Double Dog Dare (The Dogfather #6)
by Roxanne St. Claire
Blurb:
The
Dogfather has one more child to marry off…but Darcy Kilcannon has no interest
in her father’s matchmaking shenanigans. The youngest Kilcannon is seeking one
thing only, and it’s not a husband. Darcy is ready to launch her own business
in town, move into her own apartment, and become her own woman. But when she
walks into the gorgeous brownstone that her father just “happened” to help her
find, Darcy takes one look at the hot landlord and she knows the Dogfather has
been up to his old tricks. Sure he’s a hunk and a half, but his “no pets”
policy is a huge turnoff to a dog groomer who won’t dream of living without her
beloved Kookie.
Joshua
Ranier moved to Bitter Bark to get out of the shadow of his overbearing
stepfamily and keep his shattered heart securely on ice. His only focus is his
construction business, and the brownstone he’s renting and renovating…until he
meets the sexy, sassy blonde tenant sneaking a fuzzy white dog even though he’s
banned them because of construction dangers. Then Josh starts thinking about
things he shouldn’t. And it isn’t when the rent’s due.
But
when a blind dog lands on Josh’s doorstep, he needs Darcy’s help. As they race
to restore little Stella’s vision and solve a mystery that’s tearing his family
apart, Josh and Darcy begin to see the light, too. It will take one double dog
dare, two precious puppers, and the full power of the Kilcannon clan for this
couple to find their happy ever after.
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
So the time has come to find out if the final
Kilcannon child will surrender her heart to love or decide to devote her time
and energy to building a career and making her life about more than a man. I have been looking forward to Darcy’s story
a long time now, primarily because she is such a free spirit and seems to have
no true direction in life in the previous novels, but we gets hints that she
might be growing up, though the others in her family—with very few exceptions—don’t
seem to be acknowledging it. The
ultimate premise of this series is one that I supported from the very beginning
and new I would love every moment of, mostly because I am a huge dog lover that
has trained for years in dog behavior, training, veterinary studies, and am a
big proponent of pet adoption groups.
But the important thing to keep in mind is that the main idea of this
story is a family of people coming together, in love and a common goal, in a
time when they lost a vital member, in order to support one another, which is
the most vital purpose of any family. I
LOVE THIS IDEA! Though this is the final
of the original kids, we have been told numerous times the series isn’t over,
with extended family coming in to find love as well, so I am looking forward to
seeing more of Darcy and Josh as they grow and learn to love even more from
each other and the Kilcannon family. If you are looking for a deep dark
suspenseful novel or darkly erotic story full on angst this might not be your
cup of tea, but if you need a sexy but emotional story of love leading two
people off the ledge of loss and fear and into one another’s arm, then you won’t
go wrong with Double Dog Dare on your
physical or digital bookshelf.
Josh
Rainier has had his broken in the worst way imaginable and to say he has trust
issues now is an understatement, but he is finally in the small town he has
wanted to call home for years and doing the one thing with his life he has
always wanted. He thought luck was finally on his side when a tenant rented the
open unit in his property, giving him the chance to continue his renovations,
but as soon as he meets her he knows she is TROUBLE, and so is the little dog
she’s trying to sneak past his no pets policy. Darcy thought she’d gotten lucky
too, but when she discovers too late that the monster of a landlord is going to
try to separate her form her beloved baby girl, aka her pupper Kookie, there is
no way she will let it stand. Soon the
tide changes and Darcy and Josh find themselves working together to try to save
a little one of his one’s vision and as they get closer the feelings and
chemistry becomes harder to resist, despite each of them having very good
reasons not to begin a relationship or trust in another lover. But in the end
that love will be the only thing that will save them… and of course the heroics
of a few little rascally puppers!
Josh’s
tale kicked off right away with some serious kicks not only to his heart, but
to his ego, ability to trust, and willingness to believe in love and the
goodness of others. That is a lot for
any person to overcome, and in the beginning we don’t really believe that Josh
is willing to even try. I enjoyed
getting to see Josh’s resistance—however futile—to the love and magic that was
the Kilcannon’s and Waterford Farms. It
was obvious that he NEEDED to find that kind of relationship and family
connection o fully become the man he was always meant to become, however his
intense fear of being hurt again made him fight, if not the actual feelings,
then the depth and truth of those feelings for Darcy AND her family. Josh was understandably
putty in the paws of both of the main puppers in this story, but I really liked
seeing him get excited and emotional whenever any of the animals was around, showing he was truly a perfect match
for Darcy is all of the most important ways. Darcy has decided that the only
way she can convince those she loves that she is ready to grow up is to move
into her own place, finally open her own grooming business and assert her full independence. I can see the logic of this type of move, but
I think had things not worked out so well for her in the end, that these
choices might have come back to bite her in the butt, despite the thinking them
through so thoroughly, because they are meant to made with the heart note the
head in the end. I did enjoy that Darcy stood up for not just herself and her
family, bust Joh and his family when anyone outside of her core group attacked,
even though they were all fooled in the end with a couple of those folks.
Ultimately Darcy found that she could grow and branch out, but respect and
return to her roots without losing any of her independence, a lesson we all
struggle with as we hit a certain age.
In
the end, Double Dog Dare was a fun
read for any occasion, but I loved seeing Darcy and Josh as they came together
in a time of crisis to solve problems, and also in down times to just be together
in calm. The true test of workability for a relationship might be working well together
under pressure, but I think the stamina of a relationship can only be shown by
how a couple functions when they are simply two people, alone together with nothing
to do. Darcy has finally found her niche in life and luckily has the support of
her family in order to build it right there close by, giving her that strongest
of root systems. But with those strong
roots she has the chance to grow to outrageous heights and widths. Josh too has found his forever home,
including the family he wants to claim as his, and the woman to make his life
full and completed, and he will not let anything from his past jeopardize that
chance. I loved every minute of this
story, even the few tears and moments where I was on the edge of my seat, and I
was thrilled with the glimpses into the Dogfather’s past success and his
present challenge of keeping his children out of HIS personal life. The chemistry and connection between Darcy
and Josh is apparent from moment one and those two, though putting up a good fight,
were always destined to fall under Cupid’s arrows. I loved this story and
cannot wait for whoever’s story comes next, including the rumors of a Christmas
novella about the family which I would not snub my nose at personally. Another masterpiece Rocki, thanks for the
chance to get my hands on it a little early!
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
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