Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not good either...
Review: Sarah Hurlihy is in her forties, divorced and lonely. She spends her nights making new recipes (macaroni and cheese mixed with wine) and watching reruns of the Brady Bunch.
She takes out a personal ad and tries to find someone to date. After her first failure where she unknowingly answers her father's ad, you would hope that she would give up...but she didn't.
She now tries to balance the new men in her life: John Anderson: who is sweet, but it doesn't always quite work out. She also likes a dad from the preschool where she teaches: but she doesn't know if he is dating her co-worker or he is just overly charming. All the while she is trying to deal with the old men in her life: her brother Michael, who keeps getting kicked out of the house by his wife. Also her dad: who is looking for a "slow bloom of affection," and is continually running away from one of his psycho girlfriends Dolly, who thinks he is a "no-good alley cat."
I found the whole personal ad--finding love thing something to hold my interest at first, but Sarah doesn't like anyone and jumps back and forth between not-very-entertaining characters. I kept getting the names mixed up and found myself reading quickly to find something worthwhile. The other part of the book, she spends her time being lonely and hating her life because she is not as pretty as her co-worker, she has never been the "good looking sister," and she just wants to be with someone again. I found myself feeling more and more sorry for this woman who wants to fill the void by "finding a man."
I was attracted to the book because the cover caught my eye: the title written in black curly handwriting, two cute puppies held on leashes by two pairs of legs, but maybe I shouldn't have judged the book by it's cover.
Rating: 
Summary: Must Love Dogs
Review: A funny story (I did laugh out loud thorough out the book)about Sarah Hurlihy's life as a divorced preschool teacher. The story revolves around her interferring family and their lives, her job, a personal ad, embarassing moments in Sarah's life, friendships, a handful of men, a puppy St. Bernard, and a navel piercing. Enjoyed every second of this book. If Claire Cook writes a second book about Sarah's life, which I recommend she does, I'll be sure to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: cute, funny novel
Review: Claire Cook has created a novel with an accurate, humorous portrayal of a woman searching for the perfect man. This book had a very catchy opening and continued its humor untill the very end. There are actual times in the book where the reader will laugh out loud. It is so candid and sincere and very relatable. The only negative I would comment about is the ending. I felt there was not enough information about the status of Sarah's relationship with John Anderson. It was very random and open-ended. Overall though, a great read.
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: 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: Fun To Read
Review: I thought this book was fun to read. Some of the things in the book remind me of some one else I know trying to date over 30. I think it could have been more developed, but overall it was a fun book.
Rating:
Summary: A book about nothing
Review: I tried to like this book, I really did. On the surface, it seemed to have all the elements I'd enjoy - dogs, big Irish family, single woman looking for love. I expected a funny, light "chick" book. Instead, I got a long rambling account with nothing really happening and no discernible plot line. The main character, Sarah, is a recently divorced, 40-year-old woman with a big, interfering Irish-American family. Her family being Irish-American added nothing to the story, except that now and then her father would say things like "Sarah, darlin'." Sarah's sister takes out a personal ad for Sarah in an attempt to get her out and dating again. From this ad, Sarah meets John, later she talks to George on the phone but does not go out with him, she subsequently meets Ray without the help of the ad, and also meets Bob, the father of one of her pre-school students. In the meantime, her widowed father is dating an obnoxious, tacky woman named Dolly. Sarah goes out with Bob, she goes out with Ray, she goes out John. Besides her family coming over to her house a lot, nothing especially funny or interesting happens to her. The Seinfeld TV show has been jokingly described as a show "about nothing." However, that show was full of wit, humor and an actual moving story line. Here, this book is basically about nothing, too, except it's REALLY about nothing with no engaging moments and no real final resolution. I found myself struggling through each chapter hoping that something, anything, of interest would occur. Finally, unable to stand the tedium, I skimmed through to the end to see if it would somehow miraculously redeem the rest of the book for me. It didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Reading!
Review: I've had this book on my "to be read" pile for months, and I am so glad I finally picked it up! It's the perfect summer read! It's light, refreshing and really funny. The main character, Sarah, is extremely likeable and her family is even better! I have seen some reviews who say the characters were underdeveloped and I don't feel that way at all. I think their personalities were very dynamic and it was easy to get a quick perception of them. Sometimes things are better implied, instead of blatant.The best part of the book for me was Sarah Hurlihy's big irish american family. I wanted to be a part of it! All in all, this is a sweet, funny book by a very talented author.
Rating:
Summary: Funny Look at Re-Entry into Dating...
Review: Sarah Hurlihy is forty years old, divorced, and a preschool teacher. She has started dating again, thanks to the personal ads, and her first date is so hilarious I woke my husband up laughing out loud. A great start to a funny and upbeat book. Sarah is one of six children in a close-knit Boston Irish family. Everyone is involved with everyone else's business. Her widowed father, Billy, is dating at least two women, one is a raucous woman named Dolly who doesn't take "no" for an answer. Sarah's sister Carol convinces Sarah to place her own personal ad, including the words "Must Love Dogs"...although Sarah does not own a dog of her own. The ad produces multiple hilarious dates, many including her brother Michael's dog, Mother Teresa. Who will Sarah choose? John, the quiet dog lover? Bob, the handsome single parent? George from Hanover? Maxwell, the Hemingway look-alike? Can Sarah's family back off long enough to avoid scaring all of the men away? MUST LOVE DOGS focuses on a family who just can't keep their noses out of each other's lives. Many scenes of the book had me laughing so hard my sides hurt. One that comes to mind is when Sarah is having a lonely evening at home, even the personal ad responses she calls aren't home. Then Dolly shows up looking for Billy. One by one Sarah's siblings show up with problems, then two of the men Sarah dated arrive. Next, the phone calls are returned. Her house becomes a three-ring circus. The interactions between the various individuals left me in stitches. The characters have true-to-life experiences with love and hurt, which give the book depth and meaning, as well. Sarah's brother Michael and his wife, Phoebe, struggle with their marriage. Carol and her daughter, Siobhan, strive to find common ground. The family is able to forge solutions without alienating, all the while meddling in Sarah's dating life. I highly recommend MUST LOVE DOGS, which gives an optimistic look at re-entry into the dating scene with the help of family. It is the perfect summer read to share with friends
Rating:
Summary: I love dogs, but not this book!
Review: This book is about a divorced woman named Sarah and her quest for love. She places a classified ad, plus has a couple of other love interests. I didn't like this book. The characters were so underdeveloped that you don't know enough about them to care who Sarah chooses at the end. The author never explains why the main character does some of the things she does. There are some subplots, but the only one that affects Sarah is the one with her brother. The others just seemed like filler to me.
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