I’ve been a fan of several of Julia’s historical romances and I adore dogs so I figured I’d love this as well. Unfortunately, it fell pretty flat for me. The characters were just ok. Carly is completely neurotic and hard to connect to. Max is kind of adorable but boring. And I guess that was my biggest problem. I was bored with the romantic aspect of this book and onLy cared about the dogs. Baxter and Hazel steal everything scene and are far more entertaining than any of the human character.s. There is a side plot line involving the parents of Max and Carly that agitated me to no end and the ending was rushed and left me feeling cheated. Because of these things, I will not be leaving a review on my blog.

Talk about timing and romance. Carly and Max had the worst timing for the best time of their lives. Their story has just the right amount of romance and laughter. The added bonus of their families just added a funny and sometimes quirky aspect to the book. Of course, there was also Hazel and Buster the two very lucky dogs who got the whole story started. I really enjoyed the characters, the romance between Max and Carly was sweet and filled some seemingly insurmountable hurdles, but like all good romances, love wins. Really a very good read.

This is a really cute story of two basset hounds who find their FBB (forever basset buddy) after a dog walking mix-up. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll mourn the loss of shoes and pillows like most dog owners do. It’s basset buddy love at first sight. Oh, there’s also a second side story about their owners too. With that story you get romance, family drama, and laughter. This book screams read me to the tune of a dogs howling along with a siren. Read this book for the dogs and enjoy the story of Carly & Max.

Opposites definitely attract! Loved the chemistry between Carly & Max. Hazel & Baxter provide lots of fun. Their parents are a hot mess but still relatable. Jamie's character was written very well, with care and authenticity. All in all a fun read

I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUCH A CUTE PREMISE. Meet cute – Basset Hound switcharoo style and I am hooked – Hazel and Baxter were just so adorable. Can we also just appreciate the beautiful cover of this book which I was immediately drawn to.

I enjoyed reading about the characters Carly Kennedy and Max Sheffington – they were such a delight to read about and they were such cute sometimes over the top and slightly over dramatic - totally get it! That actually made it so much more fun to read for me - so cute and so delightful.

I found the writing to be so charming and adorable. Also, including an autistic character in the book also brought the heart melting moments for me about Max – I thought the writing captured this in such a beautiful and sensitive way that I really admired in this novel.

I found this to be a perfect summer escape read many would enjoy, for being funny, and also for being such a light hearted read that involved really adorable hounds and so much more.

If you are a dog lover, you cannot miss this!

You Lucky Dog by Julia London is a quirky, pick-me-up story that will leave you feeling like heading out to adopt your new dog. Most likely… It begins with a unique “meet cute” that I didn’t see coming from Ms. London. I liked it and found it intriguing. Next, enters Carly, a down on her luck publicist, and Max, a brain scientist seeking tenure at the local university. I couldn’t help loving gorgeous Max, and Carly eventually grew on me. I did not like many of the supporting characters in this story – I wanted to give them a good talking to. They were selfish people creating such angst for my new friends Max and Carly. I wanted to be their personal life coach and new dog sitter.

For me, romantic stories are more than just the HEA. I have to love how they arrive there and it needs an edge of reality. Oh, and a couple of cute basset hounds don’t hurt the storyline. Ms. London created some sweet puppy love with this one.

I received an advanced reader copy from the author. Opinions are my own.

You Lucky Dog was a combination of all of my favorite things—a contemporary romance featuring dogs, a meet cute, and a near-sighted professor—and yet it still fell flat. (If I had known going in that it was written by the same author as The Billionaire in Boots —a book I only read on assignment—I'm pretty sure I would have skipped it.) There were definitely parts of this book that were cute, but they were overshadowed by a predictable love story that ended up being kind of boring.

There's nothing wrong with a solidly average romance where everything works out the way you want it to... where there's narrative conflict but nothing too tragic... where dogs are involved because obviously they are the best.... but I wanted more. I even put off writing this review for weeks because I hoped I'd come up with something better than "eh". (Which, lol, didn't happen.)

So, instead, may I offer you three books I loved more than this one, and one book I can't wait to read:
• Interested in a protagonist who works in social media? Try One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
• Adore romantic meet-cutes? Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters is chock-full of them
• Hot for teacher? Well Met by Jen DeLuca's got you covered
• Need a four-footed friend with your romance? Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams is on my list!

Standalone Novel

Carly Kennedy and Max Sheffington have both been having one of "those" days when they arrive home, only to find that the wrong dog has been left for them! Carly tracks down the correct owner, but he has ruined Baxter with couch-sitting, mac-and-cheese, and Dog TV. Max is baffled by the beautiful woman in the strange costume, but he needs someone to dog-sit and Carly is his only option. Between Carly's crazy clients and Max's tenure track progress, neither has time to deal with a dog mix-up.

