It Started With a dog
By Julia London

I loved YOU LUCKY DOG, the first installment of the series, so when I found out that book 2 IT STARTED WITH A DOG is available, I jumped on a chance to read another Julia London book.

In this installment, it's all about the battle of the brews. Harper is trying hard to launch a brand new and hip coffeehouse called Deja Brew with its success tied to a great promotion, while across the street is a family owned coffee shop, Lucky Star that Jonah Rogers is trying very hard to keep the doors open.

I love Jonah and Harper's chemistry - they were such a great match until they find out that they are each others' competition. I love the pups and the how the local businesses were fostering dogs from the local rescue shelter.

The writing is amazing and I love every bit of it. It is charming, heartfelt, super sweet and oh so fun! I love the texts, their incessant banter, and how they just fit together. This was a charming read i really enjoyed!

Lucky Dog 2 is a winner. I hope to read more in the series.

Thank you to @berkleyromance for this book. This is book 2 of the Lucky Dog series and can be read as a stand alone. I thought it was a cute premise with a ride share and accidental phone swap.

Jonah and Harper texts were so fun and love how they connected so well. Despite everything everything going against them, they made it work. This was a cute sweet rom com.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I really struggled with It Started with a Dog, and that’s somewhat surprising as I did like the previous book in the series. But I think I just wasn’t in the mood for this (why do pubs put out Christmassy books so early?), especially with my greater commitment to the spooky vibes this year, and I also just wasn’t feeling it. Granted, there are some legitimate issues I have that do color my general feeling of apathy.

I did like the dogs, which were the main draw of the book. There is some cringey political campaign humor that dampened this, however, as the plot of this one largely involves a sort of “Best in Show” dog competition type thing, and the ads try to poke fun at real political ads with stuff like promises to “slash taxes, provide free health care for all, reach across the aisle to work with cats.” Givem that we’re still dealing with the aftermath of an extremely contentious election, not to mention the fact that “reaching across the aisle” isn’t something many more progressive voters want their politicians to do, as it empowers those who favor regressive, bigoted policies. It’s not so simple as some people make it sound to be friends across political lines, if one side actively supports the discrimination and persecution of marginalized people.

I also just found the romance tepid and uninteresting. The initial premise is great…a phone swap is fun and very romcom-esque. But I didn’t care for either Jonah or Harper. I slogged through most of the book, and I still can’t tell you a thing about either of them that sticks out.

This book was a massive miss for me. However, while I can’t personally recommend this due to my own enjoyment, I think it’s possible others will enjoy it more than I did if they’re looking for a lighthearted romcom.

After Harper and Jonah accidentally swap phones, Harper is determined to meet the sweet dog who belongs to the swapped phone's owner. Little does she know that they'll hit it off but also what chaos she'll bring to his world.

The pros -
• The dogs of course! So many adorable pups, but the best part is they're rescues.
• Coffee shops. Majority of this book and its story takes place around coffee shops. You get to meet the quirky owners/staff and a few loving regulars.
• The meet cute. The meet cute at the beginning gave me high hopes for this story.

The cons -
• The meet cute didn't really pay off for me. I felt the relationship between Harper and Jonah never really sparked and was rather too bumpy for me.
• Harper's family relationship was another drawback for me. I don't really understand why she had to have crappy parents to make her come off as strong-willed and determined. Especially because she came off more as selfish and unkind about Jonah's situation to me.

I enjoyed this story. I found it a bit drawn out in some parts and repetitive. With that being said, I still plan to go back and read You Lucky Dog, the first book in the series. It Started with a Dog was completely fine being read as a stand alone, which I appreciated. I felt that I was not missing a thing by not having read book 1 first.

3.5*
For all dog lovers!🐶

A sweet, warm, and fuzzy rom-com sure to put a big smile on your face. And very possibly, have you seriously considering adopting a rescue.😉

Harper and Jonah are two strangers, desperate to get out of town as the Christmas travel rush is in full swing.

Now the two fatefully share a ride to the airport. When their five-star rated driver unexpectedly hits the brakes, everyone’s phones are sent flying. In all the confusion, Jonah and Harper accidentally end up with each other’s phones. What ensues is hilarious!

