I picked up Dog Days for the dogs, but it was the people who made me stay. (My own dog recently came home to us after being missing for nearly 5.5 years!)

In Dog Days, we meet people weighed down with different types of brokenness. I was expecting something light, but was instead delighted by the lightness and humanity brought into utterly dark situations.

What kind of dark situations? Some content warnings to consider: grief, cancer, suicide, postpartum/postnatal depression, pregnancy loss/infant death, domestic abuse.

The start was a bit slow-going for me, but then I read the last 60% in one sitting. It’s been awhile since I was this fond of book characters.

I loved how the author wove in neurodiversity with care, particularly the glimpses of a woman with autism’s personal and professional challenges.

I was initially a bit turned off by some of the language. It’s a bit more than I am comfortable recommending—but once I got past my initial shocks there, it didn’t remain a barrier for me.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review, and I am so thankful for it.

Quirky characters and dogs...and it gave me all the feels. In fact, it reminded me a little of Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove...high praise, I think. Seemingly separate stories at the beginning, the characters lives overlap throughout the book, which celebrates the highs and lows of life...and the faithful companionship dogs and their people share. Great book. Definitely buying for my library and recommending...

This is more like a few stories that bump into each other. I don't know if the author should have begun with someone other than George because his treatment of the puppy angered me and that almost made me stop reading but read on I did. It seemed to me the only stable person was Betty. I didn't like the way the little boy was treated by his mother as she took him in her ride of dishonesty of well, it ended and George was kinder to the wanting-to-be-loved pup
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

In many ways this reminded me of the writing of Fredrick Bachman. Perhaps because of the grumpy old man character (George) ... he brought Ove to mind.

I really enjoyed the ongoing development of the three different characters. I love books that offer perspective shifts between characters. Each of the three characters were so well developed. The author writes to put you deep into their heads. Each character is complexly portrayed.

With George, I loved seeing him grow to love Poppy and to accept others into his life. The notes his wife left him — his wife’s incredible foresight — was so heartwarming.

With Dan, I enjoyed seeing him come into his own. Learn to accept and love himself. And through that to love others. Fitz was such a rock for him. I could relate with how I feel about my own dog.

With Lizzie, I so enjoyed the little facts she would spout out. Her backstory also kept you on edge.

I did not like how the author wrote about Dan’s Iron Man. It was too flippantly covered. Training for that would have truly taken over his life for the period leading up to the race. And the race itself would have been arduous. It felt glossed over. I was devastated by the turn in Dan’s story at the end. Don’t want to spoil anything ...

I was taken by surprise with Lizzie’s story. I liked how the author wrapper things with her up.

Still mulling over my other thoughts on this book. It’s one I’ll be recommending to several friends. Especially those I know enjoy Fredrick Bachman. Torn on how to rate it. I think 4.5 ⭐️

This was a surprise book. I was expecting a feel good book about dogs, instead I went on an emotional journey with three different people who had to deal with intense life altering moments and how their dogs were there to support them. There is George who has lost his wife and feels angry about it. Lizzie who is in a Shelter with her son, but is there under false pretenses and Dan who is a therapist and falls in love with a client and has to deal with his own sexuality and losing his first love. I found that only one of the three was a typical outcome but two were a surprise and had a twist to them. You'll have to be open minded to read this book but it will be worth the journey.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advance copy of this wonderful book.

WARNING: If you have any sort of mental health issue, or sensitivities do not read this book.

I was going to give this title two stars because one of the three storylines about a senior citizen widower was quite heartwarming and entertaining, but the climax was a shock-value only train wreck, and there were several statements made about more than one mental health illness, that were... to put it truthfully, ignorant; and resulting events which were highly unrealistic. There were also some continuity problems.

There were several scenes with a gay couple that were so stereotyped and cliche it made me wince. And did I mention not one, but two insta-loves? The romance was not romantic it was just sex.

