Sit, Stay, Love by Debbie Burns – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway
Sit, Stay, Love
Rescue Me series – Book #2
by Debbie Burns
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / iBooks / Book Depository
Description:
These dogs aren’t the only ones in need of rescue
For devoted no-kill shelter worker Kelsey Sutton, rehabbing a group of rescue dogs is a welcome challenge. Working with a sexy ex-military dog handler who needs some TLC himself? That’s a different story.
Kurt Crawford keeps his heart locked away from everyone. Well, everyone except the dogs who need his help…and always have his back. But as Kurt gets to know the compassionate, beautiful woman he’s been assigned to work with, he can’t help but feel a little puppy love…
Review:
Sit, Stay, Love by Debbie Burns is the second book in her wonderful Rescue Me series. I loved this story, as it was a wonderful heartwarming story about an animal shelter, rescue dogs and a sweet romance.
Kelsey Sutton, our heroine, devotes her time to working at the local animal shelter. When a raid has rescued a lot of dogs who were brutally used for dog fighting, Kelsey’s boss, Megan sends her take a look at the dogs, and picks about 15 for the shelter to help in rehabbing the dogs. The plan is to bring these dogs to a mansion that was left to the shelter in a will, which was to feed and take care of the deceased lady’s cat, Mr. Longtail.
Kelsey upon picking the dogs she felt would be good to stay in the mansion, notices an ex-marine, who is friends with the man in charge of finding places for the rescued dogs. Kelsey immediately finds herself attracted to him, but brushes it off, since she will never see him again.
Kurt Crawford, our hero, is an ex marine with PSTD, who was also a dog handler both in Afghanistan and for Rob, the man in charge. Kurt notices the pretty Kelsey, but he walks away, until he discovers that this might be the perfect job for him.
Once the dogs start to arrive, Kelsey is shocked to learn that Kurt will be one working with her to rehab the dogs. Kurt, considered a dog whisperer, knows how to handle these types of dogs that need the extra and careful protection. Both Kelsey and Kurt cannot deny their attraction, but they both are devoted to taking care of the dogs, and a slow built romance will begin. Their romance was destined to heal both Kelsey (her lack of confidence in finding someone to love her), and Kurt (who did not think he could get past his past and nightmares); this romance was a background of the main story, but was beautiful and very well done.
I loved Mr. Longtail, a maine coon cat, who was aloof when Kelsey would come to feed him twice a day; but when Kurt began to live there full time, the cat became very affectionate, and was a good companion to some of the dogs. We also got to meet in more detail some of the dogs, which was not only heart wrenching, but was so emotional when they slowly began to feel free and happy. Frankie, Devil, Pepper, Zeus, as well as the shelter dog, Corzi was wonderful to see them thrive. There were a few tears along the way, especially when one of the dogs came face to face with his former owner before he was forced into dog fighting. Very emotional. I loved Frankie, who bonded with Kurt and along with Mr. Longtail, went a long way to heal Kurt.
Debbie Burns gives us another wonderful, sweet, heartwarming story that kept us hooked until the very end. Sit, Stay, Love was a beautiful story, as we fell in love with the dogs we spent time with and watched as they helped them to recover and live normal happy lives. Kurt and Kelsey’s romance was pure and sweet, and blended so well into the story. If you love animals, with a romance in the background, you need to read this book.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
“It had been years since Kurt had felt genuine peace slip over him after the sun sank below the horizon and stars studded the sky. In Afghanistan and in the jungles of Honduras, he’d rarely been able to relax, even on nights when he was tucked in a bunk and crowded with the sounds and smells of other marines and a handful of dogs not far away. He hadn’t expected to be able to do so here either.
But the calm cradled his skin despite the surprise that accompanied it.
Standing under the stars, Kurt set his beer on the table and headed into the screened-in half of the porch. The pregnant Rottweiler let out a whine as he approached. Kelsey had taken her outside an hour or so before after making sure she ate a plentiful dinner.
