Dog Lover Book Review: Worst in Show by Anna E. Collins
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My book reviews may give some light spoilers, but will never spoil major plot lines without a disclaimer. I was given an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book by Netgalley.
Worst in Show is available on Amazon – or support local bookstores by shopping at Bookshop.org!
Summary
As a self proclaimed “crazy dog lady”, I was super excited to read Worst in Show, Anna E. Collins’ newest novel. I mean, a dog themed romantic comedy novel? It sounded like the perfect book for me! Twentysomething Cora works for her grandfather’s small business, a small mom-and-pop pet store. Her heart isn’t in it though, and as much as she loves her dogs and her grandfather, her dream is to be a fashion designer, not a pet store proprietor
When Cora’s grandfather, Harvey, is injured and needs a hip replacement and a stint in a rehab facility, Cora is tasked with taking care of his grandfather’s dogs and keeping the pet store afloat. It proves to be a tough challenge because the store has been struggling for a while -- and there’s a new upscale dog boutique across the street.
Leo is an investment-banker-something-or-other (don’t ask me the details, I studied humanities!) who just moved back to his hometown to recover from a divorce and some serious work-related burnout. Part of healing his heart involves opening the competing dog boutique across the street from Cora’s and Harvey’s store.
In desperate need of cash to save the store, Cora enters the town’s annual amateur dog show, the same one that her grandmother competed in every year. This year, the prize is $15,000, the kind of money that could save Harvey’s store, at least for a while. Cora’s only problem is that Leo needs the money too.
As business competitors and dog show adversaries, tensions are high throughout the novel. Even as Cora and Leo slowly become friends, there are fights and mishaps as they both prepare for the dog show.
And because I can’t help myself, it’s imperative you know each of the dogs in the book. Cora’s smartest dog is Cholula, a chihuahua mix who is enthusiastic and naughty. There’s also Cap, the supermutt, who is the oldest of Cora’s three dogs, and Boris, the Irish Wolfhound who is unsurprisingly always in the way. Leo has a young Australian Shepherd, Tilly, who is silly, sweet, and quite literally brings Leo and Cora together.
Trigger Warnings: This book features absent parents, mild themes of abandonment, and an off-the-page death of a grandparent.
Spice Level: There is some pretty tame sex in this novel. It is not super explicit, but it is still open door. The sex contributes to the character development and depth of relationship and trust between Cora and Leo. The sex is completely consensual.
My Thoughts
Worst in Show was a fun book! The writing was well paced and the story was engaging. I definitely spent a couple nights staying up way too late when I was reading this book!
Something that was important to me was that the dogs were relevant to the plot and more than just sprinkled in as afterthoughts. I love dogs but I usually find the ones in books really frustrating because they are irrelevant and take away from the movement of the story.
But that isn’t the case in Worst in Show: the dogs are central to the plot, play a role in significant events in the story, and are well developed characters with distinct personalities. As a dog lover and a reader, the way Collins included the dogs in thee story really excited me! Finally, a book where the dogs make sense!
Why I Recommend This Book
Like I said above, dogs are usually superfluous in novels, especially romance novels. I usually find them distracting. But I am a dog person and desperately want to read a book that includes dogs. I just want the dogs to matter to the story!
That’s the biggest reason I recommend Worst in Show. It’s a well written, fun story, and the dogs are also well written.
There aren’t many details about the dog training and sports and the competition is an amateur dog show that any dog can enter. Collins’ writing does not go overboard with dog show technicalities or training descriptions. While the dog nerd in me would have loved more description of the finer points of dog shows and training, I ultimately believe that not becoming bogged down in dog nerdiness is a huge strength of the novel.
Too much dog detail would interrupt the pacing and distract from the main story of Cora’s and Leo’s romance. As it is, Worst in Show is the perfect balance of dogs and romance for the average dog lover.
But enough about dogs. In terms of the romance plot, Worst in Show is a typical enemies-to-lovers story with some work adversary spice. The blurb describes the book as “Best in Show meets You’ve Got Mail” and if you think that sounds cute, then you should definitely order yourself a copy of Worst in Show on Amazon or Bookshop.org!
About the Author
Anna E. Collins is a teacher turned author who began writing books with strong female characters that explore the lives, hopes, dreams, and relationships of women.
You can follow Anna Collins on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.
