Must Love Dogs series

First the bestselling novel. Then the romantic comedy movie adaptation starring Diane Lane and John Cusack.

Now Must Love Dogs is an 8-book series!

“Must Love Dogs has already been a major motion picture, and now New York Times bestselling author Claire Cook’s hilarious and heartwarming series is begging to hit the screen again.”—New York Journal of Books

“With all the stress and hardship in the world, Claire Cook’s Must Love Dogs: Lucky Enough (#8), has once again delivered to us a perfect respite from it all. It is a wonderful comfort read, one with great humor and heart and substance. I can’t wait to see what happens next!”—Candace Hammond

“Funny and pitch perfect.” –Chicago Tribune
“Wildly witty” –USA Today
“Cook dishes up plenty of charm.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“A hoot” –The Boston Globe

Get started with the Must Love Dogs eBook Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
BUY: Kindle | Nook | Apple | Kobo | GooglePlay

Visit the Amazon Must Love Dogs series page to find paperbacks and ebooks:
Amazon US
Amazon International Links

Must Love Dogs (#1)

“Voluptuous, sensuous, alluring and fun. Barely 40 DWF seeks special man to share starlit nights. Must love dogs.”

Divorced preschool teacher Sarah Hurlihy’s first mistake is letting her bossy big sister write her personal ad. Her second mistake is showing up to meet her first date in more than a decade. Now she’s juggling her teaching job, her big, rollicking, interfering south-of-Boston Irish family, and more men than she knows what to do with. And what’s up with all these dogs that are suddenly galloping into her life?

Claire Cook’s most enduring characters are back in Must Love Dogs: New Leash on Life, Book 2 of the hilarious and heartwarming Must Love Dogs series.

Life after divorce for Sarah Hurlihy used to consist of juggling her job as a preschool teacher with the demands of her interfering family. But after a rocky start, Sarah and John Anderson have shared six months of dating bliss. Now their relationship is basically on hold because Sarah’s brother Michael and his dog are staying with her. And John’s new puppy Horatio hates Sarah. With a passion.

Michael hopes absence will, in fact, make his wife’s heart grow fonder. Sarah hopes she can do her sisterly duty and send Michael on his merry way before she ends up single again herself. John hopes Sarah and his puppy can work things out before it’s too late.

Must Love Dogs: Fetch You Later, Book 3 of the hilarious and heartwarming Must Love Dogs series.

Sarah Hurlihy knows how to move on to the next guy. But she really, really doesn’t want to do that anymore.

What she wants to figure out is how to stick around and make things work with John Anderson. But John’s suggestion for a romantic trip to canine camp before Sarah’s job as a preschool teacher gears up again is sounding anything but romantic, and Sarah and her sisters are worried about their father’s new girlfriend, Sweepstakes Sally.

And there’s a hot new male teacher at Bayberry Preschool. Could it be that what Sarah wants and what she needs are two entirely different things?

Must Love Dogs: Bark & Roll Forever, Book 4 of the Must Love Dogs series.

Sarah and John are finally going to move in together. But where? And what’s up with Sarah’s ex enrolling his twins at Bayberry Preschool and Sarah’s wasband’s wife trying to sell Sarah’s house right out from under her? Sarah’s new teaching assistant has a secret, her niece Siobhan has a boyfriend who could be trouble, and her dad has a new job working for the Bark & Roll Forever ladies as well as plans to date at least one of them!

Must Love Dogs: Who Let the Cats In?, Book 5 of the Must Love Dogs series.

Sarah and John are buying Sarah’s family house, and they’re hoping their relationship will survive it. Sarah’s dad is part of the deal, and so is the litter of kittens they’ve discovered under the front porch. Finding a contractor isn’t as easy as they thought it would be, one of the parents at Bayberry Preschool is driving Sarah crazy, and a big nor’easter is barreling toward town.

Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail, Book 6 of the Must Love Dogs series.

In the charming small beach town of Marshbury, Massachusetts, preschool teacher Sarah has the heartbreak of a messy divorce behind her and the promise of a second chance with John ahead. When she finds out that buying the family house also means hosting the holidays, her only goal is survival. They’ve got a house full of animals and a renovation in full throttle. Sarah’s single and pregnant teaching assistant Polly is staying with them, too, as is her brother Johnny, whose marriage is on the rocks, and Sarah has just been made chair of the Bayberry Preschool holiday performance. Can she and John survive all this?

