I requested this from NetGalley expecting quite a light-hearted, warm tale of how dogs improved the lives of the three people in the blurb; that's not quite what I got. Don't get me wrong, the book wasn't bad or anything, but I do think it should come with a trigger warning of some description. It goes a lot deeper than you expect it to and for anxious readers like myself, the topics may touch an unanticipated nerve.

The book felt well-written to me, which is the reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. The language kept me interested at points where the characters were struggling to. The flow between the three character stories (one chapter for each on a loop) was handled well and I didn't struggle to switch between the storylines because the chapters were kept short enough that it was only a handful of pages since I'd last read about that particular character.

Given the title of the book, I expected the dogs to play a very central part in the story, but this only really rang true for me in George's story. I genuinely felt that George's dog Poppy changed his life in some way, whereas for Dan and Lizzie they were just in the periphery while their main stories played out.

It was an interesting enough read, considering that it's not the type of book that I normally go for, but it didn't keep me gripped, nor was I sad when it ended.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting it to be and it took me a few chapters to get going but once I did I was immersed in the story about the characters , their stories of love and loss and the aftermath and how our pets can help us get over grief sometimes unknowingly .
I especially liked George’s story as he reminds me of my late father who could be equally as grumpy just perhaps not quite so rude !,
The story was very well written and I will look out others from this author.

I started out loving this novel but sadly this wasn’t sustained. The three different stories were interesting but it was the old man who stole my heart and I lost interest in the other two characters.

After recently losing my own dog, I thought to find some comfort in this novel.
It really was a good book and dealt with lots of real and quite tragic issues whilst still being lighthearted and humorous in places.
The love of our pets being the one thing that helps us get through.
There was even a couple of twists, a bit of sadness and a bit of happiness too.
The characters were well written and I sympathised with most of them and the everyday trials they were dealing with.
A lovely, nicely written book!

Whilst I'm glad I read this, its not a book I'd reread unfortunately. It addresses mental health quite strongly (which with the Covid-19 pandemic going on at the moment, makes it relevant) so I'm glad I read it but I think you have to be in quite a strong place mentally and be prepared for a whole range of emotion, from anger (which I experienced thanks to the main female character at the end; good plot twist by the way!) to sadness, to empathy, you may even relate to some bits in the book. I do think its a book everyone should read once but I'm just not sure its a book you could re-read.
One thing I will say is that its made me want to see what other books this author writes and read more of her writing.

4-5 stars

George Dempsey is a grumpy-pants to say the least, he doesn’t want Poppy the Dachshund puppy his wife Ellen had loved, he just wants wants her back which is impossible. He certainly doesn’t want Betty to rescue him either. Dan James, a counsellor with OCD loves Fitz his golden Labrador and certainly doesn’t want to be attracted to Atticus Finch, his patient. Dan’s cousin and best friend Luke Williams and Wolfie the Wolfhound offer distraction by persuading Dan to enter an Iron Man with him. Then there’s Lizzie and son Lenny in a women’s shelter with Maud the overweight Jack Russell offering comfort. This disparate mix of very different characters are carrying baggage to a lesser or greater degree and with their wonderful canine companions makes for compelling reading in this beautifully told novel.

I’ll hold my hand up straightaway and admit to being a dog lover and frequently see dogs I’d like to steal when I’m out walking!!! So out of the dogs in this story the one I’d most like to pinch is loyal lab Fitz who understands Dan so well and is such a huge comfort to him. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters are very well portrayed although at times it’s an emotional, sad tale. George despite probably being the grumpiest person in the world I couldn’t help but like him as he played an insulting verbal tennis match with Betty which are very funny. I like the authors sense of humour and some of Betty’s expressions are hilarious. She’s so kind and thoughtful but yet there’s far more going on with her than you originally think. Dan tears at my heartstrings, he’s so conflicted, complex and awkward you just want to give him a hug. I learned so much from Lizzie who is a walking encyclopaedia of the most amazing facts but you certainly feel her pain. Some of the descriptions of the characters and their dogs feelings are excellent and these dogs bring healing. The therapeutic value of pets is well documented and is so evidently needed here.

