Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez has not found her Mr. Darcy. She's mad at Jane Austen. She makes a pact, she swears off men and decides to get a puppy.

George has been secretly in love with Charles. An inside joke between the two. George is trying to decide if he should stay in Vermont or move back to Colorado to be with family.

This book was such a fun read. I laughed out loud and cried. I loved this book.

3.75 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Lizzie Shane for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

If a book has a dog on the cover, I will read it. This one has 2, so I definitely had to read it. This was cute. But I couldn't connect with the main characters. At times I found Charlotte to be pushy and whiny. It was also repetitive at times.

I did like the Jane Austen quotes thrown in here and there. I loved loved loved Duke and Bingley.

There was no spice, but that's okay! If you like Hallmark movies, then this may be the book for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I was drawn to Pride and Puppies because I can't help myself when there are dogs on the covers. But I have to admit that I have never read the original Pride and Prejudice, so while I know this is a modern retelling, I have nothing to actually compare it to. Also, I didn't realize that this book is part of a series....oops.

Read this book if you enjoy:
small town romances
friends to lovers
guy falls first
all the dogs
closed door / fade to black

As a pet owner, I adored this story. I also really enjoyed the hallmark vibes. The biggest issue I had was pacing.

This was super cute!! I loved all of the dogs in it and how fun the characters were. Looking forward to the next book!

“Pride and Puppies” is a fun and sweet clean read that was fun to read. Charlotte and George are great characters and I liked reading a modern take on “Pride and Prejudice”.

After another disastrous relationship, Charlotte has decided to take a break from dating. And during her break, she’s decided she’s finally going to get the puppy she’s always wanted. Her friend and co-worker, George, supports the idea but has also had a secret crush on her.

I was immediately intrigued by the title and synopsis of the story. Charlotte is a total woman goals. She knows her worth and refuses to settle for anything less than what she wants and deserves. George is a total sweetie and a great human. Not pushy or judgy and willing to be the friend she needs until she’s ready for the next step. It’s a clean read and focused more on the friendship and romance side of things. I don’t need a steamy scene every other chapter but I definitely miss that adult connection that adds to the storyline. All the secondary characters were great. Charlotte’s best friends and George’s sisters are amazing. There's a lot of character development and overall a good story.

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this book—and my first from this author or series and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I’m a sucker for anything Jane Austen adjacent and a love story that also features adorable puppies fits the bill! I love Charlotte and all her over the top ways and George with his caring sweetness. Throw in a charming, quirky small gown and a motley crew of supporting characters and you have a winner! I think my favorite part of the book was the surprise (and delayingly gratifying) gift George has for Charlotte. If only I had my own! Definitely pick this one up!

Pride & Puppies
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/22/22
Author: Lizzie Shane
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 368
GR: 3.71

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This is book number four in the Pine Hollow series, however, each of the books in the series can be read as stand alongs, including this one. The story is narrated by Charlotte and George, in their respective POVs. Charlotte was independent, strong, sworn off men for six months, and decided to get a puppy that would love her unconditionally. Her coworker and friend, George, was secretly in love with her, so when she asks for his help in training her new puppy, he jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with her. I adored the Jane Austen references sprinkled throughout the story. The story follows a friends to lovers trope, which is one of my favorites. Shane delivers an excellent plot with turns and of course, the HEA. The characters were well fleshed out well with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and creatively paired up with dogs. I adored the side characters in this book. All of the characters were likable and relatable. The author’s writing style was complex, funny, heartwarming, and kept me engaged. This book releases tomorrow and I highly recommend picking up.

This was the sweetest small town romance! I loved all of the Jane Austen references, loved the friend and sister groups, loved the protagonists, and especially loved all of the sweet, tender moments. My heart feels so full.

Pride and Puppies is the 4th book in the Pine Hollow series, but can absolutely be read as a standalone! It follows Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez right as she breaks up with her most recent boyfriend. She decides to swear off men and form the Puppy Pact. Instead of putting all her love and energy into dating, she adopts a puppy instead. Her friend George helps her get things set up for when the puppy is ready to be adopted, but he’s been secretly in love with Charlotte for a long time. This story pulls off the friends to lovers trope so, so well!

