I'm a sucker for books that have dogs in them so of course I had to read this one.

It's a sweet quick and easy read. Great for days when you just need something that will not take you a long time to read.

I like the characters and the story was sweet. It kept me reading.

I do recommend.

This was the ~*~perfect~*~ summer romance read for me. I loved Lucy & Calum (& of course, all the puppers) & I swooned/giggled (I know, giggled LOL) a lot through this precious romance! Just under 300 pages, I got through this pretty quickly & it was an enjoyable way to spend a summer morning on my patio :) I also did not realize this was #9 in the series, though I assume each of these books can be standalone because I didn't feel like I needed any more context from the previous 8 books?

I received an e-copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When you think of a classic romance book, this is it.

It features a quaint little town, female heroine with a dark past, a cute dog, independent business owners, a bookstore, and lots of sex.

There's something incredibly old-school about this book. So if you're nostalgic for an old-school written romance with more contemporary characters, this might be the book for you!

When Lucy's world cam crumbling down, she decided to start over somewhere new, opening up her very own book store. A year later, and she has a foster dog about to have puppies, a good friend in local Pins and Pints owner, Callum, and a staff full of women who would do anything for her. The book opens well. After that, it just didn't hold up to the hype. Callum tends toward domineering over supportive. Strong Lucy, despite her insistence of being independent, tends to defer to him. It wasn't for me.

Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher.

This book was a good read. There was so much going on that could possibly lead to another two or three books spinning off this one. I’m curious as to if Lucy and Calum were married. I’m curious about meeting each other’s family and if their baby was a girl or boy.

Sweet and cozy romance. So many second chances for this couple and their dog. Thank you NetGLley.

THE BOOKSHOP RESCUE by best-selling author Rochelle Alers is an amazing and heartwarming romance novel. This is Book #9 in Harlequin’s popular, Furever Yours Series.

In this installment, we get the romance story of Lucy Tucker and Calum Ramsey. Lucy is the owner of a bookstore and has been fostering a dog from Furever Paws Animal Rescue. Calum is the owner of the local bowling alley. The pair first meet each other when Lucy goes to introduce herself after moving and buying her business. Lucy moves into the town of Spring Forest after something personal happens to her. Since then, Lucy and Calum have found themselves attracted to each other. They share a kiss and Calum wants to ask Lucy out because he’s attracted to her, but he doesn’t want to ruin their relationship. Will Calum get the courage to ask Lucy out? Will Lucy and Calum get their chance at love? You will have to read THE BOOKSHOP RESCUE by Rochelle Alers to find out!

What I love about the book is the setting. I love reading books that are set in small towns and have that at home feel. I love the storyline and how it moves so seamlessly that I feel as if I live in the small town of Spring Forest. Even though I’m not an animal lover, I love how Ms. Alers brings attention to the plight of fostering and rescuing animals. I also love the slow burn of the romance between Lucy and Calum. I love that they start out as friends before anything else develops. The chemistry between the pair is sweet and simmering. I enjoyed reading about their journey to love as I felt I was there experiencing it first-hand.

Overall, I enjoyed reading THE BOOKSHOP RESCUE. This book bought out all of my emotions. I was laughing, cheering and crying as I was reading this book. Ms. Alers is one of my favorite authors to read and I know that I’m going to get an amazing and heart-warming story. Make sure to grab a copy of THE BOOKSHOP RESCUE!

I'm a fan of books mixing romance and pets and this one was a good match. I loved Buttercup and rooted for the characters.
It's a sweet and compelling story and I liked it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a sweet friends-to-lovers story. Lucy moved to Spring Forest to start over after her fiancé ran off with her best friend. She opened a bookstore and fosters a pregnant golden retriever named Buttercup. She made friends with fellow business owner Calum, who owns the bowling alley next door, Pins and Pints (I love that name!).

I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between Lucy and Calum. Thanks to the betrayal by her fiancé and friend, Lucy has a hard time trusting anyone. She introduced herself to Calum when she bought the building for the bookstore. She notices his good looks and charm but doesn't allow herself to look at him as anything other than a friend. Calum was attracted to Lucy from the start but respected her "friends" decision. Having been burned in a relationship during college, Calum has no plans to settle down soon. His business keeps him plenty busy and gives him an excellent excuse to avoid anything serious. It was sweet to see that Calum cares about Buttercup as much as Lucy does.