Overall, this is a very emotional and powerful book combining humour and sadness. Each of the characters is struggling to cope with something whether it be grief or their sexuality but the loyalty of the animals shines through and helps them through their dark days there are some good messages about friendship and love too. A great read in my opinion.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK / Transworld for the arc for an honest review

The most likeable characters in this book were the dogs! The three main people were George, who has been widowed and whose wife has left him numerous letters to try and get him to live life, rather than just wallow in grief, which she knew he would be inclined to do. George is totally cantankerous and difficult and all in all is quite a dislikeable character. His late wife, Ellen, wrote to a neighbour to keep an eye on him when she had gone and the neighbour appears quite saintly in her duty in looking after George. In return he treats her appallingly. Lizzie has left her husband and is staying in a women’s refuge with her son, Lennie. Lizzie is also not particularly likeable and sets herself apart from the other women living in the refuge – the rest of the women have built up a camaraderie which Lizzie refuses to be a part of and distances herself from everyone. The last person is Dan, a counsellor who falls for one of his clients, Atticus. Dan will not acknowledge his homosexuality and refuses to be seen out with Atticus. George reluctantly owns Poppy, a dog bought by his wife before her death. Luckily George does eventually warm to Poppy even though he didn’t really want her. Dan owns Fitz who he regularly walks or runs with his cousin Luke and his dog. Fitz is a great friend to Dan, who until Atticus comes along seems to live a bit of a lonely life. The last dog is Mollie, who belongs to the women’s refuge but seems to befriend Lizzie and they walk together most days. I did enjoy the book although it was difficult to warm to any of the characters and it wasn’t a particularly uplifting book dealing with a range of issues such as loneliness, mental health, abuse and suicide and I think it was a slightly difficult read at a time when most people are looking for something a bit more uplifting. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me a preview of this book.

Three very different people at crucial points in their lives. Love, loss and human fragility. Three very complex characters hurting and trying to struggle on but all funding comfort, solace and love in a four legged companion. The unconditional love shown by the fur friend helps them to open up and admit the issues they face.
You will recognise characteristics from different people and name them from your own family or social circle.

Dog Days
I read this quite simply for the promise of dogs – they are all over the cover; and the ‘subtitle’, ‘A novel about love, loss and what it is to be a human’. Who doesn’t want to read a story that encompasses all of that? From the very beginning I was completely blown away by this book. The writing was subtle, sketching with a lightness of touch yet revealing deep waters underneath. I think the cover had lured me into a sense that this was going to be a light, comical story about relationships with some dogs thrown in. It isn’t. It is beautiful and deep and it is absolutely what is promised in that subtitle. It is the story of three people – Lizzie, Dan and George who have retreated from life, distanced themselves from human contact and who are overwhelmed by sadness, alienation, distrust, hurt and anger. Gradually the barriers they have built are worn down, eroded; their sharp edges blunted and smoothed. This novel encompasses so many themes – love, loss, friendship, laughter, trust, abuse, mental health, love between two men. The relationship between Dan and Atticus is beautifully observed: the gently bubbling chemistry feels so real and I just loved the character of Atticus, so confident, funny, sophisticated, his life all sorted and yet he is at counselling. George and Betty’s relationship made me scream with laughter and cry at the bleakness of George’s loss. This is a relationship brought to life in powerful and earthy descriptions and dialogue. Absolutely brilliant. Among all the carnage of frail and damaged humans there are the dogs, weaving their way amongst it, drawing the humans together. Five stars. with thanks to Netgalley, Random House UK Transworld Publishers for a copy of this wonderful book.

Its the 2nd January and already I feel like this is going to be the best book I'll read in 2021.

The author describes it as the sum of everything she has learned about love, loss and the healing power of dogs and I just think that is perfect.

None of the characters are that likeable but my god I love them all so much, thats skilled writing!! The dogs are perfect, the story is 3 different little stories all running on the same timeline and I just loved the entire thing, start to finish. The story is as engaging as the characters and it went to places that I really didnt expect! I got my copy curtesy of Netgalley but this is a book I'll buy a copy of when it comes out, I want it on my bookshelf. 5/5.

There are some adorable dogs in this novel and some lovely (and not so lovely!) humans. It wasn’t as light and uplifting a read as I had expected but instead the author tackles some painful subjects. I found all three main characters - George, Dan and Lizzie - equally interesting and the book is structured cleverly. Dog Days is very well-written and I had no trouble turning the pages. If you like books that make you laugh and cry, this would be perfect. It’s not falsely jolly, but a realistic look at love and loss. The dogs bring out the best in the humans! Definitely worth reading.

