Member Reviews
Thank you to Lizzie Shane, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pride & Puppies come out November 22, 2022!
After a dating a string of fake "Mr. Darcy's" (brooding yes, secretly softies no), Charlotte has decided to swear off men for six months and instead get a puppy. While preparing for her new puppy and getting used to being single she starts to get closer to her coworker and neighbor, George. George is such a sweet and patient guy that Charlotte thinks she could never fall for such a nice guy. Which is very unfortunate for George seeing how he has been infatuated with Charlotte since meeting her two years ago. With the thought that Charlotte will never feel the same way for him and the belief that he doesn't fit in the small town, he is contemplating moving back to Colorado to be closer to his family. But before long Charlotte starts to realize that nice guys might be her new type, at least she thinks that George might be her type.
I really enjoyed this book and the characters. It take a little bit for me to start getting into the story but after that I couldn't put it down. I really like both main characters individually and rooted for them to get together. Both characters had a good group of friends and family members to support them, in addition they both had adorable cuddly puppies. This book was very cute and I loved all of the Jane Aston references. I will for sure be reading more from this author is the future.
This was a sweet story. My only complaint was Charlotte's demeanor at times. She was very over the top at moments and for me personally, I am not a fan of this type of personality. Though we do see why she is like this later in the book. I loved George's relationship with his sisters! As a huge Jane Austen fan. I loved how it was incorporated into the story and the ending! I would definitely like to read the other stories in this series.
After a string of bad relationships, Charlotte swears off men and decides to focus her energy on getting a puppy instead. Enter George, her cute coworker who just happens to be secretly in love with her.
I hate to say it, but I had a hard time even finishing this book. The first couple of chapters were a promising start, but I very quickly found myself bored. The plot moved incredibly slowly. I didn't find either of the mc's likeable, nor did they seem to have any chemistry with each other. The internal dialogue was the same thing over and over again from both pov's.
I really wanted to like this book because I love Jane Austen, and the cover was so cute. But I just couldn't do it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Holy. Crap.
This book was phenomenal. The characters and relationship building was amazing. The characters all had well thought out backgrounds and stories. Their pasts played a huge part in their lives, and the author did an awesome job showing their thought processes and how this impacted their relationships.
The EMOTIONS that I felt reading this, especially the end. 🤯 As a constant over thinker, I really related to Charlotte, and I just loved her character. I also loved all of the more humorous parts and the Jane Austen references.
The community members were funny and interesting. I loved the best friends and the family members of Charlotte and George. I would read a separate book about any of them if Lizzie Shane wrote one!
Honestly, I could write pages sharing what I loved about this book, but I am going to keep it short. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fantastically written romance novel, and I will be purchasing a physical copy of this when it releases.
I really wanted to love this one. It’s still a happy go lucky romantic read, so by all means this is my own opinion, and I think many would like it. But for me, it was predictable and yet, unbelievable. What I mean is, she says she is getting a dog, then it goes to him, he has a dog. She loves Jane Austen, then it flashes to him, he’s a single 30 something that loves Austen. She’s swearing off men for 6 months, his lease to move states is up in 6 months… you kind of know where it’s going 20% in. If you’re looking for a light, predictable read, you should read this one. There’s nothing wrong with that, I think it’s cute, I just didn’t finish it with a book hangover.
A fast, romantic read with puppies, so it's hard to go wrong. The only thing I didn't really like about this book was the way the characters talked. It's hard to get interested in the romance when the dialogue doesn't sound real or relatable. Overall, enjoyed this but not a must read.
I legitimately had butterflies in my stomach for about 75% of this book. There is so much to love about it:
-Jane Austen quotes
-Puppies (obviously)
-Dual POV
-He falls first
-Ted Lasso references
-Charlotte's friend Kendall (I love a friend who will call you out on your BS but still loves and supports you)
-George's sisters are hilarious
-Emergency book club meetings (yes, this absolutely should be a thing. This was my favorite scene)
-Emma's book. I melted.
The 25% of the book I didn't love was a little more than halfway through.
-Charlotte's last name is Rodriguez, and there's only one scene where it's briefly mentioned that her dad was speaking in Spanish. No other reference was made to their culture throughout the book, so this just seemed really random to me. It was so unrelated to any other part of the story it had me wondering if this was to checkmark a diversity quota. Which doesn't feel right.
-Charlotte was definitely being clingy and asking for a lot, which granted was the point. Lizzie portrayed this quite well because I didn't like Charlotte during this portion when she was being unreasonable. Thankfully, Kendall was there to shake some sense into her. This probably shouldn't even count as a "dislike," because it was clear that this was the author's intention. She may have just done it a little too well lol.
But overall, I started with warm feels and ended with warm fells. I didn't want to put this book down. It was a great read! FYI this is a closed door romance.
This small town, dual POV, friends-to-lovers romance is inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Charlotte and George are colleagues and friends in Pine Hollow, Vermont. George is a warm cinnamon roll hero who moved to Vermont from Colorado to change things up and get his own HEA. Charlotte is a very outgoing person who is obsessed with finding her own Darcy and who has some insecurities to work through.
I liked the Jane Austen quotes sprinkled in throughout Pride & Puppies.
I liked the focus on self-growth in this book for both main characters. Rather than settling, Charlotte is determined to find someone who will love her as fully as she loves others. George starts to learn how to rely on people rather than being the person everyone else leans on.
I liked the side characters in this book. Charlotte’s best friends were an unfiltered breath of fresh air; I hope one of them gets a book. George’s sisters were a fun and supportive group.
The dogs were a really cute addition to the story — especially the fact that Charlotte adopts a puppy, and I got to read this book while cuddling my own puppy that I adopted 8 weeks ago!