I loved the ease the characters had with each other, how they listened when the other had big feelings, and also how they supported one another. This book covers a lot of insecurities- like always being too much or never feeling good enough, and I think the way the author handled the conflict was done beautifully.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Pub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Read this book if you like: Friends to lovers, dual POV, small town, Jane Austen retellings, puppies, coworkers, neighbors

Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez is single again. As a Jane Austen fan she has been longing to find her own Mr. Darcy. She decides it’s time to swear off dating. She’s going to lavish all her love and affection on someone who actually deserves it: her new puppy, Bingley.

There’s no one better to give her pet advice than her neighbor and coworker George Leneghan. He’s quiet, patient and, way too sweet to ever be her type. Their friendly banter turns flirty and Charlotte starts catching feelings. George announces he’s contemplating a cross-country move back to his hometown. Suddenly, Charlotte wonders if she's too late.

Though this is a fourth book it can definitely be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed this one. I have been reading too many one POV romances lately and really appreciate the dual. George is so sweet. I just love him. Charlotte is absolutely hilarious. Very likeable characters. They are neighbors and coworkers. George has crushed on her for a while. There is romance in this book but it's also about growing as people. Charlotte did make a few dumb decisions that could have really messed up what she had with George. I still loved it. This is my first by Lizzie Shane and won't be my last. I highly recommend this book! Get it today.

Thank you to the author and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the gifted book! ❤️

The following review was posted on my blog today, Sunday, November 20th, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between today and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.





“I’m just saying in real life the Darcys don’t always turn out to be Darcys.”
“So date a Bingley.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Mentions parent death. Also, dangerous levels of mutual pining.

“Pride and Puppies” follows Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez as she swears off men and is set to adopt a puppy instead of looking for another boyfriend. And so in comes George Leneghan, her neighbor and coworker who actually has an incredibly well-behaved dog—so he must have all the tips and tricks she’ll need. As they start spending more time together, Charlotte may or may not be developing feelings she swore she wouldn’t towards George, feelings George had always had for her.

This is for all the Pride and Prejudice (2005 movie) lovers. No, you don’t really need to have seen the movie (or read Pride and Prejudice) to enjoy this book, but it just makes it so much more fun. It was a bit slow-paced for my liking, but I loved the characters and the lightheartedness of it all.

Charlotte and George are both so weird and socially awkward, I loved it. Their friendship growing into something more felt so natural. I truly fell in love with this novel—and it has nothing to do with the fact that I, too, love Colin Firth (and Matthew Macfadyen) as Mr. Darcy.

If there is one thing that I didn’t like that much about “Pride and Puppies” is how the doctor/rehab/medicine part of it was a bit vague and not really in the forefront of either the plot or the narrative in general. I’m guessing this could be a plus to some people, but, in my case, my boyfriend is a doctor and I love medical dramas so it would’ve been cool to kind of get that viewing off his story.

Either way, I would highly recommend you go buy this book, be it for yourself or for someone else. It really has that vibe of being a good gift book. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it this holiday season.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: November 22, 2022

“Other little girls could keep their Prince Charmings. She was devoted to Mr. Darcy.”

DNF at 15%

I didn't realize until I started this that it is the fourth book in a series, but I figured that this story felt fairly self-contained and decided to trek onwards.

Already within the first 15%, we have a lot of telling and not showing about the chemistry between these characters and some descriptions of alcohol consumption that I found to be fairly troubling. I could already feel myself starting to skim and I hadn't even gotten to the 20% mark! Since I have a fair amount of other books to get through before the end of the year, I have decided to DNF this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I have to admit, the puppies aspect is a large part of why I picked this book up. I can't resist a cute fluffy puppy who helps bring romance to the lives of the main characters. I also really enjoyed Lizzie Shane's previous books, so I was expecting to like this one as well. Unfortunately, this missed the mark and honestly felt hastily written. The characters, particularly the heroine, felt very flat. I didn't get the impression of much depth to them, and most of the female characters' main personality trait was hating men. Not a great start to this book. I'm all for calling out the faults in men, but it felt excessive.

