I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars on this one....Lane and Scout had the makings of a cute reconciliation/2nd chance at their marriage romcom. But we missed out on what brought then together other than a whirlwind vegas romance. We didn't get to see their chemistry and are instead left with enemies to lovers but with a blaring lack of communication. The author plays up on the physical attraction between the hero and heroine but doesn't go any deeper with their connection. Also the heroine's blaring self negativity didn't really move the story along effectively. I did enjoy the dual POV but would have loved some more substantial flashbacks to really help the reader root for Lane and Scout.

A cute sequel to the Daschund Wears Prada with all the pupdates one could hope for that now has me hoping that August's story next because the glimpses of her crush have me so curious!

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I loved Scout's story just as much as her best friend Isla. Stephanie London is on fire with her new animal series!!!!!! Can't wait to read more from this series.

This is the second book of this author’s Paws in the City series, but you can read it as a standalone. (I did without any issues.) The majority of Stefanie London's books I’ve read have been rom-coms, and while this one does have its fun and quirky moments, it was a much more emotional read. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I enjoyed coming along for the ride as she delved into deeper emotions than anything else of hers I’d read before.

Scout and Lane did a lot of growing and maturing in this story. I couldn’t help but cheer for them individually and as they came together as a couple as they opened their eyes, mind, and hearts to the possibilities for forgiveness and restoration between themselves and their estranged family members. The book hooked me from the first chapter and held me captive, and entertained me throughout its entirety

I really enjoyed this second chance, dual POV, steamy NYC romance that was full of heart AND cute pet sidekicks!! The second book in the Paws in the City series, sees Scout vying for a promotion at Isla's new pet talent/PR firm. The catch, in order to fix a mistake, she's forced to turn to her not so ex husband for a favor - the man she married recklessly in Vegas and hasn't seen for five years.

I have been loving this series that has the perfect amount of emotional depth with sizzling chemistry and spicy open door scenes. Throw in complex family baggage and the most hilarious canine hijinks and these books are pure entertainment.

Great on audio narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I can't wait to see where this series goes next. Perfect for fans of Lauren Layne or Kate McMurray.

Pets of Park Avenue by Stefanie London, book two in her Paws in the City series, is a heartwarming, moving, second chance rom-com that is the story of a self-confessed hot mess who learns that life is more fun when things don't go according to plan. Scout is a certified hot mess, but with the help of her friend Isla and a steady job she loves and excels at she feels she is finally starting to get her life together. A photoshoot goes very wrong and she is in need of a dog double for some future commitments. It just so happens her estranged husband Lane has an identical dog, Twinkle Stardust, she could use to fix things; if he agrees. They married five years ago after a whirlwind fling in Vegas and only last a month married before Scout ran away without looking back. Despite it being five years, they never divorced. Scout is afraid seeing Lane again will revive the feelings they once had, as their chemistry was off the charts. Lane is a kind and genuine man who is unable to turn Scout away; especially since she needs his help. He agrees to let Scout borrow his adorable Star, but only if he can accompany them to the appointments. The adorable animals are still the stars of this book, but there is definitely a strong emotional bond to both Scout's estranged husband and the grandparents who turned their back on her. Scout not only learned from her past mistakes, she became more confident in herself, especially with the help of Lane, and her partner Isla. Having a second chance with Lane allowed Scout to finally love herself and reach for all that she deserved in life.

Ms. London wrote a humorous, emotional, heartwarming, second chance romance between two people who were too young and broken the first time, are brought together again by a dog and an undeniable attraction. Dog antics, romance, instagram craziness, and sisterly bonds all added additional layers to this amazing story leading Scout, Lane, and Star to find a future together. I highly recommend Pets of Park Avenue to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Scout is eager to prove to her family that she's not the hot mess her mother was. For the past six months, she's had a steady job at a pet talent agency. When she needs a stand-in for a client's bichon frisé, she immediately thinks of her husband's adorable dog—the husband she hasn't seen in five years. Will She and Lane get a second chance at love?

I love Stefanie London! This book is whimsical and heartwarming with well-developed characters and an engaging plot. Unlike her family, Lane appreciates Scout for who she is, even if she's spontaneous and unconventional. Despite their history, it's clear they belong together.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

In book 2 of the Paws in the City we see more from Scout the self proclaimed hot mess. She really just wants to prove she is responsible enough to get the promotion and raise her sister. Her grandparents see her more as an irresponsible and impulsive kid, and her month long marriage to Lane doesn’t help her case.

