I was ecstatic to realize this was a part of a series, because I had so much fun reading it. I'll be checking the other 5 books in the Pine Hollow series.

I can hardly believe it. Lizzie Shane’s Pine Hollow series has finally come to an end. Like Cats & Dogs is the sixth and final book in the sweetest, small town romance series that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading ever since discovering the town in The Twelve Dogs of Christmas in 2020. In this last book, readers finally get Magda and Mac’s story. Friends, it was worth the wait.

Here’s the book’s description:

Magda Miller’s feud with rival baker Mackenzie Newton is so old, folks in tiny Pine Hollow, Vermont forgot how it started. But Magda remembers: Ten years ago, she offered Mac her heart—instead, he ran off with her grandmother's maple cake recipe. Now, Mac traipses all over Magda’s baking territory, just like his oversized tabby keeps sneaking into her house to claim her dog’s favorite bed. So, when Magda gets the call to compete on The Great American Cake-Off, she’s thrilled to finally shine in a Mac-free zone. But when she arrives on set, her devilishly handsome nemesis is already there . . .

It turns out, Mac and Magda’s story has inspired the first ever Arch Rivals edition of Cake-Off, and of course Mac has to raise the stakes with a wager. The winner takes all—the Cake-Off title, the contested recipe, and control of the narrative. Magda is more than ready to kick Mac’s Bundt. But as they spar, on-screen and off, Mac and Magda reveal the best in each other...and the sizzling attraction fueling their rivalry. Only one of them can win, so why does it suddenly feel like they both stand to lose?

I’ll be honest: I was a little worried that Magda and Mac’s love story would be a bit of a letdown. I mean, they’ve been at each other's throats for some reason for the last five books. Clearly they needed to be kissing, not fighting, but they hadn’t figured that out yet. Their rivalry had been completely overblown and, truthfully, finding out the “why” still didn’t really satisfy me. I don’t think we needed the cake thing but I did enjoy that final recipe revelation! Once they figured out the kissing thing, they were fire. This is a sweet, closed door romance but the sexual tension between these two should satisfy readers who enjoy more spice in their books. I also appreciated the relationship arc - everything made sense and there wasn’t a stupid third act breakup. There were problems, sure, but it all worked for me.

I loved that Magda and Mac were competing on a baking show. I ADORE watching baking shows and I actually binged a bunch of episodes while and after reading this one. My favourite is, naturally, The Great British Bake Off and I enjoy the Canadian version as well. While I didn’t like the changes the showrunner had made to the baking show, I DID like that the characters didn’t like it either! I watch these types of baking shows because they’re low stakes and the competitors actually seem to like and respect each other. In the characters’ season? All that was thrown out the window. It was a fun little peek into the world of reality TV and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Magda and Mac were delightful characters. I liked that they’re a little bit older (as I’m getting older myself) because they knew themselves pretty well. It wouldn’t be a romance without them both needing to work on some of their issues but, at their cores, they knew what was best for them and, thank goodness, they realized they were good for each other.

If you want a sweet series to dive into, I definitely recommend Lizzie Shane’s Pine Hollow series. The books are so lovely and I’m thrilled to have read Like Cats & Dogs. It’s a fitting end to the series and, while I’m sad it’s finally over, I think this was a great finale.

Check out my reviews of all the Pine Hollow Books

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

Once Upon a Puppy

To All the Dogs I've Loved Before

Pride & Puppies

Four Weddings and a Puppy

*An egalley of this novel was provided by HBG Canada via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Just another adorable and fun book to read from Lizzie Shane! The enemies to lovers trope is one of my favorites and I love the use of it here. The tension built between Magda & Mac is so entertaining! I laughed pretty hard at times during their conversations (sometimes yelling matches) with each other. All the baking challenges along with so much silliness happening in the kitchen adds even more delight to the story. The romance between Magda & Mac is fairly predictable yet it works for them. And as always, Shane has included some furry friends for all animal lovers!

