This is my first book by this author and I will have to admit that I didn’t finish it. Even though I liked Brian, I found Veronica to be a snob (even though she tries not to be) and I felt she kept blowing hot and cold with Brian. One thing I did empathize with Veronica is her relationship with her father. I also couldn’t wade through the multiple “does (s)he like me, does (s)he not” thoughts. This was not for me – even with the dog.

Veronica is a workaholic who is determined to make partner at her father's law firm. She doesn't have time to date. but she does have time for a fling. And she knows the perfect person to help her scratch the itch - her dogwalker, Brian Walsh. But Brian isn't just a dogwalker. He's a former professional hockey player who's rebuilding his life after a career ending injury. The attraction between the two grows and before long, the two are together again and again. Could Veronica throw all her plans out the window and fall for the guy who is all wrong for her?


This book had a really cute storyline. Also, any story with a dog in it has me hooked! Neither Brian or Veronica are looking for a relationship, but both end up heading in that direction. After an invitation to her sister's wedding, things take an unexpected turn. It took me a bit to get into the characters, but once I was invested, I flew through the book. Overall, it was a sweet story and I enjoyed it.

Veronica Anderson has lived her life trying to please her father. who is stuck in the dark ages. She also has no filter, especially around a certain dog walker. Brian Walsh. Now Brian is not just a dog walker, he is an ex-hockey player. He has landed at his aunt's house to get away from it all and figure out what is next in his life. From the moment they meet, it is instant combustion. Veronica is used to being in control, about saying one and done. Only this time those pesky feelings are sneaking in. Seeing them navigate this not "dating" thing, is unusual. In the end, Brian gets Veronica like no one else has.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up for Baxter!

This is the second book in the series, and I would recommend book one to you, although it is not essential to have read it to enjoy this one.

I rather like that this series is unconventional in its romantic choices. The last book was about an older woman having a relationship with her stepdaughter's ex. In fact, there was nothing really seedy or sordid about it, but the idea is one which we are conditioned to have preconceptions about. Here Veronica is also older than Brian, but the issue here is one of snobbery about his seeming lack of a proper job. For a lawyer, she is hopeless at keeping her thoughts to herself and she is extremely offensive at times, possibly not even realising that she is doing it. It is not an attractive trait, and one that the reader is forced to confront. I imagine that some people will judge her poorly, and yet be guilty of similar, as we are often swift to form opinions of others... even if reluctant to admit it. So I felt that Kent was making a clever point (as she has done in many books before), although there will some who do not appreciate it.

As we get to see how Veronica has lived her life and how her family have shaped her thinking, it is easy to see why she has become so conditioned by it. I forgave her a great deal when we see what a misogynistic culture she works within, and how lonely she is – with the exception of her dead brother's Basset hound, Baxter. So, she really isn't very skilled in the art of relationships, and certainly struggles to recognise love, or even some levels of human decency. Brian is fascinated by her I think, as she is the opposite of the puck bunnies who have been following him around, and his anonymity is a pleasurable change. Of course, it is that which causes much of the trouble between them, and it was interesting to see how Kent could possibly pull that around. Her solution is the absolute best, and I was very happy by the end of the book that everyone got their just desserts.

This was the first book that I have read from this author and it was an ok read for me. I liked the premise of the story but once I got started it was hard to really get into it. Loved Brian but Veronica was not someone I liked. She didn’t redeem herself to me and it made it really hard to like the book. I did finish it but to be honest it was hard. Others may like this book just fine but I just didn’t and I have a hard time recommending this.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

If you’re looking for some light reading, this is it. The storyline is very entertaining and there is a hea. Brian is a likable character but Veronica and her dad were very annoying. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review

Enjoyed for the most part. Some issues irritated me! 3.5 Stars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are so many parts of this book I loved
- Brian - soooo Hot and kind
- The steamy scenes - oh yeah!
- Everything else but Veronica - She was a hot mess.

I vacillated between liking her and hating her. She was rude and treated Brian like crap for the most part. Even when she recognized she was being a b.. she still did it. He was the one that made this book what it was.

