Thank you so much to NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What I thought would be a cutesy romance turned out to be an inspiring book about family, careers, and love. While some of the plot was a bit unbelievable (parents just up and leaving their 4 and 6 year olds for an entire summer in the hands of a sister who has never spent more than a few hours with them), it was still a really sweet story.

I absolutely adored the nephew and he reminded me of my own 4 year old son who is obsessed with cars and constantly makes me laugh. (The $800 fart scene in this was hilarious and definitely something that would happen to my son.) 😂

The ending really surprised me! I was definitely not expecting the novel to take that turn, but I think it made the book even better.

And let’s not forget about Cooper (who was my absolute favorite character in the whole book)!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It was a fun, quick read…the perfect summer escape to the green mountains of Vermont. 😍

What an absolute delight of a read! It was almost like a Hallmark movie with a tid bit of extra romance. Aunt builds strong bond with her niece and nephew, accomplishes a large project she gave herself, throw some love, natural disaster and a dog in there… I’m sold,

The Treehouse on Dog River Road by Catherine Drake

Hannah has taken on the responsibility of caring for her young niece and nephew for the summer while her sister and brother-in-law are on a sabbatical trip.

How hard can it be to take care of two young kids? Her sister has their schedule laid out, has them in pre-school, and a summer day camp-and their friend Lea will be picking them up and dropping them off. Piece of cake easy.

Until it's not. There's crying, there's a tantrum or two, there's Hannah getting bored when they are gone all day. There is the kids getting out of bed at bedtime. Oh, yeah–and Hannah is trying to figure out what to do for a job after the summer since she was (voluntarily) laid off.

THEN, there's the handsome new neighbor and his loving dog, Cooper, next door.

Hannah decides to take on a project building a treehouse. She also keeps an eye on Nathan, the cute neighbor.

When Nathan and Hannah finally get a few minutes alone, they connect. They realize they really like each other! But, Hannah is only there for the summer...

"GREAT book, light reading, great summer read! I was cheering for Hannah and Nathan the whole time!"-Books and Pens on Green Gables

Not the best written book I’ve ever read, and I had some difficulty relating to the millennial gen, but loved the premise of auntie babysitting for the summer and planning a treehouse. Lovely setting, too. The girl friendships felt contrived, but maybe that’s because I’m GenX ;) and I’m not a fan of gratuitous F words. Would have loved the storm scenes to have been a little more drawn out, but they certainly were the perfect precedent for the happily ever after!

Solid romance, lots of love for canines, and a definite millennial bent made this book fun but not quite relatable to this 40-something mama of 3 teens.

Financial expert Hannah spends the summer caring for her niece and nephew while their parents are on sabbatical in South America. She uses her construction skills to build a treehouse, with some help from neighbor Nathan. She and Nathan fall in love, but their relationship has an expiration date. Hannah doesn't know where her job search will take her—the small Vermont town doesn't offer many opportunities. Can they find a way to stay together?

This is a fun, enjoyable story. While the romance element is strong, the book reads more like women's fiction. The focus is more on Hannah's growth than on the romance arc.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to She Writes Press and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.
.
Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. The idea of inexperienced Hannah looking after her niece and nephew for a whole summer was not realistic, and I couldn’t get past it. There were inconsistencies and the writing structure was untidy, and all over the place.

There are good reviews here. Please read them. This just wasn’t the book for me.

To read - and enjoy this book - you must choose to dispel your disbelief about a few things. There are inconsistencies throughout, and on the whole, the writing seems jumbled. Too much detail for one scene/plotline then hardy any detail for others. I could not get past Hannah being left to care for her niece and nephew for the entire summer - especially given how she had stated her inexperience in taking care of young children. It was just too much for me to believe. That being said, the story had good points and enjoyable scenes.

This was so unexpected and so good! I was hooked from the second chapter and read it in one day. I loved Hannah, I loved the setting, and I absolutely adored Nathan. Something about this book was so refreshing to me -- it felt exactly like Vermont does. What I mean by that is that it felt classic and new at the same time . . . fresh and green and bright but also old. I hope you give it a try!

The Treehouse on Dog River Road comes out next week on May 10, 2022, and you can purchase HERE!

