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hanmccull's review
4.0
The perfect love letter to our kind, loving canine companions. No spoilers but the ending was not what I was expecting, a beautiful book.
Thank you Book Club buddy Ceri for the loan
Thank you Book Club buddy Ceri for the loan
guylou's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
DOG DAYS by Ericka Waller exceeded my expectations with its poignant exploration of loss, resilience, and human connection. The initial impression from the blurb suggests a light-hearted tale centered around dogs, yet Waller skillfully delves into the complex lives of George, Lizzie, and Dan. George's grumpiness and resistance to change, Lizzie's scars and emotional barricades, and Dan's hidden struggles create a raw and gritty narrative that unfolds against the backdrop of Brighton. The dogs, Poppy, Maud, and Fitz, are not mere accessories but characters with their own distinct personalities, thanks to Waller's unique style. As the characters' stories intertwine, the novel becomes an emotionally charged journey, defying the initial expectation of a feel-good read. DOG DAYS is a compelling, unconventional narrative that captures the essence of life's challenges and the transformative power of canine companionship.
โ Favourite quote: "๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ... ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด."
โ Favourite quote: "๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ... ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด."
nicjohnston's review
4.0
Dog Days is a joy. The attraction was the furry friends and Poppy, Fitz and Maud lived up to my every expectation and delivered the incredible bond and positivity from canine companions.
However, the real surprise was the main protagonists. Dan,
a therapist struggling with OCD and his sexuality. Lizzie who finds herself in a refuge with her son. And George who is struggling after the loss of his wife. Each character has depth and I enjoyed following their journey. It wasnโt the light read that I was expecting and was all the better for it (although there is plenty of warm humour threaded throughout the book). Definitely one I will be pushing into peopleโs hands.
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC.
However, the real surprise was the main protagonists. Dan,
a therapist struggling with OCD and his sexuality. Lizzie who finds herself in a refuge with her son. And George who is struggling after the loss of his wife. Each character has depth and I enjoyed following their journey. It wasnโt the light read that I was expecting and was all the better for it (although there is plenty of warm humour threaded throughout the book). Definitely one I will be pushing into peopleโs hands.
With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC.
super_doxie15's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage
fionas's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
catriona90's review
4.0
A feel good book with some deeper messages running through it. Hard not to enjoy a book that has dogs at its centre!
helenedesal's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jemz87's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
laceylou10's review
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
perksofharriet's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Had some good moments, the way the characters developed over the course of the book was nice to see although they could be infuriating at times and somewhat unlovable. The chapters are shared out between 3 characters and I thought theyโd cross over more which might have made it more interesting for me but just felt a little unnecessary have the story be from three perspectives, it didnโt really add much overall. Felt the ending was a little rushed with the way each characters stories wrapped up. I donโt really know what I was expecting going in to this book but I canโt help feeling a little underwhelmed/ disappointed coming out of it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Mental illness, Addiction, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, and Homophobia