I literally ate this story up! I've been reading enemies-to-lovers a ton lately so I was confused for a bit why they didn't hate each other at first lol. I love how patient George is with Charlotte and how he takes his time and appreciated Charlotte! He is truly probably one of my book boyfriends ( )

3 stars

I was a little mistaken when I first picked out this book, I thought it was going to be a Pride and Prejudice modern day retelling with cute puppies. Pride and Puppies is the 4th book in a romance series, set in the small Vermont town of Pine Hollow. Each book has a different main focus, but they all have dogs adopted from a local shelter. Pride and Puppies is a friends-to-lovers romance, with not quite a miscommunication trope, but a lack of real communication between the main characters: Charlotte and George. These two work together at a retirement home, both in the medical field. George has been crushing pretty hard on Charlotte, but she’s been searching for a Darcy, and finds “the Darcys” she’s been dating in the real modern world to be not great boyfriends, and puts herself into a “no boys” mode and adopts a puppy to refocus her love.

I had trouble liking Charlotte. She’s self-absorbed, and vacillates between this bouncy extrovert to moody depressive persona. Both Charlotte and George seem to have the same problem, they lack any kind of real self-esteem, and that in turn affects how they handle building this relationship. I know I’m new to romance, but I found the constant back and forth wishy-washiness to be frustrating—and not in a good way.
The story itself was fine. I liked it well enough, but I don’t think I want to revisit Pine Hollow anytime soon. ( )

After another romantic breakup, the heroine sworn off dating and just focus on her adorable puppy. To help with her pet, the heroine turns to her neighbor, the hero. As the two friends interacted more with each other, their banter turns towards a direction the heroine wasn't expecting. The heroine must make a choice in which direction this particular relationship will go when the hero makes an announcement that changes everything.

This is a nice addition to the Pine Hollow series. It features the adorable animals that is an essential part of the series. This book focused on a resigned single heroine that was looking for love in the wrong places. It also features a sweet hero who adored the heroine and his family. I really enjoyed the secondary characters that surrounded the main couple. These characters were such a great addition to help the couple and the story move onward. The couple really has some issues that they must face, and I really appreciated seeing growth in them. However, I did feel that there were parts that dragged along, and maybe in those parts it needed some more details to help the transition within the story. Otherwise, this is a solid addition to the Pine Hollow series.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.** ( )

Just like many before, “Pride & Puppies” is a Jane Austen inspired modern-day romance featuring a MC who is well obsessed with… Jane Austen. Like almost every other page, ‘Darcy’, ‘Blingley’ and ‘Jane’ are mentioned obsessed. Was it annoying to the point you couldn’t help but roll your eyes when the forsaken three were mentioned? Ab·so·lute·ly.

Despite my digressions, Charlotte (“Charles” by her wannabe Darcy) is single again after dumping her cheating boyfriend, Jeff. After a wild night of venting with her best girlfriends with a strong bottle of liquor in her hands, she decides it’s time to swear off men… for six months at least and get a puppy that she always dreamt of and who would love her unconditionally—forming the Puppy Pact. Cue in her neighbor, co-worker and friend George—who has been pining for her since the moment he arrived at Pine Hollow—providing pet advice and being a shoulder to lean on as Charlotte rediscovers herself and what love should mean to her. Amidst that, George announces he’s contemplating a cross-country move which then spirals Charlotte's emotions out of whack and pushes her to realize she may have less than friendly feelings for him. Mixed emotions, miscommunications, should they shouldn’t they drama upfolds—leaving me much to desire.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect with either MCs—George and especially Charlotte. I found her to be pushy, messy and just plain annoying. In regards to the romantic components—the chemistry and flirting was practically non-existent. In all honesty, I truly didn’t believe Charlotte's feelings were genuine for George and the romance seemed too forced, especially after she discovered his decision to possibly move back home and her sudden ‘realization of her feelings’. They worked better as friends than lovers. Let’s not forget Jane Austen obsession and references were too much of the focal point of this novel.

All in all, a strong engaging start but once the wishy-washy back-and-forth with Charles and George began, I started to tune out. It gradually became worse towards the later half of the novel when Charlotte proclaimed she was in love with the real life Blingley. It just was not believable nor did the romance stand out. I was far more intrigued by the side characters and their stories. Nonetheless, not the worst Jane Austen inspired romance novel I have read but it could have been better.

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