GRR Reviews Million Dollar Date by Susan Hatler

Abigail is on her way to meet her blind date (via her home) when she was stopped by a very handsome cop for speeding. And he's not giving her a break at all. Not even when she explained she's already sad that her favorite dog rescue is closing due to the rescue's landlord needing to sell. She's doubly shocked that she found her blind date is none other than the cop that pulled her over... That's going badly. Then she realized he may be the key to save the dog rescue, as he will be recommending the next charity to fund for the city... So a second date will be necessary... // Cooper is a by-the-books cop, but he used to be a bad boy rulebreaker until a tragedy gave him an epiphany. Now he plays by the rules, even though he had a kind heart. Abigail has the right attitude, but Cooper has to make decisions based on how much good can the city's donations do. And Abigail is definitely interesting. If she wants another date, he'll gladly oblige... 

The ending felt like deus ex machina to me, and I really don't understand how he got the payout, when it should have gone to the other guy's family? I can understand he got half or something. The push-pull is fine, but some of the tactics from Abigail were a bit... unorthodox. It's rom-com, sure. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Love in a Pawn Shop by Bonnie Edwards

Dix has a pawn shop in a tough neighborhood, and wanted her teenage brother Riley get into college so he can do better. Could she be blamed if she nags him all the time, esp. if he keeps hanging out with Carlos, who may be mixed up with the bad crowd? When nosy cop Dane barged into her life, things get complicated quickly, esp. if Razor the pitbull keeps staring at Dane's... nuts. // Dane was in town to find out what happened to his grandma's jewelry, and it's clear it went to Dix's pawn shop. Did Dix swindle his grandma? Is it a fencing operation? Just what is Dix's relationship with grandma Mitzi? And why did he feel... warm and fuzzy about Dix? What is her real name anyway?

Cozy mystery, lots of zany but fun characters. Even Riley's struggle with Carlos (whether to trust or to save) is interesting. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Dazed and Divorced by Carol Maloney Scott

Claire is (suddenly?) single, in her thirties, having married her high school sweetheart Ron, and never really dated ever. She's also mourning the loss of her fertility after one too many miscarriages. Except Ron won't sign the divorce papers. Almost twenty years after her last date, she's back out into the wild, finding frogs all over the place, and not a prince in sight. It seems her friends keep finding losers for her to blind date... So why is her ex Ron trying to get back into her good graces, after nearly destroying her during her time of grief? And is adopting a hyperactive wiener dog puppy, Dixie, a solution to her problems?

Definitely LOL at times, if also a bit teary-eyed, as this is more sitcom than romcom, with super uncomfortable situations. Like meeting Jed, Abel, and Cain at a church speed-dating event, each of whom wants to talk about the Bible or proper role of a wife. Then Christian came along and asked her to get the heck out of there... Only to try to seduce her into bed, with some VERY unholy words. Funny! 4.5/5 for the laughs, not too much romance here though.

GRR Reviews Mommy Loves the Doggy Doctor by Deb Kastner

Ashley became a widow when her husband and her daughter had an ATV accident. Her daughter Gweny was left wheelchair-bound for life. But that didn't stop them from bringing happiness to other people's lives, esp. nursing home visits with fresh cookies. And that's when they ran into the Luke and Grandma Bryant, who brought a whole litter of Dalmatian puppies to cheer up Luke's dad (dementia) and the rest of the nursing home. Luke is a bachelor veterinarian, and very shy, preferring animals to people. But when Grandma Bryant, seeing that Gweny has a connection to Pudgie, one of the Dalmatian puppies, offered the pup to her. And Ashley can't refuse anything that makes Gweny happy. That also brought the families closer, esp. when Pudgie needed some medical help... And Gweny wanted to put her mom and the handsome vet Luke together... With a little help from Grandma Bryant, of course.

Sweet, good use of the dog, and even training the dog to be a service dog for the disabled. Sweet shy love. The kind I like. No sex. 5/5

GRR Reviews Keeping Cole for Christmas by Tuesday Embers

Abigail justed wanted a nice and quiet Christmas. Her veterinarian job is already tough enough... She has no time for frivolities... Even her fiancee Pierce hadn't seen inside her condo, as it's a somewhat long-distance relationship. Heck, Pierce won't even attend her family Christmas dinner. When her best childhood friend, and her brother's best friend Cole came back to town, she knew this Christmas will not be like any other. Abigail also wanted to save RT5, a three-legged cat that hadn't been adopted yet, but she knew she's too busy to have a pet. When Cole decided he wanted to be the person in Abigail's life, what will Abigail do? And what can Cole do to change her mind?

