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A review by cozycritiques
The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson
emotional
slow-paced
“And what does a fully functional grown-up woman do when everything’s screwed up? She kicks off her shoes and yanks the screw top off a bottle of wine and pours herself a massive glassful.”
- The Dog Share
Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books, for the e-ARC
Tropes: Love after Divorce, Later in Life
Spice Scale: 🫑
CW: Infidelity, Minor mentions of death
This was a cute read, but it wasn’t what I expected when picking it up. The Dog Share tells the story of two people navigating the twists and turns of life in their 40s. Suzy Medley is an obituary writer with two teenagers in college whose ex left her with a failing whiskey distillery in Sgadansay, Scotland. She’s set on closing the distillery, but when she finds an abandoned dog, Scout, she gets a new lease on life. She ends up falling in love with this island and decides to try to rescue the distillery. Her love interest is Ricky, a music teacher with a pre-teen son. While on a trip back home to Sgadansay with his son Arthur and his Instagram-obsessed girlfriend (who leaves early, thank God), Ricky meets Scout and ends up partially sharing him with Suzy to give Arthur a chance to play with him. However, this meeting doesn’t happen until well over halfway into the book.
The romance wasn’t the main focus of the story but rather the lives of the two main characters. And although I picked the book up expecting a cute romance facilitated by an adorable dog, I still ended up enjoying the book. Suzy was a compelling character, and I found myself rooting for her on her quest to save the distillery. I also enjoyed watching Ricky fall back in love with his hometown. I will say that the marketing for this book felt a little misleading. Based on the title, cover, and description, I did expect more interaction and more actual dog-sharing between Suzy and Ricky. Although they do end up coming together at the end, it felt more like an “oh, by the way” than a significant plot point.
- The Dog Share
Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books, for the e-ARC
Tropes: Love after Divorce, Later in Life
Spice Scale: 🫑
CW: Infidelity, Minor mentions of death
This was a cute read, but it wasn’t what I expected when picking it up. The Dog Share tells the story of two people navigating the twists and turns of life in their 40s. Suzy Medley is an obituary writer with two teenagers in college whose ex left her with a failing whiskey distillery in Sgadansay, Scotland. She’s set on closing the distillery, but when she finds an abandoned dog, Scout, she gets a new lease on life. She ends up falling in love with this island and decides to try to rescue the distillery. Her love interest is Ricky, a music teacher with a pre-teen son. While on a trip back home to Sgadansay with his son Arthur and his Instagram-obsessed girlfriend (who leaves early, thank God), Ricky meets Scout and ends up partially sharing him with Suzy to give Arthur a chance to play with him. However, this meeting doesn’t happen until well over halfway into the book.
The romance wasn’t the main focus of the story but rather the lives of the two main characters. And although I picked the book up expecting a cute romance facilitated by an adorable dog, I still ended up enjoying the book. Suzy was a compelling character, and I found myself rooting for her on her quest to save the distillery. I also enjoyed watching Ricky fall back in love with his hometown. I will say that the marketing for this book felt a little misleading. Based on the title, cover, and description, I did expect more interaction and more actual dog-sharing between Suzy and Ricky. Although they do end up coming together at the end, it felt more like an “oh, by the way” than a significant plot point.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Infidelity