In a stunning display of impulsiveness, Hannah volunteered to take care of the kids for the summer. Following the announcement of a merger and buyout, layoffs at the Lyman Group, where she had worked for the last three years, had been rumored for weeks. She had no idea what she would do if she were to be let go. Taking care of the kids for the summer could offer her the chance to plot out her next step. She figured her expenses over the summer would be minimal and hoped that her six months of savings could tide her over until she got a job. Her biggest expense would be the payments on her student loan. Still, since making the decision, she regularly felt waves of apprehension crest over her. A change could be scary, but it also made her feel gutsy.

This is a cute, closed door romance. Hannah is trying to reinvent herself into the person she wants to be. Unfortunately, that's not the perfect time to meet a guy like Nathan. He's someone that could completely throw a wrench in all her plans.

This book has no big "wow" moment and that's okay. It's a gradual process of meeting and getting to know one another. It's kind of like life. There were a few things that happened in the pages that I, personally, thought might be a stretch....but it's fiction after all. Anything can happen in a story.

I loved the cover. It truly is what initially drew me to the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

While I loved the characters and the setting (the Vermont locale was super cute!) I am rather disappointed by the romance aspects of the book. I totally understand that there is a market for clean romances, but that is just not what I enjoy reading so I would have liked to have it be steamier.

This book was very easy to read and sprinkled with different inspiring details. I particularly enjoyed the treehouse portion of the book and the strong female characters.

This is not just a romance, but also a story of a community put to the test. It makes you think about love in all its forms: family love, love of friends and ultimately romantic love. It’s a book you won't be able to put down. Even if you think you know how it will end, it will still surprises you. It kept me up late because I wasn't able to put it down until I finished it.

This was a great debut and I look forward to reading more from Catherine Drake

This was a easy, uplifting, fast read that really made me feel like I was watching a feel-good movie! I loved the Vermont setting and Hanna's niece and nephew were so cute. As an Aunt myself it was a little hard to believe that Molly would leave her two young children for months but I loved how they bonded. I did want more from the characters, especially Nathan. If you are looking for an easy, breeze, feel-good book, you'll like this.

Thank you netgalley for the early copy of this book

3.5 Stars

The premise of this book makes it hard for me to like. As a new mom, I can’t fathom leaving my child for an entire summer with someone they barely know. I wish that aspect was more realistic because I think it really detracts from the entire plot right upfront. It really turned me off from the book unfortunately and I DNF.

Cute debut. Love the setting of Vermont! Nathan's family is super great. Quick read. Very fluffy. Perfect lazy spring day reading.
Cooper is the VIP and I love him with my whole heart

A cute and fun light romance. Perhaps the characters are a little too perfect, but fans of the Hallmark movies will like this one.

The wonderful new novel, The Treehouse on Dog River Road, by Catherine Drake finds two attractive people in their late twenties who start a summer fling. Hannah and Nathan can keep things light, no problem. But as the summer progresses, and they get to learn more about each other, each finds that, perhaps, they've met "The One". Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly. Hannah is trying to find a career that has more meaning than just a paycheck. She wants to relocate to a new city and make a fresh start. But Nathan just bought a house and is looking to establish roots in the small town where he has lots of family. That's the main (really the only) conflict in this book.

I liked that both Nathan and Hannah's extended families were a daily part of their lives, and that Nathan had a strong bond with his dog. These are details that are often missing in books. The ending, which I will not give away, really elevated the book. Powerful events take place that change everyone's lives, and cement Hannah's feelings for Nathan.

If I had any criticism of this novel, it's that everyone is a little too perfect. It's as though the author couldn't bear to give Hannah or Nathan (or their families) any flaws. But these are great characters who I think people will enjoy reading about.

What I Liked:

"Clean" Romance:

As much as I love romance books, I am usually conflicted because the emphasis in these novels are mostly on detailed descriptions of sex (always the best of their lives!), and less on how well the two people actually get along. While there is quite a lot of sex in this book, it's without the play by play that I often see in other novels in this genre. I would say that this is a "clean" romance, which I really appreciated. But for some people, sex scenes are a big reason to read romance novels. Hey, whatever floats your boat. If your looking for graphic sex scenes, you will be disappointed with this book.

