Stung by Love: A Clean Matchmaking Rom-Com

by Susan Mellon

Stung by Love

A Clean Matchmaking Rom-Com



Having lost three jobs in two months, Ruby accepts a position as a dogwalker for a woman who doesn't even own a dog.

Soon, Ruby finds herself caught up in a crazy scheme to be matched up with the woman's handsome neighbor, Liam.

What could possibly go wrong?

From bee stings to muddy paws, from dumpster diving to a lost dog and so much more, it seems like everything goes wrong.

Can Ruby and Liam maneuver through the mayhem and still end up together?

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2023

About the author

Hi . . .

I write romance that's always clean & lighthearted with a touch of faith and a sprinkle of humor.

Although I live in Pittsburgh with my husband, Vermont has captured a piece of my heart. When I'm not writing, I enjoy reading, watching movies, nurturing my new plant obsession, and dreaming about my next visit to Vermont.

I also believe life is too short to eat anything other than premium chocolate and I'm never too far away from my cup of coffee.

Reviews

[Kelsey Kushnir · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for Betty and Ruby.

Liam gets 1 star. His priorities were a little whack.

[Ebonene Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and fun. I loved how there was much more to this story than just falling in love. The relationship between Ruby and Betty was priceless, and even the friendship between Betty and Millie. Through her caring nature, Ruby finds herself. You must give this book a try.

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly Sweet

I enjoy any book with a dog character but all the characters in this book were wonderful. The author made them feel like people I could know in real life. Liam was the perfect match for Ruby.

[Kiera J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little romance read for ✨ANYONE✨ who’s a fan of Hallmark or other cheesy sappy romances! 💖

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t… I don’t know what the fuck I just read? Like… HUH? This is what I get for trying to read a clean romance. No spoilers for this one.

The plot - oh god I don’t even want to review it. If this doesn’t put me in a book slump I don’t know what will. Let me preface this by saying: it is NOT a bad book. By any means. It is just… juvenile. Early teens (12/13) could read this book with no issues, it’s very simple and easy to understand. Lot of telling not showing, but uh… tropes are your palate cleanser romances, forced proximity and friends to lovers I guess. It is a HEA, so that’s always good. It just wasn’t it for me. I’m not traumatised, I can read books with no smut but even the romance felt forced and weird. And that last chapter before the epilogue? I contemplated throwing my device across the room. No thank you very much.

The MC - Ruby was a sweet girl… for a Wattpad girlie tryna be deep when she’s shallow af. She was quite inconsiderate of her friends and family, very self centred and she had NO motivation for anything real. Homegirl was 2D and not in a good way.

The male counterpart - gonna be honest, don’t even think I can rate Liam because he somehow had less personality than Ruby did. Don’t know what to say besides the fact that he was supposed to be an adult but acted like an immature teenage boy.

[Jacqueline Johnston Cotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has it all including puppies! The story is full of funny moments and friendship. But mostly lighthearted with small town charm and a sweet romance.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old lady notices her new handsome, young, male neighbor has a dog. So the lady hires a dog-walker, and THEN buys a dog, so she (the old lady) can set her (the dog-walker) up with him (the neighbor). Okay, that part is cute.

But the rest is unrealistic, cliche, and even stupid. For example, she (the dog-walker) is allergic to bee stings and is stung multiple times, all over, has one epipen shot, and she is completely recovered. His dog ran off what she was UNCONSCIOUS from the bee stings, she looked for the dog for hours instead of going to the hospital, and he wants to know why she isn't out still looking for his dog. More examples available upon request.

[Paula (librosdepauli) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

A sweet and entertaining romcom. It is not only about a love story, but also about the beautiful friendship that forms between Betty and Ruby throughout the story.

The characters caught my attention, they showed qualities and flaws that made them seem real and charming and not to mention the dogs, their participation in the story seemed simply adorable to me.

I liked the book despite having some details that were a bit predictable, I had a good time reading it and it was a fairly light read.

[Maria]

I think this book was meant for a much younger audience than me. I thought some of the stuff in this book was just silly... Like do these people really act like this? Also Liam felt a bit bipolar to me in his emotions. First he's rude, then he likes her and apologizes, repeat cycle. Also, Ruby was really immature in a lot of her actions. So yes, I think this book is intended for a young audience.

[Braley’sbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, sweet and clean. I really liked the relationships between the characters but felt it was a bit too sweet for the ages of the young adults. I loved that it had a short epilogue to let us know a bit more. Overall, very sweet book and story.

[Just_a_nerd_withcats · Rating 2 out of 5]

clean rom com

It wasn’t a book for me. Ruby was too superficial and Liam very quick to change his mind.
I guess it is more for younger audience.

[Valri Western · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an enjoyable story this was! I've just recently begun to read romcom stories. This had funny parts and some sweet, emotional parts too - a little bit of everything! I liked that there was a love story AND a sweet friendship between some older ladies & the younger people. Ruby constantly loses jobs because of crazy things that happen to her! Her roommate, Amy, is levelheaded and patient but decides to find her a job as a dogwalker! What can go wrong? Well, Betty, the woman who advertises for a dogwalker doesn't even have a dog - yet! She just has a handsome new neighbor with a dog and wants to matchmake! So, she gets a dog, hires Ruby and introduces her to her neighbor, Liam. Things go crazy from there! The two dogs are great together and Ruby & Liam are a fun couple. Then, there's Ruby and Betty's friendship. Super sweet! Betty also has another older friend that brings sweetness to the story. All around, a great story about all kinds of relationships and learning to grow.

[S.F. Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was more of a 2.5 instead three stars, this one started out super cute but by the end of it the plot was extremely cheesy and unrealistic with the characters’ romance. Icky and Sandal were cute and worked for the plot but the other characters themselves started to be less likable than most. The end of the book felt rushed and like the author was trying to wrap up the book quickly. The romance aspect was lacking too. The beginning was very cute and it was cheesy but eventually it lost something along the way. Wished this one was a little better.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.