text: At the young age of 25 Julie Barenson loses her husband. Shortly after he dies, a great dane puppy is delivered to her home with a note from her late husband. This part will give you the chills ... nice touch.  She names him Singer, and despite her frustrations with his size and clumsy mannerisms they grow to love each other.   After a few years of trying to get her life back together after her tragic loss, Julie begins dating 2 men--Richard, a handsome charmer who wines & dines her, brings her lavish gifts and professes his undying love very early in the relationship. The other, Mike, is a simple down to earth country type whose idea of a date is a burger, Doritos & a couple beers at the local watering hole.  So who would you choose? Ouch! I'll stop there with the comment that this could have been such a compelling story.  Instead, we are faced with trite, boring, repetitive dialogue throughout, scatterings of viewpoint shifts and a very predictible plot.  I cannot believe this is the same author who wrote The Notebook, one of my all time favorite novels. I'll have to admit the ending brought on a gush of tears.  In conclusion, Singer not only saved his owner but the book as well.
  