Rent Walking in Circles Before Lying Down

I almost sent this audiobook back after listening to the first disk. The reader is too cutesy and the characters surrounding the heroine are all such selfish jerks that the story seemed to be both unoriginal and tiresome. Then the dogs start talking and it becomes a delight. I've read enough stories like this to wonder if people really live in a world where EVERYONE they know is selfish and self-absorbed or is this just an easy trick used by authors to create sympathy for their protagonists by surrounding them with jerks. If the former is true then I don't sympathize with heroes/doormats who allow themselves to be used by such obviously undeserving creeps and if the latter is true, then the novel should be ditched because the author is too lazy to construct a story where the hero is sympathetic without being made a victim. Despite this basic flaw, the audiobook is still worth a listen because the personalities of the dogs are absolutely delightful. They save this story from boring predictability and terminal cuteness.