3.5 rounded up!

This was a sweet, puppy-filled rom-com with a fun plot and a touch of spice. I loved Jonathan—the grumpy, talented photographer with a soft side who slowly comes out of his shell thanks to Holly’s persistent (and occasionally chaotic) charm. Their chemistry was great, especially as they worked together on the calendar project that had me smiling throughout.

That said, Holly, as a character, aggravated me at times. While I admired her drive and creativity, there were moments when she came off as a bit self-centered, making it harder to fully root for her. I did enjoy watching her growth by the end, but I wish her development had been a little more balanced earlier on.

Still, if you enjoy a grump-sunshine pairing, some workplace hijinks, and—you guessed it—lots of adorable dogs, this one is worth picking up!

4.5 ⭐️’s rounded down

Finding Mr. July was such a fun read and I really enjoyed reading it! Holly and Jonathan were great characters with lots of depth and it really made me want to root for them. I also loved the competition, how it was handled, and how it incorporated so many dogs. It was such a swoony summer read and I definitely would recommend reading it!

I was given an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.
Finding Mr. July releases on July 1, 2025.

Finding Mr. July begins with Holly King who is an intern, looking to get a promotion and get the job she’s been working hard for. All that stands in her way is a competition between the other interns, which is all about fundraising. At first, Holly is drawing a blank until she decides to think outside of the box.

She decides to make a calendar featuring hot men and their dogs. Sounds like a great plan to me, but the only thing standing in her way? It’s Jonathan Summers. He’s the work grump and starts to refuse to help her. Eventually, he is pursued by their boss, and from there, the attraction only becomes even more intense as he goes with her to photograph the men and their dogs.

Since we’re all about the dogs here, I just have to say that I adored seeing all the men and their different dogs. It’s clear Anna E. Collins loves her dogs as she puts so much love and care into making sure the dogs get as much love as these guys. Additionally, it was great to see Jonathan get a dog as it made him less grumpy which is something we’re all suckers for.

Seeing the way Holly meets these men and the lengths she goes to for this project was hilarious. It was fun to see how these guys reacted when they learned Holly’s true motives. While some were less than thrilled, others were happy to jump on board. I feel like that’s such a realistic part of this story and I think if you’re a dog lover, then you’re going to adore this romance. Plus it’s coming out in July and the title is Finding Mr. July so what’s not to like?

3.5-3.75stars. Thank you Forever for providing an E-arc via NetGalley.

This feels more like a slice of life novel where the romance is not necessarily the main focus. The author writes compelling backstories for the characters and includes a flushed out cast of characters. Exploring the family dynamics at play for both Holly and Jonathan. Although I think they could have been flushed out more. I think some aspects were glossed over. The professional backdrop and plot provides the conflict.

I think there were so many aspects to enjoy but something was missing for me. I struggled to finish this book quickly often falling asleep fairly quickly when I would pick it up at night. So maybe it’s the pacing I struggled with.

It’s an enjoyable read and a good fit for readers who enjoy Sarah Adams or Elena Armas. There are open door scenes.

2.5 stars rounded down because a 3 star rating is a like/enjoyed.

It pains me to give a low rating for this book because I adored Worst in Show. Unfortunately, despite a good premise ended up skimming over lots of sections because I just couldn’t get into it. I finally gave up by about 70% (though I through each remaining chapter to speed read it until the final chapter and epilogue). There’s a lot of elements in this book that are great (why I gave it an extra half star). I liked Holly’s relationship with her brother Jude and niece Ava. I also appreciated that Holly’s journey is about starting over at 34 after her law career was sabotaged her shitty ex-boyfriend which mirrored Jonathon journey with his previous career. Plus, puppies?

But the execution just didn’t work for me. I felt there was weak plot and character development. I understand being burnt by the law after her bad experience and Rachel threw her a lifeline with the unpaid internship as a stepping stone. But I never really got that Holly was into the new job other than being able to run away from Seattle.

Plus the fundraising competition for unpaid interns to win a paid position as a vague ‘program liaision’ (which didn’t sound like fundraising was part of the duties) was exploitative and really annoyed me. Her idea was also a shirtless calendar featuring domestic animals for a conversation organisation? It was just so far off the mark and very cringy, including how she was trying to attract models via a dating app.

