Housebroke by Jaci Burton was absolutely adorable! I am completely captivated by the rescue dogs featured in this story. It has ignited a desire within me to have a pack of my own. Witnessing the main characters' journey into love was truly heartwarming. The passionate moments between them were incredibly steamy, adding an extra layer of excitement. In summary, this book is an excellent choice for a quick and enjoyable read.

This romance turned out to be kind of a mixed bag for me, though some of that might be that I read it late at night waiting for a call about a relative in hospital.

I loved the idea: a woman's dream is fostering abandoned dogs. And the best part of the writing, for me, was definitely the dogs. Each animal had personality, and best of all (unlike those horrible dog stories when I was a kid, every dog gets a happy ending).

Where the story faltered for me is that Hazel also dreams of becoming a chef. Two very different careers. Over the top of that stretched a negative motivator. I totally am on board with once-burned, twice-shy heroines. But when it begins to drag the story with all the noping, especially providing the impetus for the sadly-overdone-but-seemingly-necessary "big bad moment" near the last chapter, it's noping again, for no real good reason.

The pacing seemed to slip a bit, too, with most of the story pretty much resolved before the halfway point, then a series of incidents that keep the pair at the same emotional level until the breakup. This is a very experienced author, making me wonder if this was one of those books written at top speed, then rushed into publication before it had a chance to marinate over time, and then get a serious redraft. Whatever, the dogs engaged me more deeply than Hazel and Lincoln, though I liked the idea of them as people, in spite of the negative motivation. (They both had it, but end up in bed anyway.)

But like I said at the top, it made enough of a read to keep me going during a stressful time, so hats off for that. And yeah, more dog rescue books with happy endings!

DNF at 24%. I got this as an advanced reader copy and I've tried. But it's got a dumb premise and doesn't have enough depth to make it worth it for me.

1. Both main characters have negative motivation, trying to avoid a relationship. So, that's exhausting. I hate negative motivation. Ya, ya, you've been hurt and are afraid of a new relationship... but it makes it annoying to read.

2. Instalust. Both are "oh, that person's hot and I want to get in their pants." I'm not a big fan of this kind of instalust where they don't know each other, don't want a relationship, and constantly have tons of thoughts about sexy times in the most annoying way..

3. This woman has no money. Her husband left her and stole all their money. Sure, it can happen but the level of theft is absurd. So, she's living in a friend's house while the friend is selling the house. Somehow the house is sold and the heroine is never alerted. My question is "how can she afford to do anything when she doesn't have a job?" She fosters dogs. But seems to do that as a volunteer. How does she afford to live!? It makes no sense. And how did no one kick her out of the house before the close of escrow?

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So much of this book makes no sense. And I'm bored and annoyed.

The premise is amazing, but the writing style isn't engaging and it fell flat for me. I stopped after chapter 1 (7%).

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

This was SOOOOO cute! I'm obsessed with all of the rescue dogs! I need a pack of my own. I loved watching the main characters fall in love. The spice was very steamy! Overall an excellent quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

Cute story and character development. The intimate scenes were a bit awkwardly done and I feel like some parts of the story felt a little slow. However, I liked the fun and chaos of the foster dogs and the sweet side of Lincoln! The writing style wasn’t for me, it didn’t captivate me, personally, but I can see this book appealing to a lot of rom-com lovers.

This was a quick read for me. A sweet romance with steamy sex. I loved all the dogs in fact they were my favorite part. This would be a quick beach read.

Hazel is staying with her foster dogs at a friend’s house when she is surprised by an unexpected visitor. Linc is equally surprised by Hazel living in his recently purchased house. Once they figure out the miscommunication, they come to an agreement that allows Hazel and her dogs to stay at Linc’s house. Both Hazel and Linc are drawn to each other and want to be more than accidental roommates.

I had mixed opinions on this book. I am a big animal lover, so the dogs in the story won me over. I also enjoyed the forced proximity/roommates trope in this book. Unfortunately, the author’s writing style just wasn’t for me and hurt my enjoyment of the story. I also was frustrated by Hazel and the third act conflict. Overall, I felt like the story had a lot of potential that it just didn’t quite reach. However, I think the cute storyline will still appeal to some romance readers.

Thank you to the author, Berkley Romance, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.