2.5 stars. The premise is fun—FMC’s dog turning into a man, magical family, and neighbor/friends to lovers. Animal lovers will delight in the way the book captures the joy animals bring. Rest of the book (romance, family dynamics) was bland/boring and could have been better developed.

Thanks NetGalley Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC.

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book and I loved it! I was so surprised because I do not normally love romance novels! This book had the best banter! It struck me as a corny premise, but I was SO WRONG! The FMC was hilarious, flawed and super relatable to me. Her dog gets turned into a human at the very beginning of the book. The way that Stella Hayward voiced the dog/man is expertly crafted. The dog was exactly how I imagine dogs would speak. As a dog lover, I was hooked! It was unexpectedly deep in it’s character growth and topics. There is a bit of realistic magic that I feel enhanced the story so much! I hope if this isn’t your usual genre that you take a chance on The Good Boy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 for this Good Boy! If Romance is your genre then you will LOVE this book! If Romance isn’t your genre like me, then I hope you give it a chance anyway! I would also say that if you love doggos and pets, then this is a MUST READ! Release date is JULY 8, 2025 and can be preordered now! I’m definitely buying a copy for my shelf! #BookTok #romance #bookish #booknerd #doglovers #reading #magic #fantasy #ARC Thank you to @Avon Books @NetGalley @HarperCollins and Stella Hayward for the privilege of reading this ARC!

"I think happiness is a thing that you can catch in your teeth, if you are always on the lookout for it and ready to jump."

I love magical realism. I love silly stories. This was one of the silliest I've ever read, but it was exactly what I needed on my third snow day in a row. This was a pure comfort book.

The humanization of Rory was done artfully and comedically, with so much emphasis on the unconditional love between dog and human. Rory was easily the best boy, the best man, and best human in this book, and I loved watching the development of his unconditional love with Genie. There were more times where I felt frustrated by Genie's insistence against the quest than I ever felt against Rory's trials and errors as a human, but Genie is a human first and foremost. I can't blame her when I do the same thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Genie finds herself in a bit of a mess after a drunken late birthday night wish comes true and her dog becomes a human man. She has to navigate Rory being a human and enlists the help of her neighbor Miles. Which means she also has to navigate not fessing up to her long time neighbor and friend that she wishes they were more than that.

The banter is funny, the characters are quirky and unique in interesting ways and this is definitely a plot I haven't seen before.

If you're looking for a slow burn, friends to lovers romance, but still plenty of fun, The Good Boy might be for you. If you've been wanting to dip a toe into witchy romances, this might fit the bill. It's not packed full of paranormal stuff, but it's not completely contemporary romance.

Aww. The Good Boy is one of my favs so far this year! As a dog mom, I knew I had to read this one. Genie turns 30 and her dog becomes a human after she wishes for it. Love, friendship, family magic... What more do you need?

Genie, our main gal, and her new roommate (former dog) have this beautiful bond and Hayward brought so much more to Rory's personality than I expected. He is a loyal friend, empathetic and smart--just as you may expect from a dog, but I've seen other animal-to-human characters and they don't always land.

If you're looking for a love story (with a human or dog), beautiful friendships, and a little magic, go fetch The Good Boy! It will leave you wishing your pets were your human besties, too.

DNF at 43%.

The premise of this book sounded so fun and new, so I had to request the ARC. Unfortunately, I was extremely underwhelmed with the delivery.

I absolutely hate the FMC Genie, and I don’t use the word hate lightly. She is horribly bitter and so annoying the entire read. I know that the point is that Rory teaches her how to live again after what happened (still don’t know what the tragedy was at this point, which pissed me off), but come onnnnn. There is almost nothing likable about her character.

Miles is subpar as a MMC, with how reserved and bland he is. Maybe I’m just not into quieter nerdy guys in books, but I’ve read some in the past and loved them so it makes me think it’s him. He had redeeming qualities, but I just could not get invested in him at all.

Rory was single-handedly the best part of this book and the only reason I got this far. I probably loved him so much because my love of dogs surpasses my love of humans most of the time, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

This was such a cute book overall. I absolutely adored the pace of this read and these characters had me kicking my feet and giggling the entire way

I really wanted to like this book. It seemed like such a cute and funny plot, but unfortunately I ended up DNF'ing. Everything was described so much, like feathers on birds, but then the character descriptions seemed barely there. I really appreciate the opportunity.