Can you even imagine a total stranger going through your phone? Reading all your texts… Ogling at all your pictures. Yes, all of them.🙈. Eeks! Umm, Just a thought…Lock your phone everyone!!

When they finally re-connect to return the phones to their rightful owners, it’s a deep crush at first sight. And well, of course, they feel like they’ve known each other for years. No doubt, due in no small part from all that snooping into the other’s phones?🤔. And it certainly didn’t hurt that Jonah’s screen-saver was of his dog Truck. He’s got to be a good guy…right?💁🏻‍♀️

This was an extremely heart-warming and cute rom-com. And though almost every rom-com follows a formula, I must admit this one was highly predictable. But it was still entertaining and time well spent!

A weekend rom-com buddy read with Susanne.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Elisha at Berkley Publishing

I loved this book. It was exactly what I needed this week. Fresh, original, feel-good, and fun, it pulled me in and kept me entertained from start to finish. The characters were well developed and likable. I was invested not only in Harper's and Jonah's relationship but in their individual journeys as well. Jonah's family was frustrating, meddlesome, and adorably sweet and well-meaning. Watching them with Jonah, and later with Harper, really tugged my heartstrings.

I loved the set-up through the first few chapters, the initial attraction and intrigue as Jonah and Harper communicated via texts from the swapped phones and also uncovered details about one another via texts they received from others. There's a lot of humor in those chapters but also sweetness and the laying of a foundation with the potential to grow into more.

And then there are the dogs. I mean, who can resist those rescue dogs? Not this puppy! They all would have ended up going home with me. All of them. And they weren't just window dressing - although a grumpy old bulldog was quite the front window star - but were important characters in the story, adding additional incentive for self-reflection and evolution.

If you're looking for a feel-good contemporary romance that will make you laugh out loud, cheer for happy endings, and fall in love with both two-legged and four (or three)-legged characters, give It Started With a Dog by Julia London a try. It's one of my favorites written by this author.

4.5 stars
*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

As someone who absolutely loved dogs, but doesn’t have her own, I’ll take any opportunity to read about pups! 🐶🐶🐶

It Started With a Pup is about Harper and Jonah who meet when they accidentally switch phones at Christmas. After a week of silly texts and getting to know each other, they meet in person to swap back. The chemistry is there and things are going well until they find out they are working for rival companies. Harper works for a huge trendy coffee chain and Jonah’s family has a local Austin coffee institution. They are really perfect for each other, but they can’t get past each other professionally.

They one up each other in their businesses and when the local rescue shelter is looking for business sponsors for their doggie pageant, Harper and Jonah are more than ready to volunteer. They each have something big to lose… or gain?

I loved this book! They have such amazing chemistry from the very start! The book is a little silly, but I really thought it added a lot of charm. I loved the meet cute in the beginning.

Thank you to @berkleypub, @julia_f_london, and @netgalley for the advanced copy. It Started With a Dog is out Tuesday, 10/5!

Harper has always been an overachiever and has been working herself ragged to please her boss and open a flagship Deja Brew coffeehouse. When going to visit her parents for the holidays, she accidentally mixes up phones with Jonah, an aerospace engineer also traveling and had been helping with his family's coffee shop while on sabbatical. When they realize the mixup, they text each other and eventually meet in person. Sparks fly, even after they discover that the two coffee shops are across the street from each other. How can they make this work?

I liked the meet-cute aspect of this contemporary romance; as improbable as it sounds to mix up phones, many people do have similar cases and model phones, and they were in a rush to get going because they were traveling on Christmas Eve. Each has their hangups: Harper is an only child whose parents had her late in life when they didn't initially intend on having children, so she was always an overachiever. Jonah feels compelled to help his family, especially after his sister's death years ago and his father's current cancer diagnosis. They bond immediately, with a lot of fun text exchanges and snarky comments. This occurs even prior to meeting and spending time with each other, and prior to discovering exactly what their current businesses were.

