I’ve loved Claire Cook’s books since I picked up Must Love Dogs and read it before it was a movie. I’ve read most of her other books and loved them all.

This is book 2, a sequel to Must Love Dogs. We’re back with Sarah and her quirky and crazy family, and her new boyfriend John, all introduced in the original book.

I expected to love this one as I do everything else by Claire, but … I didn’t.

It was just … okay.

I’ve been mulling and thinking for a few days, trying to put my finger on the problem.

Part of it is the John character. He and Sarah are dating exclusively now. John has a dog, a cute and fluffy thing named Horatio who doesn’t really like Sarah much. John turned into a bit of a girl, the way he fawned over the dog, and put the dog ahead of Sarah. I didn’t like him for that. He seemed weak and not the alpha-male-hero I like in fiction.

Part of it was the plot. A lot of Claire Cook’s charm is in her quirky secondary characters and the crazy things they do. Nothing much happened until Sarah, two of her siblings, and dad hit Savannah for a brief vacation.

I’ll continue to read Claire Cook, but I’m hoping this one slipped past her usual editing team and the next ones will recover their customary glory.