Calum helps Lucy the day that Buttercup has her puppies. The intense emotions of the event lead to them giving in to the feelings that flare up between them. But passion overcomes common sense, and soon Lucy discovers she's pregnant. Once he's over the shock, Calum finds himself happy about the baby and looking for ways to make Lucy a permanent part of his life. However, Lucy's trust issues cause her to maintain some distance between them. Both of them also have had problems with unreliable dads, which affects how they look at parenthood.

I loved Calum's protectiveness toward Lucy and how he tried to take care of her. It can be an uphill battle because Lucy is very independent and reluctant to depend on anyone except herself. The more time they spend together, the deeper their feelings grow, but neither says anything about it. Not only do they fear rejection, but neither wants to mess up their friendship. Things are progressing well between them until Lucy witnesses a confrontation between Calum and his father that sets off her insecurities. After a huge blow-up, she leaves and tells him she needs space. I ached for both of them because they were miserable apart. When Lucy calls her mom, she unloads her fears and worries and gets honest and straightforward advice. She has much to think about as she continues to avoid Calum. But when a medical emergency occurs, Calum is the first one she calls. Some emotional moments at the hospital showed how deep Calum's feelings were. I loved seeing them finally let go of the fears that kept them apart and look to the future as a family. The ending was adorable, with Buttercup playing a significant role.

I loved Buttercup and the part she played in Lucy's life. She was Lucy's friend and confidante and gave her someone to love. I liked how she took Buttercup to the bookstore with her. It was easy to see how much Lucy loved her and hated that she would have to give her up. I didn't understand that part since she could have applied to adopt Buttercup herself. The scene where Buttercup had the puppies was terrific, and I was so happy that Calum was there too. One of my favorite things was the names that Lucy gave the puppies: Fritter, Pancake, Beignet, Waffle, and Grits. It made me laugh that the author described the two girl pups as the wild ones.

While this is the ninth book in the series, I read it as a standalone. There were a couple of references to other couples that seemed like they were referring to previous books, but that was it. And while this has all the cute puppies the book promises, there were other issues that ruined the read for me.

“But like the name of her bookstore, Lucy was beginning chapter one of her best new life.”


Lucy and Calum both have their own reasons for not wanting a serious relationship. For Lucy, she moved to the small suburb of Spring Forest to get away from her cheating fiancé and all their friends, and so far, running the bookstore has been a wonderful fresh start. For Calum, owner of the bowling alley next door, he didn’t want to even think about starting a family until he had the means to support them, not to mention the trauma that having an alcoholic father has left him with. Both agree that they’re not interested in kids right now… though I’m sure you can guess how that turns out for them!

“With him, there was no pretense that had her second-guessing or looking for an ulterior motive. He was confident and forthcoming, while he hadn’t hesitated when expressing his views on marriage and becoming a father. She had hit the jackpot with him.”


First off, Buttercup, the pregnant golden retriever that Lucy is fostering, is adorable, as are her little of puppies! There’s plenty of sweet moments with Buttercup and hilarious antics with the puppies, so I definitely got my quota of happy romance dog. Having two main characters who are definitely not looking for something serious (ha, we know how that turns out) but are still (mostly) amazing at communication? I really liked that. They were, for the most part, both straight-shooters, though of course it took some time for each of them to open up to the other with their vulnerabilities. So, yeah, it’s a pretty cute romance with flawed-but-trying characters.

Unfortunately, there’s a strain of fatphobia running through the book that ruined the experience for me. There’s references to a side character avoiding certain foods due to age, and Lucy even spouts the classicly awful “A minute on my lips and forever on my hips” in reference to dessert. Even when characters push back on the amount she’s eating, she claims she eats enough to feel full, not overeat. Lucy’s references to weight and dieting came up repeatedly in the book and served absolutely no purpose in the plot and in fact actively jarred me out of it. Weight stigma is rooted in racism which makes it even more disappointing to find in a book with two Black leads.

Overall, a cute romance with cute dogs and unfortunately chock-full of fatphobia.

If you're looking for a romance to read,
This could be the very book that you need.
It is a story of folks who've been hurt before
Learning to love and trust once more.

Lucy Tucker's made a fresh start
A bookshop owner now, she's playing her part
Though she's reluctant to trust, she's still unsure
About her building attraction to the business man next door!

He's Calum Ramsey and he's helping her out
Being a friend and always about.
He's helped with her foster dog, Buttercup,
Determined to be there when she has her pups.