Enjoyed the cat, even though it's more of a symbol, as the cat itself didn't show much personality. Pierce is basically a placeholder, someone Abigail didn't have to let in very far into her life, as she won't butt into his. So why get engaged? Was it just... expected? 4/5

GRR Reviews Crazy For You by Ginny Baird

Mary Ellen just wanted to be a good elementary school teacher, but when a rooster showed up at her door, she took him in. And when he dashed out into the street, she named him Crazy. And another Crazy escape had her ran straight into the arms of her school principal, and single dad, Wes, who's also her neighbor. // Wes wasn't sure what to do with Mary Ellen. She's beautiful, blonde hair and blue eyes, but she's also a teacher in his school, and teacher of his daughter! But the rooster and the town has other plans...

Okay, good meet-cute, many LOL moments, and good twist about Crazy. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Virginia was waiting for Aaron and his young son, Buddy (and their dog), to visit her at the diner where she worked as a waitress. It seems Aaron may be finally ready to date her properly, and that first kiss has so much promise, until a tragedy that night destroyed them both. Nineteen years later, Virginia has a dog named T-Rex, and a boyfriend... well, technically fiancee, but she never was able to forget Aaron and Buddy. When her dog went missing, and all signs point to her fiancee being responsible, she broke the engagement, while desperately looking for her dog. What she didn't know was her dog is doing fine... The dog was picked up by a shy and traumatized young man, who bonded with the animal, but now, the dog has two masters... Neither will give him up, but when they meet, they will discover a connection that may devastate them both... and heal them.

NOT a traditional romance, but it's about love, nonetheless. It's more "literary fiction", but it managed to explore a lot about unrequited love, jealousy, PTSD, and much more. 5/5

GRR Reviews Lifted by Love by Bob McCullough

Mari had a heart condition that makes her prone to pass out under stressful conditions. With no treatment available, her only chance is to manage her condition with a service dog that can sense her problems before she does. Chris is a gifted dog trainer, and his newest trainee, Adele, is a perfect dog for Mari's condition. Chris and Mari connected immediately, through more than just the dog. But will they stay together through the trials and tribulations?

You get the story from the dog's POV too. Unique, but the love story was a bit on the simpler side without too much... threat to it. It's mostly sweetness.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.  4/5

GRR Reviews Healing the Billionaire by Eliza Boyd

Hailey had started CumberCakers, her cupcake business, after her husband left her to pursue her dreams many years ago. When her ex-sister-in-law asked her to come dog-sit for her across the country, she used the chance to also schedule an interview with a national vendor. Unfortunately, the 150-pound dog bowled her over, leading to her dislocating her shoulder... just as she found that the visitor was none other than her ex-husband Jared... // Jared decided to let Hailey go as he needed to find his own way, and he did. Now he's a billionaire, and seeing his ex-wife just made him want her back, even as he decided to take a vacation from it all. Helping her make her cupcakes is just a bonus, but is his penchant for secrecy means he'll let her go... again?

Uh... while the cupcake stuff is good, the conflict can be summed up as your typical "I can't say what I really feel" versus "I don't want to hear it".  A bit exasperating, IMHO.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Tidal Falls by Jacquie Biggar

Nick was forced to take a sabbatical to allowed his injured knee to heal, and he picked the small town of Tidal Falls, and he lives simply with his dog Jake. While in town, he came to know Sara and her 7-year old daughter Jessica, and Sara is clearly hiding secrets. Turns out, Sara is on the run from her evil husband Tom, who is a US Attorney with plans to run for governor, but he's also a shipping magnate in cahoots with the Syndicate including drug lords and human traffickers. When Sara ran, she stole a copy of Tom's log of transactions he did for the Syndicate. And Tom wants his wife back... along with the log. When Tom escalated into kidnapping Sara's friend to force her out of hiding, Sara found that Nick and his old SEAL team had a past with Tom... Who can she trust?

While suspenseful, and the villain isn't stupid, there are some parts of the plot that really made no sense. Tom's villainy isn't explained that well. His attitude toward children and marriage was explained once, then never mentioned again. Somehow, bad guys didn't bother questioning or tracing calls from Fiona, Sara's best friend until two years later. And instead of tapping her phone, they went straight to kidnapping. She's a gallery owner... Wouldn't anyone miss her? Hmmm? And the big fight at the end is a bit underwhelming. While good, it's not great.

