Book Review: Worst In Show by Anna E. Collins

‘Worst In Show’ by Anna E. Collins was published in 2024. It is a rivals-to-lovers romance novel that follows Cora and Leo, rival pet store owners. While Cora works for a family business, Leo is a swanky, former Wall Street worker, who moved into the empty lot across the street with his luxury dog business.

To be perfectly honest, by the half-way point, I was loving everything about this book. I was more than ready to give this book five-stars, and had even pre-emptively started a review singing Collins’ praises for a story that stars dogs and tells such a compelling story – but I had to delete a lot of that by the latter end of the book, where Collins, in a book released in 2024, used the slur, “s*****c” with reference to an expression her protagonist had on her face.

Now, I am a neurodivergent person myself, and to see a word that has been regarded as a slur be published by Hachette in 2024 was absolutely appalling. Furthermore, the use of the word completely threw me out of the narrative. had I not already listened to over two thirds of the audiobook, I would have returned it, and DNF-ed on the spot, demanding a refund. The last hour and a half of the story was listened to on double speed out of sheer spite. I wanted to savour a good love story, not rush through it. There were amazing elements, completely soured by the use of a slur.

What I would have loved to say was how I’d enjoyed the ways that Cora and Leo bonded with each other, even if the mid-point plot twist was so obvious that I saw it from a mile away. Though, I wouldn’t be able to say whether that is a flaw in the writing, or because I am a sucker for a good trope.

I would have loved to elaborate on all the elements that I liked, except, I can’t do that in a good conscience. Anyone who knows me in the real world will have heard me gush about how much I love a love story that showcases dogs. And what drew my ire more than anything else was that I had had this book on my TBR for months before it came out, and bought the audiobook the second my credits renewed. I was so excited, and everything fell short for me with the use of a slur.

Some may call this petty, but I think it is essential to hold authors accountable. I wouldn’t say don’t read it, but I’d say that the use of the word “s*****c” completely ruined the reading experience for me, so this won’t be a book I would go out of my way to recommend. If you do choose to give this story a chance, I hope you enjoy it, because in my opinion, it truly could have been great.