“I always knew Rory was a good boy, but I never guessed just how much his goodness could change everything.” 🐕👱🏼‍♂️🎾🦴
the good boy ARC 4/5⭐️
Thank you to Net Galley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for giving me the opportunity to read this book!! I loved this book so much from the very beginning! If you love magical realism this book is for you! This book is about a girl named Genie who accidentally turns her dog Rory, into a a human. She has to try and find out how to change him back with the help of her neighbor who she has been in love with for the longest time. This book had me laughing and smiling and I loved this so much! This book also had 0 spice which I loved! This book comes out July 8th, 2025!! definitely pick this book up and give it a read! Definitely read this if you like Ashley Postons writing, magical realism, and friends to lovers!

3.5⭐️



En la fiesta de cumpleaños número 30 de Genie, su abuela, quien asegura tener poderes, le ofrece un regalo especial: concederle un deseo. Sin embargo, debe seguir ciertas reglas para evitar problemas: el deseo debe pedirse exactamente a medianoche, solo puede ser uno y es irreversible. Aunque las reglas son simples, Genie no le creyó, y, sumado a que estaba borracha, terminó deseando que su perro, Rory, se convirtiera en humano. Al darse cuenta de lo que había hecho, buscará una solución para revertir el deseo, y en el camino descubrirá muchas cosas sobre sí misma.

Me hizo reír mucho, me encantó la parte de Rory. Podría haber parecido ridículo, pero no fue así. La autora logró que se convirtiera en lo más fuerte del libro, y Rory le dio a Genie una gran lección de vida. Lo único negativo fue la parte de Miles-Genie y Miles-Claudia. Sé que una parte de esto era para que Genie tuviera un aprendizaje y se enfrentara a sus miedos, pero no se desarrolló bien, y gran parte de la trama, desde que apareció Claudia, hacía parecer que Miles sí estaba interesado en ella y no en Genie. Ojalá que en la versión final se quite algunas escenas de Claudia.

Mi calificación es por Rory.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I admit the premise gave me pause- Genie (you'll get that in a second) gets a wish from her grandma for her 30th birthday (get it now) she laughs it off and when she gets home she wishes she could find a man like her lovable golden retriever Rory-- well Genie should have listened to gma cause in thr morning Rory is a man - who doesn't like being a man btwm but don't work Genie has the long time friend and boy next door to help her figure it out! Yes it's a little wacka doodle but it was a fun read !

I was very unsure at the start of this book; it starts a little slow and the premise is very unusual, but this story is so much more than the premise. The growth that Genie goes through in this book is deeply emotional. You start to truly root for her healing and growth, and kind of forget that she turned her dog human lol.

Rory is a shining moment in the book. He is everything and more you would expect from a dog turned human. He brings heart and soul to the story and provides such great support throughout the story.

Every character involved is well thought out and is lovable in their own right. I truly enjoyed this more than I thought I would, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Good Boy!

This book was super cute and well written with interesting characters and a great premise! You think you know the exact path the book is taking but Stella Hayward has a remarkable way of leading you to the HEA on a much more interesting journey than you can predict. She does an excellent job of bringing both fun and levity to situations while not shying away from difficult life experiences that are at the core of the story. It was a joy to read and would make for an absolutely delightful audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher for granting access to an advanced copy.

4/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶️ One closed door scene and some kissing

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Stella Hayward for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Good Boy is an interesting mix of romantic comedy and fantasy elements. At times, it felt like two stories had been fused together. The magical elements have a lot of whimsy and there isn’t a lot of backstory to weigh them down. Like Genie, our FMC, we’re meant to just believe.

That’s what gets her into the mess she’s in. She doesn’t believe in the lore of her family’s magic…and ends up turning her dog human. Now, imagine a sweet golden retriever trying to process complex human emotions. It goes about how you’d expect. Genie is a good dog mom though, and continues to take care of Rory, showing him how to be human. Her longtime best friend, Miles, is there to help them on their quest and things grow between them.

