Laugh out loud funny! Dog Training the American Male: A Novel, by L.A. Knight will have you in stitches. The novel follows Dr. Nancy Beach, a relationship counselor and radio talk show host, who ironically is not able to make her own relationships work. So how is a relationship counselor able to help other people with their relationships when in fact she was married twice, and is not able to get far in her own personal relationships?
Dr. Nancy Beach is in jeopardy of losing her talk show when she realizes that not many people are tuning in to listen to what she has to say. Her boss, Olivia Cabot, who is quite a character herself, has warned her that they will not be renewing her talk show if things do not improve. This in addition to the fact that a woman walked out of her ‘Sunshine Hour’ because she didn’t see Nancy as competent, is all a jolt to Nancy. She realizes that she needs to make a lot of changes or she will be out of a job.
We then have the very neurotic and weird Jacob Cope who turns her life upside down. The very meticulous Nancy Beach is now living with a messy and nonchalant Jacob Cope. Jacob tries to get into Nancy’s good graces by bringing home Sam, a huge German Sherpard who is untrained, and exasperates Nancy. Once Nancy gets a trainer for Sam, it’s almost like a lightbulb goes off in her head. She finally knows how she can save her radio talk show, keep her job, and create a better relationship with Jacob. The similarity between a dog and a man is treats! Soon Nancy realizes that she can use the same tools that she uses to train Sam to also train Jacob; this leads her to the realization that she can use this method to save her radio talk show by teaching other women how to train their husbands/boyfriends to make the changes that they want. Unbeknownst to her, while she is busy training and using these techniques on her boyfriend, she doesn’t realize that he is being pursued by three nymphos that have a bet to see who he sleeps with first. Olivia Cabot, Ruby Kleinhenz, and Cyril are all trying to bed Jacob.
You will not be able to control your laughter with the hijinks that occur when Nancy discovers Jacob in a room with Ruby Kleinhenz; the shock dive watch; realizing that her boss, Olivia Cabot, is after her boyfriend; and Truman Cabot being circumcised all in the name of love? While I would not use a shock dive watch to train a boyfriend, the fact that these women go to the extremes of doing acts like this is what makes this story a fun novel to read.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.
Dog Training the American Male: A Novel, is L.A. Knight’s debut novel and it’s a great one at that. Both sexes will enjoy reading this quirky take on how to housebreak the male species. All the characters were very well developed and added to the hilarity of the novel as a whole. This is definitely one of those books that you need to add to your reading list. The novel is available through Amazon. For more information on the author and to connect with him, make sure to check out his website. This is definitely a must read book!
Twisted Talk: Have you read this novel? What did you think? If you haven’t, will you add it to your reading list? Discuss below!
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