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: Find a friend in Sarah Hurlihy
Review: If you need a fun book that will truly make you laugh out loud, then go pick up a copy of "Must Love Dogs" by Claire Cook. Despite the title, this book wasn't all about dogs. The dogs that show up in this novel are just cute, sweet, lovable characters, much like the people who seem very real. If you're a woman, you'll most likely find yourself in Sarah, the main character. Her crazy family, her hilarious dating escapades, and her job will have you tossing your head back to laugh. You'll quite possibly be saying to your husband/boyfriend, "Hey, listen to this," and even they will cackle. Besides the humor, there are even a few parts that will tug at your heart and make you remember a time when it was once broken.
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: FINALLY! A book about a real woman.
Review: Since Bridget Jones' Diary, I've been looking for an amusing book about a single woman. There have been dozens of books that are: Bridget Jones meets Jacqueline Susann. Bridget Jones meets Sex and the City. Bridget Jones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I don't want another Bridget Jones! As if in answer to my plea, Claire Cook has given us Sarah Hurlihy, an average American woman recovering from a divorce and trying to find a life again with the help and sometimes despite the help of her family. The characters are human, embodying the traits of real people, meaning that at times we love them and at other times we hate them. Cook is a good enough writer that she doesn't need to paint her characters either black or white. The humor of the story sneaks up on you. The writing is done as if Cook has been smiling the entire time and the reader just can't help but smile with her. By the end, you wish you were on the busload of Hurlihy family and friends so that you could continue in their company. Thank you, Claire Cook, for showing us that you don't need high society or gobs of sex or name dropping to produce a rewarding novel. You just need to write honestly about real people and us real people will be there in droves to read it.
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Helped me fall asleep at night...
Review: This book pretty much was my remedy for those sleepless nights. It really didn't keep me all that interested and I felt like I was reading something I totally wasn't interested in. Not my type of thing. It totally sounded like it from the cover. Oh well, better luck next time.
| 
