Cold Nose, Warm Heart

Take a run-down building next to a dog park, a VERY busy dog park that has become THE place in the community, an idea for redevelopment of the run down building and two people who can’t quite decide if they are attracted or repelled by their own different agendas and you get this. With plenty of tug toys, character, cute dogs and an issue for the doggie community (the two-leggers not the four) to rally around. Because the rundown Miami Beach apartment building is the PERFECT location for new, updated, luxurious condos. It’s just that Caleb’s plans mean the Fur Haven Dog Park will be no more. He’s only got to get people to see what he can bring to the table when he works, or so he hopes, hand in hand with the building manager Riley. This was cute – particularly for the outrage on Riley’s part (along with the others who bring dogs to play at the ‘park’ regularly. She and Caleb are really well matched and could be really good together – if he weren’t planning on paving over the park. Although “refurbishing” the apartments would be plausible – if not quite as lucrative as condos, there’s still plenty that Caleb has to work through to see what is possible. Clever for the community (people and dogs) who add personality and voice to first their protests, then their skills – to reach a conclusion that will suit everyone. A quick read that lacked much of the development between Caleb and Riley that I was hoping for – there wasn’t really anything that “wrong” here – it just didn’t feel as if their relationship had a real foundation. And the friends to enemies to lovers vibe that I think formed the plot points never really felt as if they were solidly meant to be there – it went quickly and that lack of build up kept the emotions pent up and not very accessible. It was cute and surprisingly low-angst despite the community resistance and involvement – and the dogs were cute, but never really jumped up to beg for time in the story. I think that if you want a quick escape read – this is it. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

A 'furry' little story. Cold Nose Warm Heart is my first book by Mara Wells. I was drawn in by the cover-who can resist a cute furbaby??? Plus, I was missing my own who had recently passed, so I took a chance with this story. Pet’s have a way of knowing if someone has a good heart and the furry characters in here certainly knew their stuff. Riley and Caleb- the human element- were a lovely couple. They were drawn to one another, but they had some challenges to overcome. Caleb wanted to build an apartment complex where Riley and her friends had their dog park. It leads to some issues and confrontations. This was an easy read, if a bit predictable. But still enjoyable all the same.