Stefanie London (Kissing Games; Forever Starts Now; Bad Bachelor) delivers a hearty helping of dogs and romance in her endearing second entry in the Paws in the City series, Pets of Park Avenue. Scout Myers, a 26-year-old New Yorker, works for a premiere pet social media and talent agency, run by her successful best friend Isla, the winning protagonist from The Dachshund Wears Prada, the first novel in the series. When Scout is tasked with doing a makeover of a socially connected Bichon Frise for a photoshoot, things go awry: the dog's cottony-white coat is suddenly transformed into hot pink. Scout, in a bind, is left no choice but to ask her ex, Lane, if she can borrow his Bichon--a well-behaved near-lookalike named Twinkle Stardust (who goes by "Star")--to serve as a stand-in. Lane and Scout had a whirlwind romance and marriage that flopped five years ago, and they never officially divorced. What starts as a one-shot deal to borrow Star soon reunites the former lovers. Lane, a tech genius who runs a multimillion-dollar company, still has a soft spot for Scout, who left him after only one month of marriage because she felt she could not measure up to him and his ideals. Lovable Star serves as a bridge in this smart, sexy rom-com that unravels the couple's challenging personal pasts and explains why things soured between them. Can they make amends?
London's likable characters resonate with hidden depths as she mines their hearts to deliver a fun, revealing story that will have readers rooting wholeheartedly for love--and dogs--to conquer all. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines