No good deed goes unpunished.When an unwanted Valentine’s Day present is dumped at the shelter, volunteer Lily decides to foster the poor dog herself. A little attention is all he needs to blossom into a loving pet, ready for his forever home. Plus, helping a poor, rejected animal will distract her from her own problems. Win, win. Right? Wrong. Valentine needs more than a makeover if he’s going … makeover if he’s going to be adopted. He destroys her home, hates to be groomed and when he behaves better for a perfect stranger than he does her, Lily swallows her pride and begs the good looking but quiet stranger for help
After losing his canine partner in a horrific moment that upended his future, sexy and stoic Shane turns to books, walks in the park and remodeling his grandmother’s home. No more intense K9 officer career, no more dogs, no more risks. But it’s hard to ignore the misunderstood mutt at the park and his well-intentioned, but clueless, handler. Shane reluctantly agrees to give her a few tips and tricks, but that’s all. He won’t care. He won’t get invested. And once Valentine finds his new home, his life can go back to normal.
But Shane doesn’t bargain on a new normal in town and, suddenly, Valentine’s Day will never be the same.
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I’m going to be working through the story hangover left after this book for a long time to come. It’s not really an emotional roller-coaster, there aren’t the big changes of direction I expect from that, but it pack one heck of a punch. I kind of think I’m feeling what “punch drunk” really means. Lily and Shane are adorable together. Add Valentine into the mix and you’ve got a lot of chaos to deal with, but still completely adorable. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite character from this book. And yet Valentine stole the show for me every time I saw him. Anyone who’s ever loved a rambunctious rescue will see themselves in parts of this story and will fall in love with the big-hearted mutt and his people just like I did.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.
A Dog Called Valentine by Roxanne Snopek. This is Lily and Shane’s story.
This was a sweet, heartwarming, and fun story where Lily and Shane and a dog, Valentine, find true happiness. Oh, let’s not forget Shane’s grandmother. You will laugh and cry. A fun and entertaining read.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
A sweet, slow burn romance with all the feels, two souls in need of love, and a dog who brought them together.
A Dog Called Valentine by Roxanne Snopek
Neither lily nor Shane are in the market for a relationship though their friends and relatives seem dedicated to finding them the perfect person to make their lives complete. Shane is dealing with the probably loss of being an active duty policeman after being injured on the job and losing his K-9 partner as he rehab’s his grandmother’s home and gets on with his life. Lily is enmeshed in her mother’s NGO even though she would much rather be doing interior design and her new focus is to give back by taking in a foster dog. Well, the foster dog is a handful and a half that has her chasing Valentine hither and yon and right into the arms of Shane who knows more about dogs and training them than anyone knew. The two come to an agreement to get Valentine trained in time for an event that will find him a new forever home and while they work together they will pretend to have a relationship to keep their families and friends off their backs.
This was a sweet feel-good story that had two worthy wonderful characters find their HEA. It was somewhat predictable but a fun way to spend the afternoon.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tule Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars
The different plot ideas on the book information and the name of the author caught my attention. This story lined up with all the hopeful notes I had for it. Great main characters, supporting characters, emotions, friendship to romance.
Shane’s grandmother Dolly was a hoot. She was not afraid to say what was on her mind but not in a mean way.
Lily, what a big heart she has but she is SO over her head. There is the added pressure of she doesn’t want to FAIL again. She wants to help but she doesn’t know zip about dogs let alone troubled ones. And dealing with the demands of her mother is also a struggle she’s not sure she can win. She has dreams of her own. There is a twist towards the end of the book that I really liked about that. Lily, does have some skills too so don’t think that she didn’t. She just didn’t recognize most of them. Her friends do though. And as time goes on Shane also begins to bring them to her attention too.
Shane had even more depth than I was expecting and boy did he fight the pull of Lily and Valentine. I thought the author did a good job of showing both the physical and emotional pain that Shane was going through. His K-9 partner, Titan had been so much of Shane’s life both professionally and personally. He couldn’t even bear to talk about him. It was written in a way that felt totally believable.
What about Valentine? Yes, I consider him a main character as well. He added laughs, humor and some tears too.
This book kept my attention and I enjoyed it. Also there were tidbits when it came to some adjustments of training a dog that was fun. It was sprinkled throughout without being heavy.
I voluntarily received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book via Netgalley and these are my honest opinions of it.