George, the hero, was a sweetheart, but he also seemed to be a pushover and really allowed everyone - his sisters included - to push him around. I would have liked to see a little more assertiveness in his character, and as a result, mixing him with the man-hating heroine, Charlotte, was an utter turn-off. Charlotte was very one-dimensional, and I didn't feel any connection to her whatsoever. She's supposed to be in her late 20s, but her behavior felt much more like early 20s. Her actions with George made very little sense to me, and when she decided to become a matchmaker after she found he liked her, I was ready to put down the book. It felt very immature and insensitive, to try to matchmake your best friend whom you know is in love with you. I already was having a problem relating, and that sealed the deal for me.

I definitely would read other books by this author, but this one was a miss. Hopefully the next book will more reminiscent of her earlier works.

Austen fans....this one's for you! Charlotte has given up on men and dating and decided her next love will be a new puppy. This is nearly heartbreaking for George who has had a crush on Charlotte forever. George will take anything he can get, though, and the two end up spending more and more time together as their friendship grows. Meanwhile, George's 2 year contract is up in VT and he is considering a move back to his home of Colorado to be near his sisters again.

George and Charlotte are adorable together, although communication could have been better between the two. There is so. much. longing. in this book. So much. On both sides. Plus so many insecurities. That being said, I do know this can plague a person and it didn't take away from the story as much as just dragged it out just ever so slightly more than needed. I still had a blast reading this one and loved being back in Pine Hollow, VT. That small town feel is fantastic and the slow burn romance between George and Charlotte was satisfying in the end.

I fell in love with this series and would recommend all the books; however, this one can read well on its own. If you love a friends-to-lovers romance, unrequited love or a small-town romance, you will adore this one. There are so many nods to Austen throughout. This book runs more along the lines of Emma than Pride and Prejudice but is still great as is. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez finally decides to give up on dating after searching for her own Mr. Darcy for years. Instead, she's going to shower her new puppy with all of her affection and love, making a point of swearing off men. And no one can give her better puppy advice than her neighbor and coworker George Leneghan. He's quiet, patient, and, most importantly, far too kind to ever be her type. Just as Charlotte recognizes she's starting to feel things, George announces that he's thinking about moving across the country. Charlotte suddenly wonders if she's been keeping her soulmate in the friend zone for so long that she's completely wasted her shot at a happily ever after. Could it be that she's been screwing it up all along?
I really was hoping to enjoy Pride & Puppies, personally, the characters really made the book difficult to enjoy. I’m not a huge fan of extremely stubborn or clueless characters because it gets very irritating after a while. Sadly, Charlotte is exactly that and it did play a big part in the book being a “turn-off” for me.
I would’ve enjoyed the story more if Charlotte’s character wasn’t so frustrating. Her character was based solely on the fact that she loved Jane Austen and finding her Mr. Darcy. I could’ve excused that if she was younger, but Charlotte is nearly 30 and acting like this. I was constantly getting the feeling that she just needed to grow up and I hated it.
It’s kind of sad to say but the greatest appeal for me was the puppies. The scenes with either one of the pups always had me smiling and it was something to look forward to at some point. Who knows maybe it’s time for me to adopt another pup too?
Overall, I was sadly disappointed by Pride & Puppies, but if clueless MCs are what you’re into I’d say the book is a green light. Personally, I’d have to give it one star, it just wasn’t for me.

There were times I liked this book and others it fell flat for me. Due to the title, I expected a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but it was more like Emma. George has crushed on Charlotte since he first met her at work; she’s a doctor and he’s a physical therapist. Charlotte is obsessed with finding her own Mr. Darcy, but without any success. After her latest failed relationship, she decides to swear off men and adopt a puppy.

George and Charlotte also live in the same complex and begin to spend a lot of time together with their dogs. They are basically together without the romance.
George and Charlotte are a good couple once Charlotte realizes she actually likes him as more than a friend. Around this time, the story goes from light fluff to more serious. You find out more about Charlotte’s insecurities and begin to understand why she is the way she is…think Emma.