There were shelter and mental healthcare protocols which were either unknown to the author, or she just ignored them so she could add drama. The whole thing, except for the cantankerous widower, reminded me of someone writing from a place of no real world experiences, but from having watched hundreds of made for TV Lifetime Channel movies, or soap operas. This book had very little substance, and quite frankly is irresponsible in its portrayal of mental illnesses and their treatments.

Ericka Waller’s DOG DAYS is more than a tale of dogs, as a matter of fact, the dogs in this story really seem to be no more than supporting characters as three strangers find their own personal best friends as they claw their way out of their own personal dungeons.

Dark, somber and heavy with atmosphere, each tale is weighted with characters who are truly difficult to like quite often as they seem to indulge in their weaknesses. From a man who took his wife for granted until her death to the therapist who broke all sense of propriety to become involved with a patient to the woman who has been beaten down completely, there are few lighthearted moments where one would expect a dog to shine.

I wanted more dog involvement, more of those defining moments where the loyalty and trust of a dog uplifts both this story and the characters from their darkness. If you have ever been through a period in your life that rocks your very foundation, you KNOW how powerful a dog can be as a friend, ally, confidant and reason to get up and rejoin the world. I have and this tale did not shine on the strengths of human resiliency in its dry approach, even though this author does have a command on story telling. Sometimes a book is just not for a particular reader.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from St. Martin's Press! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Three very different lives in a book of fragility and loss. George has lost his dear wife Ellen and has great difficulty extracting himself from his living room chair. Despair takes many faces and lonely despair is but one.

Lizzie has escaped a brutal marriage. Running off with her son and living in a shelter for battered women is her refuge. Her husband, Greg, has been abusive and she wants to hide that fact from herself and the world.

Dan is a practicing psychologist trying to help those who have lost their way. Atticus comes into his office and begins treatment. His problem is that he cannot get Atticus to open up. Without a patient disclosing problems to be sorted, the psychologist is failing in his endeavor.

Three very different scenarios in one book. Lizzie is sympathetic, George is despicable, and Dan is pathetic. This author has taken these people and made a case for the trials and difficulties we all face in life. Her writing is entertaining and engaging.

The overall impression this book leaves is that opposites attract and sometimes we will put up with anything to be with the ones who attract us. Life has a way of equalizing our desires. Pain at times seems to be a cure for boredom. Ericka puts this into each of the characters as well as the dogs in each characters’ care. Her endings are definitely worth reading and I felt the book made some pointed observations about how each individual handles the life and love they are given and the losses they incur. I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed Dog Days by Erika Waller is the first book I have read by this author. I picked it up because like most people I love dogs. This book centers around three people who have dogs.
George lost his wife, but her little puppy is still here needing love and tending.
Dan is a therapist who does not connect with his patients until with the help of his dog does.
Lizzie lives in a homeless shelter and has an extremely hard life, but the dog in the shelter helps.
All three are interconnected and grow.
I love books that show the power of dogs and unconditional love that can help heal and keep people functioning in life. I wish the dogs had a bigger part in the book.
The writing was particularly good, and it was worth a read. Thank you, Net Galley, for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I felt this book started a little slow but I kept reading and was glad I did. The book was written in alternating chapters about different characters. All the characters had some personal or family issues and trauma to deal with and each had or got a dog to help them through the tougher parts of their life.
George was a grump even before his wife Ellen died. He expected Ellen to do everything for him and in the same manner/time every day. Before her death Ellen adamantly brought home a dog and George is not thrilled when Ellen dies and leaves him with the pup.
Daniel is trying to come to grips with his personal life all while trying to counsel others. He loves having his dog to talk to when he gets home every day.
Liz is living in a shelter with her young son Lenny and starts dog walking the shelter dog Maude. Liz is on the run from her marriage and trying to do the best for her son.
All the characters grow and change during the course of the book and their relationships with others and their dogs makes for a good read.

