Description
Book SynopsisMeet Dr. Nancy Beach, a relationship counselor who hosts a local radio show called “Love’s a Beach.” One problem: The relationship guru can’t seem to make her own relationships work, sending her credibility and ratings into the toilet. Meet Jacob Cope—a walking thesaurus of phobias—a Lehman Brothers casualty who’s lost his job and swagger and now yearns to be a ventriloquist. When Nancy and Jacob are set up on a blind date and hit it off, their siblings, desperate to be rid of them, encourage the young couple to move in together. When the honeymoon stage abruptly ends, Jacob attempts to mend the fence by adopting a dog—a big dog—and Nancy flips out . . . until she realizes the dog trainer’s techniques can be used to housebreak Jacob and save her radio career.
Trade ReviewIn Knight’s comic debut novel, a relationship expert turns to dog-training strategies in order to domesticate her incorrigible boyfriend and save her flagging career. . . .The book is funny in the best way: the humor propels the action rather than pausing it. . . .[T]he authorial hand is mostly well-hidden, and the prose flows like a jocular babbling brook. More impressively, the central characters transcend their stock roles and grow into legitimately compelling subjects. Incident by unlikely incident, we are pulled deeper into their lives until it is their fates (not merely their quips) that keep us turning the pages. Knight is a naturally comic writer; what is more, she is a talented storyteller. A lighthearted work with well-drawn characters and genuine laughs. * Kirkus *
Teaching your old dog new tricks simply requires the right treat—so goes the story of Dog Training the American Male, a riotous romp through relationships of the young, the old, and the restless. . . . Comedic newcomer L.A. Knight offers a fresh farce replete with a cast of well-drawn characters, fast-paced wit, and merging cinematic storylines that triumph as a novel, but would feel equally right on a London stage, as a Netflix original, or in a theater near you. Dog Training is a new look at age-old male–female quandaries, but also a book for mature readers that will find more than one male looking at himself—and suddenly realizing why he's so eager to help with the dishes. * The Mountain Times *
Laugh out loud funny! What really makes this book connect with everyone is that men and women have been trying to change, or at least understand, each other for centuries, and this book takes a different approach to that issue. . . .Both sexes will enjoy this quirky take. * ManhattanWithATwist.com *
A spirited romp through a peculiar carnival of fascinatingly fresh and ultimately irresistible characters. * The Examiner *
