Not My Dog Walker (Original): An April Fool's Romantic Comedy

Not Mine #1

by Rachelle Ayala

April Fu fumes when she finds a stolen dog in her apartment. What trouble has her best friend’s brother gotten into now?

Dog walker Jex Wise has nowhere to turn. His sister is going through a messy divorce and wants to hide her soon-to-be ex’s pampered prizewinning Yorkshire terrier.

Complications ensue when April and Jex go on an April Fool’s date pretending to be lovers. They win a stinky taco contest and the dog’s owner recognizes Jex as his dog walker—not April’s. Will April’s heart survive when she suspects Jex’s prank is one big April Fool’s joke?

114 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 21, 2022

About the author

Rachelle Ayala is an award-winning USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She writes emotionally challenging stories but believes in the power of love and hope.

Her book, Knowing Vera, won the 2015 Angie Ovation Award, and A Father for Christmas garnered a 2015 Readers' Favorite Gold Award. Christmas Stray was awarded the 2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Award and A Pet for Christmas had an Honorable Mention. In 2017, her book about a single mother with an autistic son, Playing for the Save, won the 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Award for Realistic Fiction.

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She is also a writing teacher and founder of the Romance In A Month writing community. She lives in California with her husband and has three children and two birds.

For an updated, printable booklist:
https://www.scribd.com/document/34213...

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Broken Build
Hidden Under Her Heart
Knowing Vera

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Taming Romeo
Claiming Carlos
Whole Latte Love
The Remingtons: Leap, Laugh, Love
The Remingtons: Blush of Love
Bad Boys for Hire: Ryker
Bad Boys for Hire: Ken
Bad Boys for Hire: Nick
Laguna Beach: Lucky in Laguna
Sapphire Falls: Going Haywire
Sapphire Falls: Going Toe to Mistletoe
Sapphire Falls: Going Hearts Over Heels

SPORTS ROMANCE
Played by Love
Playing the Rookie
Playing Without Rules
Roaring Hot!
Intercepted by Love
Playing Catch
Playing for the Save

SWEET ROMANCE
Christmas Stray
A Father for Christmas
A Pet for Christmas
A Wedding for Christmas
Christmas Lovebirds
Valentine Hound Dog
Spring Fling Kitty
Blue Chow Christmas
Valentine Wedding Hound

HOLIDAY ROMANCE
Christmas Flirt
Santa's Pet
Deck the Hearts
Her Christmas Chance
Sapphire Falls: Going Toe to Mistletoe
Bad Boys for Hire: Nick

HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Michal's Window

NON-FICTION
Your Daily Bible Verse
Romance In A Month
366 Ways to Know Your Character
Love Stories: Writing a Romance Novella

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not My Dog Walker is a feisty and refreshing sweet romance that is sure to steal your heart and bring laughter to your day. This is such a beautiful and heartfelt journey that will touch you in some way. You won't away without feeling something deep and worth while. I enjoy musing over wonderful stories like this and realizing just how much it can teach us. If you let it, it will change you and show you that we all have some room to grow and things still to learn.

April isn't sure how to help her best friend. She wants to be supportive, but how can she help her get divorced when she doesn't even understand what love is to begin with? She plans to start simply by offering her place and her help in any way she can. Things start to get complicated when her ex boyfriend Jex comes home. Jex has a hair brained plan, and April finds herself going along with it even though she doesn't think it will work. When emotions and tension come between them and their goal, can they push past it to make things work, or will they lose out on their last chance?

April and Jex are fun and interesting characters that I truly enjoyed getting to know. April thinks she has her life the way she wants it until she is forced to see it from the eyes of those around her. When questions and regrets surface and refuse to leave, she must decide what she will do. Making changes is hard and even excruciating at times, but as the saying goes no pain no gain. Jex appears easy going, but he has dealt with his own share of disappointment and pain. He must decide if he will live in the past or dare to make his dreams a reality. His charming personality can take him far, but what he wants the most will cost him his heart.

I simply adore each wonderful story written by Rachelle Ayala. She has such a fascinating and refreshing creativity that makes you really think and wonder about the world around you. People are so much more then meets the eye, and we have to make the effort to live beyond our own opinions and comfortable habits. Once we go beyond ourselves to touch those around us, we will find a treasure that we never imagined existed. We will finally understand and accept true friendship.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun to read! There was so much energy and everyone was involved with everyone else's lives that it was like seeing the Keystone Cops play out before my eyes. This is the perfect book for some light, fun reading.

[Sam Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG..... The Bumblebees!!!!
Back to the story.
I was laughing almost from the start but if I'm being completely honest, I spent the entire story wondering what on earth was going on with Dixie and Randy (talk about your shifting goalpost) Butts.
All in all, it was funny and still brought the feels.
Of course, Petey stole the show.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun group of girlfriends, a handsome dog walker and an April Fools joke. These friends are hilarious. April and Jex have such repressed feelings for each other even after years apart. Jex may be the fool when he pranks April. An overall fun rom-com.

[Pauline Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. This is book one about April and her best friend, Dixie and how they are helping each other. Also Jex the dog walker of a Yorkshire Terrier named Petey. A fun read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

April's best friend is getting a divorce and it's taking forever so she wants to help but the soon to be ex is also her boss. Then there's the bff's brother that April is also attracted to and a dog that appears in her apartment....is it all just a joke, is she going to be in big trouble...will her heart survive all that's going on and being around Jex? I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Lori R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new romantic comedy book. I really liked the character, April, who seemed to be having a rough April 1st. If anything could go wrong it did, starting with her best friend's brother leaving a surprise for her in her apartment and her boss making her do extra work on an account. It was funny that her boss also happened to be her best friend's husband at the moment.
I also liked Jex, the dog walker. He was the brother of April's best friend and he had recently gotten out of the Marines. He was quite a character as the story developed and I learned about his past and April's past. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chase to write an honest review.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jex Wise has returned from the Marines and is now a dog walker. He is trying to help his sister who is going through a messy divorce. To help move along her soon to be ex’s stubbornness to sign the papers, Jex takes his prize Yorkie and hides him at April Fu’s house. When she finds the Yorkie in her apartment, she is afraid of the trouble this will bring as Jex’s sister is also her best friend and the soon to be ex is her boss. What starts out as an April Fool’s date tugs at her heart all over again and when she finds out about the prank, will she find out everything was just a big April Fool’s joke.

[Bernadette Cinkoske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not My Dog Walker is a laugh out loud romantic comedy that takes place on April 1st. This is a fun book to read. Jex and April make quite the pair winning the stinky taco competition. Of course, everything gets sorted but getting there is the fun of this book. I just kept reading because I had to see what MS. Ayala would come up with next!

[Danette Fowlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute book! Love that there is a Yorkie in the book. Petey just is so cute. April and Jex's romantic twists and turns had me reading the book in one sitting. Can' t wait to see what the next book brings. I received this book for free from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope you enjoy this unexpected romance. April surely wasn't expecting to find love when she discovers a pampered Yorkie in her apartment. Someone's playing a dirty trick on her and it's none other than her high-school vinegar-heart, or shall we say, sweet-and-sour heart? They parted on not-so-good terms but Jex is back and so are the pranks.

I envision this romance series, "Not Mine," as a set of unexpected romantic comedies with mismatched couples and star-crossed timing. I hope Jex and April's zany mismatched romance will set the stage and tone for many more fun and humorous romances to come. Thanks for reading!