This book has many laugh out loud moments and I really enjoyed the blend of mysticism/fantasy elements with the seemingly very normal types of everyday types of settings. I usually get upset when people dogpile on FMCs with complaints because 1) they’re imaginary and 2) GIRL POWER, but there were so many times where I too wanted to shake Genie and just tell her to get on with it. I’m just a fairly direct person, so I can never understand books where someone doesn’t just tell someone what they want.

Content warnings: animal abuse (mentioned), death of a parent (mentioned), depression, dog fighting (mentioned), pregnancy loss (mentioned)

This was one of the more interesting concepts that I have read lately. When I was first reading the synopsis, I was very scared because I thought the dog was going to be the love interest. Fortunately for everyone involved, he is not. Overall, I did not enjoy the writing style chosen for this book as it felt forced. There is interaction with the reader which was fine until it started feeling unnatural. There were plenty of funny moments throughout the book and the overarching message was lovely. Unfortunately, I felt that the writing and plot details were unpolished, detracting from the positive aspects of the book.

I'm not mad that I read it, but I don't think I would recommend it anytime soon.

Decided to DNF at 52%. The premise of the story was intruging but the execusion just wasn't there. The main characters were quite dull and the chemistry that was supposedly going to happen at some point in the story seemed like it would never come to fruition.

How did no one notice that the FMC's dog was no longer around after he'd been her faithful (and only) companion for many years? This was not explained well at all in the writing and had me uninterested in finding out how things ended. All of the sudden a human man with the same name as her dog is coming around constantly, the dog is suspiciously no where to be found and no one asks a question or raises an eyebrow except the reader?

The Good Boy lacked depth and honestly, action of any kind. Literally nothing happened in the first half of the book, aside from the dog turning into a man. Absolutely nothing. The author's writing was fine, nothing extraordinary. Everything in the story was bland, far fetched and pretty goofy.

This book was such a fun and unexpected surprise. On her 30th birthday, Genie makes a drunken wish that her golden retriever, Rory, could be human. The next morning, she wakes up to find her sweet dog has turned into a tall, blonde man—still very much a dog at heart. He’s sniffing things, barking at cats, and somehow managing to be the most loyal, lovable, and hilarious part of her very messy life.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about the premise at first—it sounded kind of ridiculous. And yeah, some parts were over-the-top, and Rory’s dog-turned-human behavior made me cringe a few times. But I ended up really loving him. He’s funny, warm, and exactly the kind of support Genie needs as she faces her past, reconnects with herself, and sorts out her feelings for her best friend, Miles.

While there’s a touch of romance, this story is more about Genie figuring out her own life. The relationships—especially between Genie and Rory—felt so heartfelt, and the humor helped balance out some of the heavier emotional moments. It’s silly, sweet, and surprisingly touching.

If you’re a dog lover or just want something light but full of heart, give this one a try. It’s messy, magical, and exactly the kind of story that leaves you smiling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager.

This book is SO MUCH FUN!! This idea is so original I love love loved it, I felt like the culture of the characters stood out a lot too (I’m not from the UK so I had to google a lot lol) overall I had a great time

But what would you do if your dog turned into a human?
What a fun concept to think about.
This book was definitely very wholesome and had a lot of really great humor and banter. Rory was literally a golden retriever character, literally. His joy and the perspective of voicing dogs thoughts and feelings was so much fun to read as a dog person. I also really enjoyed the cat vibes we got in the book as well.

This book is all about rediscovery, healing from grief, overcoming depression, and learning how to navigate life’s many obstacles while holding onto hope and positivity. Genie’s story really touched me deeply and I found myself truly relating to her and her struggles often as I read.

A wonderful book to pick up if you are in the mood for something that might inspire you, make you laugh, or remind you why dogs are truly the best creatures !

This was such a cute rom com. After making a wish on her birthday, her dog becomes human. As she helps Rory navigate being human with the help of her lifelong neighbor Genie finally accepts her family's magic and finds her true feelings of love for Miles. I loved the bits of magic sprinkled in and Nana Maria was hilarious. I will definitely read more of Stella's books in the future.