Kurt hooked a leash onto the dog’s collar and led her around the yard long enough to ensure she was calm and obedient, then asked her to sit on command before letting her off leash. Once free from its confines, the Rott—Pepper, as Kelsey was calling her—gave her massive head a shake and trotted off into the yard. Kurt headed back onto the porch for his beer.
Taking a swig of beer, Kurt eyed the silhouette of an owl standing watch on an exposed branch of an enormous oak tree at the back of the yard. If Kurt hadn’t been outside when it let out a series of soft, low hoots, he wouldn’t have known the owl was there. It seemed to be watching the dog sniff around the dark yard as if it had come across an interloper in its nightly hunting spot.
A cool, gentle breeze swept over Kurt’s skin. He was thankful to no longer be living in sweltering lands. The dry oven that was the desert, and the wet, stifling tropics. He wondered how long it would be before he forgot the sensation of the heat rising off the desert sand late at the night as if he were holding his hand over a radiator. Or standing guard in the jungle at night, listening to the howler monkeys crossing the tree canopy while he scoped openings in the thick tropical forest for insurgents. One night he’d spotted a small, wild ocelot hunting at the edge of the base. About the size of a slender coyote, it had unusually large eyes and a sleek coat with spots and stripes.
As he was thinking about it, a very different feline stalked into view. Mr. Longtail. Who knew where the unusual cat had been this evening, but he was headed confidently toward the Rott, in full view of the owl. The enormous Maine coon was too big to ever end up dinner to an owl, but Kurt wasn’t so sure about the off-leash Rott. Setting down his beer, he whistled confidently.
Pepper—the name was sticking even though naming these dogs would create unnecessary emotional attachment—pricked up her ears and looked his way.
“Come here, girl,” Kurt called, half holding his breath as the cat trotted directly into the dog’s path. Like earlier this afternoon, Pepper didn’t disappoint. She dropped into a play bow and woofed. Mr. Longtail stopped mid-step as the hair along his back and tail stood out stick straight. As if he’d had no idea a dog was capable of such a baritone woof. Pepper didn’t seem to notice. She sniffed the cat all over, nudging his hind end off the ground with her strong head.
Kurt emptied his pocket of treats for her. Mr. Longtail followed, walking underneath her, straight to Kurt’s legs to rub against his jeans. The cat meowed, and Kurt was surprised to hear a deep, thrumming purr radiating from his chest.
After getting Pepper back in her kennel, Kurt headed into the kitchen, Mr. Longtail following. He fed the cat and helped himself to a slice of cold pizza. He considered hunting down a notebook and pen and making a to-do list of all the items bouncing around his head, but even if he could find a pen and a notebook, he doubted he’d get halfway through writing the list before becoming distracted. Experience had proven he could tackle projects of almost any size, but he couldn’t make a list to save himself. So instead, he dove into repairs of the Sabrina Raven estate the way he did everything else—focusing on whatever came to the front of his thoughts.
He sorted through a bulky metal toolbox for all the flooring nails he could find. “Come on, cat,” Kurt said to the watchful Mr. Longtail. He slipped the nails into his pocket and fisted the hammer, heading out of the kitchen. “You and I could likely use each other’s company. Let’s see if I can get those stairs to be a bit less of a hazard so I can make it up to one of those old feather beds you’ve been sleeping on.”
With a twitch of his tail, the cat followed him out of the kitchen, and Kurt suspected he was on the way to making an unlikely friend.
Debbie Burns lives in St. Louis with her family, two phenomenal rescue dogs, and a somewhat tetchy Maine coon cat who everyone loves anyway. Her hobbies include hiking, gardening, and daydreaming, which, of course, always leads to new story ideas.
Find Debbie Online:
Website: http://www.authordebbieburns.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordebbieburns
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_debbieburns
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16200547.Debbie_Burns
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