Lizzie Shane returns with another 5-star small-town romance that will have you swooning! I’ve loved Shane’s Pine Hollow series over the past 3 years and Pride and Puppies *might* be my favorite of the 4 books.

Charlotte and George’s friendship-turned-more was a delightful journey from start to finish. Both characters were likable, relatable, and I was rooting hard for their happiness.

I loved how self-aware both MCs were yet there were still blind spots and deep-rooted beliefs that had to be overcome. I always enjoy a romance that’s a little messy, when the HEA takes some work.

Here’s the part where I admit that I’ve never read Jane Austen 🙈 so all of the Darcy/Bingley/etc references made no sense to me. Maybe it’s time to finally pick up one of her classics!

The side characters in this book were a wonderful addition to the story, helping make the main characters come alive. I really hope Shane’s next book is going to center around one of Charlotte’s besties! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Oh! I have to add that the puppies nearly stole the show in this one, just like all the other Pine Hollow books. If you’re a dog lover, you really need to read this series. It pubbed on November 22 and is available now!

✨Review - ‘Pride and Puppies’ by @
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This is book 4 of a series that I haven’t read, but it worked well as a stand alone. After a string of failed relationships, Charlotte swears off men and adopts a puppy instead, much to the dismay of George, who has been secretly pining over Charlotte for years. Will the ‘Puppy Pact’ hold, or will George be able to move out of the friend zone?
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This was a pretty classic romcom:
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🏘️- small town vibes (in Vermont, no less)
💕- friends to lovers trope
🩺- a leading lady in STEM (so common these days!)
🧁- a sweet lineup of supporting characters
🐾- and of course, lots of puppy love

Honestly, while this book was a little predictable, sometimes you just want to read something comfortable, and this book was definitely that! It was delightfully bingeable without being overly suspenseful, and I loved that it was full of Jane Austen references!
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Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute. It’s not what I was expecting, but I think I’m glad. I’d recommend for a cute, fun read.

I’m a huge Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen fan so I was incredibly excited to read this.

This book was delightful to read and George was such a cinnamon roll of a main character!! The small town was charming, I loved all the puppies, and all the characters were complex and funny!

Both main characters were great even though there were some moments I wanted to smack a little sense into Charlotte. She had the best of intentions but talk about not seeing what is right in front of you.

Overall this was a fun read and I would recommend it to ant Austen fan!

I could not get into this book, I think it could be a good read but it did not interest me enough to get past the first few chapters

3.5 stars for this small-town friends-to-lovers closed-door romance featuring lots of dogs and a cinnamon roll hero!

If you love Jane Austen, Lizzie Shane's "Pride & Puppies" is for you. My goodness, she really hammers in the Austen, even going as far as including a quote from one of Austen's works at the beginning of each chapter! The main characters, Charlotte and George, are both mildly obsessed with Jane Austen in one way or another. There are frequent references to Austen characters, including potentially naming a dog one of them. I requested this book because, duh, puppies, and in that regard, it delivers. This book is full of dogs, so cat lovers need not apply.

George and Charlotte both want one another. Where George is outwardly pronounced with his affection toward Charlotte, she secretly pines for someone just like George, though she can't make the connection that he is her nice-guy Prince Charming in the small town of Pine Hollow. Unfortunately, Charlotte has recently sworn off men after jumping from one relationship to the next (the last of which ended when he cheated on her). George fell has fallen in love with Pine Hollow but is struggling to find a sense of home and feel accepted by the town. He has been in love with Charlotte for quite some time. They live in the same complex, work near each other, and are friends. Will Charlotte finally realize they are made for each other?

Lizzie Shane has managed to write a sweet, sometimes funny, clean romance in "Pride & Puppies." It doesn't reinvent the wheel or grow beyond the "Pride and Prejudice" format, but it's a decent enough read with nothing too offensive or wonderful going on. Though it gets sort of boring around the middle of the story, it is still a quick read. I got through it in a day. It may leave you screaming at your Kindle as Charlotte's obliviousness where George is concerned. Charlotte is portrayed as a smart, capable character despite her insecurities, but when it comes to George, she's a bit of a dolt (and it gets worse the longer the book goes on). George is a sacchrine-sweet cinnamon roll hero who pines and pines and pines and yearns for Charlotte to notice him. If only we could all find a George in real life! I wonder if Lizzie Shane is going to write other books based on some of the secondary characters. It seems like she sets the stage for future works...I sure would read them despite my critiques here.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lizzie Shane, and Forever - Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

I think if you love Jane Austen, you would appreciate this book more than I did.

I found the Austen quotes before every chapter a little much. Although they tied into the chapter well, I found myself skipping them about 50% of the way through.