Story:

I liked that Hannah's experience babysitting her niece and nephew wasn't all puppies and rainbows. Hannah doesn't have any familiarity with children, so the first few days are rough. Sometimes books go from one extreme to another with this kind of storyline. Either the main character is naturally great with kids, or they are bumbling idiots. While Hannah is on a learning curve dealing with kids all day, she is not incompetent.

Using her skills building homes with Habitat for Humanity, Hannah is determined to build the ultimate treehouse for the kids. While there is the usual sexist comments from some men questioning her knowledge of building, there was a nice balance between that and Hannah actually asking for help on some of the tasks.

Hannah and Nathan take their time getting to know each other, which I liked. Of course, they both felt an instant attraction, but their attempts to move things along are often interrupted by the kids, or just regular things like having to do their jobs. This was a much more natural flow than the insta-romance, that these sort of books usually go for.

The final quarter of the book takes a dramatic turn as the region is hit with a hurricane. Both Hannah and Nathan find out how easily life can change based on events that are beyond their power. Learning to make the most of what then can control is a life lesson for us all.

What I Was Mixed About:

Story:

It might have made for a more interesting story if Hannah and Nathan's roles had been reversed. What if Hannah had been the one to have just bought a house, and Nathan had to consider finding a job to stay near Hannah? I would have loved for the guy to be the one who might need to compromise, rather than (always) the woman.

Lack of Conflict:

The only problem for Hannah and Nathan is where Hannah might be moving to. Everything else was a little too perfect. No one has problematic relatives, or bad habits, or hidden issues. Now, I don't necessarily need people to have dark secrets. But everything is a bit sugary-sweet in this book. For instance, there are hints that the people in Nathan's family drink excessively, but no one has a drinking problem. Nathan's home is messy, but the author emphasizes that he is not a hoarder. Why couldn't he be? I wouldn't have liked him less for this. It would have made him more human.

Thank you NetGalley, Catherine Drake and She Writes Press for the ARC of The Tree house on Dog River Road. This is my personal review.
This book took me from top to bottom and back again with my emotions. Hannah agreed to stay with her niece and nephew while her sister and her husband while they were gone doing research in Central America for the summer.
Hannah was in the search for a new job and was certain she knew the path she wanted to take.
Nathan was a neighbor, and he too was on the search for where he wanted his life to go.
The story was well written with a few jumps in it that took a bit to make sense of why it was happening the way it did.
I enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to reading more by this author.
A lot happened during the story to make me want to know more about Nathan and Hannah and where there lives took them next.

Overall I really like this book and it was a fun light read. I loved the atmosphere that Catherine set and even though I have never been to Vermont it makes me feel like I've already been there.

The characters were done beautifully. I really like Hannah's character (apart from a little bit at the end I didn't really like her) However, following that I feel like her personality was necessary for her to realise her mistakes and, open up her heart and mix that up into the equation.

The pacing of the book was good as it wasn't too fast but wasn't too slow. I also loved how it was a rom-com and I genuinely laughed out loud for the most part. This is an amazing debut novel as it's a fun summer read that really makes you feel like you are there, experiencing everything with the characters.

Overall I highly recommend this book for a fun read and some romance. 10/10 read with good characters and a good storyline.

The Treehouse on Dog River Road was a fun, quick, and uplifting read! I felt this book had the perfect pace and was very easy to keep reading. I also loved that this book didn’t have the usual tropes that seem to be in every romance lately. There was a natural and believable feel to the main characters' romance and it just felt like easy reading! This book is a perfect summer book too, since it is centered around our protagnist’s summer.

Thank you so much She Writes Press and NetGalley!

Hannah is watching her sister's kids over the summer in Vermont. Her plan is to find a job somewhere (Denver, maybe?) and get out. She decides to build a treehouse for her niece and nephew (besides, what else is she going to do to pass the time in this tiny town?). To possibly complicate her plans, her sister gets a new neighbor. His name is Nathan. He has a dog. I guess you shouldn't make plans.

This was a cute read. I like books set in small towns. This book isn't anything new, but it's written with such a sweet charm. I wish we would have gotten more of Nathan's family, and I wanted more of an ending. However, this will be a great summer read (if you're like me, it's perfect for a New England weekend!).