“If Must Love Dogs is any indication of her talents, readers will hope that Claire Cook will be telling breezy summer stories from the South Shore of Massachusetts for seasons to come.”

“[A] laugh-out-loud novel….a light and lively read for anyone who has tried to re-enter the dating scene or tried to `fix up' somebody else.” -Boston Herald

• Must Love Dogs was a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection, as well as a Book Sense 76 pick in hardcover and a Book Sense 76 Top Ten Paperback pick.

• Must Love Dogs was adapted to a feature film starring John Cusack and Diane Lane by Gary David Goldberg.

"Claire Cook's characters aren't rich or glamorous -- they're physically imperfect, emotionally insecure, and deeply familiar. Must Love Dogs is a sweet, funny novel about first dates and second chances."

"In Must Love Dogs, Claire Cook provides the reader with a captivating, gentle heroine, her idiosyncratic family, and love interests ranging from the mundane to the profane. All that with great humor and the innocent insistence of puppies. This story is so delicious, so funny, so warm, that one engages on the first page and still wants more on the last. A truly joyful read."

"Sarah Hurlihy is an endearing heroine who manages to deal with her wacky family, her preschoolers, and her search for the perfect man and the perfect pooch with warmth, wit and wisdom. I found myself rooting for her from page one. Must Love Dogs is a must read for the summer."

"Reading Claire Cook's Must Love Dogs is like sitting down with a close friend -- a really entertaining close friend. Its heroine will strike a familiar chord in any woman who's been through a divorce, dusted herself off, and ventured back into the dating jungle. Funny and quirky and honest."

"Reading Must Love Dogs is like having lunch with your best friend -- fun, breezy and full of laughs."

"Can another novel about a 40-year-old divorcee creating a new life for herself actually be of interest? Surprisingly, yes . . . this novel is a hoot."

". . . if "Must Love Dogs" is any indication of her talents, readers will hope that Claire Cook will be telling breezy summer stories from the South Shore of Massachusetts for seasons to come."

" 'Eternally hopeful book reviewer seeks wildly witty novel on singles scene/personal ads. Stylish prose and sense of humor preferred. Looking for fun, not longterm entanglement. Must love readers.' Respondents to such an ad might include Claire Cook, whose new novel, Must Love Dogs, tells the story of a down-to-earth divorcee seeking companionship through the personals. . ."

"Claire Cook's "Must Love Dogs," a book that's got more giggles than soda bread has raisins."

"This utterly charming second novel by Cook (Ready to Fall) is a fun read, perfect for whiling away an afternoon on the beach."

"In an age when whiny novels about 30-something "singletons" whose sole goal in life seems to be snagging a decent man, Must Love Dogs is a refreshing antidote. . . .Reading about Sarah Hurlihy's travails is like talking to a comedic, self-deprecating friend. Cook's humor breezes through the pages as she details the perils -- and perks -- of plunging back into the dating scene."

"Cook employs just enough glibness and smarty-pants humor to make this tart slice-of-the-single-life worth reading."

"This book has one of the funniest first chapters I've ever read, and the hilarity mounts from there. A recently divorced preschool teacher is reentering the dating scene at the behest of her large, Irish-Catholic family, who try to set her up with someone . . . anyone. Zany, colorful characters and a plot with a Murphy's Law kind of inevitability make this a great, fun read."

"This book is laugh-out-loud funny! A divorced preschool teacher is completely endearing as she tries to understand the dating scene, a place she's not been for many a year. Mix in an eccentric Boston-Irish family, a few dogs, and some questionable men, and you are swept up in a madcap romp."

Sarah Hurlihy's second mistake is letting her sister write a personal ad for her. (Her first was answering one, and getting the surprise of her life.) Now she's juggling her job at the preschool, her interfering family, and more men than she knows what to do with. It might beat mindless evenings watching “The Brady Bunch,” but not by much. And what's with all the dogs that are suddenly bounding into her life?

It takes a few wrong men…and some tangles with a Saint Bernard named Mother Teresa…before Sarah begins to appreciate the riotous ride she's on, and to see through the confusion to where her heart's desire truly lies.

Gary David Goldberg is the writer/director/producer of Must Love Dogs, the movie! Gary created "Family Ties," "Brooklyn Bridge," "Spin City" and many other innovative and successful television series, as well as the feature films,"Dad" and "Bye Bye Love." He's so talented, and such a great guy. His company, UBU Productions, is the one that has the black lab barking at the end and, "Sit, Ubu, sit."

In the book, Mother Teresa is a St. Bernard. In the movie, she's played by twin Newfoundland puppies named Mollie and Maeve. They were around six months old when the movie was filmed, and they're now lucky enough to live with Gary David Goldberg and the rest of his pack. Those are my kids petting Mollie (at least I think it's Mollie) on the set.

To find links to photos of all the other wonderful actors in Must Love Dogs, go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417001/fullcredits

"Diane Lane and John Cusack are irresistible in the most joyous girl-and-boyous romance of the year."