BOOK REVIEW- A Dog Called Valentine by Roxanne Snopek

When an unwanted Valentine’s Day present is dumped at the shelter, volunteer Lily decides to foster the poor dog herself. A little attention is all he needs to blossom into a loving pet, ready for his forever home. Plus, helping a poor, rejected animal will distract her from her own problems. Win, win. Right? Wrong. Valentine needs more than a makeover if he’s going to be adopted. He destroys her home, hates to be groomed and when he behaves better for a perfect stranger than he does her, Lily swallows her pride and begs the good looking but quiet stranger for help

After losing his canine partner in a horrific moment that upended his future, sexy and stoic Shane turns to books, walks in the park and remodeling his grandmother’s home. No more intense K9 officer career, no more dogs, no more risks. But it’s hard to ignore the misunderstood mutt at the park and his well-intentioned, but clueless, handler. Shane reluctantly agrees to give her a few tips and tricks, but that’s all. He won’t care. He won’t get invested. And once Valentine finds his new home, his life can go back to normal.

But Shane doesn’t bargain on a new normal in town and, suddenly, Valentine’s Day will never be the same.

AMAZON  4 STARS

#ADogCalledValentine #NetGalley

The different plot ideas on the book information and the name of the author caught my attention. 

This story lined up with all the hopeful notes I had for it.   Great main characters, supporting characters, emotions, friendship to romance. 

Shane's grandmother Dolly was a hoot.  She was not afraid to say what was on her mind but not in a mean way.

Lily, what a big heart she has but she is SO over her head.  There is the added pressure of she doesn't want to FAIL again.  She wants to help but she doesn't know zip about dogs let alone troubled ones.  And dealing with the demands of her mother is also a struggle she's not sure she can win.  She has dreams of her own. There is a twist towards the end of the book that I really liked about that. Lily, does have some skills too so don't think that she didn't.  She just didn't recognize most of them.  Her friends do though.  And as time goes on Shane also begins to bring them to her attention too.

Shane had even more depth than I was expecting and boy did he fight the pull of Lily and Valentine.   I thought the author did a good job of showing both the physical and emotional pain that Shane was going through. His K-9 partner, Titan had been so much of Shane's life both professionally and personally.  He couldn't even bear to talk about him.  It was written in a way that felt totally believable. 

What about  Valentine?  Yes, I consider him a main character as well.  He added laughs, humor and some tears too. 

This book kept my attention and I enjoyed it.  Also there were tidbits when it came to some adjustments of training a dog that was fun.  It was sprinkled throughout without being heavy.

I voluntarily received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book via Netgalley and these are my honest opinions of it.