A decade old feud, two bakers, and one reality television show, what could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot it would seem for the rival bakers, not least of which, their pets hate each other. Magda and Mac have had a feud for almost as long as anyone in their small town can remember but not the actual reason for it. Magda has finally made it on to the baking show she's wanted to do forever and is extremely excited to get a fresh start and prove to herself she can do it. Only one minor problem, who is there when she gets to the filming but her nemesis Mac.
I really enjoyed the banter of the characters and how it felt like while their rivalry was intense it was realistic to come back from and forgive/forget. Mac was the perfect nonchalant charismatic counterpart to Magda's nervous somewhat tense persona which throughout the book they were able to become more open and honest with themselves and each other. I loved all the side characters and the background of the baking show because it gave some real stakes and a sense of time. The one thing is it might have been a tad repetitive or drawn on the baking side although I understand why and it did really feel like I was witnessing the filming of a baking competition. All in all the story was very sweet(just like cake!) and I fell in love with the characters.

oh this book was so good. the perfect ending to the Pine Hollow series.

I’ve read a few reality tv competition books and have been let down so much, but one was so well done! It kept me on the edge of my seat and the challenges felt real enough that you could actually imagine them. I could tell the author put a lot of thought into the challenges and the timeline of the story and I appreciated it so so much.

Also, finally getting to learn the details about Mac & Magda’s feud was *chefs kiss*. Now I just want to go back and reread the whole series from the beginning to experience it again.

easy five stars for me. this book tugged on my heart strings and made me laugh (and cry) out of pure joy.

This was pretty cute, I didn’t read any of the other ones beforehand so I did feel like I missed out but I don’t think it really changed anything but what do I know?

Will be reading all the others though.

I love this series! And the ode to reality baking shows was perfect! This story includes one of my favourite tropes (enemies to lovers), and the banter that goes with it. This book is one that will definitely be a reread for me.

This was such a fun sweet romance!! Lots of banter in this enemies to lovers story. I loved the baking reality tv aspect of the story. Lots of kitchen drama!!

This is the sixth book in Pine Hollow series- my first read by this author. I am for sure going back and reading the rest just because I really enjoyed the writing and this story.

I'm obsessed with the Great British Baking Show/Bake Off so this book was right up my alley!

Magda and Mac had the enemies to lovers trope in spades and I was here for it. The book doesn't heavily involve their pets so if that's something you're here for don't be misled by the title. It's still a great read, don't get me wrong, but I don't want someone to be misled by thinking there's a ton of furry friends involved in the book. There are some they just aren't the stars of the show.

What is the star is THE SHOW, the one that is one of my favorites - the book's version of GBBO but there's a twist after the new show runner takes over and I'm not going to lie, I was MAD. How DARE THEY mess with perfection?!?!? I'm still mad after finishing the book.

It was great to not only have their POV's but also one of the producers as well. I really liked how it all came together and the way the story was told. Great pacing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for this advance copy!

Small town romance meets enemies to lovers meets baking wars? Sign me up.
I really enjoyed the pacing, the plot, and the writing style of this book. I felt like the drama made sense (which I can't say is the case for a lot of the romance genre), and the characters actually had real, valid reasons for their frustration.

I really enjoyed both the MMC and FMC, and I LOVED that we also got to hear about the story from a third party perspective too! That was so refreshing. I really thought the reality TV plot worked so well for this story and didn't detract from the pacing, so that was great. This is a closed door romance, so the spice is hovering around a 1.5-2/5, but I still enjoyed the spice level and it felt authentic to the characters.

Highly recommend!

Cute and sweet, nice cozy romance with delicious food descriptions and pet sidekicks. This was a fun behind-the-scenes view into the making of a baking competition, and the machinations of "reality" TV. I received this as an ARC from Forever via Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book 😊. This was enemies to lovers but in a Great British Bake Off type setting so it was right up my alley! I enjoyed this and found it entertaining. At times it was predictable and a little repetitive, but still a cute read. I would have liked some more descriptions of the challenges and I wasn’t super invested in the romance/characters.

This book is pure enemies-to-lovers perfection, with a piping-hot side of baked-goods drama! Lizzie Shane absolutely nails the slow-burn tension between Magda and Mac—every sarcastic jab, accidental brush of hands, and stolen glance had me screaming. Magda’s stubborn determination and Mac’s annoyingly charming swagger make their rivalry feel so real you’ll want to jump into Pine Hollow just to mediate (or steal some maple cake for yourself). The competition scenes on Cake-Off are hilarious and high-stakes, but it’s the softer, unexpectedly vulnerable moments that made my heart ache. If you love witty banter, mouthwatering desserts, and some serious will-they-won’t-they energy, Like Cats & Dogs will leave you grinning—and maybe crying—into your cupcake.

