Paws and Prejudice (Hearts of Alaska #2)

by Alanna Martin

Blurb:

It's up to a trio of adorable rescue huskies to make two lonely hearts in a coastal Alaskan town realize

that true love is worth too much to turn tail and run.

Glaciers have nothing on Kelsey Porter when she decides to freeze someone out. After getting burned once, she's not about to let it happen again. And right now all that icy contempt is focused on one annoyingly attractive and entitled interloper: Ian Roth. Not only is he looking to take advantage of her quaint, coastal community, tainting the small-town charm of Helen, Alaska, but he has committed the one crime she can never forgive—he doesn't like her dogs.

Unlike what Kelsey believes, Ian loves Helen's charms as much as she does. That's partly why he's determined to open a brewery there, and he's not about to let anything or anyone stop his dream from coming true. But he didn't count on the beautiful, prickly woman getting under his skin. Or having to be within hand-biting proximity of her three huge huskies.

When Kelsey's family conscripts her into helping Ian get his brewery off the ground, she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard . . . muscular . . . man who has a fear of dogs. But the longer they work together, the more she can feel herself begin to thaw. Now she'll have to choose: let sleeping dogs lie to protect her heart, or mush head-on toward love.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

This story about two people that are very different but that come together in a spark and flash is one that was interesting and enjoyable from beginning to end even during tearful moments. I was looking forward to this story at the end of book one for sure when we saw hints that the story between Ian and Kelsey would be much more complicated than just a simple meet and insta-love. Set in small town Alaska, where a long-standing family feud has the split down the middle between the families, this series just keeps getting more and more interesting. Kelsey is the only girl on the Porter side of the family this generation and seems to be the family hope for keeping the feud and the family legacy going, but she has a very different plan for her future. Keeping secrets from her family is second nature to Kelsey, but when she is conscripted by her father to assist the new brewery owner with publicity for the opening of his business she begins to doubt why she really is hiding. Ian moved to this small town in Alaska, as far from his family as possible in the continental US, in order to make a fresh start and prove himself, but things are not shaping up like planned. The brewery is having issue after issue that threatens their success and when Kelsey comes into his life he just assumes she’ll be another problem, but soon they are spending time together and becoming friends. As she helps him to get over his fear of dogs and he helps her accept that she has no reason to hide, their feelings for one another son become much more than just friends and confidants. But the hard-earned trust of a woman like Kelsey is easily lost, and when Ian begins to doubt himself it might be too much for either of them. I enjoyed getting to know more about Kelsey and learn that despite her VERY hard shell she is really just a sweet and fluffy marshmallow inside. Her love of her dogs and family doesn’t stop there and when she finally gives her trust her love is not something to sneeze at for sure. For those she loves she will give all of herself to make sure that they have everything they need and want, even at her own expense. I want to be Kelsey when I grow up. Ian definitely has a lot of issue, not even accounting his fear of dogs (so sad), but the biggest one was his lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. I liked him overall, especially the fact that he could bake, seemed so devoted to his friends and family, and so wanted to find his place in his new community. But despite him never realizing it, what he really needed all along was Kelsey to even him out and give him the confidence to just be himself and he would succeed. The passion between these two sparked from the beginning, though for a while it was just intense antagonism, but as their friendship blossomed that heat definitely turned a lot more friendly and interesting. I am looking forward to the next story (last one?) in the series for sure where the Porter and Lipin feud will definitely come to a fiery crescendo in Love and Let Bark. Just to say the huskies that are so prevalent in this little town, and especially the Porter family, are definitely and important part of this story too and great character to get to know too. Another sweet and loving Alaskan adventure from a fun author to enjoy in the heat of summer.