The ending was really fast and I did not care for it at all. It did not even seem like a typical romance ending.

While the theme of the story is entertaining, the characterization of Veronica was not a great choice. Very self centered and that did not balance well with Brian, although he had his own secrets he held back.

I just wanted more connection and less analyzing and defining of their relationship. It would have read so much better.

Baxter, the dog, brings Brian into Veronica’s life. The fantasies start almost immediately. There relationship takes a steamy path even though neither is looking for a relationship. Veronica is struggling with work and family, while Brian is trying to start a new life. There are lots of deep conversations between the characters and a lot of soul searching.

Brian was more than a dog walker!

Lawyer Veronica Andersen had Mrs. Clouster walk her basset hound on the three days a week she commuted to the city office during the summer and almost every day during the winter when her nephew showed up to walk Baxter. Brian Walsh needs a break from his old life and he knew that his aunt would give him a couch to sleep on while he walked dogs for her.

Veronica worked for her father’s law firm and was hoping to make partner but when she got the invitation to her half-sister’s wedding she decided to ask Brian to be her plus one even though taking a dog walker wasn’t what her family would expect at a family wedding. What Veronica didn’t know that Brian was retaking some college classes while he was preparing to take his MCAT so he could hopefully go to medical school.

Veronica and Brian needed to deal with figuring what they wanted to do when their lives changed and falling in love during the middle of it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unmanageable wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It’s sort of a sports romance, sort of a employee/employer romance but uniquely all on its own. Veronica has no time for men, and that includes the man who has shown up to walk her dog. Doesn’t matter that one look and she is drooling and clenching. Brian is a dog work who lives with his aunt and she’s a lawyer about to make partner at her dads firm.

Brian is on a mission to figure out his life. Everything he ever wanted and thought he had his future set fell apart with one injury. Now he’s staying with his aunt while he heals and figures out what’s next. He just never expected to find Veronica. She hits him like no one has before. What starts as a booty call turns serious but he’s keeping his past quiet and she thinks of her being beneath her. Can they survive family, jobs, and secrets?

One of my favorite books ever is Gone Girl. It grabs you by the throat from the beginning and doesn't let go, even though both main characters are the epitome of despicable. They're interesting. Their world is fascinating. The writing is superb. I say all this to communicate that I don't need a story with likeable or warm and fuzzy characters. Or even moral characters.

What I do need are characters that make sense, a story that makes sense, a narrative that pulls me in and through, and dialogue that reflects the individuality of the characters.

With Unmanageable, I get none of this.

What I did get:

- A main character Heroine who is unlikeable and whiny at best, inconsistent at worst. Her decisions make no sense. The reader never fully grasps just exactly who she is, but what we do grasp, we don't care enough about. She never gives us a reason to care, other than she took over the care of her deceased brother's dog. She's cold, unfeeling, self-serving, shallow, snotty, snooty. We're never shown what love means to her, or who she's loved in the present or past, so it's hard to buy when she finally says she's "in love." It simply doesn't feel genuine.

- A main character hero who's played in a major league sport, but he didn't play all that long, and it's not a sport the majority of the U.S. population fawns over. And he's *gulp* shocked that this woman doesn't recognize his name, as though he were the winning quarterback of the most recent Super Bowl. As a fan of hockey, I know of their "puck bunnies" and wonder why he's okay with this H crapping all over him or even giving her a second chance after her first dismissal of him.

- Dialogue. Most of the dialogue reminded me of a computer-generated voice indistinguishable from one character to the next. Sports figures, especially, speak in slang terms during casual moments. Not these guys. Nope. They sounded just as formal and awkward as attorney Heroine. Except for his use of "smokin' hot" multiple times. The further into the book, the more hunky hockey player began to sound like rod-up-her-butt attorney. And when attorney interacted with her friends or other females? They all sounded like a mix of New England and proper British.

- I appreciated the author trying to delve into the characters' emotions and internal conflicts, and explore beyond romance trope. But too much angst and self-reflection caused me to skip paragraphs and pages, and the repetition insulted me as a reader.