While they have been separated for five years now Scout is in need of his dog to be a stand in for the dog she colored pink by accident.

Being in close proximity to each other makes them realize their feelings didn’t just disappear.

I loved seeing them grow and communicate and work through what went wrong the first time around and giving their relationship a second chance.

What a great second chance romance with a chaotic hot mess of a woman who is not yet divorced from her husband, who in his right is a mess and doesn’t want to acknowledge it. His mess is that he is anal, and constantly trying to plan his world. Of course there is also the cutest dog ever, so what you get is a second chance romance with Scout, Lane, and Star. A fun read all around. I loved how Stephanie London creates believable characters that I certainly relate to

Marry in haste, repent at your leisure?
Their first month together was total pleasure
But then she felt written off again
So left, even though it brought her great pain.

Five years on, they're still apart
Both of them suffering a broken heart.
When a pink catastrophe bring them in contact once more
Thanks to the Star pooch they both adore.

Get ready for mishaps, mayhem and romance
With a wedding or two if they'll give love a chance!
So many misunderstandings needing righting at last
To enable all to move on and leave behind the past.

Two families filled with dramas and secrets untold
Will be revealed as the story unfolds.
Cute dogs, puppies and photoshoots, too,
Will getting divorced help prove their love that is true?

A different story that's fun to read,
With great characters and laughter - is it just what you need?
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

The second book in the Paws in the City series is just as charming and fun as its predecessor, The Dachshund Wears Prada. In this second-chance romance story, Scout needs the help of her estranged husband to get her out of a difficult (and hysterical) work problem. I like the dual POV method of telling the story. The plot itself is cute as well. Who doesn’t love pets and their quirks? There could have been a bit more to Scout and Lane’s relationship (it boiled down simplistically), but that’s nitpicky. Still everything someone could want in a rom-com. For more details, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. This review was written based on a digital copy of the book from Harlequin Trade Publishing.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my ARC copy in exchange for honest review of the book. I loved The Dachshund loves Prada and was eagerly looking forward to the sequel with Scout as our protagonist. I wanted to love this book and finish it quickly as I did the first one but that just did not happen for me. I finished it but more out of a sense of obligation to see the plot ;line through to the end. I am not sure what exactly did not work for me but something was missing. I think it was some of the secondary characters just seemed a bit flat and fell into the background. And it seemed like Scout, Lane, her grandparents and his family, could have solved all their issues if they would have talked in the last 5 years. While they all finally had those conversations at the end, it all seemed too convenient. In fact, Star really wasn't even that front and center in book. Maybe at bit in the beginning but once she started her acting out, she slipped to the background. Even Isla's wedding to Theo was told and not shown. I hope you have a better experience with the book than I did.

PETS OF PARK AVENUE – Stefanie London
Paws in the City, Book 2
HQN
ISBN: 978-1-335-49819-9
December 6, 2022
Contemporary Romance

New York City – Present Day

Scout Myers’s life is spiraling out of control even as she worries whether or not she will be able to keep her job. She works at Paws in the City, a pet talent agency, and loves her work, but she worries that her boss (who happens to be her best friend) might decide to fire her if more disasters occur. At the latest job where Scout has taken a pet, she accidentally spills permanent color dye on the dog, which means it will be out of commission until its hair can grow back. Thinking quickly, Scout realizes that she knows of another dog who looks like the out-of-commission dog—her estranged husband’s dog.

Scout shows up at Lane Halliday’s door asking the impossible. Can she “borrow” his dog, Star, for an important shoot? Lane agrees but wants to be present at the shooting. It’s been years since Scout has seen Lane. They married on a whim in Las Vegas, but it ended when she walked out on him. They were carrying too many secrets and issues to make a marriage work. However, despite not having been in contact for years, neither has initiated a divorce. While they agree that it’s time to end their marriage, they can’t stop their feelings for each other from flaring up once again. As Star is needed for additional jobs, Scout and Lane continue to be around each other and can’t help but give in to the passion once again. Will they realize that they are still in love with each other?