Category: Contemporary / Military

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Freedom by Mary Crawford

Phoenix Wolf is a high-functioning Aspie. He prefers computers to real people, prefers known to the unknown. When his boss told him to take a month off (since he NEVER took a vacation in 3 years), and visit Oregon and look into a promotion there, he decided to take a motorcycle road trip, but the trip barely started when he had to rescue a dog... And met Zoe. // Zoe works for a rescue dog training service and is not a vet, but when the call came in, she had to perform a dog rescue for Phoenix. Her brother had been accused of unspeakable crimes against women, and she had been subpoenaed. She planned to tell the truth, but her parents refused to believe her and all but threatened to disown her if she testified... and her brother had threatened her. And Phoenix cannot walk away, from either "his" dog... or Zoe. But when her brother escaped custody, what will happen to this star-crossed couple?

The threat didn't quite work. Police are obviously incompetent to let an accused kidnapper escape, even if it's in a courtroom. And cops don't seem to take witness tampering seriously. And the ending was way too simple and neat. But the bits about aspie in relationship is good, and didn't resort of aspie tropes (i.e. Spock in Love, or "literal Data").

Category: Contemporary / Romantic suspense

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Intercepted by Love (Book 1) by Rachelle Ayala

Cade Prescott is the notorious QB who had just lost the Superbowl with a pass that everybody warned him not to make. He decided to hide out in disguise, only taking his dog with him. // Andie Wales is a librarian who likes to research ancient kings, and her only constant companion is her dog. // When her dog and his dog ended up doing the deed (neither were fixed) they ended up meeting, and both were charmed. But then Cade's real life intrudes when someone recognized him...

Cliffhanger, and this runs on for SIX volumes. Each about 150-170 pages. It's charming, but not top of the line. Subtract the cliffhanger and it's average.

Category: Contemporary / Sports

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews A Cat Called Cupid by Mazy Morris

A Cat Called Cupid is about a cat named Cupid that decided to play matchmaker for his human shacked up with the loser boyfriend when she can do much better. It's quite funny if you can imagine your cat being this smart.

Cupid (the cat) is tired of seeing his human, Ann, shagging a loser. This loser BF hates Cupid, but never shows it in front of her. What's worse, he stole money from her every chance he got. When a handsome neighbor Craig moved in downstairs along with a beautiful Siamese cat Bella, Cupid knew he had to pull out all the stops to get rid of the existing loser BF and bring Craig and Ann together so he has a chance with Bella. Alas, humans are absolutely non-sensical when they're in heat, but Cupid has his ways... and he's much more devious than the humans ever imagined...

Hilarious at times, as this cat over the course of under 100 pages faked a car accident (i.e. pretend to be run over by Craig's car), stole loser BF's phone then texted his other GF to meet him at Ann's place. (OUCH!) and a few other shenanigans.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Cat must match his human Ann with downstairs neighbor Craig to have a chance with cat Bella, but matchmaking is difficult...

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Hello Love by Karen McQuestion

Hello Love is one of those charming stories that's not quite romance, at least not with a typical meet-cute. But it will nonetheless charm its way into your heart with the dog serving as a common plot thru-line.

Dan and daughter Lindsey are still not over wife/mom Christine's death, even a year later. The only solace was Anni, the dog that Christine loved. When Anni was stolen, both were devastated. // Andrea was still feeling the aftermath of her bitter divorce from Marco. When she illegally rescued a dog from an abusive tenant, her life changed in ways she never anticipated. She felt better at work, the dog walking caused her to lose weight, and she felt much better about herself that she'd speak up for herself and cut ties from Marco, even as he stalked her, wanting her back. // Dan and Andrea ran into each other again and again, but neither made the connection, as circumstances somehow prevented them from doing so each time. Will Anni's journey home bring these two lost souls together?

It's a great little adventure using the dog as the common thru-line through the plot. The ending felt a bit hurried, as it's at the 98% point. And there is even a darkest hour and a grand gesture, though not quite in conventional terms. Still, it's a great story, not a pure romance, but more of a fated mates story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: A dog's adventure brought two damaged people together, but they just keep missing each other, like ships in the night...

Overall Rating: 5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Paws for a Kiss (Canine Cupids Book 1) by Stephanie Rowe

Paws for a Kiss is an enemies-into-lovers story featuring cute dogs. The push-pull between the couple is good, but the (double) deus ex machina ending sank the story back to average.

