EXTREME HONOR by Piper J. Drake: Review

Posted January 26, 2016 in Book Tour, Excerpts, Giveaway, Reviews / 0 Comments

EXTREME HONOR by Piper J. Drake: Review

EXTREME HONOR by Piper J. Drake: ReviewExtreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
Series: True Heroes #1
Published by Forever
Publication Date: January 26th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon  B&N  Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

David Cruz is good at two things: war and training dogs. The ex-soldier’s toughest case is Atlas, a Belgian Malinois whose handler died in combat. Nobody at Hope’s Crossing kennel can break through the animal’s grief. That is, until dog whisperer Evelyn Jones walks into the facility . . . and into Atlas’s heart. David hates to admit that the curvy blonde’s mesmerizing effect isn’t limited to canines. But when Lyn’s work with Atlas puts her in danger, David will do anything to protect her.

 

Lyn realizes that David’s own battle scars make him uniquely qualified for his job as a trainer. Tough as nails yet gentle when it counts, he’s gotten closer to Atlas than anyone else—and he’s willing to put his hard-wired suspicion aside to let her do the same. But someone desperate enough to kill doesn’t want Lyn working with Atlas. Now only teamwork, trust, and courage can save two troubled hearts and the dog who loves them both . . .

 

Review

Attractive military men who love and train dogs have got to be a big draw and EXTREME HONOR is lighthearted romantic suspense which combines those two things in a way that is interesting even for people who are not animal lovers. 

David Cruz is facing his biggest challenge yet: the heartbroken canine partner of his deceased friend, Atlas and he can’t seem to make any headway with him. Until famed dog whisperer Evelyn Jones comes to his aid. Lyn’s charm is not limited to the dog and soon David finds himself drawn in by her.

But there is a lot of interest in Atlas from many quarters, because of information he may be in possession of that could  reveal a conspiracy, corruption and murders, and destroy many military careers. Both Lyn and David are determined to solve the mystery of what happened to Atlas and his partner and David is also determined to keep Lyn safe from danger.

I expected a lot more war front action from this book but I wasn’t disappointed by the lack of it. Lyn and David are good for each other, in spite of their initial reservations. And Atlas is a heart-breaker. The story is well-written and unexpectedly sweet and I enjoyed the mystery. I think Ms. Drake did a great job with Lyn’s character, especially her relationship with her stepfather and its parallels with and impact on her relationship with David. David was a protector to the core, in the way he looked out for Lyn and Atlas and his unrelenting quest to find out what happened to his friend.

This is my first read by Ms. Drake and I’m interested in the rest of the books in the series. 

 

 

Excerpt

Her heart rate had picked up, fluttering at the pulse point under his touch.

“Yeah?” The urge to slide has hands over more delicate areas grew and he couldn’t help running his thumb along the inside of her arm.

Awareness grew in her gaze and she bit her lip as she nodded.

He leaned toward her, focused on her plump lip caught under her teeth.

“What else do you like?”

She opened her mouth to answer but he didn’t plan to let her get a word out. Maybe later. He bent his head to capture her lips.

And seventy five pounds of fur jumped up on his side.

“The hell?”

Lyn gasped. “Atlas!”

Af.” Mindful of the dog’s injury, Cruz gave Atlas a gentle shove.

The dog dropped back to all fours, his tongue lolling. Looking from him to Lyn and back again, Atlas lay back down on his belly.

Jealous. Damn dog was jealous.

 

Be real. Every dog recognizes a fake. And good men can see through it too.

“I’d really like to help.” Honest. Simple. All the other reasons paled in comparison to this.

 

“Whatever is going on, you know more about it than I do.” She licked her lips, her mouth gone dry.

His gaze dipped, focusing on her mouth. “I might. I know something. I’m not sure it’s related. But this next question is important.”

Can I kiss you?

Doubtful that was the question he was going to ask. But the moment was drawing out and she very much wanted for him to ask it. “Okay.”

“Do you think I would hurt you?”

“No!” It popped out before she had time to think about it. Anger burned up from her chest and spread outward. She scowled. “Of course n—”

He kissed her.

 

 

 

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About Piper J. Drake

Piper J. Drake (or "PJ") spent her childhood pretending to study for the SATs by reading every interesting novel she could find at the library. After being introduced to the wonderful world of romance by her best friend, she dove into the genre.

PJ began her writing career as PJ Schnyder, writing sci-fi & paranormal romance and steampunk, for which she won the FF&P PRISM award as well as the NJRW Golden Leaf award and Parsec award.

PJ's romantic suspense novels incorporate her interests in mixed martial arts and the military. The True Heroes series is inspired by her experience rescuing, owning and training a variety of retired working dogs, including Kaiser, a former guard dog, and Mozart, who was trained to detect explosives.


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