And while I appreciate Holly realises she was judgmental about Jonathon, I still didn't appreciate the way she went behind his back to force him to work on her project. Then she reverted to being immature over his refusal to model to fix her mistake over the permission form. I also hated the side plot with Jude and Ava possibly moving (though I laughed at Rachel calling Texas Gilead). Rachel also got annoying with her constantly salivating over Holly’s brother Jude. Secondary characters can just serve to be secondary (and that resolution of that made me roll my eyes).

Overall, a disappointment. That said, I liked Worst in Show and so I’ll give this author another shot.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this book. This was a very nice comfort read. I do enjoy these kinds of books for being a palate cleanser between other more serious books. This was a well written book and I actually enjoyed this one more than the author's previous book. The whole idea of hot men with dogs was a great idea. Of course the story is a little cliched and obvious of where the plot is going and how it's going to end, but that's why I read these. The main characters were good, but I loved the secondary characters more. Solid 4 stars.

I’m a total sucker for a romance that involves dogs! They are always so cute! I loved the premise and thought a calendar with hot men and cute dogs would make for a great rom-com. I found Holly’s hunt for men for the calendar to be entertaining and made for some funny moments throughout the book! Obviously, the only man who really matters is the one who ends up being Mr. July!

The FMC, Holly, was a difficult character to love. She’s a bit juvenile and often lets her emotions get the best of her. It’s surprising since she is supposed to be a former attorney. Also, the opening scene with her is a bit over the top!

The MMC, Johnathon, was oddly grumpy, but started to grow on me as the story progressed. He adopted a senior dog and I thought it was so sweet! I love when an older dog finds a good home. Plus it made for the perfect lead up to being in the calendar!

Holly and Johnathon were cute together. I do wish that Holly had been a bit nicer to Johnathon, but they still had their cute moments and fun banter.

Overall, this is a cute romance that involves dogs, romance, and philanthropy.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an early copy.

The premise for Finding Mr. July definitely excited me! This did not entirely live up to what I was hoping for. I just couldn't get into the writing style with this one. I didn't connect with the MCs much at all. Overall, this just might not have been a book for me.

This book was adorable! I went into this blind so I was pleasantly surprised by the tropes and all the fun twists in the plot. Holly and Jonathan are super cute characters. I really enjoyed how lighthearted and easy this read was. I did find some of the characters and plot points lacked depth but it was a fun, quick, light read.

Romance + Dogs! yess! This was a very cute romance. Two people wanting to switch up careers + life paths and getting out of their comfort zone for each other. I enjoyed the story and banter. Spice was focused in just a couple scenes nothing too crazy. It reminded me of a Sarah Adams love story. I enjoyed both main characters. A great fast paced romance.

This man was down bad the moment he broke down a door to get her out of the utility closet!

I loved loved loved this book! Jonathan is a grump to everyone but Holly. He moves his schedule around to help her with her fundraising calendar to help her win a promotion that would cause her to move to Scotland. He always puts her first even if it means he might have to let her go….

What is not to love with this romantic comedy about a lawyer starting over, a brooding photographer who needs a fresh start, and an environmental nonprofit contest that leads them together in a photo shoot between men and their dogs. I love the internal conflict about career success over happiness and how our families are important, but we can’t allow ourselves to lose sight of who we are in the process. Love the workplace drama, strong foils, and women supporting women throughout it all. If you love a happy ending that involves dogs, workplace drama, and second chance happiness, this is your book!

all I wanted was cute dogs and hot guys and instead I got insta lust, a HR nightmare, and a severely hatable female protagonist.

The way the mmc kept pushing the male love interest into helping her was crossing so many unprofessional boundaries, and joining dating apps and tricking guys into joining her calendar campaign felt really icky. she acted eighteen, not mid thirties.

thank you to Forever for the arc in exchange for an honest review

After Holly is locked in a closet and saved by her grouchy office co-worker Jonathan, she never imagines she’d end up working closely with him on her intern project—a calendar featuring hot men and their canine companions. While he doesn’t believe in the project, she does and will do anything it takes to win the intern contest and her dream job.