I really enjoyed this novel.
It is a story of three people broken by life's happenings and their dogs that they adore.
There is 1) George- A miserable widow with a dog his late wife brought home. They both need TLC and purpose.
2) Dan- A counselor who has a secret that he needs to release to the universe.
But... will he?
He has a pup Fitz who Dan loves with his whole heart and it is reciprocated 100 percent!
Then there is 3) Lizzie- who has had a difficult life. She is attached to her dogs and just needs understanding in her world.
This entire book made me think of warmth, hope, friendship, hardship, and forgiveness and as you learn of each of these people you will definitely feel a fellowship with them.
I have been trying to decide who my favorite character is; and I just could not decide.
I love them all.
Wonderful debut novel and I will be looking for the next by Ericka Waller.

This character driven book is extremely well written. The descriptions are fresh and thought provoking. The relationship between dogs and their owners is often life altering and the author captures these moments perfectly. "There is a brief moment when time pauses itself, and we can see the fragile threads between them glittering like gold in the rain. From a finger here to an elbow there. From the corner of Atticus’s smile to Dan’s beating heart. From paw to person and back again." I hope Dog Days is a great success. It is easily a five star read for me.
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St Martin's Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#Dog Days #NetGalley

Meh. Doesn't really fit description, which implies the dogs play a bigger role than they actually do.. Really wanted more of a "dog" story than romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an early copy of this title.

Dog Days follows three different characters which all have some connection to a dog. George is a grumpy old man saddled with a dachshund puppy his wife brought home and loved. Only his wife has died and he could care less about Poppy. Lizzie and her young son live in a shelter where she shares in the work to keep the household going. One of the chores she does is walk the “house” dog. Dan is a therapist who has a dog he loves, but he’s in need of therapy himself.

I’m not sure what the author’s premise or goal for this book was. With the title being about dogs, I would think those dogs would have changed everyone’s lives, but the dogs only played bit parts.

The book depressed me, it was dark, the characters were for the most part unlikeable and the ending didn’t satisfy me.

The characters sometimes connected, but that didn’t seem to be important. It was kind of an afterthought.

I liked the short chapters and alternating viewpoints, but this book wasn’t for me.

I absolutely loved this book. I cannot express how wonderful this book is. It covers a myriad of serious real life issues, depression, postnatal depression, death, sexual identity and abuse. There are a few main characters and each chapter is centred on one of these characters. The author has done an amazing job of creating realistic, deeply flawed yet wonderful characters. I felt such a deep compassion for each of them and also a deep deep sadness for what they were going through. The author did not sensationalize any of these serious issues, she gave us a truth, inside view of how each person was feeling. The addition of the dogs was perfect. I have three rescues dogs so I know the amount of unconditional love they can give. Each main character had a dog in their lives that was their constant companion and these dogs were their lifeline when things became desolate and it felt impossible to go on. This book showed how dogs can make us better people and I hope it inspires people to go out and adopt a dog.

Of the three main characters, George was my favourite. George made me laugh out loud at times and at other times my heart broke for him. Dan and Lizzie both had unexpected twists to their storylines which changed their lives dramatically.

This book will move you beyond words and I hope that it will educate some people about the seriousness of mental illness, the difficulties that some people experience in accepting who they really are and the ways that the loss of a loved one has in you for the rest of your life. This is a book that I will be reading again. I wish I was eloquent enough to express just how much this book moved me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this amazing book.

I wasn't sure about this book in the very beginning, but the characters grew on me and I found myself wanting to continue reading long past bedtime. Dan started out as my least favorite but ended up my most favorite. George was appealing for his sense of humor and some of the lines given to him were hilarious. Dogs do play a role in this book, but more of a subtle one than you might think from the title.

What a surprisingly lovely read! The book was far more emotional than I was expecting . We follow three strangers: George (who reminds me very much of [book:A Man Called Ove|18774964], a grumpy old man who recently lost his wife and is stuck with the dog she bought before she died, Lizzie, an autistic woman who is living in a battered women's shelter with her son, and Dan, a nervous therapist who is trying to be at peace with who he really is.
The characters all live in the same small town but live very different lives. Overall, George, Lizzie, and Dan, though deeply flawed, were lovable. Lizzie's story seemed rather abrupt for how shocking it was, but her flaws are a reminder that we are defined by our worst moments. "Dogs love unconditionally, not because they don't understand life, but because they understand it best."

