Pardon My Frenchie

Though I’ve always been a cat person, I loving seeing any pets take a central role in books, and that includes dogs! This led me to Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon. It stars a French Bulldog and—my personal dream dog—a Standard Poodle.

Ashanti runs a successful doggie daycare, Barkingham Palace, as well as her rapidly growing side hustle of selling dog treats. One of her long-time clients has just moved into assisted living, so her grandson, Thad, is now in charge of her dog. Ashanti’s Frenchie, Duchess, and Thad’s grandmother’s Poodle, Puddin’, get along super well, but Ashanti and Thad? Not so much! When their dogs become internet famous—the kind that can help promote their respective business ventures—Ashanti and Thad are forced to spend a lot more time together… and maybe they actually kind of like each other?

What I Liked:

• Puppy love! Of course, Duchess and Puddin’ are super cute and I love them both. But I also enjoyed the antagonists-to-lovers arc between Ashanti and Thad. I appreciate that they don’t go full-blown enemies; that would be rather uncalled for in this story. They get off on the wrong foot and have clashing goals involving a certain house for sale, but they’re mature adults who are pretty reasonable. Maybe they can be friends…. who happen to be attracted to each other…
• Neither has to sacrifice their business goals. Yes, they want the same building. But I was pleased that neither is forced to give up their goals in order for the other character to get their own win. Ashanti has some tough choices to make, being spread so thin between two businesses, and I think she makes the right choice in the end. I love that Ashanti and Thad are able to go after their goals together and not compete.
• Family ties. Ashanti is raising her younger twin sisters after tragedy took her parents, and she’s having a hard time understanding what has Kendra so closed off. Thad is close to his grandmother and late grandfather, but his recent genealogy searches have led to some shocking discoveries. The importance of family, communication, and helping each other through challenges is done well and helps fill out the story.

Final Thoughts

Pardon My Frenchie is such a cute and heartfelt book! I loved the slow burn romance between Thad and Ashanti and seeing both go after career success with their perfect dogs by their sides. The second book in the series, Pugs & Kisses, just came out earlier this week too, and I can’t wait to read it. Farrah Rochon is an author I look forward to reading more of!

Special thanks to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Pardon My Frenchie here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
Series	(#1)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Romance
Setting	New Orleans
Number of Pages	384
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	June 4, 2024
Publisher	Forever

Official Summary

The New York Times bestselling author of Almost There delivers the start of a new rom-com series with an enemies-to-lovers romance, perfect for readers of Abby Jimenez and Jasmine Guillory.

Ashanti Wright is thrilled over the success of her doggie daycare, Barkingham Palace. But handling the business and taking care of her teen twin sisters is a lot. And now that the antics of her adorable French bulldog and poodle bestie are blowing up on social media, things are even more chaotic than usual. And they only get worse when the world’s worst dog hater shows up.

Thad Sims is not a dog person. He’s barely a person’s person. But after his grandmother is transferred to a senior living facility that doesn’t accept pets, the former army officer agrees to care for her annoying standard poodle, and his first move is taking Puddin’ out of daycare.

Now Ashanti’s beloved Duchess is bereft of her companion, social media is outraged, and Ashanti’s business is hanging in the balance. Her only option is to make nice with the surly, sexy Thad at all costs. But it’s gonna take a tiara-wearing Frenchie, a well-dressed poodle, and a whole lotta treats to teach these humans a few new tricks about falling in love.