Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Rescued By Love
AUTHOR: Kimberly Hunter
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 331 Pages
BLURB:
REVIEW: I’ll admit, the first scene in this book made me teary.
Graham has just received a letter his dead brother wrote to him immediately before leaving on a mission in Afghanistan. A mission he never returned from. In the letter his brother asks that, should he not return, Graham finds his dog, Jake, and give him a home. Which is easier said than done. Unfortunately, the old lady who was entrusted with dog sitting duties has died and Jake has been taken to a shelter and adopted.
Wyatt volunteers at a no-kill animal shelter run by his uncle and aunt. From the moment he sees Jake locked in a cage he feels a bond with the animal. There’s no question that he’ll be taking the dog home.
Graham finally manages to track down Jake, and Wyatt is forced to give up his new best friend. They arrange to meet at the shelter and Wyatt arrives just in time to see Graham walking towards them with a big smile. Queue the insta-love. And by instant, I mean instant. The word soul mate is thrown about within twenty-four hours of meeting.
Wyatt discovers Graham has just purchased a house that is practically right next-door, which makes dating simple. Or rather, it would make dating simple except Graham has a secret he can’t share with his new boyfriend.
This “secret”, which every man and his dog seemed to end up knowing, was a little hard to swallow. In my opinion the story’s sweet romance between the two main characters didn’t mesh with the parts to do with Graham’s secret life.
I also didn’t quite believe the romance between Graham and Wyatt. The lust, yes, but I wasn’t feeling the love. Maybe it was just that it all happened so fast. Honestly, the book began strong, the first scenes really hooked me in, but after the main characters got together I found myself struggling to pay attention in a few places.
Hands down, Jake was the best character in the book. That dog was the star of the show. Not only did Jake bring our main characters together but he was also pivotal in saving Wyatt at the end of the book. I did enjoy hearing about the damage he inflicted on the bad guy he attacked. Kimberly Hunter has a wicked sense of humor!
The best scene in the book also goes to Jake. There’s a touching moment in the cemetery when Jake seems to understand that the grave he’s standing on is where his old master is buried. Although, side note here. Can dogs cry? I don’t mean howling. And not teary eyes because they have grit in them. I mean crying tears because they’re sad. Because I was thrown when Jake starts crying. In fact, I had to stop reading to Google, can dogs cry? I didn’t get a definitive answer but I’m leaning towards a no.
What disappointed me most about this book were the abundant stereotypes when it came to most every character in the story. Graham and his “secret” friends are buff, tough and crazy good looking. The men who need rescuing are mostly smaller and cute. There are hints that all the tough men and all the cute men are gay. Then there are the bad guys, who include the mega rich abusive ex, the evil deputy sheriff and the fanatical bigot.
Having said all that, I didn’t dislike this book and I see that most readers enjoyed it more than I did. I’d definitely check out any future books about the secondary characters introduced in Rescued By Love. I’m assuming this will become the first book of a series.
Oh, and one last mention. Serious props for the ThunderCats reference. Making your main character crush on Lion-O surely deserves some bonus points.
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