He's a millionaire who flips houses and she fosters dogs after her ex stole her money, they both end up becoming roommates and possibly more. Hazel Bristow is broke and homeless after her ex took all their money and bailed. She's been staying at her friend's house while it's on the market and she's been fostering dogs as well. Her friends forget to tell her the house was sold... so when a strange guy appears she attacks him... only to find out he's the new owner of the house and he's here to flip it. Linc Kennedy is a millionaire who flips houses, after his last relationship ended badly because his girlfriend only wanted his money, he's been trying to avoid relationships and focus on his job... except on the first day of renovating his new property he meets Hazel and her dogs... Linc finds Hazel super attractive and feels bad that she's broke and homeless so he offers her an alternative, she can stay for free and in return he'll pay her to cook meals for him while he's renovating the place. Linc and Hazel begin falling for each other but he's kept the fact that he's a millionaire a secret. Will she be okay with his lies until now? This one for me was a bit of a miss because first of all: how the heck is Hazel fostering dogs and feeding them and herself if she's broke and homeless?? Also the romance between her and Linc is nonexistent, they really are just insta-lust and that's it. Also the third act break up just didn't really make sense, seriously?? I was hoping for a cute little rom com but it just felt immature and a bit lackluster. Overall, it just was a miss for me but if you enjoy wealthy guy x poor girl, roommates to lovers, then give this a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

They have both been burned by their partners. She was left with nothing and is staying at a friend's place while it is on the market. He is friends with her friend and bought the house to flip it. A not so meet cute involving a cast iron frying pan, 5 foster dogs and dinner may lead to something more. Remember dogs are excellent judges of characters. I couldn't put this down.

Housebroke totally won me over with the foster dogs so I instantly loved Hazel and her pack. A fun story that reminded me of undercover boss. I definitely want some more of linc and hazel and even Nats story

Sigh… started skimming at 20%, DNF by 60% because I was barely reading.

I think the easiest way to sum up my feelings is a pros & cons list:

Cons:
• I did not enjoy the writing style. It felt all fluff and no depth
• the characters were annoying, immature, lacked any sort of personality
• the premise (which I originally thought cute) lacked any sort of realistic situation
• ZERO chemistry
• all the side/background characters were annoying and zero personality
• ZERO sexual tension that usually comes with a forced proximity. It went from “who are you” to “let’s jump in bed”
• the spice was incredibly lackluster 😭

Pros:
• the dogs were cute & had personality

Knocking this author off my list of who I want to read. I’m glad that others enjoy her books but it’s not for me. I need emotional connection and I didn’t have that with this book.

Thank you to netgalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Housebroke is full of a pack of pups that exude so much personality.
Lincoln is a yummy investor who works with his hands and has been wounded.
Hazel has a heart of gold and has no home or job prospects until Lincoln crashes into her life.
I loved how she cared for her foster dogs and had a hard time relinquishing them.
It’s a comfortable read that has great rhythm and fun dog personalities.

DNF at 23%

Unfortunately I'm not a fan of either characters, the writing style, the plot, or anything. I really want to like this one but 🤷‍♀️

Housebroke follows Hazel who is staying at a friend’s house with foster dogs until someone comes barging in. She’s ready to fight Linc until she meets him and finds out he’s the owner of the house. Once things are cleared out, she goes to leave but Linc says she can stay.

From there, the two start up a friendship which slowly turns to more as they continue to work and spend time together. While Linc’s renovating the house, Hazel cooks for him and the two slowly but surely start to fall for each other. It’s one of the cutest things I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year.

What made this book perfect for my fellow dog lover is that Hazel fosters dogs and it’s clear she loves all of them. We meet the entire crew which includes dogs of all shapes and sizes. There are some younger dogs and some senior dogs but Hazel loves them all equally and eventually, Linc grows to love them, too.

In addition, the book doesn’t gloss over the hard parts of fostering dogs. One of the dogs she’s fostering gets adopted and it’s hard on her. While people can put on a brave face, it’s not an easy job. Ultimately, Housebroke felt like an amazing romance book for all my dog lovers out there.