Woven into this book is the theme of dogs and rescues; it's based on a real event in San Antonio, though this takes place in Austin. Multiple businesses sponsor rescue dogs to raise money for the shelter. Harper was drawn to Jonah partly because of his dog, who featured so prominently on his phone, and her own need to connect because she feels so isolated. Her boss is a piece of work, but she keeps pushing herself to achieve even more. Ultimately, she and Jonas both have to decide what's important to them, and how to make their future work out. I like that their differences and needs are something they can talk about, and even if they fight, they're able to resolve the problem. It's a real-world solution they have, and I appreciate that there's no automatic happily ever after to fix everything without their effort. This is a cute contemporary romance, and a fun read... especially with a cup of coffee.

I love a quirky romcom, and this definitely fills that bill. There are bunches of outlandish characters and funny situations. Of course, there are also several dogs with very distinctive personalities who help move the plot along. Underneath that, though, there is a genuine relationship forming between Jonah and Harper. Their love story holds all the threads together and makes a lovely tapestry.

Review posted to blog: books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com

Seriously Cute, though a Tad Predictable.

A Ridiculous Lyft Share Ends with an Inadvertent Phone Swap and a Meet Cute.

If only life worked out this way, for real! Ha.

When Harper Thompson and Jonah Rodgers inadvertently swap phones during a wild Lyft share, they of course start swapping text messages. The fact that they are both cute, single, and live in the same city is a bonus!

Nothing could tear these two apart, except, of course, their career aspirations.

Love, of course, prevails!

If you’re a dog lover, this book is definitely for you! If you don’t have an animal in your life, watch out as this book is going to make you want to rescue one asap!

A cute weekend buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley for the arc.

Such a fun story!! Julia London never ceases to delight. What starts as a mix-up with cell phones becomes a relationship that blooms with the help of a few of the cutest canines I've encountered. Harper and Jonah's story revolves around competing coffee shops, one family owned, steeped in tradition, and the other super trendy. Other obstacles, including career and family decisions make for a twist in the otherwise comedic tale. 5 stars for making me smile and sniffle a bit. Highly recommend!

What happens when you mix up phones with a stranger and neither one of you locks your phone? If you discover the guy whose phone you have has an adorable dog as his lock screen, you want to meet him. At least, that's what happens with Harper and Jonah when they accidentally swap phones during chaotic Christmas travel. Texting each other to set up meets for returning phones turnings into highly entertaining chats where they discover they have similar tastes in movies, food, dogs, and humor. When they finally meet in person, it feels like they've known each other for months. Both are a bit uncertain in the dating game, but Jonah's rambunctious dog Truck and a grouchy bulldog named Bob are there to offer support (or at least be available as conversation starters). The seemingly perfect relationship hits a "You've Got Mail" type snag when they discover that the new coffee house Harper is in charge of is going up across the street from Jonah's family's failing coffee shop.

"It Started with a Dog" is light hearted but serious, fun and sweet while still looking at some of the serious obstacles new couples need to navigate. Can Harper and Jonah work together or will outside difficulties drive them apart? Will they allow the possibility of new jobs in different cities end a promising relationship? Neither are good at communicating and problem solving with others, both are used to going it alone. Jonah's family leans on him to fix everything while Harper's parents barely remember she's a part of their lives. Defense mechanisms that worked when they were single start causing complications in a relationship. All in all, two strong individuals have to learn to be a team and work through difficulties if they want to make it work, and the question is: are they brave enough to give it a try? Some heavy stuff, but adorable dogs vying for the title of King Mutt help lighten the mood when needed and provide a dose of cuteness when things get heavy.

Well-written, witty, and full of relationship ups and downs to keep her characters on their toes, Julia London gives us a fun and satisfying story. And I loved her support of local animal rescue groups and the reminder that even grouchy dogs like Bob are just waiting for someone to see them and love them for themselves.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

It Started with a Dog
2nd Book in the Lucky Dog series
Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to the author/publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

It Started with a Dog was very cute story! It had delicious coffee, pies and very cute dogs with very individual personalities. Jonah and Harper meet and click very early on in the story. They were a cute pair of nerds who seem to share many qualities and likes. For a minute I thought I was going to be bored because I feel that when couples get together early in the story I sometimes feel the story and romance falls short, but no, not with this one. I like how the author threw in some interesting plots to put their love to the test. The dogs were cute, but they didn't steal away from the romance part of the book. They just made it a little better.

Highly recommended!

