26 August is National Dog Day. I can’t have my own adorable pupster because I live in an apartment and travel a lot so it wouldn’t fair on them. Instead I get my floofy fix through books so for National Dog Day; I’m celebrating My Favourite Fictional Pupsters and I dare you not to fall hopelessly in love with each and every one of them.
(1) Atticus from Atticus by Sawyer Bennett (2018)
Through the haze of vodka and self-loathing, Hazel Roundtree saw the poor creature lying in a ditch.
One brown eye. One blue.
Covered in mud and crying from pain, the puppy was desperately trying to free itself from a hopeless situation.
She almost kept walking by. She had her own problems and besides… no one had ever stopped to help her.
Who we’re ultimately meant to be is a journey without end, but there’s always a defined start…
Hazel had no idea the dog would be her beginning, her second chance, the miracle she never saw coming. She named him Atticus. He grew up to be a very bad—and completely awesome—dog. He took Hazel on a life-changing journey filled with mischievous adventure to find her happily ever after. In the end, Hazel grew up to be completely awesome, too.
(2) Hank from Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn (2023)
Long-time personal assistant Georgie Mulcahy has made a career out of putting others before herself. When an unexpected upheaval sends her away from her hectic job in L.A. and back to her hometown, Georgie must confront an uncomfortable truth: her own wants and needs have always been a disconcertingly blank page.
But then Georgie comes across a forgotten artefact—a “friendfic” diary she wrote as a teenager, filled with possibilities she once imagined. To an overwhelmed Georgie, the diary’s simple, small-scale ideas are a lifeline—a guidebook for getting started on a new path.
Georgie’s plans hit a snag when she comes face to face with an unexpected roommate—Levi Fanning, onetime town troublemaker and current town hermit. But this quiet, grouchy man is more than just his reputation, and he offers to help Georgie with her quest. As the two make their way through her wish list, Georgie begins to realize that what she truly wants might not be in the pages of her diary after all, but right by her side—if only they can both find a way to let go of the pasts that hold them back.
(3) Mika from Starlight (Speakeasy Taproom #7) by Christine DePetrillo (2021)
He doesn’t trust women. She only trusts dogs. Why can’t they keep their paws off each other?
Darren Reade builds stone walls in Vermont–and around his heart. Women don’t stick around, so it’s better to put up No Trespassing signs and focus on raising his adopted son. Darren is willing to do whatever it takes to help the boy cope with his mother’s death. But doing it alone is a challenge.
Grace Hollings indulges her love of old-school jazz by singing nights at the Speakeasy Taproom, and spends her days training service dogs, connecting small humans with smart pooches. Of course she’d planned to be married already, but a failed engagement has taught her that dogs make better company than men.
One evening, Grace and Darren don’t exchange names, but they do engage in a single night neither of them will forget. Is once all there is? Or can they train their hearts to trust what they’ve built under the starlight?
(4) Camilla from The Dachshund Wears Prada (Paws in the City #1) by Stefanie London (2022)
How do you start over when the biggest mistake of your life has more than one million views?
Forget diamonds—the internet is forever. Social media consultant Isla Thompson learned that lesson the hard way when she went viral for all the wrong reasons. A month later, Isla is still having nightmares about the moment she ruined a young starlet’s career and made herself the most unemployable influencer in Manhattan. But she doesn’t have the luxury of hiding until she’s no longer Instagram poison. Not when her fourteen-year-old sister, Dani, needs Isla to keep a roof over their heads. So, she takes the first job she can get: caring for Camilla, a glossy-maned, foul-tempered hellhound.
After a week of ferrying Camilla from playdates to pet psychics, Isla starts to suspect that the dachshund’s bark is worse than her bite—just like her owner, Theo Garrison. Isla has spent her career working to make people likable and here’s Theo—happy to hide behind his reputation as a brutish recluse. But Theo isn’t a brute—he’s sweet and funny, and Isla should not see him as anything but the man who signs her paychecks. Because loving Theo would mean retreating to his world of secluded luxury, and Isla needs to show Dani that no matter the risk, dreams are always worth chasing.
(5) Twinkle Stardust from Pets of Park Avenue (Paws in the City #2) by Stefanie London (2022) (Five Star Reads – February 2023)
What do you do when The One is also the one who broke your heart?
Self-proclaimed hot mess Scout Myers is determined to prove she’s finally got her act together. Raised by grandparents who saw her as her wayward mother’s wayward daughter, Scout’s used to being written off. So when the opportunity for a promotion arises at Paws in the City, the talent agency where she works, Scout is desperate to rise to the occasion. With shared custody of her little sister also on the line, Scout can’t afford a single mistake…like suddenly needing a canine stand-in for an important photoshoot. Luckily (or not) she knows the owner of the perfect pup the estranged husband she walked out on years ago.
