I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Rescue My Heart
by
Jill Shalvis
contemporary romance in eBook edition that was published by Berkley on November 6, 2012 and has 304 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Beach Blanket Bad Boys, Instant Attraction, Instant Gratification, Instant Temptation, The Night Before Christmas, "Under the Mistletoe", Animal Magnetism, It Had to Be You, Simply Irresistible, The Sweetest Thing, Animal Attraction, Rumor Has It, It’s in His Kiss, Head Over Heels, Lucky in Love, , He's So Fine, At Last, One in a Million, Forever and a Day, Second Chance Summer, My Kind of Wonderful, "Wrapped in You", Get A Clue, The Trouble with Mistletoe, Chasing Christmas Eve, “One Snowy Night”, Rainy Day Friends, Merry and Bright
Third in the Animal Magnetism romance series and revolving around three “brothers” and their veterinary clinic in Sunshine, Idaho. The couple focus is on Adam Connelly and Holly Reid.
Definitely read this before you read Rumor Has It, 4, as it was quite disconcerting reading the before events when I’d inadvertently read Rumor Has It out of order.
My Take
The best part of the story is the introduction that tells us so much about the kind of man Adam is.
“Lady Town”. Yep, I like it, lol. I’ll have to razz my cat when she shoots that leg up in the air and goes to work with that tongue of hers.
This is not one of my favorites as Shalvis overworks the issues between Adam and Holly, and there’s too much tell, not enough show. It got rather nauseating actually. Definitely eye-rolling time as I kept silently requesting that Shalvis get on with it. This would have been better as a novella, at least to keep the repetitive melodrama down.
LOL, it was so bad that even the usual tropes didn’t ping my oh-brother meter! I did do an eye roll on those silly IM names Holly and Grif had for each other. They were more suitable for a couple of teens. Then the initial love scene out on the trail…that was definitely an oh-brother if only because it was so obvious and obviously done. Can anyone say “overdone trope”? How does Holly grow up here and have not the slightest clue about what it takes to survive out here? The scene at the end with Derek? Oh, brother. Again. How unrealistic it all was. Sure, I enjoyed Holly’s telling him no, but Shalvis did not write this well. Ah, well, at least she’s consistent in this story. How does Holly not make the connection about the wildflowers? It was so frickin’ obvious.
Holly’s biggest problem with Adam is his making decisions for both of them without her input. My biggest problem with him is how nasty he is about telling Holly to get out of his life.
I did enjoy the twist on that divorce Holly is seeking. What a jerk. The bits on PTSD are good. Dell makes an excellent point about Adam’s cave. Nice metaphor. And you’ll crack up about the “character” discussion at book club, lol.
If you want to buy one of the stories in this series, I’d skip this one and go with either 1, 2, or 4 (4’s my fav so far).
The Story
That rescue on the cliff has brought up a lot of Adam’s PTSD issues and to come home to find that Holly Reid is on the rampage, well, it’s more than Adam wants to deal with. Too many regrets in his life.
But Holly is desperate to find her missing father, and Adam is the only one who can find him.
The Characters
The very stoic Adam Connelly holds his PTSD demons at bay with his activities with Search-and-Rescue. Milo, a.k.a., Frat Boy, is his ten-month-old rescue dog, a yellow Lab, with a sense of humor. Reno is his four-year-old quarter horse. Brady, an ex-army ranger, is his foster brother with the chopper pilot skills; he and Lilah got married last month (see Animal Magnetism, 1). Twinkles is Brady’s rescued mutt. Cruz is Lilah’s partner at the kennels. Abigail is Lilah’s duck. Belle Haven is the compound which holds the large vet clinic and stables. Dell is Adam’s brother and the veterinary doctor for the clinic. He’s with Jade Bennett (see Animal Attraction , 2), their very efficient office manager. Beans is Jade’s cat while Gertie is Dell’s one-year-old St. Bernard. Kiki is Dell’s quarter horse.
The married Holly Reid is the daughter of one of Adam’s clients. She’s also an ex-girlfriend who gives him grief. Can’t blame her when Adam keeps making decisions about them as a couple with no input from her! Donald Reid is her ladykiller dad with a ranching conglomerate. Thing One and Thing Two are the two puppies Donald is fostering for Adam. Griffin is her brother on deployment in Afghanistan. Deanna was Donald’s girlfriend before she broke up with him. Thomas Pines is Deanna’s boss. Red is her dad’s ranching manager. Derek is Holly’s soon-to-be ex-husband, a professor who was such a change from all the alpha males in Holly’s life.
Kate Evans is Holly’s best friend and a second-grade teacher who’s holding her family together. When she gets nervous, she spouts arcane facts. Pretty funny, really.
Participants in Adam’s obedience class include:
Liza Molan wants private lessons for herself, oh, and Babe if necessary. Gayle Little tries too hard.
Kel is the local sheriff and friend. Cynthia Winters is a reporter with the Coeur d’Alene Chronicle and wants Adam to pose for the Hot Outdoorsmen calendar. Nila is Adam and Dell’s Native American mother who abandoned them to the foster care system. Sol Anders was the boys’ last foster father, the saving of them. Bessie is the cleaning lady at Belle Haven. Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Rodriguez are after Donald.
The Cover and Title
The cover way out of line. For one thing, it’s winter in the story. Definitely not the weather implied by the capris and short sleeve shirt Holly is wearing as she leans into the jean- and T-shirt clad Adam. The only bit of truth on the cover is Milo sitting between the two of them. It is a pretty background with the mountains on the other side of that lake.
The title is a two-way street as each needs the other to Rescue My Heart.