I really enjoyed this sweet romance! I loved the whole baking show concept and appreciated the frequent Broadway references. I also loved the small town Vermont setting. Magda and Mac had great chemistry and did justice to the enemies to lovers trope 😍

This was a quick read! If you love animals & small- town romance this is the read for you! Bonus if you love reality cooking shows like I do! Total Hallmark vibes as well! This is my first read from this author and I would be interested in picking up more!

This was really cute. I always think this reality tv premise is kind of fun, and this one was no exception. This was actually the first I’ve read of this author but I’ll definitely be back for more. Plus who doesn’t love animals as extras.

What's more angsty? A second chance romance that ended badly the first time around? Or a one sided crush?

Woof. Magda and Mac do NOT get along.
A long time ago they used to be friends. Until Mac rejected her and a few years later when Magda returned home and saw Mac selling HER family’s maple cake.

Now their going to be closer than ever. Closer than both living in the same town and both being business owners. Closer than his cat deciding that he can go to her house to torment her dog any time he wants to. Because their both going to be contestants on The Great American Cake-Off.

Magda has been wanting to be a part of this show for years. Mac wants to be on to win the prize money to expand his business.

Their competitors right so they won't be working together or working near each other, right? Wrong. Paired up, next to each other, scheduled right after each other, staying in the same hotel they can't get away from each other! So the bantering keeps bantering.

The book also dives into their past so we get to read about that broken heart all those years ago.

There's the high stress of a competition and the fact that the show isn't the same as previous seasons. This one is fuled by rivalry and a new show runner.

Very enjoyable. I don't watch any baking or cooking shows and it wasn't hard to follow or anything.

We do find out who wins it all and I was a little shocked. But a sweet ending.

Here's my beef, I don't really watch cooking shows while cute it wasn't my jam.

For readers who love pets, reality cooking shows then this fluffy romance is for you!

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever

Such a cute story! I was hooked right away with these 2. Madga and Mac definitely have chemistry and the banter between them is spot on. Add in the baking competition is the cherry on the top.
This is the 6th book in the series but can definitely be read as a standalone without missing any of the story.

Long time readers of Pine Hollow have watched Mac and Magda antagonistically dancing around each other throughout the series and knew that underneath all the surface opposition, there had to be a pretty strong attraction. In Like Cats & Dogs, we finally get their story and it's as intense and fun as I expected.

Magda is a classically trained French baker, who owns a bakery while Mac owns the local cafe. They have a long history, starting as friends when they met at a baking class, but Magda was 18 at the time, Mac, 24, and when she developed a crush on him, it didn't end well. Sprinkle in a few further misunderstandings, and their feud has hardened to the point where they can barely stand to be in the same room.

When Magda finally achieves her ambition of becoming a contestant on the Great American Cake-Off, she's elated to finally have a chance to move into the spotlight, only to be blindsided by the fact that Mac is a contestant also. As if that's not bad enough, the format of the show has been changed by the new producer from a lovely and supportive atmosphere to one of competition and rivalry. Although they start out as enemies, in the pressure cooker of a reality show shoot, their true feelings start to surface and the sparks between them can't be denied.

I loved Magda so much. When she hurt, I hurt. Her disappointment and feeling of betrayal when she realized the show format had been changed was so intense and strong, it leapt off the pages. At the same time, I sympathized with Mac also. A relationship between them wouldn't have been right when they were younger and he was mature enough to realize that and back away. After that, it was like they were both at cross-purposes and locked into a feud that they couldn't break out of. When they were forced together on the show, Mac is the one who made the first moves toward friendship.

This was truly a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance. I often have trouble with the enemies to lovers trope but in this case, it totally made sense that they were able to see each other in a different light. The show forced them outside of their normal lives, truly in a bubble due to the demands and pressures of filming a reality show and they could finally admit the feelings that had been there all along. This was a great end to the Pine Hollow series. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.