This was a really sweet book.

I liked seeing the relationship between Harper and Jonah progress and withstand the obstacles they faced.

I also liked seeing how they supported each other professionally and personally.

And there were dogs; so many cute dogs.

Overall, enjoyable.

(3.5/3.75 rounding up)

It Started with a Dog by Julia London

In the midst of a Lyft share that resembles a roller coaster ride, Harper Thompson and Jonah Rodgers end up with the phones of the other person. Both are on Christmas vacations trips, away from home and work, so the next week is filled with funny text messages and pictures, as they pass on the messages that the other should have gotten. The two get to know each other as they go through the other's camera rolls and tease about the things they see and the messages they get from parents, coworkers, and family. It's no surprise when they meet a week later, to exchange phones, that they hit it off in person.

What convinced Harper she'd like Jonah, right off the bat, was that his phone screen was of his huge Great Pyrenees mix. Harper regularly walks an old bulldog named Bob so their love of dogs just cements their friendship. But, Harper is obsessed with climbing the ladder at work and she is in the process of opening a flagship coffee shop right across the street from the coffee shop of Jonah's family, a shop that was opened by his grandparents, decades ago.

That's a big blockade to the budding relationship between Harper and Jonah but both are good natured and willing to make things work. Jonah has his own non coffee shop career that could tear them apart while Harper might be sent in another direction. Still, I saw that things might work out, well before these two did, and I'm glad that the story played out as it did. There are lots of cute rescue dogs filling out the cast. This is a mostly feel good story, for me, because I love to hang out with dog lovers.

Thank you to Elisha, Berkley, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a cute lighthearted story that kept my interest throughout. Jonah and Harper meet in a crazy shared Lyft ride that ends with switched phones for the holidays. As they get to know each other through texts their eventual meeting confirms the chemistry that is there between them. But when they realize they run rival coffee shops can their relationship survive? Oh and there are lots of cute dogs and fun family characters. I enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next one in the series.

This honestly might be one of my new favorite rom coms!!! I love Harper and Bob and Jonah and Lulu and TRUCK. It’s such a fun mix of family and career and finding yourself with someone else. I loved it.

"I've never known anyone like you, Jonah. I thank my lucky stars every day that I was in your Lyft."

I can't stop smiling! 🥰 This was adorable and charming and hilarious and so sweet! If you like You've Got Mail, you NEED this book!

A phone mix up in a ride share. Think: reality TV show where you talk first and meet later.


The Lucky Star vs. Deja Brew. Rival coffee shops. Will they go to the mattresses?


Jonah and Harper have SUCH natural flow that was a DELIGHT to read. I am a smitten kitten! "Near perfect relationship, formed on a serendipitous meeting in a dark car and built on a mutual love of dogs and horror movies."

✨READ IF YOU LIKE✨:
-friends to lovers 🥰
-pups. like ALL the dogs🐶
-emoji's👏🏼
-You've Got Mail (business rivalry)📧
-text-flirting banter📱
-family dynamics 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦
-street tacos 🌮 & pie 🥧 (not together)
-#IsThisAKissingBook: 😘YES! Jonah is a cinnamon roll and loves forehead kisses and lingering kisses and kissing Harper with exhilaration.

Thank you Berkley for an advanced copy!🤟🏼

🎶 Song: The Puppy Song by Harry Nilsson🎶

Super cute book. Kind of reminiscent of "You've Got Mail". This story is about a woman who is opening a trendy coffee house across the street from a struggling, family-owned coffee shop and the love story that develops between the her and the leading guy--the son who is running the business while his father is being treated for cancer. She is climbing the corporate ladder and he is trying to keep the business afloat while putting his own career on hold. It's a cute love story and the characters are both very likeable. An added bonus is the focus on rescue dogs (they are both dog lovers). The chemistry between the characters is steamy!

while i liked all the dog action happening in this book, and the love interest/main character jonah was lovable and great, i overall thought this book was kind of outdated, and there were a lot of things (especially about the protagonist) that didn't really work for me. i wish we spent more time with this book on the falling in love part, rather than the in love and fighting part, and some conflicts (like the main character being rude to her best friend, or her lack of relationship with her parents), were never resolved or even addressed.