A review by cakt1991
Ruff and Tumble by Lucy Gilmore

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

Ruff and Tumble is a cute, if not super substantial, contemporary romance. That’s not a bad thing, as what you see being what you get can be a good thing in this time of confusing romance marketing (and boy, is that discussion becoming more and more loaded…this cover itself got dragged into one such thread). 

That said, I think the idea of this was more interesting than the execution. This book seems to fictionalize professional football, with the hero, Cole, playing in a fictional version of the Super Bowl, and Puppy Cup seems like a fictional event similar to the real-life Puppy Bowl. The event and the way the dogs are involved is super-cute, especially how it sets up Hailey’s involvement, as she’s shown to always be working with the winning team, and Cole finds himself reaching out to her for help when he’s in a bit of bad luck. 

I wasn’t super invested in the romance, although I appreciated there was some depth and conflict to the relationship, even if the book was still more fluffy. I did feel like there was an easy way out for Hailey to explain the Lumberjacks memorabilia due to her dad being a fan, and Cole did primarily think of his own interests first, although not because he was a bad person, but because of his own lack of foresight. 

This book is cute, and while it didn’t blow me away, I never go into these books expecting that. I’m just here for the cute puppies, and this one definitely offered a generous helping of cute puppy scenarios. If you love dogs, sports, or dogs involved in sports (especially if you tune into the Puppy Bowl every year!), you’ll like this one.