Thank you to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for this ARC.

On her thirtieth birthday, Genie's present from her Nonna Maria, a fortune teller, is a wish, to be made at midnight. Genie doesn't believe in her Nonna's magic so when she later wishes that her Golden Retriever Rory was a man, she is not prepared to find a naked man in her flat the next morning.

Miles next door is one of her oldest friends and together they try to help Rory in his new form, but he just wants to be a dog again. Nonna Maria's explanation that the wish is permanent is not taken well by all parties but then she thinks that if Genie works at herself and gets her mojo back after some at first unexplained trauma, it might happen. To be frank, that just sounded like manipulation to me.

Miles and Genie dance around their feelings for each other, with Genie strenuously denying them. She gets jealous though when Claudia-from-work who is called Claudia-from work so persistently that she starts calling herself Claudia-from-work, starts showing interest in Miles.

The book is quite funny and the best scenes all have Rory in them, the typical hole digging, shoe chewing, ball chasing, endlessly hungry man-dog with Golden Retriever energy. However, Rory is also kind, loving and gives unexpectedly deep and sound advice. He really is the goodest boy!

The magical realism and the side characters are fun, although the ending felt a bit like cheating. However, I liked how Genie had to work on herself, practice forgiveness and restart her dreams. I also cheered when the animal abuser was taken down!

I was a bit annoyed with Genie though for taking so long with Miles. I'm also not too fond of breaking the fourth wall by addressing the reader. Also, Stella Hayward, the pseudonym for Rowan Coleman, is an English author and I would have therefore expected British English to be used. I have rectified that in the quote. All in all, it's a cute, non romance-centred story about healing, friendship and love for pets.

"You have never been styled until you’ve been styled by a dog with an eye for colour."

3.5 stars

Really enjoyed it. Fun read.
Will recommend to others.
Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

3.5
The first half of this was such a fun and enjoyable experience, but be aware there is some darkness in the second half. Yes, it adds greatly to the story but I feel there should be a warning.
I loved Rory and I was extremely grateful that he wasn’t part of the romance, he was just the best boy.
The romance was difficult because of the aforementioned darkness, and also because of Claudia from work. It took miscommunication to a whole new level. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the overall experience.

This was such a cute story. I won’t go over the blurb again as I know how annoying that is in reviews, so I will just say which parts I liked. I really enjoyed all the various characters whose personalities were allowed to shine through without overshadowing the main 3. I also really appreciated that each character was introduced gradually, rather than all at once, which meant you didn’t get them mixed up. I enjoyed the romance side of things, even though I did want to bash their heads together several times. And more than anything else I loved Rory and his whole demeanour and thoughts. This was a great, happy read, and one I’d wholeheartedly recommend, especially for lovers of early Cecilia Ahern books due to the touch of magic in the normal everyday

i mean i love dogs. but i cant say i ever wanted to date one lol. but ok give me the gorgeous qualities that those loyal wonderful dogs bring. maybe.
this though is exactly what happens to our main character as she turns her dog into a human after a birthday wish from her Grandma. but this dog is a dog and he doesn't want to be a human thank you very much!
Genie needs to turn him back and pronto. so Genie enlists her good friend to help her do just that. but more will come from this little task. much more.
this book was fun, funny and sweet. it blended some real big grin moments with some that went alot deeper and touched some important themes.
Genie in her quest starts to ask herself a lot of more deeper questions. about herself, her life and what she might have been telling herself.
there is so much more to this book than the laughter ones. and i sure did laugh as Rory as a human has some great moments.
i didn't expect going in that this book would be so thoughtful and thought provoking and that was actually a clever touch.
there's a lot to find within these pages and i don't mean lost tennis ball.
the romance part felt true. its easy to ask people or scream at people from the outside abut things we think they need to be saying, talking about or owning. but we ALL know when its you in that situation that you almost almost never do. and for so many reasons do we find it hard, sometimes seemingly impossible to just talk, tell, be open.
this book has a touch of magic but never too much. im not a fantasy book obsess-or so i appreciated this alot.
this is a story with heart. and where an event of lighter touch then goes on to teach deeper things.
liked it a whole lot.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was a highly entertaining read - Hayward captured what a golden retriever would be like in human form perfectly. Despite the humorous nature of the book, it had an emotional side which Hayward captured perfectly; she explored a challenging topic with sensitivity and care, leading me to feel real emption for Genie. A lovely read. Also loved the little references to Malta!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bedford Square Publishers for the ARC, all opinions are my own! 

