Novel Review: Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Dog Walkers, #1) by Susan Donovan

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Josie Sheehan collects failed relationships the way some women collect designer handbags. Now, at thirty-five, she has exactly one male in her life: her Labradoodle, Genghis. In fact Josie, along with the three very single women in her dog-walking group, has recently sworn off men, resigning herself to long walks in the park with her devoted, four-legged friend.

All bets are off, however, when she meets Rick Rousseau, a pet-company CEO who is smart, sexy, and, best of all, head-over-heels for Josie. Even Genghis, an excellent judge of character, seems to know that Rick is the real deal. But just when Josie starts to think that she has found something more enduring than puppy love, she discovers that Rick has a complicated past—and a secret that could put the woman he loves in serious danger...

Quotes:

• "'I guess all we can do is wake up every day and start over.’” (Mass Market Paperback, pg. 185)
• "'Do no harm. Dwell in compassion. Train my mind. If I’m following that formula, I know I’m living honestly and not ruled by ego or negative thinking.’” (Pg. 185)
• "'...you must be brave enough to embrace what you’ve asked for.’” (Pg. 200)
• "That’s all any of them were—human. And to be human was to be a fuckup just waiting to happen. All of them. Without exception.” (Pg. 284)

The Cover:

The cover is just pretty to me, and I like that. It doesn't have a whole lot to do with the book, I don't think, but the feel of it is close, and it's pretty, so I'm alright with it.

Review:

I was expecting to enjoy this, although I liked it even more than I thought I would, and it really shouldn’t have taken me so long to get to it.

This was a very lighthearted story, very sweet and cute and funny, but also with some really good character development and depth.

I really liked Josie; she’s sweet and optimistic and funny and strong, and I related to her a bit. I also really liked Rick, how he got along with Josie, and how he didn’t avoid his feelings for her, and how he decided to be honest with her from the start, how he didn’t hide things from her, or avoid telling her for too long. That was really nice and refreshing, particularly because of how much I dislike lying.

There was also some good focus on Josie’s friends, the dog women, and her family; as well as Rick’s friend Teeny. We got to know her friends pretty well, and their stories continue in the following books in the series, so I’ll probably get to them at some point.

There was some really good back-stories and character depth in this book, and I really liked that. Particularly Rick’s past, and how that surfaced and how it all concluded. I might have liked to know more about Bennett and what happened with him, though, because I rather liked him by the end of the book, and felt really bad for him. 

Overall, this was a very good book. It was funny and sweet, and I loved the backstory and development, and I will definitely be reading more by Donovan in the future.