On the surface, it appears Lane Halliday’s life has been blissfully drama free without Scout, but she suspects her handsome-as-ever not- quite -ex-husband doth protest too much. Working together even feels like old times—except for all that lingering, unresolved tension. But Scout’s not sure she’s ready to confront the reasons she left Lane, and when their plans to finalize the divorce become very real, Scout starts to wonder whether second chances might be worth a little hot mess.
(6) Molly from Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen (Paws in the City #3) by Stefanie London (2023)
Can you ever really forget the one who got away?
August Merriweather has always been good with animals. In fact, she’s known as Manhattan’s Dog Whisperer. Men, on the other hand? Not so much. She’s been falling for the wrong guys ever since her regrettable crush on Keaton Sax, older brother of her best friend, Leah, and the biggest jerkface this side of the Hudson.
Now an emotionally closed off widower, Keaton has become one of the most formidable men on Wall Street, but August knows his secret. He’s not driven by sales targets and bonus checks—Keaton just wants to give his family the security they never had. So when Leah asks Keaton to wrangle her over-the-top, dramatic husky at a weekend talent competition, Keaton says yes…and begs August to help him win the event for Leah.
Between obstacle courses, Molly’s husky temper tantrums and a cabin with just one bed, August is having a blast. Away from the pressure to have a “perfect life” with the “right guy,” she finds herself relaxing and getting to see the softer side of the man she once loved. Is this just a temporary truce? Or could Keaton finally be the right guy at the right time?
(7) Romeo, Juliet & Puck from Paws & Prejudice (Hearts of Alaska #2) by Alanna Martin (2021) (My Favourite Novels with Jewish Representation)
Glaciers have nothing on Kelsey Porter when she decides to freeze someone out. After getting burned once, she’s not about to let it happen again. And right now all that icy contempt is focused on one annoyingly attractive and entitled interloper: Ian Roth. Not only is he looking to take advantage of her quaint, coastal community, tainting the small-town charm of Helen, Alaska, but he has committed the one crime she can never forgive—he doesn’t like her dogs.
Unlike what Kelsey believes, Ian loves Helen’s charms as much as she does. That’s partly why he’s determined to open a brewery there, and he’s not about to let anything or anyone stop his dream from coming true. But he didn’t count on the beautiful, prickly woman getting under his skin. Or having to be within hand-biting proximity of her three huge huskies.
When Kelsey’s family conscripts her into helping Ian get his brewery off the ground, she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard . . . muscular . . . man who has a fear of dogs. But the longer they work together, the more she can feel herself begin to thaw. Now she’ll have to choose: let sleeping dogs lie to protect her heart, or mush head-on toward love.
(8) Valentine from New York, Actually (Manhattan With Love #4) by Sarah Morgan (2017)
Meet Molly
New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine.
Meet Daniel
A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning…
Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is…
(9) The Lucky Dogs from Wild Open Hearts (Bluewater Billionaires) by Kathryn Nolan (2019)
“I’ve heard that boys with motorcycles have less-than-noble intentions.”
“Not a boy,” Beck said. “And you heard right.”
Luna da Rosa is America’s Vegan Best Friend. The self-made billionaire is a flower-crowned hippie whose Instagram feed is as popular as Wild Heart – her vegan makeup company. When she’s not changing the cosmetics industry, she’s dazzling her online fans with kombucha recipes. Until Wild Heart is caught in a scandal – destroying her reputation as a cheerful do-gooder.
Beck Mason is the prodigal son of Miami’s most notorious biker gang. But Beck left his criminal family to start Lucky Dog, rescuing dogs who need the most help. Except the surly ex-outlaw never realized leading a struggling non-profit with a ragtag crew would be so damn hard. They’re in dire need of cash – and fast.
Luna believes working at Lucky Dog will fix her image problem and get Beck the money he needs. It’s a win-win, right? Except Beck doesn’t like the sunny, free-spirited…okay beautiful…billionaire. He sure as hell doesn’t trust Luna not to use him just to make herself look good.
Sure – Beck’s grumpy, stubborn pride and meat-eating ways irritate Luna. Even though Beck’s big-heart-and-big-beard-combo is dangerously sexy. And they really shouldn’t have shared The Kiss to End All Kisses on the back of his motorcycle one night…
But as the bohemian billionaire and the burly biker give into their electrifying attraction – will their differences keep them apart? Or will they finally learn to trust their wild hearts?
(10) Boone from Wingman by Tess Oliver (2017)
“I’d taken that proverbial road trip to ‘find myself’, and along the way, I’d also found the person who I needed to keep myself whole.”
It had started like any other day in Butterfield. The fountain in the park, once the town’s pride and joy and the scene of jubilant town celebrations, sputtered to life with the usual trickle of murky green water. Its withering neighbor, the ornate town pavilion, choked quietly on rust. The tall spindly weeds that had found a permanent home in the cracked channels of the sidewalk stood firmly in place. The townsfolk shuffled to their destinations, as always, dragging their broken hearts along behind them. And I pedaled my bicycle to the corner market to start my work day.
