Ames review of Love is a Four Legged Word by Kandy Shepherd.
Romance is for the dogs…
Tom O’Brien is close to making partner at the hottest law firm in San Francisco, provided his newest client doesn’t foul things up. Brutus Stoddard is rich and spoiled, craves attention, and drools. The fact that he’s a dog doesn’t help matters.
Brutus has inherited a multimillion-dollar estate from his late owner, as well as a pretty guardian named Madeline Cartwright, professional chef and the eccentric old man’s surrogate granddaughter. Tom finds her-and her culinary creations- irresistible.
If Tom is to get that promotion, he has to maintain the terms of the will. That means keeping both Brutus and Maddy happy. He’s trying his hardest to keep the arrangement professional, but with two clients this adorable, Tom’s suddenly craving a different kind of partnership altogether.
Before I begin my review, I want to mini-rant about the cover. That dog is a purebred French Bulldog. Brutus, the dog in this book, is a mutt. And he’s got a brindle coat, which the fawn colored French Bulldog clearly does not. Art department – GET A CLUE.
Love is a Four-Legged Word opens up with Tom going to visit Maddy and Brutus at Maddy’s apartment to discuss the terms of the will. Tom has already labelled Maddy as a gold digger who sold herself to an old man for his money. He’s got this superior attitude about it and even after he meets Maddy, he’s looking for evidence to support his judgement that he made before he even met her. Because why else would a young woman hang out with an old man. Oh Tom, you’re so jaded.
However, we the reader find out that Maddy is a sweet young woman who wants to focus on her career and who genuinely loves Brutus and his deceased owner. She’s also incredibly naive. So when someone starts threatening Brutus and then her, it takes a while for it click into place for her. For the reader, that part is all too apparent. So Maddy and Tom team up to keep Brutus safe and start to fall for each other in the meantime, even though both have no intention of starting a relationship anytime soon.
Ok, I enjoyed this book although it had several flaws. First of all Maddy. She grew up on a farm, but doesn’t know the first thing about owning a dog? She doesn’t know that chocolate is toxic for dogs? And the annoying thing is her spouting some gobbledeegook about being the pack leader. Ok, I admit I watch the Dog Whisperer but the stuff Maddy was saying was just silly and it made her sound silly. And for a woman who wants to be an editor of a food magazine, she can’t afford to be silly.
Despite these minor annoyances, I did enjoy Love is a Four-Legged Word. The dynamic between Maddy and Tom (after he loses his silly judgmental attitude) is cute and who can resist a dog?
4 out of 5 (B)
This book is available from Penguin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