A couple of parts of this book that dragged a bit. Charlotte let her insecurities get the best of her, denies her feelings, and she does something dumb (and frankly really annoying) that could’ve pushed George away. I assume this was done to show an obstacle in this friends-to-lovers story and for the sake of her character growth.
Overall, I enjoyed Pride & Puppies. It’s a feel-good romance, with some very cute moments, a theme of self-acceptance, and likable characters.
Just brilliant. Pride and Prejudice BUT WITH PUPPIES. It has everything I want in a book. Then I saw that she’s written more so OF COURSE I am going to go back and read them all.
Pride and Puppies is a cute small town romance. I love how each character's inner dialogue streams off the other's.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a very sweet, clean romance for those looking for Hallmark in a book. Unfortunately, I just found myself bored and not caring about the characters. The romance was also very meh to me.
2.5⭐️
This was such a cute and fluffy little romcon.
The town of Pine Hollow in Vermont gave off major Gilmore Girls vibes and who didn't love Stars Hollow?
Charlotte was looking for her Mr. Darcy and I think we all have that book boyfriend we covet that stands put above all the rest.
This was a friend's to lovers romance with all the typical romcon storyline.
George honestly seemed to be to good for Charlotte at first. She seemed to mayne take advantage of him. After reading futher and learning of her insecurities you will start to understand where she is coming from.
I would have liked a little more of Bob and Vivian but overall enjoyed this story! And of course PUPPIES!
This was such a cute romcom and Charlotte and George were great together! The friends to lovers was so well executed it had me giggling and kicking my feet. The tension and longing and realization were great and loved every second! I also enjoyed the Jane Austen references and died with George’s copy of Emma. He’s just such a good love interest. And I loved his relationship with his sisters! I also loved Charlotte as the main character. And let’s not forget the dogs if the story which I think were great characters in their own right. I loved Charlotte and George’s bonding over their dogs and how it brought the two friends even closer! My only problem with the story was there was too much miscommunication and just general lack of communication between George and Charlotte once they got together, but their cuteness as a couple and the puppies made up for it.
Overall, this was a cute romcom and I recommend it!
Read if you’re looking for…
•Friends to lovers
•Jane Austen references
•Puppies
•Small town romance
I seriously loved this book. It was just the cutest!! I had no idea that is is part of a series but you can definitely read it as a stand alone. Charlotte and George are truly opposte ends of the spectrum. Charlotte is just a bundle of energy and can be a little self centered at time but in a enduring way. While George is a super considerate, sweet, and selfless guy who seems to put others before himself. I found myself smiling throughout the entire book. I’m definitely going back to read the earlier books in the series.
** “I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
Pride and Puppies is a closed door romance with all the friends and family interventions that occur in a small town.
George and Charlotte are characters who deserve their HEA and to be each other's lightning.
The I’m not worthy/I’m not enough went on for too long but I enjoy visits to Lizzie Shane’s Pine Hollow. I also liked all the Pride and Prejudice references and of course…the puppies.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte is obsessed with Jane Austen and finding her Mr. Darcy. George is her coworker who has had a crush on her. Charlotte has a bad history of picking the wrong men and has decided to give up on dating and adopt a dog. She wants to help George find love and decides she should be matchmaker. Little does she know that her feelings towards him will change. The story was pretty predictable but was still very enjoyable. I loved dogs having a large presence in the story. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
🦮Pride and Puppies🦮
Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️
This was a Jane Austen inspired modern day romance. It was a cute romance wit the bonus of puppies! This is you Hallmark cute clean romance which I usually absolutely love. But Charlotte and George’s relationship just wasn’t my favorite. They both had a lot of problems that could have easily been fixed if they actually talked about important things and not just sweep everything under the rug or assume the worst.
Other than that this was a quick cute read. It gave the charm of a small town with the charm of a modern day Jane Austen love story. Plus everything is better with puppies! It doesn’t say this book is apart of a series but there are other romance books by Lizzie based in the small town with characters you meet in this book.
Thank you NetGalley, Lizzie Shane and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for proving me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was a super cute and quick read for me. I loved all the Jane Austen references, and of course all the puppies involved.
At first I really enjoyed reading from Charlotte's POV, up until she kept talking so negatively about herself. I get that she feels a certain way about herself due to all her past relationships, but it was the same line repeated over and over and over again.
George is probably one of my least favorite MMC just because he was so annoying about the friendzone nonsense. It was almost like he felt that she owed him the time of day during some points in this book, and I really had a hard time rooting for him to get the girl in the end.
The miscommunication trope just didn't work for me in this one, but I did like how the author wrote the friends-to-lovers/HEA.
Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing & Lizzie Shane for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to release on November 22, 2022.
Trope- Small town romance, best friends to lovers, ‘it’s always been you’ trope.
I really enjoyed this book. It got me out of a reading slump. I was really excited to get into it (because look at the dogs on the cover)🥺. I, personally, felt a little disconnected from the book because there were a lot of Jane Austin references and I have only read Pride and prejudice for school like 4 years ago. It, shockingly gave me a lot of Gilmore girl vibes. As it was also a small town romance and the names of the town of this book and Gilmore girls is similar. I was a little different for me to like the FMC at first because BRO the guy was perfect and she didn’t see him as such. But when I started getting into it, it was entertaining. I recommend this from the bottom of my heart!❤️
Btw, I would KILL for a physical copy of this book. The cover is so adorable, I’m obsessed.
*ARC issued by NetGalley.
This was a cute book for all dog lovers who also love a good romance! While somewhat predictable, the storyline is cute and I kept reading because I loved the puppy aspect. Easy, quick read I would recommend to anyone who wants a good romance.