They came out of nowhere. Two strangers, one tall with dark hair and a smile that could melt a frozen heart, and one with four white paws and a tail that never stopped spinning. Just a guy and his dog.
It had started like any other day in Butterfield …
(11) Cupcake from So Good (Alpha Dogs #1) by Nicola Rendell (2017)
On the roof of a house outside Truelove, Maine, master carpenter Max Doyle looks down through a skylight and sees the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on. She’s naked, she’s gorgeous, and everything about her is perfect, down to the ball-busting tattoo of a rose that wraps around her hip. But it isn’t just any woman making his knees buckle. It’s his best friend, Rosie Madden. And as he stands there, mesmerized and precariously close to toppling off the roof, he knows he’ll never, ever be able to look at her the same way again.
Rosie can’t help but notice that Max is suddenly acting very strange—lots of long stares, totally tongue-tied, and not at all like the slightly cocky hunk she’s proud to call her best friend. She can’t figure it out, until later that night when Max rescues her from the world’s worst date, challenges her to a game of pool, and shows her just exactly what she’s got him thinking about. Repeatedly.
But life is complicated. Rosie’s cat, Julia Caesar, wants to eat Max’s dog Cupcake for an afternoon snack. A dream job threatens to pull them apart. And another glance through the skylight changes everything, one more time. Yet try as they might, they can’t go back to being just friends, because falling in love with the one you’ve always adored?
It feels so good.
(12) Kevin from Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score (2022)
Can these opposites turn up the heat… without burning down the house?
House-flipping sensation and YouTube star Maggie Nichols can’t wait to dig into her next challenge. Arriving in tiny Kinship, Idaho, with only a cot and a coffeemaker, Maggie is prepared to restore a crumbling Victorian mansion in four months or less. She has her to-do lists, her blueprints, and her team. What she doesn’t have is time for sexy, laid-back landscaper Silas Wright.
The man takes flirtation to a whole new level. And he does it shirtless…sometimes pants-less. He and his service school-dropout dog are impressively persistent. But she’s not interested in putting down roots. Not when fans tune in to watch her travel the country turning dilapidated houses into dream homes. A short-term fling on the other hand could fit nicely into her calendar. After all, Maggie remembers what fun is like. Vaguely.
As their summer gets downright steamy, Silas manages to demolish the emotional walls she’s spent years building, sending Maggie into a panic. He’s the wrench in her carefully constructed plans. With the end of the project looming, she has a decision to make. But how can she stay when her entire career is built on moving on?
(13) Moose from The Christmas Blanket by Kandi Steiner (2020) (12 Bookish Dates of Christmas)
When I decided to surprise my family in Wellhaven, Vermont for Christmas, I never could have known that I’d get a surprise of my own — in the form of an unexpected blizzard.
I haven’t been home in four years, not since I left this town with my eyes set on adventure.
And my heart set on forgetting the only man I’ve ever loved.
River Jensen — my ex-husband.
I don’t plan on seeing him during my visit. I definitely don’t plan on him saving me when my little rental car slides off the icy road. And the last thing I could have ever prepared for is being stuck in a tiny cabin with him, waiting out the storm.
Four years have passed since I’ve seen him — the boy I loved, now a man I don’t know at all.
But being stuck inside with him leaves us nothing but time together.
Everything about him has changed, and yet, he still has the same forest green eyes that have haunted me since I left. Back then, we were at an impasse. Back then, there was nothing left to talk about, nothing left to fix. Back then, the only choice I had was to leave and start anew.
But the more I re-discover the man I left behind, the more I question why I ever left at all.
And if I’m too late to find my way back home.
(14) Cinder & Sprinkles from A Spot of Trouble (Turtle Beach #1) by Teri Wilson (2021)
Violet March and Sam Nash are as different as night and day and have been enemies ever since Violet accused Sam of dognapping her beloved Dalmatian. Sam knows that’s impossible—for one thing, Cinder is a well-trained fire safety demonstration dog who never steps out of line for serious firefighter Sam. Sprinkles, on the other hand, has never met a command that she didn’t ignore completely, much like her bubbly owner. Against a backdrop of canine hijinks and a summertime softball league, the two Dalmatian owners constantly butt heads, but by the time the 4th of July Fireman’s Ball rolls around, they begin to realize that sometimes love isn’t so clear-cut, and a little puppy love might be just the thing they’ve been missing…
(15) Ursula from A Line in the Sand (Turtle Beach #2) by Teri Wilson (2022)
Sparks fly when Molly Price’s puppy constantly disrupts the beachfront area where new-in-town marine biologist Max Miller is studying sea turtle mating habits for the underfunded Turtle Beach Aquarium’s turtle preservation project. Molly stars as the mermaid at the Aquarium, and the whole community is hoping Max will find a way to save the Aquarium, the beach, and the turtles. What neither the scientist nor his mermaid adversary realize is that the dog has a unique ability to sniff out sea turtle nests. If they’ll only let her off her leash, it’s the puppy who may ultimately help save the day.
Louise Hall 
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