Blurb:
U.S
Army Night Stalker Major Aidan Kilcannon leaves Afghanistan after his best
friend, Charlie, is killed in action. Aidan's only consolation is the knowledge
that he's now solely responsible for Charlie's dog, Ruff, a rambunctious boxer
they'd found in a bombed-out hospital in Kabul. With the help of Aidan's
father, the Dogfather himself, they transport Ruff back to the States. He
arrives shortly after Aidan, and both dog and man are suffering from loss,
trauma, and sudden change. Aidan is certain his only hope is the comfort and
love he gets from Ruff, and that this dog will help him adjust to the
staggeringly difficult transition from battlefield to Bitter Bark.
But
the day Ruff arrives, Daniel Kilcannon informs his son that Rebecca Spencer,
Charlie's younger sister, has a hard and fast claim on Ruff and she intends to
honor her brother's wishes. Aidan has to relinquish the dog to her, no matter
how impossible that is.
Beck
Spencer is in Bitter Bark temporarily to help the only living relatives she has
left. After losing her parents as a child, and her brother six months ago, she,
too, hopes that Ruff will offer the solace and companionship she needs. But
when Ruff finally shows up at her door, the man holding the leash is obviously
determined to talk her out of keeping the dog. In fact, Aidan uses every
persuasive power he has to convince Beck to give up Ruff...and he's as wild and
unpredictable as the dog they both want.
Everything
gets complicated by Ruff, who has his own idea of who should be his master,
making it impossible for Beck to win him over. But she'll do anything to
succeed, even work closely with maddeningly sexy and relentlessly determined
Aidan Kilcannon, who has some skills she desperately needs to save her uncle's
local pizza business.
With
an uneasy truce, a restless dog, and an attraction that bubbles like one of
Slice of Heaven's award-winning pizzas, Aidan and Beck soon realize they can
help each other heal. But as they fall deeply in love and discover the true
meaning of family and home, they’ll have to face the pains of their past if
they have any chance of a future.
Themes: Contemporary, Tear-Jerker alert
Rating: 4.75 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Every time I think that this author has broken
my heart in every way she possibly could, she finds a new way to show me that
I’m wrong, in only the best ways of course.
I love everything that Rocki writes, but her newest series revolves around family, loss, healing and the power of love, not to mention the great
impact any member of the dog world can have on a person. I have enjoyed each of these stories more and
more and greatly anticipated reading Aidan's story from the first time I met him,
and though there were tears from the beginning to the end, we were not left
feeling sad in the end. The love between
Aidan and Beck is obvious and the love they both shared for Charlie and by
extension his dog Ruff, was powerful. As they come together to find a way to honor
Charlie’s last wishes you can see that the fire and passion between them pales
in comparison to the gentle love between two people meant for one another. While
I know the original series is coming to an end soon, since the Dogfather has
paired off all but one of his children, as I understand it there is a
spin-off/continuation of the series coming involving the family cousins, which will allow us to enjoy this family’s antics and the craziness of the
small town they claim as their own. If
you’ve never experienced the greatness of a St. Claire novel, while I can say I
feel bad for you, I insist you run out right now and grab Aidan and Beck's story
(along with the rest of the series) and get to work enjoying every second of
it. I cannot wait for the rest of this
series and whatever project pops into Rocki's head next because I have no
doubts in my mind anymore that I will enjoy every second of it.
Aidan
has been dealt the one of the worst losses a warrior can, the loss of a brother-in-arms—one who has been his best friend for more than a decade—and watching
Charlie die has left him at lose ends.
The only thing he knows is that he is determined to fulfill his last
promise to his best friend, taking Charlie’s dog Ruff out of the hellhole of
Afghanistan back to their hometown in Virginia where he can have an easy life
on Aidan's family’s amazing property. With
the help of his father, Aidan accomplishes getting Ruff home, but that’s where
the complications begin. Charlie’s
sister, Beck, also claims that Charlie left Ruff to her and she is just as
determined to have that final piece of her brother living with her, despite
Ruff’s immediate dislike of her and her Aunt's intense dislike of dogs. Beck has left her business and home in the
city to try to help her Aunt and Uncle after he has a stroke and while they
deal with the loss of her brother, but keeping their family pizza restaurant
afloat and getting her uncle to come back to the business is more challenging
than she ever imagined. When Aidan and
Beck decide to team up to try to save the business and get her uncle back in
shape, they slowly begin to recognize that their feelings aren’t
going away and there might not be any denying that they are more than simply
just attracted to one another. But when
disaster strikes and they are forced to realize that some things are more
important than winning and losing, Beck and Aidan have to decide if what they
have built together can stand the test of time or if they are too different to
come together for a happily ever after.
I
loved finally getting to know Aidan more and seeing him grow through the course
of this novel, because, as he found a way to deal with his losses and come to
terms with what he truly wanted out of his life, he grew into a truly amazing
man. He is obviously a sexy alpha male,
many years spent as a warrior and a hero, but inside he is still reeling from
the death of his mother and trying to understand how his siblings and father
are each dealing with it as well. The
saying that everyone handles grief in their own way was never more surely
demonstrated than with this amazing family and seeing Aidan finally accept that
was wonderful. It was also fun to watch
him as he tried to understand why he was so attracted to his best friend's
little sister, his perceived adversary as he tried to sabotage her and get Ruff
back with him. There were some serious
moments, of course, as these two fell in love and began to work through their
doubts and fears, so overall this story was truly and emotional roller-coaster
for Aidan, Beck and the reader! Meeting Rebecca, Beck to her friends and
family, was a treat, even if at first she is portrayed as a bit of a ditzy person with a selfish streak. As we get
more and more of her back story you come to see how truly insecure she is and
that she has so many issues to work through before she will ever be able to
accept the love that Aidan is offering her.
Even as she gets closer and closer to Aidan, she resists every step of
the way, thinking she will leave in the end before he does and it was
heartbreaking to see her unwilling to open herself to the love that Aidan was
so willing to offer her. She has lost a
lot in her short life to be sure, but by giving up she is just going to end up
with fewer people in her life and in the end a life not truly lived.
As
always, when you reach the end of a Roxanne St. Claire story you have to force
yourself to wipe off the tears, both happy and sad and remind yourself that you
haven’t just lived this story with friends.
Her ability to suck you into her stories and make you feel like you are
right there living the story with them is being amazing and I can truly say I
wish I had her ability. Aidan and Beck's
story was no exception and I know I will be going back to it again and
again. Aidan was the perfect tortured
hero, with loses to overcome and an inner strength that shines through even
as he has his moments of selfish desire and makes bad choices. Beck begins the story as the type of
character that many of us love to hate, that woman that is determined to simply
do her family duty and then get back to her own perfectly separate and all
planned out life. Luckily she comes to
understand that while she might have been able to separate herself temporarily
from her past, she is now right where she belongs, which includes being with
Aidan. The heat between Aidan and Beck
begins with their arguments over custody of Ruff, but the more time they spend
together the more we get to see that fire lead into interesting and very
physical manifestations. I loved every
second of this story and truly wish it had been even longer so I could have
enjoyed it for a second day. I am also looking forward to the next story in the
series where we will finally get to see the wandering Darcy find her mate and I
hear rumors of a possible match for the Dogfather himself, which many might
have mixed feelings about, but I have no doubt true Rocki fans will enjoy
immensely. Keeping the magic alive
Rocki!
*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
