My Rating: 3.8


First Impressions

When I saw the front cover, I absolutely fell in love with it! You can already see the three different lives being presented before even starting the book, and the description paints an amazing picture right from the start about who the main characters are and their dogs too - who doesn't love a book with a furry friend involved? I was so excited to learn about George, Dan, and Lizzie as they all seemed to bring something different to this already unique story, but I was so intrigued by the characters foreshadowed within the description too. I knew there would be much more than what would meet the eye!

The Characters

George was introduced right in his raw stages of grief since losing his wife, Ellen, and although he was already a bit of a grump naturally, it was obvious he was hiding his sadness behind anger. My heart really broke for him, but slowly started to piece back together as he opened up to Betty. I was still so infuriated by his actions, beliefs, and nature, though - quite homophobic, sexist, and ignorant.

Dan was quite a complex character, his own anxiety and OCD coming to light while therapising others as his job. It was so interesting to be put into his mindset during his point of view and slowly learning more and more about him. The bond he has with Fitz is absolutely adorable, and the dynamic between himself and Atticus always made me feel gooey inside! I could really relate to him being afraid of being so open about who he is and felt like I created my own bond with him much more than the other characters!

Lizzie's story is such a heavy and significant one to read about. She's very closed off and scared in the women's refuge but still has this protective and loving nature, especially towards her son Lenny. I absolutely adored Luke and the way he took Lenny under his wing so quickly, but did think he was going in head-first way too fast. There were parts where I thought ''that's a little bit strange'' or ''too much'' about Lizzie's thoughts, which made much more sense towards the end of the book!

Final Thoughts

I had absolutely no idea how I imagined this book ending! A wedding? Moving away? Some puppies, even?! Many of the scenarios I had floating around in my mind were not even CLOSE! It was definitely such a bittersweet feeling to reach the final page. There are countless heavy and triggering topics that are handled within 'Dog Days' which I didn't expect at all, but were very significant to the story and it's characters. So if you fancy giving this one a go, please bare this in mind!

Conclusion

When I first saw the (gorgeous) front cover, I already knew I just had to read it! Not only did I meet lots of very different characters, I got to meet lots of lovely dogs who had their own development and story, too. I feel so honoured to have been able to read this book: it provoked every kind of emotion in me; opened my eyes to situations that I didn't know enough about; and allowed me to find parts of myself within the story.

Ericka Waller did such an amazing job at creating these characters and encapsulating their different journeys throughout the book, to then bring them all together beautifully! There were also adorable illustrations dotted throughout the novel which were such a joy to come across! The only things that irked me were that I struggled to get into a good rhythm at the start and felt hurt by George being quite narrow-minded - but I suppose the power of a good book is to make you feel all kinds of emotions!

'Dog Days' was touching, heart-breaking, and enlightening all rolled into one and such a worthy read!

Blog Review:
https://alovelylittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2020/09/dog-days-by-ericka-waller.html

This was an inspirational, emotional novel. I loved the inclusion of dogs, and the human characters were great too. Its a story about navigating life and death, with the help of your furry friend.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

Any book that involves dogs makes me want to read it immediately. The dogs in this book were lovely and inspirational and helped bring some positivity into the lives of the characters involved. These people were a mixed bunch but all were in need of love and guidance. There are three parts (or groups) of characters in this book. Dan is a counsellor/therapist and is attracted to his patient, Atticus. The two men are obviously gay but are hesitant of becoming involved with each other. George, an older, recently widowed man is cantankerous, rude, selfish and has completely lost his grip on life following his wife’s death. His neighbour, Betty, promised George’s wife before she died that she would look out for him and tries to help but George is nasty, hurtful and downright spiteful towards this lovely woman. The third set of people comprise Lizzie and her young son, Lenny who are living in a Women’s Refuge after Lizzie leaves her husband. Has he been violent towards her as her scars indicate, or is there more to her story? All of these scenarios gradually unravel to reveal some very deep and hitherto hidden scars on the lives of these people. The shocks and surprises in the book took me completely by surprise and I was eager to see if any or all of the characters would beat their demons and emerge into a happier existence. The dogs owned by Dan, George (very reluctantly as his wife had bought it just prior to hr death and he really doesn’t want it), and the dog that Lizzie walks for someone else all help to bring calm, love and hope to their human counterparts. With the exception of Betty, I honestly didn’t care very much for any of the people in the story and the extremely bad language was a real off-putter for me. I would have liked to see an occasional glimpse of a warmer side of some of the people to elicit a little more sympathy and for there to have been a lot less of the strong language. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a pre-release copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Anyone that follows me on social or has ever met me knows that my life revolves around my (almost) 12 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, McNulty. Upon seeing a blurb about Dog Days, it shot right up to the top of my TBR pile and I loved it. The mix of characters and their dogs kept me on my toes. It's a book about perserverance and the dogs that help us navigate life and death and how and why we love them. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it.