I really enjoyed this novel—I thought the story moved along quickly and found myself invested in Holly and Jonathan’s relationship—from their awkward beginning to the trust they developed. I laughed out loud at times and shook my head in dismay at others. I was glad when they got their HEA.

I liked this novel as much as the first one I read by this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I really wanted to like this based on the premise but it ultimately fell flat for me and I only finished about 25% of it. It felt like it wasn't going anywhere and nothing had really happened. I couldn't quite reconcile the idea of a 34-year-old intern and also didn't really feel like there was a ton of chemistry between Holly and Jonathan.

I wanted to love this one. But it came up a little flat for me. The premise of the book sounded great. But I stated reading and just couldn’t get into it. I did stick with it all the way through. Bits and pieces did stick out for me. Overall the story wasn’t for me but I can see it being for others.

This sounded like a cutesy romance for the summertime, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. I didn't find myself clicking with Collins' writing style. It felt a bit clunky and occasionally unnatural. I also didn't enjoy our two main characters. Both Holly and Jonathan didn't stand out to me. Well, Holly stood out a smidge, but only because I found her actions annoying. The premise of them having to work together on this calendar was fun, but could've been executed better. Despite this novel not hitting for me, I can see how it would appeal to others, especially fans of the workplace romance trope, so I would still recommend it for anyone looking for a quick beach read.

Finding Mr. July
by Anna E. Collins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 rounded up)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Finding Mr. July by Anna E. Collins was such a fun and charming read! The story follows Holly, who’s launching a new career in her thirties as leaving law. Wanting a fresh start, Holly finds herself competing against other interns for a job in Scotland. Her project idea is cute—clever and creative—but to make it work, she needs the design help of Jonathan, the office’s resident grumpy emo.

The setup of this story is adorable, and it was a quick read. I really enjoyed the banter between Holly and Jonathan, and the gradual build of their relationship grew on me. At first, I found Jonathan’s quick shift—from emotionally unavailable loner to emotionally invested partner—a little strange. At the beginning we learn that Jonathan barely talks, but we never really see that with Holly. Honestly though? I was enjoying it enough that it didn’t really matter. Collins makes the mc’s dynamic work in a way that feels sweet and satisfying. I was definitely giggling into my kindle.

The “hot guys with dogs” angle was a smart idea and totally different, though I did feel the focus on physical appearance was a little heavy at times. As someone who struggles with body image, I found those moments detracted to story a bit for me. That said, readers who are into the swoony, shirtless calendar-guy trope will probably love it.

Overall, this was fluffy, feel-good fun with a little spice. Perfect for fans of workplace romance and grumpy/sunshine. Definitely check out Finding Mr. July by Anna E. Collins.

This is the first book I read by the author and I enjoyed it!
I thought this was a fun, cute read and perfect for summer,
After a scandal ends her legal career, 34-year-old Holly starts over as an unpaid intern at an environmental nonprofit. With one final challenge standing between her and her dream to start over outside of the country, she’s forced to team up with the office grump, Jonathan, to pull off a quirky fundraiser: a calendar featuring hot guys and cute dogs.
Holly and Johnathan have an instant connection and with a bit of forced proximity while working on the calendar they became more than coworkers.
I really loved Holly and Johnathan together. It was great seeing Johnathan put his walls down and soften for Holly.
Holly was a bit much and selfish at some parts but she did have growth by the end of the book!
Overall I enjoyed this book!

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the arc!

Finding Mr. July by Anna E. Collins was a fun read, I love a dog-themed romcom.

In this one, Holly is a disgraced lawyer starting over in her mid-30s at an internship with a nonprofit. She’s part of an intern competition to run the most profitable fundraiser, and recruits grumpy former photographer Jonathan to help: her idea is to create a hot-guys-with-dogs calendar.

I loved the dog content, and really enjoyed the story featuring an older heroine and hero who were both trying to get their lives back on track. I struggled with some aspects of Holly’s character and how she treated Jonathan in the second half, but overall this was an easy, fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central for my review copy.