Review:
This was so damn cute, just the right amount of ridiculous to be fun, and exactly what I needed to make me smile. I loved it! It’s weird how sometimes it’s the books I’m so sure won’t really be to my taste that end up being some of the best. I don’t even know how to organize my thoughts properly; I’m just so full of warm, squishy feelings.
This was a little silly at first, but in a way that was fun and made me laugh and smile. And as it went on, I got more and more invested. The characters and their romance were both so cute. I smiled. I frowned. I laughed. I teared up. I felt all the emotions.
I felt for both main characters. They were lovably awkward and trying their best. Lance was protective of his pack and just wanted to keep them safe. Tim was lonely and had some difficulties in his past and just wanted to grow his roses and veggies in peace.
Their feelings, and their eventual relationship, were sweet and adorable. They were both so socially awkward at first, it was so funny seeing them try to talk. Lance being all intimidating and barely speaking. Tim being all awkward and speaking too much. There were obvious privacy issues with Lance pretending to just be a dog in order to get into Tim’s home and then to spend time with him, but the wrongness of it was acknowledged in the story. And the thing is, it was what the men needed to bring them together, to grow and find their way into a relationship and happiness, especially Lance who was stuck in his serious, closed-off shell and didn’t easily trust humans. I thought it would be more of an issue for Tom when he found out, but no, it was a complete non-issue at that point, which was kinda strange, but whatever. The relationship also had some drama along the way, and some sexy times (some of which involved a lot of sniffing), and ultimately a happy ending.
Speaking of which, this was a unique take on shifters. The people of the town were dog shifters, essentially, but many of them started as just dogs and then got “the spark” and developed the ability to shift between dog and human. Others in the town were descendants of these “quickened” dogs. And they all had a lot of dog characteristics, based on their breeds, which was fun. I think dog lovers would love this element of the series.
The narrator for the audiobook, Matthew Shaw, was, in most ways, fantastic. My one issue was that he often took very audible breaths, but learning to ignore that was worth it for his great performance. He brought the book to life with his voice acting, rather than simply reading it. Everything sounded natural and had all the necessary emotion behind it.
Overall, this was such a warm and fuzzy book. The characters were lovably awkward and made me laugh. Their romance was cute. The dog shifters were unique. This book gave me lots of feels, and I loved it!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes cute m/m romance, shifters, dogs, lovably awkward characters, and books that give you all the feels but ultimately leave you with a smile.
This does sound like a cute read and on the right side of ridiculous and fun. I love me a lovely awkward romance and the shifter element just adds something extra to this. I’m intrigued enough that I might just have to borrow this on Kindle Unlimited.
So cute! And sometimes awkward romances are the best lol.
This sounds really cute, and I would never know from just the cover that this has paranormal elements. It’s a nice change from wolf shifters!
So cute! But I agree, the cover does not protray the genre very well.
I read this last year I think. It was cute!
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I’m glad you thought it was cute too!
This one could be a bit silly at times indeed, but also so fun and it just made me happy reading this one. Thee two sure made for a cute couple. I also liked how they were awkward at first, it felt realistic. I liked how Lang realized what he was doing was wrong, like you said it was an issue, but it helped that it was addresses in the book. I liked the unique take on shifters with how they shift into normal dogs. I once read a book with a cat shifter, which was just as fun as this one. I thought the dog characteristics that they had even in human form was nicely done too. I got this one in ebook format, but sounds like the audio is great too.
It was definitely one of those books that just makes you smile. And I always find it helps with problematic or iffy things when they are just acknowledged as being wrong. I’m glad you like this one too 🙂
That’s a really unique take on shifters, I haven’t read anything that starts originally with dogs
I thought it was unique too! And a fun idea.
I think that feeling is exactly why my reading tastes are so broad. So much of the time books I wouldn’t expect to like suddenly surprise me and I end up loving them! I am always chasing unique books like that. And now more than ever we just need books that are likely to make us smile and feel happy. We can’t get enough of those. This sounds silly and cute and fun, and I like that it has a unique take on shifters.
Yesss I feel like we definitely need some light, fluffy, fun, happiness-inducing books during this pandemic. And this was perfect for that 🙂