Starred review from March 25, 2024
For this doggone delightful rom-com, Rochon (The Boyfriend Project) pairs a canine-averse ex-Marine with a doggie day-care owner. Ashanti Wright hopes to expand both her dog boarding business, Barkingham Palace, and her newest venture, Duchess Delights, a dog treat business, into a nearby property. She faces a setback when Thad Sims, her favorite customer’s grandson, unexpectedly buys the property with plans to convert the building into a gathering place for his fellow veterans and active servicemembers. After his grandmother moves to an assisted living facility following an injury, Thad reluctantly assumes responsibility for her dog, Puddin, putting him and Ashanti into frequent proximity as the conflict between them deepens. When Puddin and Ashanti’s dog, Duchess, share a treat in a Lady and the Tramp–style moment on Barkingham Palace’s webcam livestream, the pooches go viral, so much so that Ashanti and Thad are invited to bring the pups onto a daytime talk show in New York City. Despite the lingering real estate tension and Thad’s initial aversion to all things canine, sparks soon fly. The pair’s witty banter and inevitable enemies-to-lovers arc captivate, while Puddin and Duchess’s love story adds humor. Readers will be thoroughly charmed. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Literary.
April 15, 2024
A viral video turns a woman's doggie day care into a sensation. Ashanti Wright is a successful New Orleans businesswoman. Her doggie day care, Barkingham Palace, is so successful that she's scouting for a new location in order to expand, and she has more orders than she can fulfill for the custom dog biscuits she bakes. Add to that the challenge of raising her twin 16-year-old sisters, and Ashanti has her hands full. Thaddeus Sims has been struggling to acclimate to civilian life after 15 years in the army. When his grandmother falls and enters an assisted living facility, he inherits her standard poodle, Puddin', a longtime and beloved client at Barkingham Palace. Thad is not a dog person and thinks it's ridiculous to spend money on doggie day care when he needs every dollar for the bar he plans to open, designed to cater to active military and vets. But Ashanti's French bulldog, Duchess, and Puddin' become a viral sensation on the Barkingham Palace live feeds after being caught sharing a biscuit, Lady and the Tramp style. Ashanti's already-successful business becomes a juggernaut, and a New York morning show offers to fly out the star dogs (and their owners) for a segment. Ashanti convinces Thad the free publicity will benefit both of them. This isn't a slow-burn romance as much as a slow-start romance. The novel fully explores each character's business woes and various family dramas--a difficult aunt wants to take custody of the twins from Ashanti and Thad learns a painful family secret--but the two main characters are barely on page together until the New York trip in the last third. Even though the romance comes in hot at the end, readers might wonder why the human relationship plays second fiddle to (literal) puppy love. A love letter to dogs with a romance on the side.
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May 1, 2024
A doggy-daycare owner and a surly military veteran engage in a PR partnership after their dogs go viral in Rochon's (The Hookup Plan) latest. Ashanti doesn't have time to sleep, much less date. Between expanding her Barkingham Palace doggy daycare business, raising her 16-year-old sisters, and loving on her French bulldog, Duchess, she doesn't have the bandwidth to add any more demands on her life. Especially the curmudgeonly (albeit sexy) grandson of her favorite client. Thad is newly retired from the army and building his dream business--a veteran-staffed bar and barbershop in New Orleans. Dog-hater Thad reluctantly agrees to care for his grandmother's poodle, Puddin', when she's unable to. When a video of Puddin' and Duchess goes viral, Ashanti and Thad are swept into a PR campaign to promote their businesses, and the newfound fame forces the pair to confront the growing chemistry between them. Rochon's romantic comedy may be premised on a hot viral video, but the romance here is a slow burn. Thad's and Ashanti's dual perspectives serve the enemies-to-lovers transition, as both grapple with their competing emotions and the progression of their attraction. VERDICT An adorable rom-com that's perfect for pet-lovers craving a treat.--Shanel Slater
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