Susan Donovan, Ain't Too Proud To Beg

Ain't Too Proud To Beg

Susan Donovan

St. Martin's, Nov 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9780312366049

San Francisco Herald obit writer Josephine Sheehan would like a two legged hunk in her life; her only male being Genghis the Labradoodle. However, her work is not exactly the best place to meet a man. Although she promises her friends to give up men for dogs, she draws up a list of the attributes of her ideal man.

Soon afterward, she meets Celestial Pet Superstore owner Rick Rousseau who was working as a groomer at one of his fourteen shops. She asks him out for coffee, but he agrees though he has sworn to have a life of celibacy as his comatose girlfriend Margot Cumming never recovered from their motorcycle accident that left him severely injured. When the CEO and the reporter first meet, each hopes this is their eternal mate. However, when Josephine writes the obit for his girlfriend who just died after seven years in a coma in Rhode island, she has doubts that she can deal with it or him anymore even as Margot's raging father Bennett vowed vengeance once again.

This is a lighthearted contemporary wacky romance that feels like a throwback to the 1930s madcap comedies. The lead couple is an entertaining pair struggling with issues especially him while the support cast is solid except for Teeny's knees. Fans will enjoy this fun dog-walking tale while wondering if Katherine Hepburn will play Josie (should have been a cat-walker) and Cary Grant as Rick.

Harriet Klausner