If you're looking for a fun romp with dog swaps, family craziness and job struggles, this is the book for you!

Oh my goodness! Hazel and Baxter stole the show (or, actually, the book). YOU LUCKY DOG, Julia London’s latest, features two nearly identical basset hounds that accidentally get returned to the wrong owners bringing together their owners in an unexpected relationship. Like their dogs, Carly and Max are very different in their professional and personal lives, but both are on the verge of the next step in their career. Not planning on a relationship, they spend more and more time together because Hazel is definitely good for Baxter. Carly is determined, a bit rigid, and more than a little over the top, while Max is nerdy, dependable, and laid back. Both have families they are very involved in, especially Max with his father and autistic brother, Jamie.
This was a fun story with quirky characters that were fun to watch. I loved that Carly’s life was not perfect, like many people’s, but that she has goals and wasn’t afraid to put herself out there and do whatever it took to achieve her goals. I also love that Max and Carly respected each other’s decisions and career paths, supporting each other, but not influencing the big decisions.
London is good at writing stories and characters that will have you giggling, and this one was no different. YOU LICKY DOG is a fun summer escape from everyday life, especially in August 2020.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
#YOULUCKYDOG #JULIALONDON #BERKLEYROMANCE

Great meet cute. This had a cute idea with cute nerdy professor, dogs, and leading lady in PR but just felt a little flat. The slower burn was way too long and not much of a burn. It was a great friendship.
Overall, 3 stars and 2.5 steam

Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy this book. I probably should have DNF'd but I kept pushing through.

It just felt like there was too many subplots happening at once and none of them were ever fully fleshed out. I wanted more from the romance between the hero and heroine because I could tell that there was chemistry, but it wasn't fully explored because there was so many other things going on around them. The plotline of the parents was interesting but it came and went really quickly and a little too easily, if I'm being honest Even the sisters story was touched upon enough that I was curious about her relationship but we don't really learn much beyond how stressed she seems to be.

I'm sad to even write this review as I've loved all of the other books I've read from the author. This one just didn't pan out for me.

An absolute treat!Heartwarming and hilarious. Fab characters and furry friends. Julia London has written a sweet romcom that will have you giggling, smiling, and wagging your tail. Carly is trying to stay relevant as a publicist burning the candle at both ends, so it is quite disturbing when she returns home and discovers the dog in her house is not hers. Max is a brain scientist, a Professor of neurological science at the University of Texas on the tenure track. He is equally perplexed to find that his lively Hazel has been replaced with a much more solemn dog, we later learned to find out is named Baxter. When Carly shows up at Max’s door with Hazel in tow there is an immediate connection... between Hazel and Baxter that is. OK well there might be a little bit of an attraction between Carly and Max but they are not willing to admit to that yet. On the outside they appear to be quite different Carly is quirky and free spirited while Max is A little more buttoned up and serious. However they cannot deny that Hazel and Baxter love spending time together and this offers them an excuse to also spend time together. What follows is a charming story filled with family, romance, growth, some surprises, and of course dogs.

This story was beyond adorable! I did really like Carly and Max, but Hazel and Baxter stole the show! Carly was a great strong and spunky character who I would love to have as a friend. The things she had to do for her job especially wearing those crazy high fashion outfits created by her fashion designer client had me cracking up. Max was great and I found the research he was doing involving dogs and autism really interesting. Max’s brother was autistic so he had a personal connection to this research, this also led to many heartwarming moments between Max and his brother. Carly’s family on the other hand was quite over the top. The interactions between Carly and her family generally left me chuckling. This is an absolute can’t miss for anyone who loves dogs, romance, and humor.

This book in emojis 🐶 🦴 🍕 👗 📸 🐕

*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

What happens when two basset hounds end up with the wrong owners after a dog walk gone bad? A hilarious tale of opposite attracts, and I’m not just talking about the dogs.
Carly is trying to hold together the fraying ends of her life. She constantly juggling too many balls, is struggling to start her PR career, dealing with difficult clients, and is trying to be a good dog mom to Baxter, the sad basset hound she adopted from her sister. All she wants to do is move to New York where she knows her future is waiting.
Max is on verge of getting tenure, making progress on his research, and allows Hazel to rule the house (a dogs got to have her couch and tv time). All together, he seems to satisfied with his life and is happy with the routine.
Yet everything changes when their pot smoking dog walker is arrested and the dogs, Baxter and Hazel, are delivered to the wrong home. In each other Max and Carly discover what they didn’t know they were missing. Their opposite personalities are the perfect balance to each other. Yet their fragile beginning may be over before it starts.
The real question is whether Carly and Max will discover what they truly need to happy.
A completely joyful read, would highly recommend this book to anyone. This is the summer read that we all needed.

A dog mix-up brought them together, but it seemed like the universe was determined to keep them apart.

I thought the set up for this book was fantastic! I won't tell you the whole tale, because it was quite funny, but the result was that Max and Carly, two people who probably would never have met, were brought together via this dog mishap. There was that initial clash with Carly and Max having very different personalities and dog-parenting styles, but eventually, the four formed a sort of little family. Eventually all the together time gave way to more (as we expected), but family hijinks and career aspirations posed a threat to this budding relationship.

Quick thoughts:

• This IS a rom-com. Many have heard me complain about some books being slapped with that label and ending up a bit on the heavy side, but I would definitely call this a rom-com. The combination of zany antics, quirky characters, and humor kept it buoyant and I laughed quite a bit.

• Romance approved! These two formed a delightful union. The attraction and depth of affection felt authentic to me. Seriously, I was in tears at one point, worried about the fate of their relationship.

• The dogs. I could not get enough of the dogs. London did a wonderful job writing them into the story. They brought a lot of warmth and glee to the scenes they inhabited.

Overall: A fun rom-com made even better with two adorable dogs.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy of "You Lucky Dog".

After a pup switch, Carly and Max strike up a friendship were they rely on each other when their dog walker was arrested.

Max and Carly are both struggling, Carly looking for a new career, Max is working for tenure. Add in crazy family dynamics and life is less than great! Between the ups and downs, they both learn about chasing their dreams, falling in love and growing up in the process.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for access to this arc.


Once Max and Carly met, they did not have an attraction leading to an immediate relationship. There was a teensy bit of friction as Carly let Max know her views on dog ownership and Max was stunned and confused as to exactly what Carly was wearing (one of her client’s haute couture creations). Carly also thought Max might have punked her into dog sitting for him. But soon they discovered they could relax around the other and began to look forward to dog outings. The continuation to some hawt sex was given time to percolate but once they dove into things, the relationship moved very quickly to deeper feelings. Maybe a bit too fast for what I saw on page. But still, the dogs were cute and I was invested.

After a while, a few things began to dim my initial enthusiasm. The humorous zinging one liners that were all over the first chapters started to fade out as the book delved into more serious issues. I can understand the reasons to be more serious but I missed them. Then came the big surprise. I’ll try to avoid spoilers – even though it was fairly obvious what was about to be unloaded on Max and Carly. Once this entered the storyline, Max and Carly both stepped down a notch in my estimation. Yes, this is a romance that is mainly focused on them but their reaction was like sand in the vaseline. Suddenly instead of looking at how this event was going to – mainly – affect the other people involved, it was all them, them, them. And their “them” was in the nature of sulky and slightly petulant children. Now it’s not as if they didn’t have some legitimate concerns but those could have been addressed much more maturely instead of the way they were.

There was a profoundly autistic character in the story. He was very important and I think was depicted accurately, but he was more there as a means to an end, a construct to move the plot and the relationship forward, rather than a fully-fledged character with his own arc and agency. Max’s relationship with his brother was a nice mix of love and caring but also concern and, at times, frustration. That might not seem to show Max in the best light but it felt honest. Carly’s family members were also problematic for me as they appeared to be more caricatures and two dimensional than fleshed out characters. Carly’s mother needed a thump on the head for some of her actions and the sister was a hot mess.

The last third of the book seemed a bit darker to me and there was a whopper of a final conflict. The relationship between Max and Carly also confused me as at one point it seemed that both sides had decided to end it, then no, then yes again, then no. The final reconciliation allowed both sides to have worked out what they wanted and tried for their dreams so that was nice.

I was looking forward to a cute rom-com and that was partly what I got. The book seemed to morph into self discovery and family drama.But somehow the end result didn’t equal the sum of its parts. There were aspects I loved, parts I definitely laughed while reading but there were also things that bothered me. The blurb is sweet, the cover is cute but it just didn’t check all my boxes. C+

You Lucky Dog is the latest romantic comedy from York Times bestselling author Julia London.

Carly Kenney is struggling, her life and career seem to be stifling her. To make matters worse her sister has saddled her with a depressed basset hound. Max Sheffington is on the fast track to tenure, he’s content with his life and his dog. When the two dogs are accidentally swapped he meets Carly and is intrigued. But Carly wants to move and Max is preparing to cement his life as it is. Can these two figure out how they fit into each other’s lives?