Bev Ryan runs an animal shelter that is in danger of being evicted. If she can't convince the agent to go somewhere else for his acquisition, there may be little time left for her dreams. But Mack Spenser was nothing like she expected... Mack Spenser is a workaholic for a cause... a loss early in life make him what he is... an efficient working machine dedicated to maximizing profits... at the expense of not having a heart. Only his dog Janey ground him... and now, with his latest business deal on the line, Mack found himself conflicted between following his client's wishes and help the dog evangelist any way he can... But he can never go back on his word...

I really do want to give this book a higher score, as the tension was cranked higher and higher but the way the problem was resolved seriously came out of nowhere, not just once, but twice. I won't spoil it, but let's just say the score would be higher if the ending were better. There are similar books with better plotting available.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a ruthless negotiator (and dog owner) evict an animal shelter and its pretty and dedicated director?

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Yours for a Song (Haven Springs) by Amy James

Yours for a Song is about a famous person hiding in a small town, and falls for a local beauty. However, the threats to their hapiness seems to be not that well polished, and not all the threats are resolved properly and wrapped up by the end.

World famous musician Eli Archer just wanted to escape the limelight, the paparazzi, and the crazy supermodel that was dogging him. He got on a plane to one city, and took a rental car to drive across more to hide out in the small town of Haven Springs for at least three months. His last two albums are commercial garbage. And he had lost his muse. Having punched out a paparazzi who got in his face didn't help. His visit to the ER to fix his hand lead him to Dr. Claire Taylor... who's buttoned up tight... and VERY much affected by his charm. Claire wanted a husband and a family, but she's thirty-five and the only real job in town is in the ER where the hospital is interesting in finding more services to charge than to provide real care. Claire is also a sucker for kids who needed help, and the homeless teenager Zoey and her deaf dog really did need her help... and more. Clarie has no time to be distracted by a rock god who's just passing by (but living next door). However, in a town where all the single men are taken (except the real losers... and closet gay men) and her mother trying to set her up with dates, Claire was oh so tempted by Eli... esp. when they bonded over the need to help Zoey and her dog. But when Eli's crazy super-model Coco Sky found him in town, and he needed to go back to the city early, is this the end of Claire's dreams?

Not bad, but some of the threads did not tie themselves back properly. The supermodel, Coco Sky, wasn't quite written properly, and having her show up so late as the foil at the end doesn't really work for me. She was barely there before, and her just suddenly showing up... Nah.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Super-star taking a break hiding out in small town bonded with local beauty and ER doc over a homeless girl and her deaf dog...

Tropes: small town, doctor/patient, woman in peril, pet, matchmaker, triangle, performer

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Kiss a Bridesmaid by Courtney Hunt

Kiss a Bridesmaid is a sweet love story between a caterer and some random girl walking through the area. You can call it serendipity, but there was basically instant sweet attraction that left the guy to do all the work...

Shortie Campbell is a caterer working for "Always a Bridesmaid" a wedding planning and professional groomsman/bridesmaid provider that always crafts the perfect experience... including a cute canine ring bearer. When the doggie decided to chase a frisbee through the park, it's up to the staff to retrieve the wayward pup. Abigail Browne was just wandering through the park when she by chance snagged the runaway puppy... and ended up covered in mud with a twisted ankle. Shortie escorted her home, and upon learning Abigail is jobless, offered her to come see Always a Bridesmaid for a position, and to Abigail's own surprise, she fitted right in. And her friendship with Shortie blossomed. But can there be more?

There really wasn't any obstacle between the two falling for each other. The romance was low-intensity sweet, but left me a little empty.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Jobless young woman saved the wedding by snagging a runaway pup; was attended and rescued by the caterer... is there more?

Tropes: bridesmaid, marriage, pet

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews You Belong with Me (Cupid's Bow: 3rd Gen) by Melissa Storm

You Belong With Me is an "opposites attract" light-hearted contemporary romance that featured two adorable dogs in addition to the main characters.

Charlie Rockwell always regretted her rash decisions... but she kept making them. Her latest was adopting the sad-eyed "Rottie", a big Rottweiler that was not really trained. A trip to the doggie park backfired spectacularly but also brought her to Will Porter and his golden retriever Tuck. Porter, probably out of pity, volunteered to help her train Rottie, even as he realized Charlie resembles his ex quite a bit, and Will lives a structured life, completely opposite of Charlie. But opposites attract and seems these two are quite into each other...

Sweet with a bit of sit-com and the pets are cute. The push-pull was quite good. All in all an enjoyable read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman with a new dog met a man with a dog who offered to help her train; is there sparks between the two?

Tropes: pet, different worlds

Overall Rating: 4/5 (rounded up)