I'm a major dog lover, so I had a lot of affection for the plot of this story. There were definitely a lot of side stories going on that muddied the story a bit, but overall it was a fun read that made me excited to read more from London in the future.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Carly Kennedy's life is in a spiral. She is drowning in work, her divorced parents are going through their midlife crises, and somehow Carly's sister convinces her to foster Baxter--a basset hound rescue with a bad case of the blues. When Carly comes home late from work one day to discover that the dog walker has accidentally switched out Baxter for another perkier, friendlier basset hound, she has reached the end of her leash.

Max was confused try his dog acting weird. All Baxter wanted to do stare into corner and not respond. Max knew he had to find the dog walker to get his dog back.

Love the dogs, they were the cutest. The book was so cute. I loved it. It's easy to read and so enjoyable. The romance was expected, but it was fun and cute beginning to end.

This book started off well with a fun and unique meet cute. I thought it was funny how the dogs got switched up because of the dog walker.

The story continued as light and fluffy but then it just felt awkward. The relationship between the two main characters felt stiff and was lacking. There’s really no reason for the two to be together other than their dogs. Wayyyy too much was about the dogs. And that’s all they had in common. 

The “steamy scenes” were more like cringy scenes. 

Nothing about this story felt like it flowed. Too much of it felt surface level and wasn’t fleshed out enough. I saw the surprising twist coming as it wasn’t unique. 

The cover is cute though!

Just a super duper cute book! I love a romance and especially love romance with pets so this one is right up my alley. So sweet & perfect love story. !

This book was just okay for me. I love dogs but this was not the book for me. The premise of the story was good and the writing was good as well. 

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for my eARC for review.

Super cute contemporary romance! This book was so charming, right from the beginning when Carley and Max have their meet cute after their dog walker mixes up their dogs.

This story also involves a lot of other characters, and all the drama that comes with family. 

If you love dogs, then you will love this book.

This book just did not work for me. It may have been a mistake to read it immediately after another book where dogs played a main role because I kept getting so mad at the way Carly treated the dogs and would talk about "the manual." She just came off whiny and annoying and I never got over that.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for my eARC for review.

I saw the Bassett hounds on the cover and I clicked <b>request.</b>

An absolute delight of a book, with some unexpected diversity and grounded romance. When Baxter and Hazel get accidentally swapped due to their dog-walker being arrested, the owners become friends (and more something more...) over text messages and doggie playdates. Carly works in PR, the field I am currently studying, so I had so much fun reading about her work. Max has an autistic brother with some excellent representation. I loved the twists and turns, but just wanted a little more oomph for it to be a favorite.

TW: cyberbullying, use of a disability slur (countered)

<i>Thank you to Berkeley Romance for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

In one of the funniest mix-ups in rom com history, Carly and Max meet after their dogs are dropped off at the wrong homes. Already flustered, Carly reluctantly takes the destructive new basset hound with her to a photoshoot where she is working with a mercurial fashion designer. Ready to have her calm, well-behaved dog back, despite the imposter dog’s apparent success as a model, Carly uses some amateur investigating skills to find the proper owner. 
Max, a neuroscientist, is beyond surprised when Carly shows up on his doorstep. The two develop a not so easy friendship that is filled with the usual romance tropes of misunderstandings, missed messages, and opposites attract dynamics. Adorable but nothing new, the dogs and their antics were a welcome addition. 
As other reviews have noted, Max and Carly’s parents have their own plot that adds a level of ick to their own relationship. I found myself dreading their sections and would have been happier (and rated this book higher) if that had been completely left out. It was distracting and dampened the tone of what otherwise was an adorable though predictable romance. 
Three stars and my thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for a complimentary copy. This did not impact my review.

DNF four chapters in.

The audio is well done, but I find both of these characters a struggle to connect to. The heroine's business endeavors stress me out because they're so financially unstable. I'm not convinced I'm going to like the autism rep in the hero's plot. The dogs are cute, but the rest feels flat to me.

ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS TREAT!!! Who knew I would love fictional dogs so much? And when this whacky dog walker swaps the dogs, our polar opposites hero and heroine meet and cannot stop thinking of each other. They have their differences at first and it's super adorable at how they lean on each other for support. LOVED IT!

This was the cutest book ever!  I loved watching the relationships form.  Who doesn't root for a dog lover!

Really fun rom-com with a great meet-cute! Give me a dog story any day, and these two basset hounds are adorable!

Max and Carly have very different personalities, right down to how they parent their doggos. They both also have a bit of drama going on in their life. Max's is a bit more relatable, while Carly has DRAMA coming at her from every angle - her flaky clients, her landlord, and her family, which was really over the top.  They both meet when their drug-dealing dog walker gets arrested and the wrong basset hounds are brought back to them.

Admittedly, it took a while to warm up to Carly but I could relate to the feeling of everything going wrong at once and trying desperately to hold things together. I liked Max, and I enjoyed his scenes with his brother, Jamie.  

A bit wordy in places, but overall, just a fun escape of a book.

You Lucky Dog is the perfect rom com when you just need to escape! It's like a non Christmas Hallmark movie. The more I read, the cheesier it became, which isn't a bad thing when you're just wanting to enjoy a story that has nothing to do with your current problems! I would recommend it!

I love a good meet-cute, and this book had a great one!

This book started out a bit slower, but definitely picked up. At first, Carly and Max don't seem like an ideal pair. As the book progresses, you can definitely see the spark between them! 

This is a cute, easy read and perfect if you're craving a romance.

Not my favorite Julia London book, but delightful nonetheless.  A drug dealing dog sitter, who is none too smart, gets himself arrested and has a friend return the dogs he had with him to the incorrect owners.  This delightful romp follows two strangers who’s lives are changed by happenstance.

You Lucky Dog is about two dog owners who meet after their dogs are accidentally switched. I had high hopes for this book as I love dogs! And it's set in Austin, a great city.

However, I found that there was a lot going on that took away from the story and character development. I just kept wanting more throughout the story. I loved the quirky pets and that the book involved dogs and shelters so heavily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Berkeley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This copy was kindly given to me by Netgalley and Berkley for review: all opinions are my own. 

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis had me sucked in immediately. But, I DNF'ed about 30% in which I HATE doing once I've invested time into a book. Will I try to read another time?  maybe but also maybe not. Was it a bad book (from what I read)? I don't think so. For me it was the writing style and narrator that just really wasn't doing it. I couldn't connect with the characters, even though I loved their dogs.

Come on, a romance novel starting off with dogs being returned to wrong owners? Adorable way to start a story and even better way to get me to pick up the book. But sadly I struggled to connect with the narrator, thus had a hard time connecting to the characters. Carly was a hard protagonist for me to like. She was a little bit whinny, little bit standoffish for no good reason. Max was a cute character though. I loved Carly description of denim on denim wearing lumberjack. Sounds like my kinda man, and he has a dog. Love. The talk around his research and connection to dog related thing was really cool. While Carly's family drama felt mostly like drama, Max's felt realer, a little more personable. There was a hint at maybe insta-love, not always a turn off (for me) depending on the story, but just didn't flow with me on this one.

Starred review only because it was required of me for this review