Unfortunately, I simply couldn't connect with anyone or find myself invested at all in the story.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

There many times I wanted to DNF this book, but mercifully I made it to the end. I hated Veronica! She was shallow, snotty and very judgmental. His age, his beard, his occupation were all issues. She basically treated Brian like some kind of lap dog. Kicking ng him out for dumb reasons. She was cringing when she thought he was nothing but a dog walker. But yet, it bothered her to learn he was a former athlete. And telling him she liked having the power in a relationship. WTF? She was also very judgy of her friend Jordan as well. But she had no problem being passive-aggressive and playing into her dysfunctional family dynamics. Her father was a jerk and her sister Charlotte was a bish like her. Why didn't she put her family members in their place instead of taking their abuse? And what happened at the wedding was too much, the betrayal of what her father did. Yet, she still wanted to work there being treated as an underling. I was disgusted with the lot of them. Brian could have manned up more instead of letting her treat like that. She needed to make amends for her poor behavior. The book ended with no resolution for anything. And it was extremely boring to boot. It was supposed to be a sports romance. But it did not feel like one. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was probably my least favourite romance book for 2019. The writing and dialogue were poorly executed. The premise sounded fun, but the author just couldn't pull it together. To add to my dislike, I also did not like the lead female character Veronica. She was such a snob and flipped emotions with Brian too much. I couldn't figure out what she wanted from Brian and the dialogue issues did not help matters any. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I think the characters need to be fleshed out more, the book more thoroughly edited, more likeable lead and a more satisfying ending. A great premise poorly executed.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Loveswept for the ARC.

I liked the premise of this book, but I didn't feel the chemistry between Brian and Veronica.

Maybe it was just an example of right book, wrong time for me.

I would try this author again.

Unfortunately, this was not my favorite romance.

We follow a lawyer named Veronica who is a bit of a workaholic who enters into a romance with a retired professional hockey player/dog walker Brian. While the premise sounded fun, I found the writing and dialogue to be very poorly done. There were long stretches of monologue when two characters were having a conversation and the author used the same wording almost every time which made the conversations very repetitive and unrealistic.

Also the characterization was not done well. Veronica was snobby and too hot and cold with Brian. It was so hard to figure out what she really wanted from the relationship and the shortcomings with the dialogue as mentioned above certainly did not help the situation.

Overall, would not recommend this novel. While there was nothing really problematic, I think it should be edited more throughly, characterization more fleshed out and a more satisfying conclusion.

DNF

I really wanted to try and like this book but I couldn't finish it.
Veronica was awful. She was shallow and didn't want people in her town to think that she was fucking the dog walker. That's not a heroine we need for 2019.

But what really killed it for me was the the second time they have? sex. It's just pages of cringe worth dialogue of the Veronica spilling her guts, saying she just wants sex, but also being pressured for more than a one night stand.

A very well-written and solid story. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I liked the characters and the plot.

I just couldn’t like the heroine, Veronica. She’s a lawyer in this small town and is working hard as a lawyer for her father. She is trying to somehow earn his love, but it’s clear that he doesn’t really know or love her. She is falling for Brian, the sexy dog-walker and has no idea that he’s a former professional NHL goalie. She’s rather snobby and snotty to him when she thinks that he lacks ambition and is happy to walk dogs. She treats him selfishly, kicking him out whenever she wants to be alone or is just feeling too much. When she finally finds out about his former career and his ambitious future plans, she kicks him out again because…. I’m not sure why. I couldn’t follow her hang-ups and Brian seems much too good for her.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I found myself really disliking the female lead in this book. Having said that, I became invested in the story and had to keep reading to find out how it all ended.
Kent draws her characters very well, they definitely come to life on the page, and even if you don't like them you care enough to read on.
Thanks to #Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy in return for an honest review .

This is my first book in this series and while I'm sure some might love it, I did not like this book from the beginning. I found the main character, Veronica, to be spoiled, jaded, and judgemental beyond saving. The more I read, the less redeeming qualities I found about her treatment of Brian. His character was well written but I couldn't connect with him either. The family drama around this book was also boring and uninspired, I felt like giving up on this book so many times. Not even the smexy scenes did it for me. I would not recommend this book.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own.