I also didn't really like the main characters. It felt like they were super sabotaging on themselves and it took way too long for them to 'figure things out'. And all the "finding Mr. Darcy" was..... a lot.

I initially chose this book as wanting to read because umm, hello, PUPPIES! I have 4 and a huge proponent of rescue pups. I did like the way the rescue was written about.

This book was an absolute delight to read. I found myself laughing and smiling throughout so much of it, until suddenly I was fighting back tears. It was a sweet, emotional read filled with the perfect blend of Austen and puppies.

Charming and believeable modern romance with complex characters, fantastic dogs, well-drawn setting, and an enjoyable connection to Pride & Prejudice.

Ahhh, this was so cute. I'm pretty sure that we are going to get to see the romances for the other women in the "puppy pact," and I'm delighted to see more. I love Charlotte; her issues matching up with mine pretty well, so I was bonus into her story. I'm not a big Austin fan, but that isn't a barrier here. Just jump in for the friends to lovers and the cute dogs.

Loved the dogs and loved the premise. The book feels a bit long and kind of stale towards the middle. There doesn’t seem to be a buildup before Charlotte and George get together. No tension. So when they get together (finally) it’s just kind of eh.

Who doesn't love a puppy? I know I love them. Of course, after raising one for the last year I'm more of a grandparent, I give them love and you take them home when I'm done. Our dog and his energy are all I can take.

I really enjoyed this story. George is one of my favorite heroes. I just love him. He's the sweetest, nicest guy. Maybe too nice. At times I wanted him to just say no. You will really like his interactions with his sisters. They are so funny. I did feel sorry for him when he felt left out of life in his new town. He didn't seem the type of person to not make friends but here he was lonely.

I also liked Charlotte. At times though I wanted to smack her upside the head. Her heart is in the right place but she just could see what was right in front of her face. She was her own worse enemy. I totally loved her friends. They are the best. Her sisters are wonderful too.

I have to admit I really liked so many people in this story. They all made the story so much better.

Pride and Puppies is a great story that you'll totally enjoy. You'll love Charlotte's ride of figuring out that she loves George. I think you'll also enjoy George finding his people. It's sweet that he finds friends and starts to feel part of the town.

This book is CUTE!

I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen, and puppies, so when this book came across my feed I had to give it a try and it was the perfect weekend cutesy read!

This is a closed door romance for those not interested in spice, with a Vermont sized load of good vibes!

George and Charlottes story was so cute and Bingley stole the show as the cutest little golden retriever puppy.

Sometimes, you just need a sweet read with a nice HEA. The storyline with this one is relatively low stakes, and I enjoyed this sweet calm read.

I recommend this one to fans of cute contemporary romance. Need a book to recommend to literally anyone who enjoyed cute romance? This is it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I am a huge Jane Austen fan, and I will never stop talking about how much I love her work. The name of Pride and Puppies immediately drew me in. A main character who loves Jane Austen AND puppies? I was intrigued.

I loved that every chapter of Pride and Puppies starts with a quote from an Austen novel. They effectively set the stage for each chapter and give the reader a sense of what to expect. Austen’s influence on the characters certainly is felt throughout the story. Charlotte and her sisters are all named after Austen characters, and George annotates a copy of Emma for Charlotte.

Charlotte immediately won me over. She is concerned that she is “too much” and “needy,” but I never got that sense reading the story. She just struck me as a passionate and caring person who is absolutely worthy of love. George, similarly, is very likeable. At the beginning, I felt bad for George that he was pining after Charlotte who had sworn off men. From the begining of the book though, it’s clear that Geroge and Charlotte care a lot about each other. They have such a strong friendship that makes their romantic relationship even stronger. Charlotte is willing to give up tickets to Hamilton to help George when his dog is sick, and George takes care of Charlotte when she’s injured.

The fact that Charlotte and George are both great dog parents just makes them that much more endearing. Charlotte makes sure to send her puppy, Bingley, to training, and she makes sure he even has a place to sleep when she spends time at George’s home. Their mutual love for their dogs just brings them closer together.

I will admit that there were times when I felt like George is a little too perfect. He’s great at his job, a great musician, a great brother. I didn’t blame Charlotte for worrying that he spends a lot of time humoring her rather than focusing on his own needs. I never doubted though that George cared deeply about her.

Both Charlotte and George are close with their families. George has a book club with his sisters, which is so cute. He supports his sister when she’s having marital problems and contemplates moving back to Denver just to be there for her. Charlotte and her sisters lost their mom young, but they have an annual Jane Austen tea in part to pay tribute to her.

Pride and Puppies is a pretty PG-13 romance novel. There are references to intimacy between Charlotte and George, but it is alluded to rather than being described in detail. It felt fitting for a story that heavily references Austen’s work.

