I've been burned out on women's fiction for quite some time now, and especially burned out on women's fiction that's been turned into a movie starring Diane Lane. It seems to be a specific genre or something that just drives me nuts, but when author Allie Larkin tweeted a recommendation for Claire Cook's Must Love Dogs, which was free on Amazon, I decided to take a chance.

Sarah Hurlihy is 40, childless, and newly divorced. At the encouragement of one of her sisters (she comes from the stereotypical huge Irish family), she first answers, then runs (well, her sister runs it for her) personal ads to get back into the dating scene. Most of the meetings she has are hilariously funny (those who saw even the movie trailer, which is all I saw, know that her first one is actually answering her father's ad), and as she gets back into the dating scene at the same time as her widowed father, the entire family is drawn into the resulting dramas.

Cook has an incredible voice, which makes even the most hokey scenes hysterically funny. Being approximately Sarah's age and divorced (although I have kids), I could relate to the little things like the pathetic "don't want to cook for one" things Sarah would come up with (she has a mac 'n cheese method for the box mix I seriously want to try).

In the end, Must Love Dogs was a quick, fun read and I'll be looking for more of Cook's novels in the future.

This review appeared previously on Goodreads. 

Recommended: Yes