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at 20%. There were too many storylines going on and none of them gripped me. I would’ve read a whole book about the therapist though - he was interesting! The rest was just meh.

Despite the fact that this book is chock-full of characters that are rather hard to like as well as very unexpected storylines, I found myself falling hard for this one and it is currently in my list of top 5 books read so far in 2020. I found this one reminiscent of Fredrik Backman's "A Man Called Ove" in some ways and since I loved that book I found it difficult not to love this one.

"Dog Days" follows the story of three distinct individuals, each with their own battle to fight. George is a grumpy old man, impossible to like, but he's grieving the loss of his wife in the only way he knows how. His wife left behind her puppy, Poppy, and he's not quite sure what to do with her as he doesn't like her at all and only wants to watch his cricket. Thankfully his kind-hearted neighbor swoops in to try to help, but will she be able to find something about George to like?

Lizzie and her son Lenny are living in a women's shelter and, while Lenny can't understand why he can't see his dad, he is attempting to fit in to his new life. Lizzie remains guarded about her past but the shelter dog Maud is determined to get it out of her, one walk and cuddle at a time.

Dan is a therapist with his own issues. Gay but unwilling to come to terms with it, he is content to live his life without love other than that of his dog, Fitz, until Atticus walks in to his life and Dan can't get him out of his head.

I feel like this book will be polarizing- readers will likely love it as much as I did or will hate it. This is not a "happy" story per se, and this is not a story about people whom we like. This is a story about those people who are overlooked, who are traumatized, and who have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. This is also a story about triumphing over that darkness and finding a will to move forward. I found it at once haunting and uplifting, and I absolutely could not stop thinking about this story, which is why it is one of the best books that I have read this year.

After the last page of this has been read this story refuses to leave my thoughts, which is why I rated it as a five star book.

So I thought I would read what I thought was going to be a light book that features dogs in some way. Instead I just got 2 of the most unlikable characters ever and another one that had no sense of boundaries at all. Yes there are dogs, but pretty much as asides through the whole book. The only story-line that really did feature a dog and show how a dog kept someone sane was George's I thought. The other two (Dan and Lizzie)...not so much.

"Dog Days" starts with a group of people in the park with their dogs. We don't know exactly how everyone is connected, but the book then jumps to different people throughout.

We follow George, recently widowed. We also follow Lizzie and her son Lenny who are staying at a shelter for abused women. Lizzie is walking the director's dog Maud which she doesn't really like and is slightly afraid of. And then finally we follow Dan who is a therapist, and has a dog named Fitz. Dan has his own problems and fears until he meets a new client called Atticus.

George's storyline is that his wife got a dog she named Poppy before he passed (he hates it) and now George is left not knowing what to do since his wife took care of the house and dinner. Before you have any sympathy for George though, know he's nasty and rude to everyone and at one points calls two men "F" and I just hated him. He's nasty. Frankly his poor wife sounded like she was in an emotionally abusive relationship with the guy. At least that is how I read it. She could not even tell him she was ill because she knew how he was.

I won't spoil Lizzie's storyline, but man is it a doozy and just messed up. Will leave that there.

I also didn't like Dan's storyline. I don't know about the UK, but here in the states I don't think therapists are allowed to get involved with patients? I don't know. The whole storyline felt so off and I didn't feel engaged. And how that all ended up...another doozy.

The other characters we get to know in this one, Lenny's teacher Luke, the supposed Smurf-Girl, etc. don't feel real at all. The only secondary character that Waller actually develops is George's neighbor who won't allow him to sit around in filth and makes sure that she stops by to keep an eye on him.

The writing was fine, the flow was pretty bad. I think shifting to three different characters just didn't work in this one.

The ending I think was supposed to be a happyish sort of ending. I don't know. I was definitely glad to just be done with this one.