I laughed, I got teary eyed and really enjoyed this book! Anyone who has a dog or loves pets would enjoy this story of Valentine, a dog that no one wanted. Lily Garner volunteers at a pet shelter and applied to foster Valentine…she knows nothing about training dogs, but just knows that she will be able to help Valentine get a forever home. Valentine is matted and uncared for and Lily will change all that. Lily meets Shane Bowman when Valentine, who is overjoyed to be out of a cage, takes off one day. Shane is restoring his grandmother’s house and is able to corral Valentine. Lily is amazed at the structured reaction that Valentine has to Shane. Shane is a RCMP Officer who is recovering from being shot and losing his K-9 partner, Titan. He is not interested in having another dog, but finds himself unwillingly offering to help Lily. I read this book in one sitting as it was such a delightful story with characters (and Valentine) that I was rooting for. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
I truly enjoyed reading this book!
It is a touching & emotional story.
It really pulled all my heartstrings.
Lily, is done with dating. No fix ups
from friends. No more blinds dates,
set up by her mom. She decided to
be a foster dog mom.
Shane, is helping to fix up his Gram’s
home. He is still recovering from a
horrific & heartbreaking tragedy.
But, everything changed the day Valentine, came into Lily & Shane’s life.
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!!!
A sweet and heartfelt story.
Shane is a police officer who is preparing his grandmother’s house to sell while he is recovering from a career ending injury. His meddling grandmother is determined to get him dating again even if she has to submit his picture to the reality show, The Bachelorette.
Lily is an heiress who desperately wants to live life on her own terms. Her dream is to start an interior design company with her friends. But, her mother just wants her to dedicate her time to charity and settle down with one of the many so-called perfect men she knows. When Lily fosters a dog from the shelter she volunteers at, she has no idea how much her life will change. She didn’t expect to fall in love with the dog or Shane, who helps her train him.
I loved this book. I went through all the emotions while reading it, but mostly I laughed because of Valentine’s silly antics. Lily and Shane were the perfect couple. They were so good for each other, but they just didn’t see it at first. I enjoyed the fake dating part of the story and watching Valentine heal their broken hearts and lives. Shane’s grandmother was a fun part of the story too. I almost think she needs her own book.
Lily Garner volunteers part-time at the local animal shelter. She takes on a dog called Valentine when her friend who runs the shelter asks her to foster Valentine, a rejected Valentine’s gift. She warns Lily that Valentine has had a couple homes and been returned each time. Valentine, it seems, needs lots of training and lots of love before finding his forever home. Lily is determined to train Valentine but is quickly overwhelmed by his actions. He runs away from her when she takes him on a walk to the local park and that’s where she first meets our hero, Shane Bowman. Shane was injured and his K-9 partner, Titan was killed during a robbery. Valentine runs up to Shane and listens to his directions. Shane agrees to give Lily some help with training the dog. This begins the story of Lily, Shane and Valentine.
A Dog Called Valentine by Roxanne Snopek is a sweet, yet emotional romance. Shane is in the midst of trying to get his life back together after being injured, losing his beloved K-9 partner and the end of his engagement. Lily is dealing with a difficult relationship with her mother and feeling insecure. Valentine has been abused and needs to find trust and love. As the two humans and the dog progress in their relationship the story builds to an emotional crescendo when everything all comes together just right. I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline.
I had never read any books by this author and had no idea what to expect. Little did I know I was going to find a rare pearl in a vast ocean of authors.
While others will give you the plot, I will go a different way.
The story of Lilly, Shane and the dog named Valentine was touching, and at times heartbreaking , but also heartwarming.
With Lilly’s , we are reminded that the experiences we have as children and how parents behalf towards us, does in fact affect us as adults. Insecurities and feelings of not being good enough can be a heavy load to carry.
Shane, is recovering physically and mentally after an incident that changed his life foreve , and one in which he suffered a great loss. Since then, he has closed himself off from others, love and trusting someone else.
Valentine, now in an animal shelter, is a dog that has suffered a great deal as well.
When Lilly decides to foster the rambunctious dog, little did she know that the lives of these three would be clanged forever.
A lovely story of about losses, hope , new beginnings , trust, letting go and love. One you will surely fall in love with.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley and Tule Publishing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Enjoyed it.
Very boring. I quit reading it half-way through.