As a romance reader, this wasn’t a perfect book but I just enjoyed it so much that I couldn't be mad at it. Hazel, Linc, and the dogs had me grinning every couple of pages so it was a perfect comfort read. If you’re a romance reader and a dog lover, you can’t go wrong in picking up a copy of Housebroke.

You gotta go with it- and like dogs- to enjoy this tale of Hazel and Linc. Hazel and her five foster dogs have been living rent free in her friend's house except that it's been sold to Linc, who is quite surprised to find her there. They meet, they lust, they come to an agreement that she'll cook for him in return for her room. All of that's fine except that it's never clear how, if her ex took all her money and she has no income, Hazel is eating. Or why her friend forgot to tell her the house was sold. Or why an inspection (there must have been an inspection) didn't alert her of the sale AND Linc to the fact that someone was living in the house. Or how she's feeding the dogs. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Love the dogs, btw. And, on the plus side, I liked Hazel and Linc.

This is a light romance that was an enjoyable read. The different personalities of the dogs made the story especially entertaining. The fact the two main characters are thrown together the way they were makes for an interesting story. A quick read that was charming.

Hazel is reeling from a devastating divorce and she finds herself broke and homeless. Thankfully one of her friends allows Hazel and her five foster pups to stay in her house that’s for sale until it sells.

Linc is shocked when he gets to his new flip house and finds Hazel and her dogs squatting. After they calm down and talk, Linc hires Hazel to cook his meals in exchange for a small salary and room and board. Linc doesn’t tell Hazel his true story, he’s worried she won’t see him for who he is. Can he share who he really is?

What a cute romcom! I absolutely loved that Hazel fostered dogs! I foster puppies myself, and it is a lot of work so I had the utmost respect for her fostering five dogs at once, I can only handle three dogs at a time. Getting to know the different personalities of each dog was a lot of fun. I felt that even though they were dogs they were all well developed, and they made fantastic side characters. This is one of those books that you really need to suspend rational thoughts for it to work, if you don’t you will struggle. This one was perfect to just let go and escape. I thought the romance between Linc and Hazel was enjoyable. Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes and this worked. Miscommunication also played a part in this one, and this trope is hit or miss for me. I think that it worked for me in this book because it felt so believable.

If you are looking for a fun romance featuring some amazing dogs, then I recommend you check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to get into this one. One must suspend their disbelief to get through the bringing. And I’m going to be honest, the dogs were the best part of the story.

Okay, so first off, how on earth is it that someone can buy a house and get the keys without the original owners, who offered the house up to Hazel after her divorce left her penniless, remembering to let her know? The house would be looked over by someone before they would ever hand over the keys anyway. So, this scenario seems highly improbable. And the fact that Linc just lets a complete stranger he has never met STAY at that house while he’s renovating? Yeah. Suspend the disbelief.

Also, Hazel doesn’t even have money to house herself and no job, so how is she able to keep fostering 5 dogs? I don’t know of any rescue so irresponsible as to let that happen. It is obviously a volunteer position, but still, if you don’t have a permanent address, you can’t continue fostering. It’s a thing.

I didn’t really feel the romance. Both characters have insta-lust for each other (accompanied by fantasies and lusty thoughts about one another), but both are avoiding getting into a relationship. There is so much resistance to it happening, and you would think a woman who has been gaslighted and browbeaten for years by her husband would be a lot more reserved about the whole thing. But other than a few instances the author throws in a mention of her being proud of herself for standing-up-for-herself type comments, Hazel acts a lot like a woman coming out of a normal relationship situation. It’s obviously not been too terribly long, but she has none of the normal post relationship down in the dump feelings. Or at least, she didn’t really seem to, for me. Someone in an abusive or otherwise relationship isn’t just going to waltz out unaffected emotionally or mentally whether they feel out of love or not. Then you throw in all the miscommunication later on…sigh.