I was thrilled when I realized that Pride and Puppies is the fourth book of a series. I will certainly go back and read the rest of the books that precede it.

When Dr. Charolette Rodriguez finds herself single again, she can’t help but to blame the one and only Jane Austen. She is done with falling for the wrong guy and never finding her own Mr. Darcy. Instead of jumping back into the dating pool, she jumps into becoming a dog mom to her new puppy, Bingley. She leans into her neighbor, co-worker and fellow pet parent George for puppy advice. Soon the four of them start to become inseparable and even though Charlotte has sworn off dating, she begins to realize she is starting to fall for George. Things become even more complicated when George debates moving back to Colorado. Now Charlotte must either admit her feelings for George or let him go forever.

This was another wonderful book in the Pine Hollow Series. I love how much the dogs play such a central character. I only wish I had my own pup to do a photoshoot with for this book. I still need to go back and read the first two in this series. However, you don’t need to read these in order and are great as stand alone reads.

Thank you Net Galley, Forever and Lizzie Shane for the early copy for my review. This book was published last week, so no excuse not to run out and get it now.

After a bad breakup, Jane Austen obsessed Charlotte swears off men to focus on herself and decides to replace a man in her life with a golden retriever puppy. George, one of Charlotte’s colleagues, has had a crush on her for ages and when she breaks up with her boyfriend he sees it as his opportunity with her. Because she has sworn off men, George and Charlotte develop a friendship that eventually leads to feelings on Charlotte’s side as well as George’s.

While I love Jane Austen I found myself growing tired of all the references and the characters comparing themselves and those around them to situations and people in Jane Austen books. I think someone who does not like or have an understanding of Austen’s works would really struggle with this book. I found Charlotte to be a very frustrating protagonist. Somehow I was supposed to believe that this woman was a doctor but erratic and impulsive behavior had me questioning her maturity level at every turn. And I’m sorry, but a breakup is not an excuse to get a dog on a whim. A dog is a 10ish year commitment and it should not be made as a spur of the moment decision. Also on what planet does a busy doctor have the time to train and care for a puppy. I liked George fine, but found the relationship between him and Charlotte to be forced and didn’t feel any heat or chemistry beyond friendship between the two. I’m sorry I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pride & Puppies is the newest book in the Pine Hollow series and I just love these books!

Charlotte has always been a Jane Austen fan and struggled to find her own Mr. Darcy. She has sworn off men and adopted a puppy - Bingley. She turns to her neighbor and friend George for pet advice and maybe starts to have feelings...

Pine Hollow is such a cute small town. I love seeing Charlotte and George finally get together and the Jane Austen references throughout. Plus who doesn't want a sweet romance that has lots of puppies in it!

I liked the lesson that Charlotte learned over the course of the book and how it made her more accepting of the love she deserves. I think that George is so sweet and everyone deserves a man like him! Some times the miscommunication was difficult to not get frustrated at.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC of Pride & Puppies in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have only read one work by Jane Austen, so I was a bit intimidated to start this loose retelling of Pride & Prejudice with an Austen-obsessed female main character. Each chapter starts with a quote from an Austen novel (not just P&P), and I really enjoyed the tone these quotes assisted in setting and I felt like they gave me a good sense of Austen's writing. My very first book club with my high school girl friends hit a roadblock when we tried to read P&P and now, 20+ years later, I think I may attempt it myself! Or maybe watch one of the movies (which I've also never seen!)...
Pride & Puppies has an adorable small-town Vermont setting with equally adorable main characters (and their pups), which made for an easy and enjoyable read. The FMC starts a Puppy Pact to While I felt the romance was a bit slow to get going, I appreciated how it showed the MMC pined for the FMC.
This was my first book by Lizzie Shane and I would definitely read her work again. I did not realize it was part of a series and read it as a stand-alone, but I don't think I missed anything important. If you enjoy slow-burn friends-to-lovers with the addition of a rescued pup and a small-town setting, this could be a good pick for you. It reminded me of a good Christmas movie on TV - so if that's your jam, I think you'll like it!

Just another Pride and Prejudice remake. I wanted to love this book. Pride and Prejudice has been my favorite book since I was 10 years old, so I love reading the remakes. However, the problem with basing your storyline off one of the most famous books ever written, is that it has to add something new to the mix. Unfortunately, this book didn't do this.

The book was bland and followed the same pathways of the original without challenging the format, stereotypes, or problems. Even the premise of having the girls get puppies to avoid relationships seemed extremely shallow and undermined how challenging genuine dog ownership in a single individual household can be. It made it more satirical instead of relatable. Ultimately, a simple and easy read if you aren't looking for deep content.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.