Must Love Dogs (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I decided to listen to my family and get back out there..." (more)
Key Phrases: risotto balls, Mother Teresa, Bob Connor, John Anderson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Following up on themes from her debut novel, Ready to Fall, which looked at the pitfalls of cyberspace romance, Cook here chronicles the perils of various tried and true dating ploys, from personals ads to the use of adorable pooches as date bait. "If I didn't have a job, I might have stayed in bed until I rotted," muses Massachusetts preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy, almost 41, divorced and dateless for two years. She's out to change all that when she bravely answers a personals ad in a local paper, but instead gets the ultimate nightmarish response her would-be date turns out to be her widower father, something her sprawling Irish Catholic family naturally finds wildly funny. Her oldest sister, Carol, decides the best way for Sarah to move on is to create her own personals ad, and soon Sarah's love life is lively, if not downright rambunctious. "God hates glib," "God hates ugly" and "God hates a smarty-pants" are all standards in the Hurlihy family lexicon, but Cook employs just enough glibness and smarty-pants humor to make this tart slice-of-the-single-life worth reading. As for "ugly," Sarah also learns some serious lessons about what the word really means and it's not a prospective suitor's nose hairs, his bald pate or his beer-belly bulge. Breezy first-person narration makes this a fast-paced, humorous diversion.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This utterly charming second novel by Cook (Ready To Fall) is a fun read, perfect for whiling away an afternoon on the beach. Sarah Hurlihy is 40 years old, divorced, and happily teaching preschoolers a multicultural curriculum. But her interfering, overzealous Boston Irish family thinks that she should be dating, and with much love she is pushed into answering a personal ad from a gentleman seeking a lady "who enjoys elegant dining, dancing and the slow bloom of affection"; the clincher is that he's a man who "loves dogs." That man turns out to be the last man on earth any woman would want to date, but Sarah pushes on, slowly falling headlong into the dating game with decidedly mixed results. Meanwhile, Sarah's widowed father has his own dating troubles, brother Michael is deep in marital problems, and sister Carol is having difficulty at home with her temperamental teenage daughter, who turns to her favorite aunt for comfort and body-piercing support. Somehow, they all seem to end up on Sarah's doorstep at the most inopportune moments, keeping the laughs going all the way to the not-quite-storybook-perfect ending. Suitable for all public libraries. Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451213580
• ISBN-13: 978-0451213587
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #839,083 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Much Fun as a New Puppy, October 4, 2003

By	Mamalinde "mamalinde" (Dallas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Must Love Dogs (Mass Market Paperback)

Laugh out loud funny, this book is as much fun as a brand new puppy (without the messy cleanup and chewed up shoes). Claire Cook takes us on a life journey with Sarah Hurlihy, 40 year old divorcee, pre-school teacher, and member of a large, wild and rowdy Irish American family. In her first foray into the world of personal ads, Sarah manages to select a Mr. Right who is none other than her own widowed father. Will she have any better luck when her sound-alike sister writes a personal ad for Sarah, and records a voice message? The importance of family relationships and the dysfunction of same glows through every single page in this delightful and frothy little book. Fun, uplifting, and insightful, I highly recommend this charming book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning - flat ending, September 1, 2005

By	Maureen E. Eustis (East Greenwich, RI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved the beginning and middle of this book. I began to think I didn't want it to end because it was so entertaining. I thought the writing was honest, and clever. But toward the end I realized I didn't have a clear opinion as to what a "happy ending" would be. When it did end, I didn't know if the ending was the best case scenario for the main character, whom I'd come to adore. I felt her love interest's character and appeal was underdeveloped and I was left wishing for better for her... and me! Besides that, I loved the humor and honesty that shone through the rest of the book. I wish I could have written a better ending for it though.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute but, July 18, 2005

By	Falucchi (California) - See all my reviews

Claire Cook freely admits that she's never answered a "real" personal ad, never placed one, nor experienced anything she wrote about- obviously. She ran a fake ad for "research" and came up with a character who dates her dad? Come on- there are telephones! She couldn't call first? How lame. Or dangerous!
Anyway- without the personal ad story line, the book falls apart. I was hoping for more.