patchworkbunny reviewed Lost dogs and lonely hearts by Lucy Dillon
Review of 'Lost dogs and lonely hearts' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I sort of have the feeling I was tricked into reading a book about having babies. Dogs are presented on several occasions as baby substitutes. There’s also some kind of weird message about not being able to have dogs AND kids. Then there’s two main pregnancy storylines, one who can’t and one who accidentally does.
Natalie is one of my most disliked types of characters ever; the woman whose life can only be given meaning through having children. I get that plenty of people can relate or enjoy these kind of stories but, by god, they irritate me to the core. I was hoping the dog would knock some of it out of her but instead she starts to take it out on other people and her relationship suffers. Perhaps the problem with having three main characters here is that there’s not enough room to do character development outside of …
I sort of have the feeling I was tricked into reading a book about having babies. Dogs are presented on several occasions as baby substitutes. There’s also some kind of weird message about not being able to have dogs AND kids. Then there’s two main pregnancy storylines, one who can’t and one who accidentally does.
Natalie is one of my most disliked types of characters ever; the woman whose life can only be given meaning through having children. I get that plenty of people can relate or enjoy these kind of stories but, by god, they irritate me to the core. I was hoping the dog would knock some of it out of her but instead she starts to take it out on other people and her relationship suffers. Perhaps the problem with having three main characters here is that there’s not enough room to do character development outside of their core roles. So she just comes across as obsessed with getting pregnant and doesn’t have a chance to expand.
On the subject of multiple main characters, it seems to be a bit of a trend with chick-lit lately. I don’t mind it now and again but it always feel like you’re being dragged away from the stories you like to the stories you’re not that interested in (just like Game of Thrones, but less death). Bring back sole protagonists!
There are plenty of dogs within the pages too and I enjoyed Rachel’s storyline of inheriting the kennels, learning her aunt’s secrets and learning to love dogs. Though some of Dot’s backstory felt very rushed at the end. Like she’d been concentrating on the love stories and suddenly remembered Rachel was meant to be uncovering secrets in the house.
Overall it was an easy and engaging read but I'm not sure I'll be adding Lucy Dillon to my comfort reading list any time soon.