Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Rescue Us
SERIES: Must Love Dogs
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 186 pages
RELEASE DATE: 3 January 2023
BLURB:
Everyone needs to be rescued sometimes.
As a vet tech, Daniel is usually first in line to come to animals’ aid. When he and his boss get a call about an animal hoarding situation, they expect the handful of badly treated dogs… but the tiger comes as a surprise.
Wes recently left his job to care for his sick mother. Now that she’s on the mend, he needs work, and he finds it at a bustling shelter. But the animals aren’t the only ones in need. His kind, chatty coworker Daniel is dealing with an abusive boyfriend—something Wes, whose father was an alcoholic, has experience handling. Wes steps up to help Daniel kick his boyfriend to the curb, but in the process, he finds himself falling for Daniel himself.
Navigating a new relationship when they both have traumatic pasts is one thing. But when a shady group starts targeting the tiger they are trying to find a zoo placement for, the stakes are raised even higher. Can Wes and Daniel come together to rescue the animals—and each other?
REVIEW:
Of the three books in the series, this is the crowning glory. It has everything required to make it a really good read. There is mystery, romance, adventure, excitement and a rare Sumatran tiger. I would have preferred if he’d been given a different name than Raj, but I hope it was done ironically.
As usual the author reveals a talent for crafting solid, believable characters who go through personal development through the course of the book. Being longer, this book was able to support a rich array of secondary characters, all of which were vibrant, valuable and memorable, even when they did not take a large part. I find myself particularly fond of the hulking Mark and his tiny poodle who had next to no page-time but had a lasting impact.
Wes and Daniel fit very well together even though, on the surface, they appear to be opposites with Daniel’s cheerful exuberance starkly contrasting Wes’ almost anti social reticence. However, they are far more similar than they first appear and their life experiences have led them down paths that make it easy for them to meet and meld almost seamlessly.
As befitting this series, the real stars of the show are the animals and they had me both sitting at the edge of my seat, and melting into a puddle of goo (not at the same time).
The book deals with some heavy subjects involving animal abuse and is not for anyone who is triggered by that kind of thing. While everything happens off camera, there are some pretty horrific cases of neglect and violence, right to the level of vicious gladiatorial contests involving rare wild animals. Whilst our animals are saved from this fate, it is clear there have, and likely will always be, others who were not so lucky.
For once, I absolutely did not see the twist at the end coming. It was a shocker and no mistake and I loved it.
Overall this is not quite the no-stress, feel-good fare I’ve been reviewing recently from this author, and it definitely has more of an edge than the other books in the series. This is absolutely not a bad thing and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. It’s well written, well thought through and has a wealth of detail that bring both the people and the animals alive.
RATING: 
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