing a listening ear and a waggy tail! She takes him with her to a Hebridean island to see to the business she needs to sort out and, during a walk on the beach, they encounter someone else who needs a friend . . .

As anyone who follows my reviews knows I'm a sucker for a story with a dog in it, so I was always going to get on with this one. Fiona Gibson isn't entirely new to me - she used to write a column in our Sunday paper and I have read some of her other novels. It's a joy to read a book set in Scotland as well as one where the word 'whisky' (when relating to the Scottish drink) is spelled properly! This is an endearing story with many facets, based upon a realistic situation and showing off the best of Scotland. I loved the characters and absolutely adored Scout. Beautifully written and a very satisfying read, this is a book I'm happy to recommend to all lovers of a good rom-com and give it 4.5*.

I feel very bad not to give this book more stars but I have to be honest that I was slightly disappointed. I imagined that it would be the typical rom com with girl meets boy but brought together by a dog. It's not quite that though I'm afraid.
To start with it's not really a dog share as the couple don't really share the dog, the male character Ricky just walks the dog occasionally. Also quite a lot of the story is told by the dog Scout. Unusual. I just wish it had been a little funnier.
Having said that it's good to see a romcom about an older couple and it's still quite a sweet story. So it's a 3 star from me.

Very atmospheric, loved the book cover and being a dog lover just had to read it.

Suzy is on a Hebrides island on holiday when her husband tells her he has bought a distillery.
He then runs it into the ground and disappears leaving it all to Suzy.
Suzy returns to the island to see if she can return it to it`s former glory coming up against angry locals.
When she thinks all is lost a dog turns up on her doorstep who she names Scout. putting up found posters of Scout Suzy is befriended by people helping her walk Scout when she`s busy, this helps her to move on with life and settle into the community.

Loved the setting, very atmospheric so just wanted to get in my car a visit.
It also shows you how getting a dog can change your life, as all dog lovers out there can tell you.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Would definitely recommend this book and will read more of hers.

This is not my usual choice of genre, I read mystery/thrillers but gave this a go as a change. I'm glad I did!
The author knows her craft well, you get a real feel for the people and the places without it being laboured. The book just flowed and I wanted to keep reading to find out how it ended.
This was a gentle relatable read that kept me turning the pages. There were dilemmas in the book and you sort of knew how it would end but it was an enjoyable journey getting there.
The dog was the star of the show, maybe that has coloured my judgement but I would happily read another book by this author to check if that's the case.

Thank you netgalley and Avon Books for approving me to review this book.

Dogs, whisky and a small Scottish Island = an odd combination? Perhaps but in Fiona Gibson's new novel 'The Dog Share' they seem to blend rather well!

As a dog lover myself the title definitely piqued my interest and I wasn't disappointed.

The Dog Share tells the story of Suzy and Scout who end up together in somewhat odd circumstances but their chance meeting turns both their lives around.  (You'll see how the whisky and Scottish island fit in when you read the book!)

This was a lovely easy read with a warm and uplifting storyline.  The characters were so likeable and I was left with a little lump in the old throat at the end.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 - four stars from me.

The Dog Share is out on 4th March 2021 and is available to pre order now.

https://www.instagram.com/bookwormblogss/

A most enjoyable read, explored friendships and family relationships and of course animal relationships. The setting was beautifully described and enhanced the story.

When I looked at the cover and description of this book I was expecting a different type of book, one where the emphasis was more on romance. I also expected the dog, Scout to be shared by the male and female protagonists, Ricky and Suzy. The book turned out to be different than I thought it would be, but I still enjoyed reading it.
Fiona Gibson's books are usually a little more funny than this one was, but it is still a lighthearted read.
I like the protagonists being over the age of 40, as most romantic fiction focuses on younger people.This is a story about second chances and starting again.
The book was written with both Ricky and Suzy narrating alternate chapters from their perspective. It was easy to understand who was narrating. The romance was very slow burning.
There were some other characters who I thought should have more of a voice, like Cara, who should have been a main character, but was not given much of a role.
The book moved quite steadily along, but then in the last few chapters there were suddenly new storylines bought in, which in my opinion were not totally necessary, and I would have preferred to hear more about the Distillery and Suzy and Ricky's new lives.
The setting of the book, in a small Scottish Island was stunning. It makes a lovely book to escape with. I enjoyed reading this book.

I hate giving a book low stars but unfortunately, this book was not just for me.

I have read Fiona Gibson's books so I got this book and was excited to read it. I do enjoyed reading her books. Unfortunately, I didn't very much enjoy the story as I expected it to be.

The plot was too confusing to me, at times I didn't understand and it was really boring. The story is told from the perspectives of Suzy and Ricky. Suzy comes across a cute adorable dog and named the dog Scout and basically the story is all about how this dog changed Suzy's life in general. The dog part is cute but nonetheless, I didn't enjoy the story much like I used to in her previous books.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for giving me this ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.