Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Review: Must Love Weiners by Casey Griffin

I have to admit that I chose this book for my inner twelve year old boy. I was rather on a roll with quirky and unusual so how could I pass up such a hilariously punny title, especially with a cute dachshund on the cover?

When this contemporary romance opens, Piper is juggling all three of her part time jobs, driving a taxi to deliver a singing telegram after which she intends to deliver a pizza. Predictably given the odd job combo, nothing goes right for her. She lands in the lap of the gorgeous recipient of the singing telegram (he's also the CEO of the company), her dog Colin eats the bread sticks for the delivery (the pizza's cold anyway), and her taxi is stolen. Losing two of her three jobs just weeks before she finally finishes her practicum for vet school and graduates is about the worst thing that can possibly happen. But at least she still has her volunteer work at the doxie rescue, a job she truly loves.

When the gorgeous CEO, Aiden, shows up at the doxie rescue to pick up Sophie, the little female that Piper's doxie Colin loves, things get very complicated. Offering Piper the job of walking Sophie, Piper and Aiden start a dance that brings them together and moves them apart several times. Piper doesn't entirely trust Aiden because he is rich and he doesn't understand her insecurity and stubborn pride, resulting in him not keeping her in the loop of something very important. Aiden is very concerned with keeping business and pleasure separate, which leads to conflicting signals for Piper.  The two of them are clearly worlds apart.

Piper's character comes off as a complete and total flake, scattered and disorganized, making the reader wonder how on earth she's managed to get through vet school. Aiden, by contrast, is portrayed as socially awkward but still an effortlessly high powered executive, an unusual combination to say the least. More than their respective oddball character traits, the novel is packed chock full of various plot threads. In many ways, this comes off as more of a slapdash caper than a romance as Piper and Aiden's relationship often takes a back seat to everything else that is going on from a stalker to family issues, from arson to attempted murder. The issue that is going to provide the dramatic tension is telegraphed almost from the start and it's hard not to feel frustration with both Piper and Aiden given this predictability. In the end, despite these flaws, this was an easy, quick read that was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours.

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