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Hearts of Gold #5
A New Leash on Life
Dog trainer Jane Connor has always preferred the company of canines, so when her kennel is destroyed in an Arizona wildfire, she finds her whole world in ashes. Jane managed to rescue all the animals, but her status as a local hero won’t pay the bills. Soon she’s reluctantly agreeing to work on a reality TV series about life on the dog show circuit–starring herself and her golden retriever, Shadow.
Jane has complete confidence in Shadow’s star quality–until she sets eyes on their chief irritatingly perfect little papillon! Worse, the dog is attached at the leash to hunky Cole Forrest. Jane can hardly hide her attraction off-camera, so how will she conceal it from a national audience? It’s exactly the kind of distraction
she doesn’t need. But in a summer of surprises, Jane just might discover that an old dog learn new tricks–when love is the treat.
Jane has complete confidence in Shadow’s star quality–until she sets eyes on their chief irritatingly perfect little papillon! Worse, the dog is attached at the leash to hunky Cole Forrest. Jane can hardly hide her attraction off-camera, so how will she conceal it from a national audience? It’s exactly the kind of distraction
she doesn’t need. But in a summer of surprises, Jane just might discover that an old dog learn new tricks–when love is the treat.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 18, 2018
Knd of a typical soft romance, so it was entertaining. I picked it up because of the dog show context. Took off 2 stars because of these inaccurate stereotypes; one would expect an author who describes herself as having dogs in her home as being able to not sink to using such lazy (& faulty) descriptions:
1. "Who would think, looking at blonde, twinkling Angela, that the woman could turn into such a pit bull to get her way."
2. "Jane Connor, Superwoman of Cornville, tougher than any pit bull, simply did not cry in public."
3. "Welsh corgis are bossy little snots."
1. "Who would think, looking at blonde, twinkling Angela, that the woman could turn into such a pit bull to get her way."
2. "Jane Connor, Superwoman of Cornville, tougher than any pit bull, simply did not cry in public."
3. "Welsh corgis are bossy little snots."
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March 3, 2025Donated
June 29, 2015
I picked up A New Leash on Life at the library because of the clever title, and my pretty much boundless love for dogs. It’s about a no-nonsense dog trainer named Jane who loses her dog-training business in an Arizona wildfire. Jane has never been one for fame or getting all dolled up, but thanks to her dire finances she’s forced to star in a reality TV show as she tries to win the top agility prize with her beloved golden retriever, Shadow.
Unfortunately, Jane’s biggest competition is a DILF trainer named Cole whose pampered papillon, Dobby, was named by his troubled and motherless daughter Teri. Jane has no time for children or hot guys with wimpy dogs, and she’s got to keep her eye on the prize.
While I loved the premise, A New Leash on Life turned out to be a disappointment. And not just a disappointment–I actually couldn’t bring myself to finish this book because every page felt like wading through molasses (hence the DNF, or Did Not Finish, grade). Unlike Carmichael’s hilarious Gone to the Dogs (#3), about a matchmaking snobby-woman-turned-chubby-corgi named Piggy, this installment had none of the zany situations and funny romance of its predecessor. I ended up making it all the way to page 400 without anything more than painfully obvious sexual tension occurring between Jane and Cole. I love dogs, but even I would rather read a romance than have to spend hundreds of pages learning about the ins and outs of dog showing.
Cole’s daughter, Teri, also reeks of Plot Moppet-ness. She misses her mom and lashes out at any woman who makes eyes at her dad, her her cutesy/angsty antics soon bored me. In fact, most of the book focuses on Teri’s relationship with her dad and Cole’s worries about her mental state, instead of his much more interesting crush on Jane.
All in all, A New Leash on Life could have been a fun, if insubstantial, bit of doggy-loving chick lit. Sadly, it was not to be. This overly long and boring book was my first DNF for a reason, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Check out this review and more on my book blog here.
Unfortunately, Jane’s biggest competition is a DILF trainer named Cole whose pampered papillon, Dobby, was named by his troubled and motherless daughter Teri. Jane has no time for children or hot guys with wimpy dogs, and she’s got to keep her eye on the prize.
While I loved the premise, A New Leash on Life turned out to be a disappointment. And not just a disappointment–I actually couldn’t bring myself to finish this book because every page felt like wading through molasses (hence the DNF, or Did Not Finish, grade). Unlike Carmichael’s hilarious Gone to the Dogs (#3), about a matchmaking snobby-woman-turned-chubby-corgi named Piggy, this installment had none of the zany situations and funny romance of its predecessor. I ended up making it all the way to page 400 without anything more than painfully obvious sexual tension occurring between Jane and Cole. I love dogs, but even I would rather read a romance than have to spend hundreds of pages learning about the ins and outs of dog showing.
Cole’s daughter, Teri, also reeks of Plot Moppet-ness. She misses her mom and lashes out at any woman who makes eyes at her dad, her her cutesy/angsty antics soon bored me. In fact, most of the book focuses on Teri’s relationship with her dad and Cole’s worries about her mental state, instead of his much more interesting crush on Jane.
All in all, A New Leash on Life could have been a fun, if insubstantial, bit of doggy-loving chick lit. Sadly, it was not to be. This overly long and boring book was my first DNF for a reason, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Check out this review and more on my book blog here.
February 3, 2013
More fun than a dog show.
A light romance with enough bite to keep me turning pages. A bit longer than absolutely necessary, but “A New Leash on Life” placed a group of interesting believable human characters into a world of dogs the average dog owner hasn't seen. It sent to me to YouTube to watch videos of Papillions competing in agility trials.
A light romance with enough bite to keep me turning pages. A bit longer than absolutely necessary, but “A New Leash on Life” placed a group of interesting believable human characters into a world of dogs the average dog owner hasn't seen. It sent to me to YouTube to watch videos of Papillions competing in agility trials.
October 23, 2016
Dog shows, romance, light weight fun. Plain Jane learns to change her view of herself and what she wants in life. The Chinese say sometimes a disaster can be a blessing and Jane is forced to change and grow.
August 24, 2015
Loved the strong beginning. That did it for me.
and I said more here.
and I said more here.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews