London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall – Review

An engaging memoir

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

The irresistibly charming memoir of a young woman who started her own business as a dog walker for London’s busy, well-heeled dog lovers. A true love letter to London, dogs, and growing up.

In 2006, Kate MacDougall was working a safe but dull job at the venerable auction house Sotheby’s in London. After a clumsy accident nearly destroyed a precious piece of art, she quit Sotheby’s and set up her own dog-walking company. Kate knew little about dogs and nothing about business, and no one thought being a professional dog walker was a good use of her university degree. Nevertheless, Kate embarked upon an entirely new and very much improvised career walking some of the city’s many pampered pooches, branding her company “London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency.”

With sharp wit, delightful observations, and plenty of canine affection, Kate reveals her unique and unconventional coming-of-age story, as told through the dogs, and the London homes and neighborhoods they inhabit. One walk at a time, she journeys from a haphazard twentysomething to a happily—and surprisingly—settled adult, with love, relationships, drama, and home ownership along the way. But, as Kate says, “It’s all down to the dogs” and what they taught her about London—and life.

London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall – Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

It’s My Party by Whitney Dineen – Book Blitz

Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #3

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

High off her success of playing matchmaker for both of her sons, lodge owner Ruby Cavanaugh decides to try her hand pairing other eligible singles–starting with her executive chef and her new event coordinator.

Party planner Claire Choate has a cheating boyfriend who also happens to be her boss. After visiting Oregon for her brother’s wedding–which didn’t even happen–Claire is offered a job that gets her out of LA for good. How can she pass up an opportunity like that?

Even though he has little time for a social life, executive chef Geoffrey Bere loves his job. After a past complication left him gun shy about workplace entanglements, he lives by a strict, “no dating co-workers” policy. But when Claire Choate arrives on the scene, he finds himself ready to break his own rule.

Will Ruby cement her reputation as matchmaker extraordinaire or will Claire and Geoffrey prove too much of a challenge for even her?

Find out in this deliciously fun third installment of Seven Brides for Seven Mothers!

It’s My Party by Whitney Dineen – Book Blitz

A Rendezvous to Remember: A Memoir of Joy and Heartache at the Dawn of the Sixties by Terry Marshall and Ann Garretson Marshall – Book Blitz

The true story of a soldier, a pacifist, and the woman who loved them both.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

In June 1964, Ann Garretson skips her college commencement to tour Europe with Lieutenant Jack Sigg, a tank commander on the German-Czech border, with the hope of returning as his fiancé. A month later, her best friend, Terry, proposes marriage—by mail—throwing all their lives into turmoil. 

Jack offers the military life Ann grew up with. Terry, a conscientious objector, will leave for the Peace Corps at summer’s end, unless the draft board intervenes and sends him to jail. Her dilemma: she loves them both. Caught between the old mores and winds of change, Ann must make an agonizing choice.  

In alternating voices, A Rendezvous to Remember presents firsthand accounts by the two who eventually married, enriched by letters from the rival, whose path led him elsewhere. Provocative and delightfully uncensored, this coming-of-age memoir is a tribute to the enduring power of love and family. 

“A love story you’ll never forget.”—Hope Edelman, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Motherless Daughters.

 “A story about what it means to be human—to struggle with love and what we truly want out of life—especially when being pulled in two different directions. Humorous and heartbreaking, the dueling narrative is stunning, surprising, and inspiring.”—Samantha Vérant, author of Seven Letters from Paris

A Rendezvous to Remember by Terry Marshall and Ann Garretson Marshall – Book Blitz

Five Incredible Books I Read in First Half of 2020

Six months of this crazy year, 2020, have passed. Our generation is sure to remember this year for the rest of our lives. In these tough times, books kept me company (what else can you expect from a book blogger).

Below are five of the books that I enjoyed reading the most.

Five Incredible books I read in first half of 2020

3 Mini Reviews – Non-fiction

The forced “stay-at-home” situation has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for book bloggers like us. I recently read three non-fiction books – two self-help and one memoir. Here are my thoughts on them:

Playing Dead by Monique Faison Ross – Review

Playing Dead by Monique Faison Ross

Rating – 4/5

Monique, the daughter of San Diego Charger’s football great Earl Faison, never imagined marrying her high school boyfriend would turn out to be the most horrible mistake of her life. She also hadn’t imagined she would survive this mistake to narrate her tale.

Playing Dead: A Memoir of Terror and Survival by Monique Faison Ross recounts the author’s experience of a nightmarish marriage that culminated in a brutally violent incident. Her relationship with Chris was unstable from the beginning, but it gradually turned abusive and denigrating.