I did really like the dogs though. Improbable situation aside, the dogs were what kept me going. Each one is so different (as anyone who has owned multiple dogs will know) and had their own personality. My personal favorite was Gord. Lol The characters, at the beginning, won me over by how kindly they treated the dogs. But by the time we hit the ‘big’ climatic situation I was very over Hazel.

Conclusion
Loved the dogs. Could have done without the people. lol

Hazel Bristow is left in the lurch after her ex-husband took all her money when they divorced. Her friend lets her and her five foster dogs stay in her home while it's on the market, but she forgets to let Hazel know when it gets sold. Linc Kennedy wasn't expecting a squatter in the new home he bought, but after some negotiating, he agrees to let Hazel and her dogs stay in exchange for her cooking skills. It doesn't take long for feelings to grow, but Hazel has been burned and doesn't trust easily, and Linc is hiding a major secret.

Honestly, this wasn't even on my radar before I got the ARC, but the synopsis sounded cute. I love rom-coms that feature cute animals, so I was excited to dive in. I thought the use of the forced proximity/roommates trope was fun. The highlight of this was the animals. I loved watching Linc and Hazel bond over the dogs, and it led to some adorable interactions. But my issue was with the writing. I didn't enjoy Burton's style. The characters are annoying, and the plot is brimming with miscommunication. I would've liked to have seen a more natural progression in their relationship because it took off so quickly. It also felt like Burton was trying to squeeze in a lot of heavier topics, but it fell flat. It was a cute, quick read, but not memorable.

3.5 STARS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
If you love plots with the forced proximity theme, this story is for you! It's a bit wacky and far-fetched as strangers sharing a home, but entertaining too.

The female lead, Hazel, has every problem in the world, it seems, and with no means of support, it was a bit hard to get into her reality in the story. Linc is a perfect blend of good guy and hottie secret millionaire and a great balance for her issues.

What I enjoyed most was their connection, budding romance, the steamy heat level, and their development along the way. I loved Linc’s support of her, but Hazel had some serious issues that did not flow with the story and downgraded the enjoyment for me.

Burton does an excellent job with the dogs becoming the third main character. I love that the author finds ways to include dogs in her stories. It makes the story light-hearted and so fun!

Overall, Housebroke is sweet and hot! I seriously wanted so much more at the ending though! This book needs that epilogue to wrap everything in a bow.

Housebroke is a light fun romance. I loved all the dogs and their different personalities. The forced proximity made for instant banter and attraction. However, the characters were a little annoying. The unresolved issues were mostly due to lack of communication, and the third act drama was blown way out of proportion. The plot attempted to deal with some heavy issues but never quite got there.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I loved Hazel and the sweet pups she fosters. If you love books with cute animal interactions, you’ll enjoy this one. The characters meet-cute was sweet and the slow build into romance worked for these characters. I found this story to be a bit slow moving and I wished for a little more tension to the plot. An enjoyable light read.

Two strangers thrown together who gradually get to know each other. There is a definite attraction. This was a good romance that also had some cute rescue dogs. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy

I adored the characters, I loved their unique connection, the snarky humour that colours their every exchange, and I was utterly charmed by the way their relationship slowly but surely takes hold, never rushed, never forced, thoughtfully and realistically mapped out from the start.

A cute and fun read about two strangers being thrown into a forced proximity living situation. Hazel has had a rough go in life. Even though she is essentially homeless she has found a love in fostering dogs and cooking. In walks a sexy man in the form of Linc. Being around each other day in and day out will push them closer then either of them was expecting, but can they be brave enough to admit their true filling for each other and the temporary life they have made together.

Mandy Harris
Angel Wings Bookstore

This was a super light and easy read. Obviously the dogs were the star of the show for me. I love forced proximity as a trope so that was enjoyable. The characters were alright, very sweet but I didn’t quite fall in love with them while I read.

I thought this was a super cute, simple romance. I enjoyed the storyline (hello forced proximity) and all of the adorable dogs! Linc and Hazel were really sweet, although I did get annoyed by Hazel's decisions at the end. This is the perfect book if you are needing a light, easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this arc.