Must Love Dogs: Hearts & Barks, Book 7 of the Must Love Dogs series

Valentine’s Day is in the air and Sarah is feeling more relationship-challenged than ever. John wants to elope. Sarah just wants to survive February, the longest-shortest month of the year, plus it’s not exactly easy to get someone to watch their two dogs and five cats. Polly’s baby bump is a constant reminder to Sarah that everybody else and their goat seem to be able to get pregnant like it’s no big deal at all. Cupid’s arrows are misfiring everywhere, and even Sarah’s bossy big sister Carol could be heading for trouble. Bayberry Preschool has declared a moratorium on Valentine’s Day candy, so who’s leaving those conversation hearts taped to the classroom door?

Must Love Dogs: Lucky Enough, Book 8 of the Must Love Dogs series

If you live in Marshbury, Massachusetts, that picture postcard perfect seaside town an hour south of Boston and the epicenter of the Irish Riviera, it’s pretty much mandatory to be a little bit Irish for the whole month of March. Preschool teacher Sarah probably should have warned John about that once they bought the Hurlihy family house. And she definitely should have told him that half the town would be watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade from their front yard.

In her defense, Sarah has a lot on her plate. Hormones are flying every which way as she and John ramp up their fertility journey, their five rescue cats get spayed and neutered, and assistant teacher-slash-housemate Polly gets ready to give birth with Sarah’s bossy big sister as her labor coach. To add to the chaos, a new garage addition with a secret exit is about to go up, Sarah’s dad is still living and dating away in his mancave, they can’t seem to get that canned ham trailer removed from the yard, and one of the dogs needs a name change. And like that’s not enough, Bayberry Preschool is filled with malarkey and shenanigans and a wily green leprechaun is on the loose.

If you’re lucky enough to enjoy another fun adventure with Must Love Dog’s loveably quirky cast of characters, you really are lucky enough. Jump right in—you’ll be wagging your tail in no time.

Find Must Love Dogs movie pics

Praise for Must Love Dogs

“A hilariously original tale about dating and its place in a modern woman’s life.” –BookPage

“Funny and pitch-perfect.”—The Chicago Tribune

“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.”—The Washington Post

“A hoot.”—The Boston Globe

“A hilariously original tale about dating and its place in a modern woman’s life.”—BookPage

“Claire Cook’s Must Love Dogs, a book that’s got more giggles than soda bread has raisins.”—Hartford Courant

“This utterly charming second novel by Cook is a fun read, perfect for whiling away an afternoon on the beach.” —Library Journal

“There is a compelling honesty and gentleness to Claire Cook’s work that I find irresistible. Warm and real and insightfully funny; resonant with the small truths and laughs of recognition that elevate and illuminate our daily struggles within this complex and complicated new American world.”—Gary David Goldberg

“If you haven’t read a Claire Cook book yet, start with this one. You don’t need to have read the first book, but why not grab that one, too, and read it? Her books are like potato chips – you can’t have just one!”-Pamela Kramer, National Book Reviewer, Examiner.com

“Claire Cook’s novel Must Love Dogs was such a huge success that it was made into a hit movie starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. Now Cook is back with a sequel in Must Love Dogs: New Leash on Life, which proves just as delightful . . . Cook’s penchant for humor is evidenced clearly in this sequel, making this a delightful and fun read, and leaving one to wonder if this book will also be made into a heartwarming and comedic movie.” -Nancy Lepri, New York Journal of Books

“Though the third book in [the] series, one does not need to read the previous two, but most assuredly will want to. Funny and heartwarming, Must Love Dogs: Fetch You Later reflects Ms. Cook’s ability to inject comedy into every day circumstances, supplying a remarkable and compelling read.”—Nancy C. Lepri, New York Journal of Books

“If you’re looking for the perfect novel to throw in your beach bag this summer, Must Love Dogs: Bark and Roll Forever is it.”—Stephanie Burns, Book Perfume

“Claire Cook has done it again. Must Love Dogs: Bark and Roll Forever is another fun visit with the irrepressible Sarah Hurlihy and her family. Sarah is such a wonderful main character, with all of her quirks and personality flaws, she is so likable and real.”—Laurie WJN, Looking on the Sunnyside

“You’ll want to start this series at the beginning with the original ‘Must Love Dogs’ so you don’t miss a minute in the lives of the characters. Be careful: You might become hooked. Reading about how life goes on for this wacky but marvelously lovable family becomes as addictive as Frango mints.”—Pamela Kramer, National Book Reviewer, Examiner

“Must Love Dogs: Bark & Roll Forever is the fourth installment in the Must Love Dogs series, and this edition is sure to please. Cook displays uncanny humor and draws the reader into this uproarious family. This totally delightful novel reads like a Hallmark movie.”—Nancy Carty Lepri, New York Journal of Books

First the bestselling novel. Then the romantic comedy movie adaptation starring Diane Lane and John Cusack.

Now Must Love Dogs is an 8-book series!

Praise for Must Love Dogs

Connect with Me: