Rating: 
Summary: sheer delight
Review: Claire Cook knows just what makes a messy family click;she's got a flinty eye for its functions and dysfunctions. The eccentricities of the Hurlihy family and the universality of the family of man collide in surprising ways. Who can resist a novel full of both tender moments and riotous laughs; the reader will be lapping up every word with nods of recognition along with howls of joy. What a treat!
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life!
Review: Claire Cook's Must Love Dogs was good book to read in the hammock, under the shade or on a cloudy day. Even the summer air will taste blue against your lips and the wind beneath your naked toes will make your skin jump with suprise. The sound of children playing in the streets splashes into the pits of your ears, ringing and constant. Taking a breath, you turn the page, and with each new word you will linger for the love of what the main character will endure. When the last page comes, you dig your toes into the dirt and clench your teeth while the plot unravles into a beautiful circus of love, loss, and lust.
Rating:
Summary: Real woman, real family, real lives
Review: Excellent book about a woman who has not managed to have it all, but who is fortunate to have supportive friends and an involved family. Divorced for several years, Sarah is gradually being nudged toward looking for someone with whom to be involved. Her family is most eager to help her, and the inevitable miscues ensue. The characterizations are varied and well drawn, we know people like these. Sarah is by no means desperate, and so we find she is someone we can trust, root for, and never pity. There is plenty of material in Sarah's family for more books, and I will be eager to stop by for a visit.
Rating:
Summary: Chick Lit Grows Up w/ Must Love Dogs (4.5 stars)
Review: Forty-year-old Sarah Hurlihy is a divorced preschool teacher who can't seem to get her life back on track. She hasn't dated since the divorce, though her loving brood of talkative, opinionated South of Boston Irish family members insist that she steps back into the ring. She fears that every relationship will fall the way of her marriage. She's childless. Sarah's loud big sister, Carol, singlehandedly places Sarah back in the dating market by placing a personal ad for Sarah in the paper. This one gestures turns Sarah's life 180 when she finds her hands full with men seeking her ad 'persona'. As Sarah seeks to find herself and a man, her family members find themselves in their own personal troubles: her father is an over-the-hill yet spry gigolo who's about to meet his match, and Sarah's brother, Michael is dealing with a rocky marriage and a lovable dog who might be from hell.This in a nutshell is what readers will find between the covers of Claire Cook's novel, "Must Love Dogs." With the exception of two mini-breaks, I read the book in one setting, and found myself upset to see Sarah go. What I enjoyed the most about the novel is that Sarah is an everywoman. Though I wish she had a bit more back bone and self-esteem, I think Sarah reflects a lot of women in the world. She's not a size 8...she doesn't have the most perfect job. Everything in her life (aside from needing a man) is not perfect. Sarah has a lot of work to do, and though I don't think Sarah makes a total transformation in the end, I see good things for her in the future (that is, if she was real). The dialogue is crisp and funny, the banter between the Sarah and her family is hilarious, and the story's realness made this story a real treat for me. If I had one 'issue' with "Must Love Dogs," it would be that the ending didn't feel like an ending. I'm a huge fan of the ambiguous ending, where the author allows the reader to interpret a story's ending, but this one almost demands that more be said...and I can only hope that Cook brings back Sarah and introduces her to even more drama, comedy and life. Overall, I would definitely recommend "Must Love Dogs" to all readers who enjoy chick lit and wonder what happens when the heroine gets a little older and things get just a bit more REAL. Shon Bacon
Rating: 
Summary: seemed real to me
Review: I am a 50-something divorced twice and married for a third to last forever. I really enjoyed this book. Better even than Bridget Jones' Diary. But consider my personal profile in checking this review. I found it delightful and wished to know most of the people in the story. Not all though, bhut that's what it's all about, after all. Thank you to the author. Now I will go backwards and read her first book for sure. And follow up any further books. Definitely a "women's book", but a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: The same
Review: I cannot make myself get through this book, but probably because of my age. I am 30, never married, and usually love single female stories. This story is about a 40 year old divorcee, but she is quite depressed and whiney. I have read about a quarter of the book, so my review is based on that, but I don't think I will finish it.
Rating:
Summary: Must Love This Funny, Tender Book!
Review: I enjoyed MUST LOVE DOGS immensely.
Sarah is a divorced pre-school teacher who's too emotionally tired to do much more than eat macaroni-and-cheese (substituting wine for milk actually works) and watch Brady Bunch re-runs.
She has a wonderful, nosy family, including her widowed father, who must've kissed the Blarney Stone several hundred times. When Sarah finally decides to do something about her love life, she answers a personal ad. Too bad the ad she answered was her DAD'S. LOL. Her sister Carol decides Sarah should place her own personal ad and takes it upon herself to place the ad and record the phone calls (since Sarah immediately deletes them all and claims she got no responses).
Sarah is very likeable and even though she makes some mistakes along the way, she eventually finds the right guy. But even more important than opening her heart to new love, is how she finds the courage (and the energy) to get a new life.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is so boring...
Review: I love chick lit as much as the next chick, but this book is just so extrodinarily averge I gave up about a third of the way through. Read something by Anita Shreve or Marian Keyes instead.
Rating:
Summary: Smart with lots of heart
Review: I rarely ever laugh out loud at books, but I actually had to stop reading this one on the bus ride to work because people were beginning to edge away from me. What makes Claire Cook's novel so funny is how REAL the situations are. I've been in many of the same scrapes as Sarah, the main character, but she always seems to get out of them with far more wit and style -- which is why she's my new hero! I love humor that is intelligent without having to resort to mean-spiritedness. Can't wait for Claire's next book!
Rating:
Summary: Funny but not the best
Review: I read a couple chapters and I couldn't get involved with the book for some reason. A few weeks later i picked the book back up and I'm glad I did. After a slow beginning it gets better. The guys she dates reminds me of my past experiences and at some points I actually laughed out loud. I wouldn't recommend paying full price for the book but if you want to pick it up at the library or wait for paperback it would be worth it (just for the laughs themselves!).
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