This is a sweet and charming story set on a small Scottish island. Loved every character in this. Everyone in this is somehow brought together by a dog. It’s awesome that a dog plays a central and important character and instrumental in bringing happiness and providing emotional support.

A dog turned up at the holiday cottage Suzy was staying in. She has come to the island in order to close the distillery, which her fickle minded boyfriend Paul impulsively bought, led to bankruptcy with his in-competence and walked out on her. She had never given in to her children’ demands for a puppy when they were kids.

Ricky is originally from the island and now works as a music teacher, living with his son Arthur and girlfriend Meg in Glasgow.

Loved the WhatsApp chats between Suzy and her young adult daughter Freddie and Son Izacc. Their banter was hilarious.

I didn’t mind the romance taking a backseat in this. It’s mainly about the fabulous characters and their struggles. Island is the perfect setting for this book and Gibson has brought it to life with her beautiful writing.

Both the main characters Suzy and Ricky are adorable. Admired Suzy for her steely determination. I’ve immensely enjoyed reading when the story is told from Ricky’s perspective. He is utterly adorable, pleasant, and helps his students who aren’t privileged. Arthur is too adorable and his remarks are hilarious.

Overall, it’s a cute, heart-warming and entertaining book filled with lovable people and a adorable puppy.

Love this author - an author whose books I pick up before I know anything about them. But this is my first audio book of hers I have listened to. Loved the story and the characters. Highly recommended.

Fun and lighthearted easy read - my go to genre of books and I knew from the cover and title it was one I’d like. Would likely read more from this author.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and the narrators were both brilliant! I got lost in this story when listening, the story is so sweet! This poor dog who has been abandoned on the island becomes adopted by Suzy when he turns up on her doorstop and also finds friendship with a little boy and his Dad. Whilst Suzy is trying to sort out her own life and the mess her ex has left her in with a failing brewery, she quickly comes to realise what she needs might not quite be what she was expecting!

Fun and lighthearted listen, really enjoyable and left me feeling uplifted.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting be access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

This is a nice, uplifting story about a woman called Suzy whose partner has left her in trouble, so she has to rebuild her life and pick up all the pieces he has shattered. On her travels, she meets a scruffy dog called Scout, who is adorable and he helps her to heal herself. He also helps her to meet a special man and his family, as well as a new friend and she enjoys getting to know them all. They all share Scout and he brings them so much fun, joy and laughter. This is a heartwarming book, which I really enjoyed while I was outside doing my gardening.

The audiobook was fun and easy to listen to and I enjoyed the narrators voices and accents.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, what an incredible wholesome book. Dogs and romance are one hell of a combo. A must-read for any Beth O'Leary fans out there, think Beth O'Leary but with dogs!

I kept trying and trying with this book and I've finally given up. It's just been so boring and now at about 60% of the way through the audiobook it feels like it is just possibly about to get going, but I don't want to waste any more of my time when I'm just not interested.

I hate being so negative about a book but it's just been so slow and dull. The narrators are good, especially the female (Cathleen McCarron). I even tried increasing the speed to get further along, quicker, but that was too hard to listen to, and I also skipped quite a few bits (particularly the male parts) and don't feel like I really missed anything! I've got so far through the story and yet I don't have a clue what any of the characters names are; I am that detached from it. I love a good, easy listen sometimes, but this wasn't even that for me, unfortunately.

A gorgeous love story that has a lot of heart and depth to it. I loved the narrators and felt they brought a lot of it. Scout is also a big highlight in this book.

However, I found the book a little slow to get into at the start.

Suzy is visiting a whiskey distillery in the Outer Hebrides to deliver bad news. The distillery is failing and her ex partner has deserted her leaving Suzy to sort out the mess. The highlight of her visit is meeting a stray terrier which she takes to a rescue centre in the mainland but realising that she does not want to leave him there Suzy decides to adopt the dog and names him Scout. Unbeknown to Suzy Scout has also made friends with Ricky and his young son who happen to be related to a long standing member of staff at the distillery. Scout is the feel good character in the book and ultimately works his magic on his human friends.