This book has gone on a lot of Summer Reading lists, and I was excited to pick it up based on the cover and the blurb. I’m always up for a good rom-com that feels light and easy to read and I’m a sucker for a dog on the cover. I loved Max, the sexy bespectacled professor and his charming dog Hazel. Max is the exactly perfect kind of sweet and nerdy hero that I want to read in a rom-com. I had a harder time connecting with Carly, who felt both too much and not enough for me. She was constantly put upon by her family and felt taken advantage of, and yet she didn’t really ever step up to them and take control of her life.

The author included an excellent story line about Max’s brother and his autism. Her representation of Jamie felt very well developed and a good representation of how families deal with the challenges of raising children with autism. I hated Max’s dad and the way he seemed to be able to drop Jamie whenever it was inconvenient for him. Luckily, Max was a wonderful brother and his treatment of Jamie felt honest and real.

Both Carly and Max’s families play a large role in this book which really took me out of their romance. When I read romance I want to be absorbed in the love story and all the extra family drama felt manufactured to create the “black moment” towards the end of the book. This external drama also slows down the plot for me and really made me less interested in the last half of the book. I think if the author had just stuck to the problem of their jobs the midpoint turn wouldn’t have felt so slow and cumbersome.

The lead up to the romance between Carly and Max was super sexy and interesting. I enjoyed their “dates” with the dogs and the chemistry leading up to the sexy times was wonderful. I wanted more time between these two, I liked seeing them fall in love and it’s that chemistry that we need to sustain us through some of the tougher elements of the story.

I personally am not a fan of this trend of adding a lot of drama to rom-coms as it only serves to slow down an otherwise quick and fun read. I enjoyed their banter, the dogs, and the secy times and I could have done without the plot around their families. Overall, this was a decently fun read that was light and fluffy with a decent amount of steam. Fans of Jasmine Guilory, Sally Thorne, or Emily Henry’s latest rom-coms will probably also love this book.

~ Lindsey

Dogs! Fun! Romance! Something for everyone!


You Lucky Dog made me laugh so hard at times I couldn't put it down. I love books with dogs in them and this one has two adorable basset hounds I just fell in love with. The beginning has a mix up when the dog walker goes to jail and leaves someone else to return the dogs and he doesn't quite get it right. Happy-go-lucky Hazel belongs to Max and depressed Baxter belongs to Carly. The dogs find themselves in the wrong home. When Max and Carly discover the mistake neither is happy with the other because their ideas of dog rearing is totally opposite from each other. They do say opposites attract and that is certainly true in this book. Hazel and Baxter are crazy about each other and get into all kinds of trouble together. Max is a professor of neuroscience, a serious kind of guy and Carly is a publicist that enjoys a good time when she isn't stressing about job or family. The attraction is there from the start. This book brought back memories of 101 Dalmatians when the two main characters are brought together by 2 dogs who fall for each other and bring their people on doggie dates until they fall in love as well. There is a lot of family drama. Some even reminding me of my own family with parents in mid-life crisis a long time ago. It can be funny when it is about someone else. I was very interested in Max's work with autism and dogs. Fascinating subject. The relationship between Max and Carly certainly has its struggles but love wins out in the end. Doesn't it always? This book takes you on a fun, exciting ride and I loved every minute of it. I think you will too.
Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

“This was what it felt like to fall in love, wasn’t in? She was falling in love. She was in love with life”

An accidental dog swap with basset hounds Hazel and Baxter, unleashes an unexpected love match for Carly and Max. Both facing challenges at work, these two learn to rely and trust each other in ways they haven’t before. Creating a friendship first, Carly and Max set a foundation for a strong relationship and though tested through factors outside of their control, they become better for it.

This book started off pretty slow for me and took a bit to get into. BUT when I got into it.. I was hooked! There were some parts I skipped over that weren’t working for me, but a lot was great! I loved all the dog humor. Having a dog myself, I completely understand what it is like taking care of a dog, no matter how old they are. I also love any kind of love story. I appreciated the friendship that Carly and Max had from the beginning, how it blossomed and the obstacles they faced. The second half of the book flew and I was happy to have the opportunity to read it. A very cute and easy read!

Thank you so much @berkleypub & @netgalley for the advanced digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I'll admit - I was drawn to the cover because DOGS! I love dogs and a romance surrounding owners of swapped dogs sounds so good! However, execution really fell flat for me. It was really slow and too much inner dialogue vs interactions between the leads. I found myself skimming pages and just wanted to be done with it.