Book Review: The Truth About Love and Dogs by Lilly Bartlett

Scarlett and Rufus aren’t in the honeymoon stage anymore so much as the honey-should-we-bother phase.

Desperate to get their sparkle back, Scarlett has plotted, planned and waxed more than any woman should have to, but none of it is working.

Which makes it very hard to start the family they want.

At least her business is going strong, even if her marriage isn’t. She and her best friend spend their days tangled up in dog leads and covered in fur.

Scarlett is the fairy dogmother, training hopeless pets like compulsive eater Barkley, impulsive Romeo Murphy and bossy Biscuit. Meanwhile, her best friend walks the dogs and pines for the man who doesn’t know she exists.

Thank goodness the women have each other.

If only Scarlett could work out how to get her marriage back on track. But Rufus isn’t sharing his feelings with her. He is, though, sharing with her best friend. Her best friend, Shannon.

Four words from her husband Rufus turns Scarlett’s world upside down.

The Truth about Love and Dogs was originally published as Love is a Four-Legged Word and as Michele Gorman, not Lilly Bartlett.

Scarlett wishes her personal life was better. Although she finds that her marriage may be falling apart, her business is going from strength to strength. She is a dog whisperer – training a variety of dogs whilst her best friend and business partner, Shannon, walks the dogs whilst dreaming about a man she has only seen from afar.

I have read a few of Lilly/Michele’s novels now and was already a big fan. I had not read this one under its previous title but it did not disappoint.

Scarlett and Shannon are a great double act. Both are at slightly different areas of their lives so there is plenty for the reader to relate to.

There was a specific area in Scarlett’s life I especially connected with. I could feel the emotion and sadness.

I found their dynamic interesting as Shannon was friends with Scarlett’s husband originally. No one thinks of the friendships potentially lost with a break up. I also wondered what I would do if I found myself in Scarlett’s situation.

The plot develops at a great pace and I fell in love with all the dogs. They all sound so cute and this is coming from a cat person.

There is always a lovely feeling to Lilly’s novels. I know that they are going to make me smile, somewhere along the line they also potentially make me cry but I know I am going to fall in love with the world she has created and the characters within them.

The style of this novel meant that I immediately fell into the story and I loved the fact that it was told from both Shannon and Scarlett’s point of view. There is a lot of focus on Scarlett and Rufus yes, but to me, the novel is about love and friendship.

If you haven’t guessed already, I loved this novel. Another great story, Lilly.

About Lilly Bartlett: 

Lilly is the pen-name of Sunday Times and USA Today best-selling author, Michele Gorman, who writes best friend-girl power chick lit under her own name.

Say hi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MicheleGormanUK

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.