Irresistible Force
4.5 Stars

After his K-9 partner disappears, Officer James Cannon tracks him down to a cabin in the woods and is none too happy to discover that the culprit is a beautiful and terrified young woman. Determined to get away from an abusive ex, Shay Appleton is thrilled when an incredible stray is brought into the animal shelter where she volunteers. Unfortunately, her new watch dog belongs to a gorgeous yet obnoxious police officer who has no intention of giving him, or Shay, up ….

An intense and fast-paced action plot, a steamy romance and a dog to die for - what’s not to love?

Much has been made in the reviews of the unlikable heroine. However, the reasons for the reviewers dislike, while probably accurate and valid, are also the reasons that her character appealed to me. I have a tremendous soft spot for prickly heroines (Lily Bard, Harper Connolly) who are more realistic. Not everyone can be the sweet, loving, open and honest woman that men fawn over … in fact, these are rather tedious and boring.

Shay is damaged not doubt about it, and her traumatic experiences have shaped her personality and her decision making processes. It is not uncommon for an abused and traumatized woman to avoid figures of authority and as such her reactions to her ex and to James are believable. That said, the fact that she grows throughout the book, comes into her own and ultimately stands up for herself validates my faith in her as a strong and fiercely determined heroine.

While my preference is usually for a more Alpha hero, James is the perfect man to help bring Shay out of her shell. He is not domineering or overbearing, but gentle, sweet and understanding. It is also a good thing that he stands firm in the face of Shay’s stubbornness and refuses to give in when she rejects him.

The stalker plot is the weakest element as it doesn’t appear to have any real direction. The author seems to have changed her mind about the focus halfway through, which leads to a disorganized and contrived resolution. Nevertheless, the action scenes are exciting and the climax intense and gripping.

All in all, a solid romantic suspense and dog lovers will be swooning over Bogart. I know I was. ( )

Irresistible Force swept me into danger and romance.

James is looking for his missing partner, a K-9 named Bogart, and he runs cross Shay. These two have a little exchange and soon he’s drawn into her life and danger.

I LOVED Bogart. He stole my heart and James was perfect. Dogs have a way of pulling at your emotions and making you love them. I loved the relationship James has with his pup and seeing how he helps Shay, sweet. James was easy to like. Shay was ok, but she had a few to many hang-ups for me to fully like her. The story was fast-paced and I had fun with the story and leads. Theirs no shortage of action, suspense, and yummy bedroom scenes.

My only issues is that Shay and James sleep together on the first day they meet. I prefer reading about a couple that has spent sometime together before hopping into bed. Other then that, I had a delightful time and look forward to the next installment.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

( )

When police officer James Cannon goes in search of his stolen K-9 partner Bogart, he finds the dog with Shay Appleton. When it becomes obvious that Shay had nothing to do with Bogart's theft James plans to simply take his dog and get back to work. However, his experience as a police officer tells him that Shay is in some kind of trouble and he can't resist trying to help. He quickly finds that when Shay isn't furious at him for taking “her” dog she's very attractive and very attracted to him. The two share what's supposed to be a one night stand, but James can't get Shay, or the mystery of why she's so obviously afraid of something, off his mind. When he tries to get close to Shay to explore the possibility that they could have something more than a fling he finds that she isn't who she says she is and that both her past and her present are more complicated and filled with danger than he would ever have imagined.

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book. James, Shay, and Bogart are all interesting characters and the information about the way a K-9 unit works was interesting without overwhelming the story. Unfortunately there was also a significant aspect of the story that didn't work for me. There were simply too many people out to get Shay. Her troubles should have had at least one less layer, possibly two. As it was her situation involved more than one would-be rapist, multiple unhelpful police officers, corporate malfeasance, and unethical private eyes and all that was on top of a tragic backstory. It was just too much.

I enjoyed this enough to be willing to read the next book in the series, but I hope the conflict in it isn't quite so over the top. ( )

Have you ever requested a book to review from Netgalley and come to find out it’s not the first book in a series? I have done this many times. (Is it really that difficult to put the book order number on the page??) This time I requested to review Force of Attraction, book 2 in the K-9 series so I went ahead and purchased the first book. While Irresistible Force wasn’t my favorite read this week, it was cute in some places, and incredibly heated in others. I wound up enjoying this book so much I can’t wait to dig in to Force of Attraction.

The most adorable reason: Bogart. This K-9 pup stole my heart from chapter one, from his heroic qualities that make him super protective of both Shay and James to his mischievous side that made me giggle – such as when he ate half the fried oysters when Shay wasn’t looking. I kept wanting to simultaneously hug the overgrown pup and feed him lots of delicious treats.

Shay was a fun heroine that could be hard to understand at times (like how she kept referring to her ex-bf-turned-rapist-turned-stalker as “harmless”) but ultimately turned out to be a kick-ass, if a bit – okay, a lot, but she’s got her reasons! – damaged heroine. She’s also a character I would like to give lots of cuddles.

James was no less sexy than the cover will have you believe and he was pretty smart to use Bogart’s love for Shay (and vice versa) in wooing the lady. After all, Shay gives 100% in her devotion to pets, but it’s a lot harder for her to trust humans when all they have done her whole life was let her down. I found it cute and completely irresistible to watch James and Bogart woo her into falling in love with them both!

This book may have been slow at places and predictable in others, but the steamy sex scenes completely make up for it … and so did the character cuteness. Both James and Shay turned out to be so much more kick-ass than they thought in the end. I felt like I should have given them a standing ovation, but since it was 1 AM, I just laid in bed and soaked in such a satisfying happily ever after. It may not have been completely realistic, but what the hell I had a blast and will be reading Force of Attraction very soon! ( )

I like dogs. I don't own one, because they are too much work, but I like books that ave well trained, intelligent dogs in the. The dog here tries to keep both is owners; his first, K-9 handler owner and his second, temporary needs a guard dog for protection owner, together without the Disney magic we get in movies about dogs. Although some would argue the book is about people and romance and fixing their past problems so they can move on to a good future possibly with each other, I liked the dog. ( )