A heartwarming read, delightful to escape into,
This story has all the "Aww!" feels and five puppies, too!
In the past they were hurt by others they knew
Now they need to learn to trust others again, too.

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
It's a gentle, heartwarming read and this is my honest review.

This is a Romance, and this is the 9th book in the Furever Yours series. I have not read the other books in this series, but I do not think that hurt my enjoyment of this book. I loved the characters in this book. I also loved all the dogs in this book. I think I was living for the dogs as much as I was living for the romance in this book. I think this was a super cute fast moving romance with dogs with everything I wanted. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Special Edition) or author (Rochelle Alers) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Lucy Tucker and Calum Ramsey's story is a feel good read. You will get to spend time with Buttercup, the pregnant dog Lucy is fostering with Calum's help. Lucy and Calum meet when Lucy buys the bookstore next to Calum's business and then their friendship grows. I enjoyed learning about each of their pasts and how the past informs some of the decisions they make in the present. This is a great story and I even enjoyed the interactions with Buttercup and her puppies. I highly recommend this book for lovers of sweet romances.

I loved the premise of this one…bookshops and dogs? Yes! But at 50% in, the surprise pregnancy trope threw me out of the story. It’s one thing if it’s in the blurb and makes up a significant part of the story. It’s completely another if the horny couple can’t wait till they have proper protection to get it on, and then BOOM!

Lucy and Colum were owners of neighboring businesses. He's attracted to her but picks up on her reticence about relationships. They are friendly and supportive until one day things change between them and they move beyond friendship. After engaging in unprotected sex Lucy finds out she's pregnant.

Can Colum accept his past family failures to realize he's not his father and will be a more responsible father? Can Lucy put the betrayal of her fiance and best friend behind her to trust in Colum? This is an uplifting story of learning from mistakes on the past to embrace the future you imagine.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Bookshop Rescue by Rachelle Alers, book nine in the Furever Yours series is a sweet romance that is an easy and enjoyable read. Lucy Tucker moved to the town of Spring Forest, North Carolina after the betrayal of her fiancée with her best friend. She opened a bookstore and found some kind employees, but has a hard time trusting people again. Calum Ramsey is the owner of the nearby Pins and Pints bowling alley and has been attracted to Lucy since they met. They both have some past experiences that have shaped them into who they are today. They both care about Buttercup, the pregnant dog Lucy is fostering. After an exhausting night of helping deliver puppies, Lucy and Calum unexpectedly give in to their feelings and being unprepared and unplanned, results in consequences. These two likable people, who both make mistakes, slowly move towards each other, learning how to trust in love and each other. Buttercup and her puppies add another layer to the story and their names are adorable. I highly recommend The Bookshop Rescue to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

When I think of romance, I cannot help but think of Harlequin stories. Since I was young I knew that I would be in for a great little getaway to romance and a happily ever after. This sweet and adorable story was no exception. My inly complaint was that it was far too short. Plus! There's puppies. Highly recommend.

I can't say I was particularly invested in this story or its characters, but it was a quick, pleasant read. (I'm also not a dog person, so those details and aspects of the story will likely resonate much more with other readers.) I'll definitely be trying more from Rochelle Alers!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

The Bookshop Rescue was an easy, light read. Not too much angst, not too sexy, not too much conflict. I would almost compare it to a cozy night in—nothing wrong with it and sometimes exactly what one needs, but not life-altering in any way. I prefer books with a little more excitement, but this book is perfect for what it is.

DNF 19%

This sounded like a super cute premise and I’m a sucker for books with pets, especially when the pet brings a couple together. I was prepared for heteronormativity because it’s a Harlequin romance, but I figured this would be a fun, quick little read to brighten my day. Instead, I am just really tired of how food and health are correlated. I know this is a common occurrence, but honestly that just adds to my exhaustion. It was super sweet that Calum decided to send food over to Lucy after she gifted him books for his niblings, but her coworker commenting on how she can no longer eat from Pins and Pints for her health and continuing on about how when she was Lucy’s age she could eat whatever and now she has lists of can and cannot eat. I know the healthiness of food choices depends on an individual and their dietary needs and intolerances, but having someone randomly talking about how they can’t eat from a place just, i don’t know, maybe I’m being too sensitive but I don’t have the capacity to handle those kinds of comments in my books. I’m sure this will be a cute book and a sweet romance, but for myself it isn’t working. I hope it finds its audience and brightens peoples’ day.