ARC Review: Old Dog New Tricks (The Dogfather #8)

Old Dog New Tricks (The Dogfather #8)

by Roxanne St. Claire

Blurb:

Daniel Kilcannon, the veterinarian known as the Dogfather, has been widowed for four years. He's spent the time running the largest canine rescue and training facility in North Carolina and pulling some strings to make sure each of his six grown children find a love like the one he lost when his beloved Annie died.

But as the years slip by, Daniel's vow to never love again is starting to make him restless. When a woman who was pivotal to his past arrives in Bitter Bark, he wonders if her appearance is coincidence or the guiding hand of his dearly departed wife...but the truth is neither. She's about to change his life again in ways he could never have imagined. And Daniel isn't sure if his heart -- or his family -- will ever recover from the impact.

Themes: Contemporary, Second Chance Love

Rating: 5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Like other long time Dogfather readers, I had a load of fears about this story when I saw it coming, mainly because we never imagined there would ever be a way for Rocki to bring us around to accepting a love for Daniel beyond his beloved Annie.  When the time finally came I was filled with trepidation, but I dove right in as always and let Rocki prove to me that magic came come around a second time in a person’s life, and I am so glad I gave her the chance to prove it to me. Daniel was given a second chance at a love to last a lifetime once his first chance was taken from him too soon, but only Rocki could truly bring these two families together despite thirty year secrets, pains and hurts. This series, set in the heart of an operation revolving around dogs that makes the animal lover inside me drool, has led us down some amazing paths and into the psyche of the type of family that I could imagine exists but could never imagine having been a part of.  I enjoyed every second of this story and shall do my level best to share why without giving away too much of story, but the most important thing I have to say is that the love of this family truly amazes me more and more each time they come together to support each other.  I am looking forward to whatever comes next as the Dogfather and his new love turn their magic on his niece and nephews to try to bring them the happiness he has helped bring to his children. If you haven’t become a Dogfather faithful yet, starting with this story is the perfect place to jump in, and I guarantee you will then want to go back to the beginning and read every thrilling story to find out how Daniel and his family have grown from a grief-stricken family of 9 to a strong and fulfilled clan of over 20 close-knit but individually wonderful people.

Daniel has watched, and helped a bit, as his six beautiful children have all found love and begun their own small families to expand the Kilcannon clan, but lately he has been feeling a little bit listless.  His connection to his late-wife has started to fade a bit and as his children again and again try to connect him with women, he is wondering if it might be time to find a companion though he knows he will never have another love like his Annie.  When he stumbles on a long-forgotten face in the bakery on his regular morning walk, he thinks that she has returned to his life at just the right time to remind him of his lost love and give him that second level of connection with Annie he has been missing.  Katie Rogers, however, has returned to his life after over 40 years for an entirely different reason, one that will rock both of them and change the course of two families forever.  Katie has a secret to share with Daniel, but is instantly swept up in his enthusiasm for their reunion and the connection that she still feels with him, even though she is dealing with her own widowhood after 40 blissful years of marriage.  As they spend more and more time together, Katie knows she can’t keep the secret forever, but at the same time she is woe to break a family and a man she is fast coming to care for again.  Daniel too is coming to care for Katie in a completely different way than he ever imagines he could care for a woman again, but can either of them move past the fears and worry over betraying their last spouses to find a second-chance love for the ages?

Daniel has been a man that I never would have put into the spotlight in a romance novel in the past, mainly because of the way he still talked of the love of his life even though she was lost to him, but a little bit because of his age too (sorry but fact is fact).  Most of us aren’t used to a silver fox with a thirty-plus year marriage, six kids, and several grandkids under his belt being the star of a romance, even a second chance love story, but only Rocki can make me forget all of those classifications and remind me that Daniel is still just a man with a broken heart in need of a woman to help him heal.  I loved getting to know more about him as a man, and I can say that, were I an older gal, I would be tackling him myself for sure.  His obviously huge heart has some bruises and a few cracks, but it is still full and open to those around him where many men would have become closed off after losing love the way he did. I also enjoyed getting glimpses of his past both with Katie and with Annie as he reminisced and came to terms with his past and present, and looked to the future with the sudden change they had to come to terms with.  
Katie is a woman that has had a huge shock and now has to share that shock with Daniel and possibly bring drama and anger into his life, but she is determined that she tell him the truth.  I liked watching her fall under the spell of the Dogfather and come to terms with the chemistry that they had 40 years before, despite her being in love with someone else,  and seeing that chemistry reignite the passion that they had both been without for several long years.  Katie is a loving woman, wonderful mother, caring friend and will obviously be a great addition to the Kilcannon family, even bringing in her own fun additions and we might get to see a lot more of those kids of hers in coming stories.  She deals with the pain and heartbreak she is dealt with a grace and aplomb that shows she is an amazing woman, even when Daniel is the one being an ass (yes it happens, he is a man after all!).  Katie is the kind of woman I would like to say I am in 30 years, a woman that has lived her life in love, sharing that love with her family, and remaining a beautiful  and passionate woman despite the world trying to crush her with circumstances and fate kicking her in the gut a few times. Katie and Daniel are the perfect pair no doubt in my mind and when they come together the fire is undeniable despite both of them being out of practice and more than a little scared of their pasts and future intruding on their love. 

The old saying certainly holds true with this story, old dogs can be taught new tricks, but only if Roxanne St. Claire is the one doing the teaching in my opinion.   Daniel and Katie have both lived full and loving lives, but now that fate has left them without a mate it is time to give themselves a second chance to have a love that will last a lifetime.  Daniel seeks to spend more time with Katie so that he can reconnect with his Annie, but soon he sees that Katie is her own woman and the feelings he has for her are completely separate from his feelings for Annie.  Despite his fears, he cannot seem to keep away from her and, with the shared secret between them, and trying to figure out how to share their secret with their families, leads him to wonder if maybe he is ready to move forward with his life and find love again.  Katie knows that Daniel is the kind of man that can make her love him easily, despite having loved another man most of her adult life, but she is terrified that their secret and the way he clings to Annie’s memory will keep them from ever truly being whole together.   Once their secret is out, it will take the love of two clans to make sure that these two people, finally having found love again, give themselves the chance to embrace it and make a life together. I loved every single second of this story, even at moments when I was crying my eyes out, and couldn’t put the book down until I finished.  For Dogfather fans, this story brings the main family’s story to an end with a magic that brought us full circle and shows us that love can truly heal a family and leaves us dying for what comes next for the extended family.  For those that are just coming to the story, I hope you get a glimpse of the magic of the Kilcannon’s and circle back around to the very beginning and experience all the magic that the rest of us have enjoyed.  Roxanne St. Claire is the kind of author that will leave you breathless with tears, laughter, and longing as she brings two people together, whether it is their first true love or a second love to last for all time.  Another stunning success Rocki!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.