Stepdog is a fun romantic comedy with a chatty, not-quite-teetotaling Irish narrator. It's well written, the narrator is funny, and the characters are vivid. I found the pace fine in the beginning, but it really picked up after the dog-napping (which I totally did not see coming, despite the fact that it was mentioned in the back cover copy). The second half of the book speeds across the country in a sleep-deprived race to a satisfying ending. ( )

This is a fun read that has romance, an adorable dog named Cody, a dognapping, a car trip to rescue Cody, and more.
It’s a funny and quick read that you won’t want to put down. The characters are engaging and I really liked Sara, but I fell in love with Cody from the first mention of him. As for Rory, I liked him at first, then that kind of waned when he met Cody
because of his attitude toward him, and then as the book unfolded and he left to go search for Cody, he redeemed himself in my eyes.

If you like love stories, or dogs, this is a book for you. It’s a book that will make you smile all the way through (mostly) and I bet you’ll be glad you read it.

#TLCBookTours
#Stepdog ( )

Everything changes for Rory O’Connor the day his funding is pulled for his position as guest lecturer at the Boston Art Museum. To begin with, he immediately starts dating his boss, Sara. Their whirlwind romance develops into something serious pretty quickly, even if Rory doesn’t understand Sara’s American obsession with her dog, Cody. Rory’s work visa is also expiring; he has set up a sham marriage to his cousin’s widow to receive his green card. However, when he hatches his plan to Sara, Sara simply insists that they get married instead. Now with a marriage and a green card, Rory also lands a role in a new TV series- in L.A. A move across country is in the works, but is made a lot more difficult with a neurotic dog mom. When Rory gives Cody to a new friend to watch while they clean out their old apartment, Sara quickly realizes that he has made a huge mistake. Cody has been dog-napped. Now, Rory must get Cody back and mend bridges with Sara on their way across the country.

Stepdog is a humorous and fun book not only about how dogs can change your life, but how a new relationship can change and grow. The concept of a stepdog was cute; Rory would continuously say "it's not my dog, it's my wife's dog." his stepdog. A full, lively and diverse set of characters made this book entertaining throughout. Rory was awesome, an Irishman who played the fiddle, quoted Shakespeare and gave everyone a personal playlist in his head. As an avid dog lover myself, I was a little confused about his aversion to dogs, but I guess I never knew there was such a difference between the way American's treat dogs and the Irish. Sara seemed like someone who was perfect in every way and had her life together, but when it came to her dog, she would stop the world. Many of the side characters made the story for me, Alto, Marie, Danny and especially Alex made the story very real and charming. My only complaint was that it seemed like the story could have ended after part two; however part three was entertaining as well, if not a little ridiculous. Overall, a rollicking story fit for any dog lover or contemporary romantic comedy crowd.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

Sometimes plots are too far-fetched to be believable right from the get go. But we tend to love these crazy stories in movies and books. They make our own lives seem normal and also offer us a feel-good escape from that same normality. And when the unbelievable is wrapped together with a lovable dog, an overly organized museum employee, a kooky Irish actor, and a dognapper, well, that story becomes downright appealingly readable.

Rory O'Connor is an actor working part time as the visiting guest musician at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (although that's not what his visa authorizes him to do) when his boss, Sara Renault, has to let him go because of a lack of funding. Rory has a response unlike most people's. He leans across her desk and kisses Sara. This doesn't save his job but it does start a very promising relationship with the sexy Sara. And in the usual way of life, when one major thing happens, a whole cascade of things happen at the same time. Rory's Hollywood agent friend calls him just after his wonderful night with Sara to tell him about a part that is all but guaranteed to be his if can get his green card. To do this, he needs to get married. Completely impulsively and in an act that is certainly out of character for her, Sara offers to marry him. Although they've known each other for quite a while as work colleagues, their relationship is a new one and throwing a marriage, even one just for a green card, into the mix is sure to hit some road bumps. In Rory and Sara's case, the road bump is a lovable reddish dog named Cody. Sara loves Cody with her whole heart, devoting herself completely to her sweet, furry companion. Rory has a much less inclusive view of dogs. To him, they are pets, not family, and they shouldn't be the driving force behind your decisions. He likes Cody well enough but he certainly doesn't love her as he is coming to love his wife and the way that Sarah treats Cody makes him a bit mental.

Their differing ideas about caring for a dog come to a head when Rory is in fact offered the acting job, lead role in a tv series, and they need to move across the country from Boston to Los Angeles. Sara doesn't want to subject Cody to flying and plans out a careful driving itinerary instead. But when Sara has a job interview in California before the cross-country drive commences and then Cody is dognapped because of Rory, everything goes cockeyed and Rory must try and get his wife's dog back safely while learning to love Cody not just as Sara's dog but as his own.

The novel is narrated from Rory's point of view, giving a charming bit of the blarney tone to it. Rory is clearly frustrated by Sara's catering to what he considers a nice dog, but just a dog, and that comes through clearly, as does his giddiness and pure delight in this relationship and over this woman he's married. Sara is very much a stereotypical American dog lover although she is, at times, a little over the top (and this comes from a woman whose dog has always shared her bed). The first third of the book develops Rory and Sara's relationship and Rory and Cody's as well. The second and third sections focus on the dognapping and the crazy, madcap happenings along the way to fulfilling Rory's promise to Sara to get her dog back to her. Once in the second and third sections, the narrative takes off on a mad gallop until the reader comes to the resolution panting and breathless. There are bits that are easily predictable and a few occurrences that are over and above the unbelievable level of the rest of the tale but over all, this is a cute, offbeat, and funny story that will appeal to animal lovers in general and dog lovers in particular for sure. ( )