Wow I'm absolutely in love with this book. So cleverly written and each character had me engrossed. 3 main characters, 6 different lives all combined to make this book amazing. I can't stop talking about it, try wonderful

Dog Days by Ericka Waller a slow burning three star read. I really wanted to enjoy this one, it had all the makings of a great read, and it was a lot darker than I thought it would be but then I thought that might add to the story, sadly It didn’t. George, Lizzie and Dan pushed all of my buttons and not in a good way, Dan especially broke way too many boundaries for me, both personally and professionally. That alone made me start to pick fault with this story. Lizzies story was slightly better, but there were still issues there, George I could understand him and why he was the way he was at least, but still It didn’t settle with me.

As I love dogs the outline of this book appealed to me. It tells the story of three different characters all with their dogs and how they can be so important in people’s lives.

It tells the stories of George, Dan and Lizzie, three people whose lives couldn’t be further apart but have their lives seemingly intertwined. George’s wife has died, he doesn’t know how to survive without her and is quite happy to carry out the rest of his days being the grumpy, cantankerous old man. Except his wife left a parting gift before she died in the form of dachshund puppy Poppy. Dan has his faithful Labrador Fitz who he does everything with but it deep down wrestling with his sexuality, that is until he meets Atticus who could be the answer? And then there is Lizzie, who along with her son Lennie, is living in a women’s shelter trying to rebuild her life, not wanting help from anyone but Maud the Jack Russell has other ideas on the direction this will take...

All three characters lives are delved into in separate chapters and you are eager to know wheat happens next, with all of them individually and jointly. I enjoyed the writing style and I was aware that from the start not everything was necessarily going to be as it may at first appear, I didn’t however predict the twists in some of the stories. The connection with the relationships people have with dogs and what they can sense is heartwarming and as a dog lover I do relate to this. It is not a major element of the book though overall and the stories all hold their ground well without this aspect overdone. A good debut novel from this author.

I found Dog Days to be a perfect read for me and definitely at the right time given a large amount of stress in my personal life at the time of reading. This is a beautifully written story which I found to be heartfelt and unafraid to tackle less glamorous topics such as bereavement. I found Ericka's writing reminded me a lot of Fredrik Backman and made me connect with the characters and become invested in their choices and development. I think this will be a book with a very wide appeal. It is wholesome but not boring or safe. I was charmed and I hope that many others will be too.

Wow I did not see that coming. This book is essentially 3 stories rolled into one book. Each chapter is independent of the next and whilst there is a small overlap of some sort, it could actually be 3 books. in fact I wish they were. It is essentially a glimpse into the lives of George, Dan and Lizzie as they go through monumental life changes that will never leave them the same as before. George was my favourite. This book is a as much a comedy as it is tragic, we go through 3 very tough situations with each of them and I feel the author did a great job in portraying them honestly and as truthfully as is possible. The writing style was easy to read and I did find myself laughing out loud a few times- Georges Fault! It is a mixture of Fredrick Blackmans A man called Ove , Jojo Moyes novels and Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. It deals quite intimately with the mental health of 3 completely different individuals and each chapter rotates around their stories singularly.
I cant wait to read more from this author.
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5 stars from me !

I thought this would be a warm fuzzy feel good book and by and large it is. By and large. But not wholly. It has a wonderfully grumpy, sweary, vitriolic old man who it's hard to like; a woman in a refuge who left me conflicted; and a tragedy that made my jaw drop. My only niggle is the formatting on my kindle, it was all over the place!

An unexpectedly gripping read about 3 seemingly unconnected character and their dog. Each character has flaws, but I found I cared about them by the end of the book.

This is a great ensemble book about different people who live in the same area and all walk dogs on the Beacon. Gradually their paths intersect and we discover more about their backgrounds. There is a nice twist to one strand and not everything ends happily ever after. However, this is a well-written, thought-provoking novel and is very absorbing and enjoyable.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

What a lovely refreshing book to read during these difficult times. You could escape in the lives of Dan, Atticus, George and Betty, and their characterful dogs. This is a very enjoyable read even for those who don’t have a dog or particularly like them.. The letters left for .George by his late wife were a stroke of genius by the author, I can quite imagine a lot of widowers suddenly finding themselves alone with no idea how to use the washing machine or cook a meal where hygiene and self care can go out of the window. Some of Bettys silly sayings did start to grate a bit but thankfully there were less and less as the book progressed. For anyone who is at home and not able to get out and see friends and family, even those who luckily can, this is the equivalent of a big cream cake and a vanilla latte. Enjoy.