Book Review: To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before by Lizzie Shane

Posted November 24, 2021 by WendyW in Book Review, Uncategorized / 6 Comments

To all the dogs i've loved before
To All the Dogs I've Loved Before
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

by Lizzie Shane
Publication Date November 30, 2021
Published by Headline
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Genres: Fiction / Family Life / General, Fiction / Romance / Clean & Wholesome, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Pets / Dogs / General
Pages: 304
Format: ARC

'This is the perfect romantic comedy . . . genuinely beautiful and such a joy to read' 5* reader review on Once Upon A Puppy

For fans of Holly Martin, Phillipa Ashley and Sarah Morgan, Lizzie Shane's To All The Dogs I've Loved Before is the charming second-chance small-town romance!

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Sometimes a second chance at first love requires a little push...

The last person Elinor Rodriguez wants to spend time with is her first love, Levi Jackson. The quietly intense lawman broke Elinor's heart once before, and she's determined to never risk trusting him again. Unfortunately, her mischievous rescue dog seems to have other plans. Somehow Dory always manages to escape Elinor at the worst possible moment. And in the small town of Pine Hollow, Levi is the man to call when a dog is disrupting traffic.

As the kid who barely graduated - and still struggles to hide his dyslexia - Levi always believed that Elinor was way out of his league. Even though he ended their engagement all those years ago, Elinor continues to take Levi's breath away whenever he sees her. Now, with a little help from a four-legged friend, Levi and Elinor may just get the second chance they deserve.

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My Review:

To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before by Lizzie Shane is the third book in her Pine Hollow series, but works fine as a stand-alone novel.  This contemporary romance is a fun, sweet, small-town second chance story.  

Elinor Rodriguez is Pine Hollow’s school librarian who lives with her mischievous, and ill-behaved Australian Shepard named Dory.  Unfortunately, Dory is an escape artist and continues to escape Elinor’s house and wreak havoc on the small town of Pine Hollow.  Police Chief Levi Jackson is the one called every time Dory escapes and he has to rescue Dory and bring her back to her home.  

The problem is that Levi called off his wedding to Elinor three years ago, just weeks before the wedding without a reason.  This left Elinor feeling betrayed, hurt and angry.  Levi and Elinor had been a couple off and on ever since High School, but neither has dated much in the past three years since their aborted nuptials.  Elinor never had closure from her relationship because Levi never told her why he called off the wedding.  Now, the mischievous Dory causes Levi and Elinor to have to talk to each other, as much as Elinor despises being anywhere near Levi.  

This is a predictable, sweet story, that is perfect for anyone who loves a clean, romantic story set in a lovely small town.  It’s very Hallmark Movie-ish, so if you love the Hallmark Channel movies, you’ll probably enjoy this book too.  There were some serious topics that blended well with the more humorous aspects.  Especially from that dog Dory!  I thought it might be one of those “the dog is setting up the couple” stories, but no, Dory is just a dog, a badly behaved, but super cute dog, who doesn’t have any special powers.  The pacing was good, and I never felt like the story dragged or moved too quickly.  I enjoyed the descriptions of the town and it’s a place I would enjoy living in.  

I highly recommend To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before to anyone who loves a sweet, small town, second chance romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

6 responses to “Book Review: To All the Dogs I’ve Loved Before by Lizzie Shane