Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin
Published by William Morrow on October 10, 2017
Pages: 384
Source: the publisher
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Sit! Stay! Speak! author Annie England Noblin’s novel takes one woman starting over, adds an aging pug named Teddy Roosevelt, and proves the power of a well-baked dog treat.

All she wants is a settled-down life.

What she gets is a dog—and a whole new normal . . .

There he stood in the doorway: overweight, depressed and nearly homeless—a pug named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy was Brydie Benson’s latest problem, arriving on top of her messy divorce and sudden move. Brydie needed a place to start over, so this rent-free home seemed a great idea. She just never counted on Teddy, or his owner, the Germantown Retirement Village’s toughest customer, Pauline Neumann.

And because rent-free doesn’t mean bills-free, Brydie gets a night-shift job at a big-box grocery. Whoever guessed there were so many people who wanted baked goods after midnight?

Then, she gets an idea—why not combine her baking skills with her new-found dog knowledge? And so her store Pupcakes is born. Along with a new start comes a possible new love, in the form of Nathan Reid, a local doctor with a sassy Irish Wolfhound named Sasha. And as fall turns to winter, and then to Christmas, Brydie begins to realize that life is a little bit like learning a new recipe for puff pastry—it takes a few tries to get it just right!

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review:

Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin is my latest seasonal read and it really is as cute as its cover. This is the story of recently-divorced Brydie Benson, who moves to Memphis to be closer to her friend and finds herself in need of an a low-cost place to live. When she happens upon Pauline Newmann’s offer of living rent-free in her large furnished home, Brydie can hardly believe her luck. But there is a catch: Brydie has to agree to take care of Pauline’s beloved pug, Teddy Roosevelt, and she has to agree to bring him to see Pauline every Sunday in her retirement home.

This story is so charming! I absolutely loved reading it. Pupcakes is a great story for the fall and holiday season because the story takes place in over three months-October, November, and December.

I love Teddy Roosevelt. He is a small pug, but he is a large character in this book. Teddy is a little bit on the depressed side at the beginning of the book, when he comes into Brydie’s care. She barely knows what to do with him because she’s never had a dog before, but the two gradually warm up to one another and become very close. Eventually Teddy becomes happier and healthier.

I love the relationship that Brydie grows to share with Teddy and the relationship Teddy shares with his original owner, Pauline. I also love the way Teddy unknowingly helps Brydie meet other people and form new relationships, since it is initially hard for her to put herself out there again after her divorce. This begins when Brydie takes Teddy to a nearby dog park so he can exercise. As he plays with other dogs, she is able to meet their owners. This is actually where she meets her eventual love interest, Nathan Reid-during their first encounter, there is a humorous scene involving dog vomit on Nathan’s shoes.

Even though this is a fun holiday story, there is also a coming-of-age-again that happens for Brydie. After leaving her previous marriage, she finds herself having to relearn who she really is. She redefines herself. She cuts her hair. She gets a job that she probably never would have gotten before being divorced-in the bakery of a grocery store, on night shift!-and this helps to re-ignite her love for baking.

The baking part of the story is really fun. Brydie begins to bake treats for Teddy because he doesn’t like dog food and because she just loves to bake. She shares the dog treats with other dogs and they become popular at the dog park and with her dog-owning friends. Then she tries new recipes for pup-treats based on human recipes. She gives her excess cookies, etc away and begins taking new orders. The more she bakes, the happier Brydie is. It’s honesly so nice to read about a person finding herself again after a traumatic event like a divorce had her down for a while. It was like Brydie blossomed on these pages, and it was a bonus that it happened over Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

I’m so glad that Pupcakes was brought to my attention because it was all-around enjoyable. This one is totally going on my holiday-rereads rotation and I recommend it to readers that enjoy holiday stories and stories featuring dogs and pets.

Giveaway:

Thank you to the publisher for prividing one print copy of Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin for giveaway.
Giveaway is open to US and Canada only.
Giveaway ends. 10.27.17 at 11:59 p.m. (EST)

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