Review (and a Giveaway!): Sit Stay Love by Dana Mentink

What do you get when you add one abrasive professional athlete, a quirky out-of-work schoolteacher, and an overweight geriatric dog? A lesson in love—Tippy style—in Dana Mentink’s new book, Sit, Stay, Love. As Gina travels through Cal’s world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too. . . .

Pro baseball pitcher Cal Crawford is not a dog guy. When he inherits his deceased mother’s elderly dog, Tippy, he’s quick to call on a pet-sitting service.

Gina isn’t thrilled to be a dog sitter when her aspirations lie in the classroom. Furthermore, she can’t abide the unfriendly Cal, a man with all the charm of a wet towel. But with no other prospects and a deep love for all things canine, she takes the job caring for Tippy.

As Gina travels through Cal’s world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too…

Discover the charming story of Tippy, the dog who brought a family together.

SERIES: Love Unleashed #1
GENRE: Contemporary Romance, Christian
PUBLISHER: Harvest House
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2016
PAGES: 224

There’s just something about Tippy…

Oh indeed.

Sit Stay Love by Dana Mentink is at its heart a love story.  A love story between a man and a woman.  A love story between a man and God.  A love story between America and baseball.  And a love story between a quirky elderly dog and the humans she acquires. I adored all of the above!

The mood is the right mix of humor and emotion as well as hold-your-breath romance. I delighted in each character, except perhaps for the ones I was supposed to dislike.  I even – dare I say it – enjoyed the baseball aspects of this novel. (Full disclosure: I am so not a sports person.  And on the rare occasions when I do watch sports, baseball ranks just above golf in my “would rather watch paint dry” level of interest.) So, if you are also not a sports fan, never fear! This novel will delight you anyway 😀

Cal is one of those brooding heroes we all love so much. Plus, he’s an athlete… so… muscles. 😀 But he has some issues to work through. Gina is a hoot! Just about as opposite from Cal as she could possibly be… and exactly what he needs.  And then there’s Tippy. Tippy who won’t eat unless Cal sits on the floor with her.  Tippy who goes “off leash” at the most inopportune times.  Tippy who has a thing for car keys.  Tippy who wiggles her way into Cal’s heart in spite of his best intentions otherwise.

Since I’m the human that belongs to another quirky dog like Tippy, I asked Zuzu for her thoughts on Sit Stay Love as well. Here’s what she had to say.

Zuzu: woof, woof, tail wag, woof, AAAARROOOOOOOO, whimper, woof, happy pant, happy pant, woof, snuffle, whimper, woof, woof, WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF, tail wag, tail wag, slobbery kiss, tail wag, woof.

Umm… soo… translation:

Zuzu thinks that she and Tippy would be great friends.  She totally bonded with her over the “I’ll just keep laying here with my legs in the air until you rub my tummy some more” scene.  Zuzu has found that to be personally effective 9 out of 1o times, so Tippy seems to be legit as well a kindred canine spirit. Zuzu had to give me back the book at one point though, saying with her big brown eyes, “Tell me when it’s over”.  That was all Cal’s fault. She was overjoyed that he came to his senses…. the pound gives Zuzu nightmares from back when she too was in the hoosegow. Before we rescued her. It’s been 9 years, but it’s still too soon 😉 She felt that Tippy’s author did a wonderful job writing about how sad Tippy was when she couldn’t find her late owner.  It made Mommy (me) cry, and Zuzu felt a lump in her own throat as well.  Extra cuddle times for all after that chapter! Zuzu – as you can tell – experienced a wide range of other emotions during Sit Stay Love – she laughed at Tippy’s antics, we’ve covered the angst, and she felt a great deal of panic for her new doggy pal for a couple of chapters. At the risk of revealing any spoilers, I’ll let you translate those last few reactions on your own 🙂

Bottom Line: I can’t recommend this book highly enough! It’s fun. It’s quirky. It’s delightfully entertaining! It’s uplifting and emotional and full of cute humor and sweet romance and great characters.  Whether you love baseball or you just show up for the food, Sit Stay Love and Dana Mentink may make fans of you by the end of the book.  Dog lovers, this one needs to be on your wish list for sure!

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)

My Rating: 5 stars / Delightful!

KissingBook Level: 3 / May forget to breathe on occasion

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1W95mqe

(A portion of the proceeds of Sit Stay Love will be donated toward senior dog rescue.)

See what others are saying: Litfuse

Dana Mentink lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist for romantic suspense and an award winner in the Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third and fourth grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with her husband, two daughters, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle, and a feisty parakeet.

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Join Dana in celebrating the release of Sit, Stay, Love with a blog tour and a Travels with Tippy prize pack giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Sit, Stay, Love
• A $75 Visa cash card
• A basket filled with Tippy-themed goodies
  • Travel-themed decorator box
  • Reading dog statue
  • Dog journal
  • Poems for Dog Lovers
  • Snuggle Paws fleece blanket from Animal Rescue Site
  • Pawprint scarf
  • Doxie desk pen
  • Pupmobile auto magnet

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry! The giveaway ends on April 25th. The winner will be announced April 26th on Dana’s blog.