The beginning here is a bit slow in my opinion and the different POVs are quite confusing at first. It was hard for me to really understand what was going on. But, it does get better and the book kinda grasp you. I was a bit bored at first, but when Scout gets really involved with the story it gets interesting and quite heartfelt.
In end, the plot turns out quite good and all the feelings of boredom left me when I was halfway done with the book.
The characters are interesting and although I could not really empathize with them or put myself in their shoes I was super glad when things turned out good for them. They all deserve to be happy. The different POVs become more understandable the further along the book you get and it is actually quite interesting to hear/read the different kinds of thoughts the two main characters have.
The narrators of this book do a brilliant job. As the book takes place in a Scottish island it is marvelous to hear proper accents that belong there and it is something I could not even do in my head. The narrators definitely bring the book more alive and I enjoyed the audiobook. I actually have a feeling that had I read the book myself I would probably not have finished it.

The Dog Share is a story of loss, love and relationships. Suzy is a 40 something woman who's ex partner has left her in a financial mess and responsible for their business that is going under. She visits the remote island where the business is based and meets Scout, an abandoned dog. From the moment that Scout enters her life things begin to start improving, she makes new friends, she has the motivation to get her life sorted, and her teenage children are happier and friendlier. Everyone who meets Scout loves him and two others along with Suzy decide they are going to share caring for him.
This book was not at all what I expected. I enjoyed the unique and beautiful setting on a remote Scottish island. I also particularly liked the fact that the main characters were both in their 40's and had life experience and history. I really wanted this to be cute and I wanted to love it. But unfortunately it was just meh. The characters personalities were bland, the plot was predictable, and I was just left feeling like I didn't care what happened. It's a shame because the book seemed to have so much potential. I don't read very much romance at all as it's not really my thing but even I was left feeling like there should have been more romance in the book!
I listened to the audiobook version and I think the narrators did a great job, they were really easy to listen to and their voices matched the images of the characters in my head. I love when audiobooks have a different narrator for each character perspective.

The Dog Share is a story about how one dog who helps to change the lives of those that care for him. It’s a story of second chances, love, and trust. This heart-warming story is narrated by Catherleen Mccarron and Robin Laing both of whom bring Fiona Gibson’s story to life. Their voices help to conjure up the characters and the scenery which makes it easy to ‘live, the story.’

Suzy, in a bid to show her support for her partner, Paul, becomes a silent business partner in his new project, taking over a whisky distillery on a Hebridean Island, which ,due to Paul’s poor management, is now on the brink of liquidation, When Paul decides he has had enough and walks out of the business and her life, Suzy is left to pick up the pieces and deal with the closure of the distillery. Arthur, a young boy who lives on the mainland with his father Ricky, desperately wants a dog of his own but is unable to have one due to Ricky’s working schedule. Ricky is a single parent trying to give his son the life he deserves, despite the past.

A stray dog, Scout, turns up, unexpectedly at Suzy’s door, whilst she is staying on the island. Scout helps to turn Suzy, Arthur and Ricky’s lives around as they find themselves connected through Scout.

The Dog Share is a fabulous audio book which transported me to the island of Sgadansay. It made me laugh as well as feel the struggles of the characters.


I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Description

The next gloriously uplifting book from the #1 bestselling author of The Mum Who Got Her Life Back.
Suzy Medley is having a bad day…
… when a shabby terrier turns up at her door. Just like Suzy, Scout has been abandoned, although only Suzy has been left with a financial mess and a business in tatters thanks to her ex.
Suzy takes Scout in and her chaotic world changes in unexpected ways: strangers have never been more welcoming and her teenage kids can’t wait to come home to visit.
Then a chance encounter on a windy Hebridean beach makes things more complicated, because Suzy isn’t the only one who needs a friend.
Scout has plenty of love to go round… but does Suzy?
A wonderfully funny and uplifting story about friendship and second chances (and whisky!), perfect for fans of Gill Sims and Jill Mansell


Review

The Dog Share by Fiona Gibson - and uplifting, warm read about love, family and friendship.

I listened to the audio edition.

Dog owners will expound the virtues of owning a dog, and this reinforces those beliefs. All of the characters were well defined, and most entirely likeable apart from the badie of the piece. Suzy manages to overcome the financial obstacles in her way, and all ends well leaving you with a warm fuzzy feeling that all is well with the world. Read, enjoy and escape the world to enjoy this book of second chances for Suzy, Rick and Scout the dog.

Rating ⅘
#TheDogShare #NetGalley

When I saw the title of this book I knew I wanted to listen. Even though my go-to genre is crime, it's good to have a break sometimes and listen to something more lighthearted.

Anyway, what's not to love about a romantic story set mainly on a picturesque Hebridean Island with a cute dog and a whisky distillery thrown in for good measure! The characters were realistic and likeable and it was an enjoyable listen and the two narrators, Cathleen McCarron and Robin Laing did a great job.

A story about stilted people on a Hebridean island centred on a distillery doesn't sound very promising .. but do read on

Suzy is so natural and where a bedraggled stray us concerned kind and loving.
She's on the rugged island to see how bad the debts are at the business her partner wanted to own, but then lost interest in.
Suzy already has a job writing in York, hardly a handy commute.
We also hear the story from the perspective of Ricky, a former islander with a dog-mad son.
The story encompasses much more when both narrators past lives and associates are involved.
The isle of Sgadansay also a major character. Whether wind bludgeoned or bathed in sun it's beauty and natural colours also feature greRlyt in the story.
It's really well written and has so much more depth than a simple love story. The character traits and idiosyncrasies of people make it come alive - then add such a loveble little dog and it becomes really enjouable

This novel is told from a dual perspective. Suzy is a woman in her late forties, that is left on her own to deal with her partner’s “project”, a failing whisky distillery on Hebridean island. I really liked Suzy, she is a strong and hard-working woman, who is ready to take responsibility to save people’s livelihood. Ricky is our second protagonist, he is a single father to an eleven-year-old boy, who really wants a dog. :D Ricky brings funny relationship stories and single parenthood woes to this novel. But all the character in this novel are connected by Scout, a stray dog that Suzy adopts.
The narrative of this novel is pretty easy flowing, and most of the time the characters are sharing their past and present lives and thoughts. The topics discussed in this novel are parenthood, compatibility in relationships, love for dogs, and life in general. I really liked how the author incorporated her life in York and Glasgow in the novel.
The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Cathleen McCarron and Robin Laing, and they have done an amazing job in bringing this book to life. I loved the northern accent, it gave this book a completely different feeling compared to my reading style. I love Scotland, and to hear all the details about nature and the island itself made me want to go there asap. :D The ending of this book rounded up the story very nicely.
So, to conclude, I enjoyed listening to this book, It is set in a beautiful environment with very realistic and believable characters, that make me want to have a pet of my own. :)

*Audiobook review*
This was a cute read at times, but took a long time for me to get to grips with the characters and their connection to each other.
A book about a dog, but from a person who is totally obsessed with dogs, there wasn't enough mention of him, or any other dogs! I was hoping for cute and fluffy (basically, like dogs are to me) but this was very character driven and the dog was the side story!
The narrators were easy to listen to and I liked their accents, and they did well. I just expected more from this than what I got, unfortunately.
Many thanks to the publishers for the copy to review.

This took me a while to get into, i wasn’t a fan of the male narrator to begin with but once I got used to him I started to enjoy the story.
Although predictable it was an enjoyable story, a nice feel good story.

This really is such a lovely and heartwarming story about friendships and second or even third chances at life and love.
When I first glanced at the cover I immediately and wrongly thought this book was going to be about two people who find a dog and have to share ownership; a sort of enemies to lovers rom-com. Sharing of the dog doesn't take place until after the halfway mark of the book. The Dog Share is more of a buildup of events leading up to people sharing the dog. And it is such a lovely read.

At the beginning of the novel, Suzy is in a relationship with an utter eejit or an absolute gobs***e as he would be called here in Inishowen. Ricky is in a brief relationship with someone completely not right for him. She was not very nice and completely indifferent to Ricky's son, Arthur. On a small side note, I didn't really like that 'the childless woman' was yet again portrayed in literature as heartless and lacking in warmth. Ricky's own mother did something terrible but she had issues and reasons for her awful actions to explain it away.

The dual narration of this audiobook was very effective. We got the best of both worlds with a mild Scottish accent for Ricky and the English accent for Suzy. Both narrators were excellent and complemented each other nicely.

I love the main characters in the book. Ricky's grumpy father is annoyed with Suzy but he is the one person she needs on her side. Luckily Scout, the dog, helps to break the ice here. I couldn't help but cheer Suzy on as she tried to make things better at the distillery and slowly win over the locals. Ricky and Suzy also seemed perfect for one another so their burgeoning romance was a delight to read.
What I really loved about the book though is how Suzy grew as a person. She took on a new and scary venture when she knew the possibility of failure was very high. She began to understand herself better and where she'd gone wrong in the past i.e. masking her true self in a relationship in order to fit into a man's perception of her.
I loved that Suzy's move to the island actually made her world so much bigger. With the help of Scout her social contacts grew, she had a new love interest and new friendships were formed.

The setting of the story made me want to get a wee dog and put the Hebrides on my list of places to go visit next.