Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook

Goodreads Summary:

Forty-year-old preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy thought she'd set herself up for a great life. She'd married the man she loved. They bought a house, decorated it, and then sat, looking at each other, trying to remember why they'd gotten married in the first place. But Sarah didn't have to wonder for long; her husband took up with a younger woman, sounding the death knell for their marriage, and propelling Sarah back into singlehood -- at the same time as her newly widowed father.

Thrown unwillingly into the suburban dating pool alongside her dad, Sarah is ambivalent about the whole process, despite her ticking clock and thoughts that she might enjoy a child of her own. But Sarah's large, loving Irish clan comes to her rescue -- her married sister placing a personal ad in her name and regularly monitoring Sarah's dating progress; and her brother, Michael, helps her feel lovable when he seeks out her comfort and advice while riding out his own rocky marriage.

In Must Love Dogs, Claire Cook ably captures the pitfalls of the midlife singles' scene, with a generous dose of humor and a heaping portion of characters who know better than to take themselves too seriously.

My thoughts:
When I saw the movie, I had not realized it was based off of a book. I haven't seen the movie in a really long time so they are separate in my mind and shall remain that way.Though I will say, I hate when they (publishers) release a mass market paperback with the movie poster as the cover. I think they really should keep the movie and book distinct in what they are. That being said I liked this book. It was not your run of the mill pink book. Yes, our main character is looking for love and yes she learns to love herself like most pink books. However, the story of how Sarah comes into her own skin and learns to live again is nice in that it isn't because of one man sweeping her off her feet.
What I really liked about this book is how likable Sarah is, even with being so boring and kind of sad. I think she is your average 4o something divorcee who has to figure out what her next step is while trying to find the energy and motivation to change out of her grey sweats and do something.

I would recommend this book to pink book lovers or anyone looking for a fast fun read. I finished this book in about two days without a lot of time dedicated to it.

While writing this review I am listening to my upstairs neighbor stomp around while crashing into only god knows what.