As a huge dog lover, I was immediately smitten with the cover of A Pug’s Tale by Allison Pace. And I’m happy to report that I was just an enamored with the story as I was with the cover. The heroine, Hope, works at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, has a boyfriend that is currently living in Africa with Lawyers without Borders, and is starting to get lonely. She only has Max to talk to- which is her boyfriend’s pug that she is in possession of until Ben returns back to New York. While attending a pug party at the Met in honor of Daphne, another pug owner/lover and an investor with the museum, Max leads Hope to a fake painting sitting in her office. It looks as though someone has stolen the original, and wants Hope to know about it. The mystery of the stolen painting is the main focus of the book, with scavenger hunt clues, a so-so private detective, and Hope’s co-workers looking at each other suspiciously. Hope it determined to solve the mystery, and hopes to figure out her life at the same time. Will Ben ever come home from Africa? Does she want him, or is she still crushing on her boss, Elliott, who is getting engaged and questioning if Hope is the painting thief?
This is a really cute book, and I always like a little mystery with my chick lit. Hope is a very convincing character, super sweet and genuine, but that is a little lost when it comes down to her personal life. I wish there had been a little more emphasis on her boyfriend, because it was hard to tell if she really loved him or what the deal was there. I kept thinking she was going to get with Elliott because he was talked about so much more than the actual BF. Daphne’s character was super kooky yet really fun to read about. I loved the way the ending worked out with her (no spoilers here) and it gave me a good laugh when I read it. I thought this was a light read that was fun throughout the way, and a great book for dog lovers to pick up. Sometimes I did think the plot was getting a little too out there, but it was still interesting enough to keep me engrossed. I guess this is actually a sequel to Pug Hill, which I didn’t realize until I was almost halfway through the book, and that was because I was doing research on it. If you haven’t read the first one, I wouldn’t worry, I didn’t feel that I was missing anything, but I will definitely grab a copy of Pug Hill to read as well!
[Rating: 4]
