Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this ARC!

In The Good Boy, Genie is granted a wish on her thirtieth birthday by her Nanna Maria. Not believing in the family magic that her golden retriever, Rory, would be a man. What ensues is a journey of self discovery for both Genie and Rory, with help from Genie’s life-long friend Miles along the way.

Overall this was a sweet, funny, heartwarming, and surprisingly deep story. Genie’s character development is the star of the show, balanced with hilarious quips from human Rory that had me laughing out loud! I also enjoyed the slow burn romance that blossomed between Genie and Miles.

This book was a perfect escape from the world. I laughed so many times at the things Rory said . I'll keep an eye out for more from this author.

I have to be honest, I immediately jumped on reading this book because I felt the author read into my mind a little and made a book with some of my inner most thoughts. You see, I have a golden retriever like the main character, and at many times I have thought if he could only be a man, he would be the most perfect one in existence. This book isn't the typical rom-com, and for me, it was a welcome relief from the standard plot. This book seriously will give you all the feels from the life lessons, family support, and of course, a little romance.

A easy 5 out of 5 stars!!

However you think this story is gonna go, you’re wrong.
Even if you guess the ending, I guarantee there will be things you don’t see coming!
You’ll kick your feet, you’ll laugh and you will cry.
This was an absolutely hilarious closed door romance.
The story wrapped up really well but I’m still wanting more… So maybe there needed to be a next generation book after this one!

3.5 rounding up. What a cute cute story. A bit fantastical, obviously, but so cute. Made me smile when I was reading this. Reminds me of the dog from Up, and honestly, I probably had that voice playing in my head every time Rory spoke. Both of the MCs were pretty tame. Genie (what a name, though it makes sense now that I think about it) is likeable. Miles was pretty bland. This is a sweet friends to lovers trope. No real conflict, but some growing pains for Genie. Overall a cute read.

Really enjoyed the story, particularly Genie’s character development (to me, the primary plot of the book). I loved how honest and positive the relationships were between Genie, her family, friends, Rory, and Miles. The kind of dry humor present in the book was entirely my style. I felt that the author had a close grasp of each of the characters and they showed up distinctly and uniquely on the page.

I’m not sure I would consider this a romance, as much as a story about self-reflection and growth. I’d almost say it was a long set up for Genie and Miles’ future romance.

This seemed like a quick read, and I really enjoyed something different about it than other hockey romcoms, but I also felt highly annoyed by the MMC. His word choices drove me crazy but I loved his high energy and his character arc. I'd definitely pick up book 2.

Genie comes from a magic family, which she doesn’t believe one bit. Yeah, she can sometimes predict the weather, and yeah, her grandmother can read palms, but she figures it is all coincidences. And can’t everyone do that sort of thing? So when her grandmother tells her that for her 30th birthday, she is going to grant a wish, Genie’s eyes glaze over, and she takes it with a huge grain of salt.

So, what does she wish? That her beautiful golden retrieve rescue dog, that she loves, could be human, so she could have the same kind of love from a man that she gets from a dog.

So, yes, she is surprised when the wish is granted, and Rory is not happy about being human, other than finally being able to eat chocolate.
It is a cute story, with Rory making many observations about how humans just needed to communicate more, and play more.
But Rory doesn’t like being human, and Genie needs her dog back, but the only way to to complete a quest, to find the woman she used to be, before bad things happened in the past.

It is a cute story. Rory is a great character. And anytime one of the characters askes how Rory can, for example, read, Genie says magic works in weird ways.

While it is light most of the time, there are some heavy bits, as we find out what trauma happened to Genie to bury her feelings these past ten years or so.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book comes out the 8th of July 2025.

This book is an absolute gem! Genie’s chaotic journey from wishing for a human dog to navigating the complexities of love and friendship is both hilarious and heartwarming. The transformation of Rory into a man brings all the playful charm of a golden retriever, endearing yet utterly clueless. Watching Genie and Miles work together to reverse her wish unfolds with delightful banter and unexpected chemistry. It’s a captivating reminder that sometimes the solutions to our problems are right under our noses or in this case, in our hearts. If you’re looking for a magical romance that’s as funny as it is sweet, this one will leave you grinning from ear to ear!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Good Boy reads in its blurb as a lighthearted rom-com-fantasy and while it’s largely that it also has its very intense and emotional moments. While I’m not a spoiler I think it’s critical to include trigger warnings for those topics that are very sensitive. For that reason I’m including in my review that if you have experienced infant loss and are not close to ready to reading about it, even when included in a funny book, or if you are upset by this, give this a miss. I can see readers gravitating towards The Good Boy for the escapism promised in the blurb and you should know that your enjoyment will be soured if you’re not ready for this.

Outside of that, this story was often times funny and had a witchy streak I didn’t expect, but enjoyed. Genie has shut herself off from the world following some hard times in her past and her closest companion is her dog, Rory, and her neighbor, Miles. When a wish goes awry and Rory turns into a human adult man, Genie is forced to come to terms with her past and her arrested future as well as her feelings for Miles.

I enjoyed the comedy which was sure to come with the premise around a dog turned human (and said dog’s feelings towards the cat next door). That said Rory the human was infantilised. He’s a 5 year old dog but a 35 year old man so that’s a weird mix (personally I always imagine my dog as a baby even if he is 60 or so years old in dog years - I’d want him to become a human NOT at his dog year age). There were parts that dragged a bit but they were offset by charming parts of the book as well (largely driven by Rory and the magic in Genie’s family).

If you’d like a very comedic and fantasy book this will give you a sample of the genre before more serious fare, but be aware that it’s not all light and breezy, as it does contain a seriously triggering subject to those looking to pick this up to get away from real life.

This was pure fluff at its finest and I absolutely had such a good time reading this! This is exactly what you think it is but more adorable lol