Scout grew up with an irresponsible mother who finally abandoned Scout and her younger sister at their grandparents. Unfortunately, the grandparents kicked Scout out when she was eighteen because they feared she was becoming like her mother. They still care for Scout’s now thirteen-year-old sister and have refused to turn custody over to her. Now they are planning to move to California. Scout hopes a job promotion that includes a pay raise will allow her to get custody. But one thing that has also hung up the issue is Scout’s marriage to Lane as her grandparents disapproved of it and saw it as another sign of her irresponsibility. Will the divorce help? Or does the fact that they’re seeing each other again cause problems?

Lane has felt unappreciated by his family despite his success in software development. When he married Scout, he didn’t tell his family, which made her question his commitment even more. Was the marriage a mistake, despite their sizzling attraction for each other? In the intervening years, Lane has had a falling out with his brother, who stole from him. Now the brother is trying to worm his way back into Lane’s life. Can he forgive his brother, who swears that he’s trying to change his life? What about his feelings for Scout? He can’t deny that he is still attracted to her but is it just lust and not the forever kind of love? Once they are around each other again, he wonders if they can make a go of it, even as they push the divorce proceedings ahead.

PETS OF PARK AVENUE is a cute and funny tale that will make you smile at the antics of Scout and Lane, as well as Star the dog. It’s clear that their old feelings aren’t dead, but they have a lot of baggage to unpack before they can forge a future together. It’s a journey that readers will enjoy watching and being along for the ride. Don’t miss PETS OF PARK AVENUE.

Patti Fischer

Pets of Park Avenue is such a fun book! This is the second book in the Paws in the City series and I adored it!

Second chance romance with a little of oh it's been five years since I've seen my husband and I guess we've should actually get divorced and a cute pup that helps bring them back together. It was fun to see Scout & Lane grow and communicate in their relationship and the mishaps that Scout gets into with the Paws in the City agency.

While this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone but these books are so awesome you should read both!

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Pets of Park Avenue by Stefanie London is the second book in her Paws in the City series that features both pets, and New York City. This can be read as a stand-alone.

Story Recap:
Scout Myers is a self-proclaimed hot mess and works for her best friend at a pet-influencing company. When Scout messes up a photo shoot of a Bichon Frise, the only way to get out of the mess is to borrow her husband's dog, an exact doppelganger for the dog she accidentally dyed pink. The only problem? She hasn’t talked to her husband in over five years after she walked out on him.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this second-chance romance very much. The fact that Scout and her husband were still married, but hadn’t talked to each other in five years was a bit of a stretch for me, but I just went with it and I’m so glad I did! I found their emotional reunion very powerful and loved watching them fall in love again.

Scout is a very relatable character, and I just wanted her to succeed so much. She claims she’s a hot mess, but she is very intuitive and great with people. She’s very conscientious and hardworking and I love that in a heroine. Lane, her husband, is adorable and I love the way he cares for his family, and still has strong feelings for Scout. Any man who loves an adorable Bichon Frise is a good man.

I also enjoyed seeing the characters from the last book again. And I love the New York City setting. I loved the dog aptly named Twinkle Stardust, who had a big part in trying to get her “parents” back together.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend Pets of Park Avenue to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A second chance romance between 2 people who were to young and broken the first time, brought together again by a dog and an undeniable attraction

Scout is a certified hot mess, but with the help of her friend Isla and a steady job she loves and excels at she feels she is finally starting to get her life together. A photoshoot goes very wrong and she is in need of a dog double for some future commitments. It just so happens her estranged husband Lane has an identical dog that she could use to fix things. They got married years ago after a whirlwind fling in Vegas and only last 1 month married back in the real world. Will seeing him again revive their feelings, or will the reasons she left all those years ago still hold them back from their undeniable chemistry?

I had so much fun with this one, Lane was the perfect love interest.

This was a cute second chance love story! It was a quick read and pulled me in right away. I really liked the female mc, Scout. She was intelligent, determined, independent, and loving. She really grew throughout the story and I loved that she finally realized everything she had to offer to others. Lane was also wonderful and he was such a teddy bear. They were a great pair and their chemistry was perfect!!

London excels at rom-com with a healthy side of emotional healing! With the second book in the Paws in the City series we get BFF Scout's story. Fans from Isla's book will recognize her and be able to jump into the heart of their biz quickly. The adorable animals are still front and center in this book, but there's a strong emotional tie in with this book to both Scout's estranged husband and the family that turned their back on her. I really enjoyed seeing her grow in her ability to love herself and reach for all that she deserved in life. Great characters, humor and happily ever afters!