This was a lovely read, and I was hooked from the premise and finished this in a day. We’ve all wondered what it would be like to speak with our dog, and Genie took it a step further with her wish! Rory was truly lovely and really helped Genie (and us as the reader) to ‘be more dog’ and remember to appreciate the small things that we often overlook in daily life. Reading this makes you want to go for your dreams and believe in yourself.  

It was heartwarming how Genie and Rory helped each other to overcome their trauma and anxiety from past events, whilst highlighting just how important our dogs are in our lives. Likewise, Miles and Matilda show that cats are just as important companions, and often misunderstood! This book made me laugh and cry as Genie’s quest took you through some hard hitting topics in a sensitive way. 

I loved how Genie’s family magic was mainly in small acts of kindness to those around them, which is something we can all do to share the magic in life. Seeing her relationship with Miles bloom from their friendship was heartwarming and shows how sometimes it really is about timing and being open to the idea of something for it to bloom. 

The Good Boy is an ode to all kinds of relationships; family, friends, pets and romantic love, and highlights how they all have their place in life to create the most joy for you.

I love books where dogs are in the spotlight. It was a funny, cozy, adorable and romantic experience. I love the writing style and narrator.

This is an ARC review. I appreciate receiving this copy from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

I really loved this! Yes, it's silly (Genie makes a wish, turns out her Gran actually is a bit magic and the wish comes true and suddenly Genie's lovely dog Rory is a human being!) but it's also sweet and charming and funny. I found myself just completely buying into what was happening, because human Rory was so funny and endearing, and Genie made me laugh.

As readers we know throughout that something terrible happened to Genie to derail her life, and I did feel a slight frustration with how long it took to find out the truth, but at the same time that's what makes it so powerful and moving when you do find out. But really, I was all in with the story. I really wanted Genie to be okay. I was worried about her 2 best friends (and her dog/human best friend), and waiting for how everything would resolve. Rory was really, really a good boy, and every dog I've seen since reading I've been thinking about what's going through their heads!

I enjoyed her mad Gran, and her lovely mum. The seaside setting was great, and I felt like I was walking around the town with the characters. The book touches on a wide range of issues/topics, and it has a great will they, won't they romcom side too (I was mentally shouting 'JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER' quite a lot!)

I really enjoyed reading this.

Oh my goodness, this was the fun and whimsical read I needed to pick up!
Anytime a book has magical realism in it, I am going to front of the line - I love them so much and The Good Boy did not disappoint.
I loved everything about this - it was comedic and warm and touching with some of the most beautiful messages. Genie and Miles were the perfect addition to the friends-to-lovers trope and Rory was just the absolute highlight of this entire book, it was an absolute delight to see a golden retriever in human form, he had me cracking up so much! I honestly didn't want it to end and could read a series about this family - including Matilda the grumpy cat - because they brought me so much joy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. It gave me all the feels – warm, funny and touching in equal measure. The characters were instantly likeable and easy to root for, and there’s a lovely heart running through the whole story. Yes, the plot was a little predictable at times, but that didn’t stop it being a truly uplifting and enjoyable read. Everyone needs to be more dog – that message alone made it worth it! A perfect feel-good escape.

This was such a fun book! It was humorous, romantic, and full of heart. I also like the bit of magic thrown in as well. Definitely a be careful what you wish for type vibe. It has me laughing!

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

When Genie’s sexpot, septuagenarian, magical grandmother tells her that on her thirtieth birthday the women of the family can grant a wish Genie quite understandably scofs at that idea, gets drunk and at makes an unfortunate mistake. Who hasn’t accidentally wished their faithful golden retriever was a real live boy? Genie wakes up to find her goodest of good boys Rory is now a strapping golden haired Adonis with the intellect of a four year old. Who can she turn to but her old friend and hot nerd neighbour Miles to help her reverse her terrible mistake. This was a lot of fun overall. The characters were a bit sketchy and I never really got a sense of who Miles was, I felt I knew more about his dead mother than about him but it was refreshing change from the norm. I had a good time and the dog/human problems were funny. There was however some poodle prejudice was as a poodle owner I cannot let stand, poodle are best of all best dogs and everyone should know this true fact forever.