What? I'm back? Why, yes I am! Classes are done and over with and the summer is coming along nicely. This means reviews! Yay! This book is one my local library was selling and it was very much recommended to me by a trusted friend, so I thought, why not? Here is this wonderful book!
Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Lani Diane Rich
Abby has just arrived in Summerville, Ohio, with her placid Newfoundland, Bowser. She’s reluctantly inherited her grandmother’s coffee shop, but it’s not long before she’s brewing up trouble in the form of magical baked goods and steaming up her life with an exasperating college professor.
And then there’s Daisy, a web code writer, and her hyperactive Jack Russell, Bailey. Her tightly-wound world spins out of control when she discovers the chaos within and meets a mysterious dog trainer whose teaching style is definitely hands-on.
Finally there’s Shar, professor of ancient history at Summerville College, who wakes up one morning to find her neurotic dachshund, Wolfie, snarling at an implacable god sitting at her kitchen table, the first thing in her life she hasn’t been able to footnote.
What on earth is going on in this unearthly little town? It’s up to Abby, Daisy, and Shar to find out before an ancient goddess takes over Southern Ohio, and they all end up in the apocalyptic doghouse…
Age: Adult; 18 years and up
Review: 4.5 butterflies
This book was recommended to me by a friend, with the quote, “This books is sort of ridiculous but the good kind of ridiculous.” Now, I don’t know if I agree with her statement completely, but I do have to say it is a pretty interesting book. I wouldn’t call it ridiculous, but it’s definitely something I wouldn’t have considered. As you can tell from the title, this book involves both goddesses and dogs. If you were wondering if the dogs talk, yes they do.
This book features the three girls-turned-goddesses: Abby, Daisy, and Shar. Abby just moved to town because her grandmother died and left her a bakery. She needs space from her mother as well as some time to herself, so she’s content to live above the bakery. That is, of course, until a certain (hot and annoyingly logical) college professor comes and buts into her life. And, but of course, her dog Bowser is along for the ride.
Daisy’s mom, Peg, is suddenly allergic to her dog and gives it to Daisy until she can solve the problem with her allergies. Bailey, the hyperactive dog, is something that Daisy certainly didn’t sign up for and has no time for. She has no recourse but to keep the dog while her mother runs off, though, and through Bailey, she meets Noah, a very, very interesting man...
And lastly, Shar is an ancient history professor that is completely and utterly bored with her life. She broke up with her boyfriend because he wouldn’t take the next step and is suddenly wondering what she did with her life. This changes, however, when she meets a deliciously attractive god named Sam. (Well, actually, his name is Samu-La-El but that’s a mouthful so we’ll go with Sam).
All of these women, as if by fate (or an annoyingly controlling goddess) meet up at a “dog training class” and get thrown into a series of events that they have little control over and are entirely and completely hilarious.
The antagonist in his novel, the goddess Kammani (and her little obsessive sidekick Mina) is a really interesting character. At first I didn’t know what to make of her, and I didn’t know what she was going to be in the novel. She’s not really evil, she doesn’t know how to adjust to the modern world. (She was put to sleep for many centuries). She misses the days when everyone would worship her without question and hates that modern people have free will. Towards the end of the book, I came to pity her because it was clear she just really wanted to feel at home like she was when she was truly a Goddess. (Mina, on the other hand, is a little bitch).
All of the heroines were completely relatable and their reactions were all very realistic. They—and their one-liners—made this book the fantastic novel that it is. I loved reading about Abby, Daisy, and Shar and I was always curious as to what would happen next. I was always waiting to be surprised when I turned the page—and without fail, I always was. The book is a hilarious, magic-filled, romantic mess that I had the utmost pleasure of reading.
This is the perfect book to read when you’ve had too much seriousness and monotony in your life and need something light and funny to distract you. You’re sure to laugh and you’re always left wondering what messes all three girls will get themselves into. I definitely recommend this if you need a romance novel with a side of strong women, magic, dogs, and laughter.
Book links: Goodreads * Amazon * B&N * iTunes * Kobo * Google Books
Yours,
Labels: fantasy, fiction, four stars, love, magic, paranormal, reviews, romance
