Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Rescue
AUTHOR: Juliette Renard
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 173 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2018
BLURB:
A Steamy Thriller of a Love Story In Snowy Backwoods Wisconsin
When a puppy mysteriously shows up on Virginia’s cabin doorstep in the middle of a snowstorm, it helps her to reevaluate what she holds important in life. When the puppy’s owner, her neighbor, and renowned author Sage Volland demands her dog back, she drags Virginia into an unfamiliar, and dangerous game that might sidetrack her from staying out of trouble.
There’s something mystical about the rough-around-the-edges reclusive writer that’s both attractive, and infuriating. Will Virginia bail yet again on her recovery?
REVIEW:
Don’t be fooled by the sweet puppy on the cover of this book. There is a dog, and he’s awesome. But instead of being a book about rescuing a stray from the Wisconsin wilderness, this is actually a tension-filled thriller about two women saving each other from a more dangerous predator.
Virginia is a complex and well-crafted character who makes for a great narrator. As a burned-out Hollywood wild-child, she’s staying in a remote cabin to get her act together and get clean away from the industry’s temptations. She’s having a grand pity party until a stray puppy (which she names Denzel) shows up at her place, followed soon by her owner, a sexy Nordic author named Sage. The heat sizzles between cagey Virginia and no-nonsense Sage, but they both soon discover someone else is in the woods with them, and they want to do them harm.
As a Midwestern girl myself, the snowy, cold setting feels right at home. Virginia is pretty new to the frosty winter scene, so seeing her navigate the unfamiliar weather is amusing. The snow and cold might be romantic in a way, but it can also be deadly, and the book shows both sides pretty well. Both Sage and I probably cringed eternally when she found Virginia outside in the snow with bare feet!
I really like Virginia is a layered, flawed protagonist, but I never warmed up to Sage the same way. Virginia always feels honest, even when she’s a little hard to handle, but Sage’s gruff and hostile exterior turns me off rather than endears me to her. And her backstory, though heartbreaking, is way over the top. It didn’t feel natural within the pretty realistic confines of the book. And though the romantic chemistry and sexual tension is definitely there, the love scenes have some awkward language and clunky pacing that could’ve been improved.
This is a short, atmospheric thriller that will give you the chills in more ways than one. But by the end, the romance itself left me a little cold.
RATING: 
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