Sandy M’s review of Explosive Forces (K-9 Rescue, Book 5) by D.D. Ayres
Contemporary Romance published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks 1 Nov 16
Though I made a couple of assumptions after reading the blurb for this book, I was able to deal with those as I started reading and found I was a bit wrong. But what I couldn’t deal with?
The fact these characters at times act like people I’d never like to know. Literally.
Carly Reese is just days away from opening her boutique. Doing some last-minute fixing up one night, she hears the whine of a dog. In the space next door to her store she finds a German Shepherd at first seemingly alone. But then she spies who she has to assume is the dog’s owner, unconscious. When a fire suddenly starts in the room, she fights like hell to get the man to safety, with the help of the Shepherd. I actually like Carly at this point. I mean, who wouldn’t? She’s scared, but she sticks with the right thing to do. She saves a life.
The injured man is Noah Glover, arson investigator. He and his partner Harley are part of a K-9 rescue unit. When he awakens in the hospital, he has no memory of what happened to him the night before, why he was out cold when a fire began. Then his boss is interrogating him, making Noah the bad guy. He either set the fire for some unknown reason or he was trying to kill himself. He’s warned no evidence had better be found to back up either of those assumptions. This is the first character I don’t like and what drags the story down for me. This man is Noah’s boss. He’s also a friend. He likes Noah, knows he’s good at his job. So why in the hell does he jump all over Noah and believe the exact opposite of who he knows Noah to be, let alone Noah denying all the allegations? In my experience, most bosses/employers don’t believe the worst until true evidence is right before them. This boss is a jerk.
I might have been able to go with it if this is the only person to do such a thing. But the one who does something similar with no evidence to support the rantings? Carly herself. When she hears those same suppositions from her police officer brother, she hightails it to the hospital to confront Noah. How dare he take his dog along on a suicide mission! If he wants to end it all, that’s fine, just don’t take an innocent animal with him. Sorry, not someone I want to know anytime soon. All the while she’s ranting and raving, she’s trying to keep her attraction at bay because she walked in on the man as he’s getting dressed, so he’s stark naked. Noah isn’t a gentleman about it, considering what’s happened to him and now he’s getting another dressing down from a stranger, no one believes him. I don’t blame him a bit. Then Carly leaves and refuses to return Harley to Noah. She keeps the man’s dog!
It’s not long after this that I just gave up. I don’t even recall what happened next that pushed my buttons. I was just fed up, didn’t want to continue reading such behavior for a good part of the book, which I figured would happen until something goes on that gets these two on the same page and also gets Noah’s boss and coworkers to believe him to try to help instead of dragging him down. Not even the lure of figuring out who the stalker could be was enough to keep me reading. Maybe this type of writing will work for you. Just not for me.
Grade: DNF
Summary:
Danger is heating up…
When Carly Reese’s beloved fashion boutique catches fire, she sees her dreams go up in smoke. The good news is that Carly was saved from the flames by a barking dog nearby. She soon discovers the heroic pooch is a trained K-9 who’s guarding his unconscious partner …a gorgeous firefighter who ends up in Carly’s arms.
Noah Glover and his K-9 are a fearless duo, and Noah has clearly met his match with the brave, beautiful Carly. Soon they team up to track down the arsonist behind the blast – a psychotic criminal who’s intent on framing Noah. Meanwhile, the sparks between Noah and and Carly could ignite a five-alarm fire. Should they smother their feelings in the name of justice…or fan the flames of passion?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
Physical Forces – May 2017