I enjoyed the side characters and the dogs of course! Aspects I did not like included Charlotte’s personality (mainly during the first half). I found her to be pushy and of the mindset that she always knew best. It wasn’t very enjoyable to read. The miscommunication and lack of confiding things between George and Charlotte frustrated me.

this was such an interesting book! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early! such an amazing plot and characters!! blew me away!!!

Pride and Puppies is the newest installment in the Pine Hollow series, following Charlotte, Elinor's youngest sister. ⁣
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Charlotte is over getting her heartbroken by the men she hopes are her Mr. Darcy, so she decides to declare herself on a puppy pact. Get a puppy and don't date. ⁣
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George is her coworker who has been head over heels for her but has never been able to make her see him in that way. He's too nice, too accepting of who Charlotte is to ever make her want to cross that line. ⁣
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When they start spending a lot of time together as friends, George has to decide if he wants to stay in Pine Hollow or go back home to Colorado. Charlotte has to decide if taking a risk on George and possibly losing their friendship is worth finally letting herself be accepted and loved in a relationship as she is and not who she thinks she should be. ⁣
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It was a cute installment, heavily influenced by Jane Austen. And as someone not into the classics I'm sure a lot of the parallels went over my head. A lot of their 'issues' could have been solved by open communication and honesty which did get a bit old. ⁣
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If you're a fan of small town settings - think Gilmore Girls - and love dogs, this series should be on your radar. I do feel like this series should be read in order, so just fyi! ⁣
⁣
3.5/5⭐️

Pride & Puppies
Book 4 in the Pine Hollow Series
Rating: 2 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***

To be honest when I saw the title of this book I thought it would be a P & P retelling (which is my catnip) and that puppies would be part of our two leads coming together.
Sadly I was very disappointed. This story was not to my liking and enjoyment. To start off both leads were so meh. They both had self esteem issues that were rooted from previous relationships they have had. They've always played a specific role in these past relationships that now that they are together don't know how to overcome these issues. It was the constant self doubt that made the story drag for me.
Also the FL got on my nerves. She's close to being 30 and most of the story she seemed to behave like a teenager. Her constant peppiness was a little over done. It was exhausting just reading that she could never stand still. Also her self sabotage was tiring. Her sisters, friends and George's constant reassurance seemed to be a little too repetitive.
The only good thing about this story was Bingley and Duke.

Charlotte is searching for her own Mr. Darcy, but discovers that most aloof, arrogant, entitled men don't really have a heart of gold underneath. After her latest breakup, she decides to swear off men for six months and get a puppy instead. Neighbor George—who's secretly had a crush on her ever since they met—helps her adjust to dog ownership. But just when she realizes he might be her perfect Mr. Knightley, she learns he's planning to move back to his hometown, two thousand miles away. Has she lost her chance at true love?

This is an adorable, entertaining book with likeable characters and a strong sense of family. Charlotte and George are perfect for each other. It's pretty clear from the beginning that Charlotte is more Emma Woodhouse than Elizabeth Bennet—it just takes her a while to realize that. The Austenesque aspects of the novel are fun rather than trite.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was such a fun, lighthearted read about finding love and allowing yourself to receive love in it’s truest form. This novel was a love letter to Jane Austen and I enjoyed the quotes from books at the beginning of each chapter along with fun little pieces within the story relating to one of Jane’s storylines and/or characters. The puppies were adorable and the descriptions about little Bingley melted my heart.

George was a wonderful male lead and he deserves it all. His relationships with his sisters and Charlotte were so special and I really loved his interactions with them throughout. He was so so thoughtful and caring. Charlotte was such a complex character, with the grief of losing her mother at a young age and experiencing a string of bad relationships that really messed with her self-acceptance. At times it was hard to read her POV and understand her reasoning for reacting a certain way to situations, however I really appreciated that the author was able to bring to light how being in a unhealthy relationship(s) can really have a negative impact on a person’s self-worth. Charlotte was real, raw, and emotional, and I admired her journey with accepting love and to self-acceptance in this one! The friends-to-lovers storyline and the “he falls first” aspect were well done and I really enjoyed it!