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that loves a good bit of humor with their romance.

I liked that this book had the dual POV that showed Scout and Lane’s perspectives as the story progressed. However, the scenes felt reminiscent of a movie–with quick (sometimes awkward) jumps to a point in the future only to spend a good part of the chapter explaining what happened between the time jumps. I felt like there was a lot of backtracking needed to explain the in-between parts, when we could’ve just seen those scenes play out.

It also struck me as a little peculiar that Scout was so unsure of herself and her capabilities at her job. I get that she was fired from jobs in the past so she’s a little scarred, but the company she currently works for is run by her best friend. So, it was odd that Scout was afraid to ask about her work performance or to take on more responsibilities. Though, perhaps it’s more difficult to ask those questions of a boss who is also a close friend than of someone who is strictly just the boss.

All in all, I thought that Pets of Park Avenue was a sweet story about second chances and figuring out what you really want in life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advance copy of this title for review. All opinions are my own and are honestly given.

In Pets of Park Avenue, the second book in the Paws in the City series, free-spirit Scout and disciplined Lane find themselves reunited 5 years after their whirlwind Vegas marriage and equally whirlwind breakup. After Scout accidentally dyes pink one of the most important clients in her pet talent agency, she knows the perfect dog to stand in as a replacement at upcoming photo-shoots— unfortunately, that dog belongs the estranged husband she vowed to never see again after their ill-fated marriage. Lane reluctantly agrees to allow Star, his Bichon Frise, to be used for Scout’s agency’s upcoming bookings, with the proviso that he is always there on set. However, the more time that Scout and Lane spend together, the more they remember what drew them together in the first place, and now they must decide whether to divorce once and for all or to give their marriage another try.

Pets of Park Avenue was funny, charming, sweet, deeply romantic, and I had a great time reading it! I loved both characters— self-described ‘hot mess’ Scout who is just trying to do her best for her sister and to show her family that she is a responsible adult, and steady, disciplined Lane who is trying to deal with his own family issues and to find that there’s more to life than work. I love in romance novels when the leads grow as individuals and together as a partnership, and Scout and Lane’s growth showed how much they had matured since their last attempt at a relationship and that they really earned their happy ending together as a couple. Pets of Park Avenue is the perfect read for lovers of the second-chance romance trope, rom-com lovers, or dog lovers (or all three!). I would definitely recommend Pets of Park Avenue and think it will be a great fit for our digital collection. 5 stars.

“Pets Of Park Avenue” is the SECOND book (which I didn’t realize!) of London’s “Paws In the City” series. Please don’t let this deter you! This book easily stands on its own, and I had no problem grasping the bits of backstory to fully understand POPA. London adds the right amount of anecdotes to bring a new reader up to speed without being overly wordy.

I found POPA to be a charming read that hits the right amount of sass, tough moments, and tenderness. It was easy to see and understand why Scout felt and thought the way she did, and I loved seeing that it was with the love and support of people she had chosen to bring into her life (her best friend Isla, new friend August, and estranged husband Lane) that she was able to find her way. You really feel for both Scout and Lane in this dual-POV writing style.

I truly enjoyed this book, so much so that as soon as I finished reading, I immediately jumped over to iBooks to buy the ebook of “The Dachshund Wears Prada.”

I realize this is an ARC, and there are still edits to be made, but I had to jot down three glaring issues that really bothered me:

Chapter 9:

Dress shop scene

It’s a love “ballad,” not a “ballet.” Noted twice.

Chapter 18:

It’s “renounced,” not “denounced.”
“renounce” means “to give up, refuse, or resign usually by formal declaration,” or “to refuse to follow, obey, or recognize any further”

“denounce” means “to pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil”

Scout’s grandparents kicked her out of their lives, but never claimed she was EVIL.

Chapter 25:

Remi would surely be looking to raise her profile as a dancer and help bring more at- tention to her husband’s show—in which she had the starring role—and *Star* could use Lamington’s cute face and adorable antics to grow the Paws in the City business.

*should be Scout. Star is the dog. (This didn’t bother me so much as briefly confuse me.)

Thanks to publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for permitting me to read and review this ARC.