Thursday, April 12, 2018

eARC Book review: Ruff Around the Edges (The Dogfather #5) by Roxanne St. Claire

39710854

Available April 12, 2018
eARC Provided by author

The Dogfather is a contemporary romance series from New York Times bestselling author Roxanne St. Claire celebrating what she loves most: hot guys, great dogs, big families...and true love. And a portion of the proceeds from every book in the series will be donated to the Alaqua Animal Refuge in the author's home state of Florida! 

U.S Army Night Stalker Major Aidan Kilcannon leaves Afghanistan after his best friend, Charlie, is killed in action. Aidan's only consolation is the knowledge that he's now solely responsible for Charlie's dog, Ruff, a rambunctious boxer they'd found in a bombed-out hospital in Kabul. With the help of Aidan's father, the Dogfather himself, they transport Ruff back to the States. He arrives shortly after Aidan, and both dog and man are suffering from loss, trauma, and sudden change. Aidan is certain his only hope is the comfort and love he gets from Ruff, and that this dog will help him adjust to the staggeringly difficult transition from battlefield to Bitter Bark.

But the day Ruff arrives, Daniel Kilcannon informs his son that Rebecca Spencer, Charlie's younger sister, has a hard and fast claim on Ruff and she intends to honor her brother's wishes. Aidan has to relinquish the dog to her, no matter how impossible that is. 

Beck Spencer is in Bitter Bark temporarily to help the only living relatives she has left. After losing her parents as a child, and her brother six months ago, she, too, hopes that Ruff will offer the solace and companionship she needs. But when Ruff finally shows up at her door, the man holding the leash is obviously determined to talk her out of keeping the dog. In fact, Aidan uses every persuasive power he has to convince Beck to give up Ruff...and he's as wild and unpredictable as the dog they both want.

Everything gets complicated by Ruff, who has his own idea of who should be his master, making it impossible for Beck to win him over. But she'll do anything to succeed, even work closely with maddeningly sexy and relentlessly determined Aidan Kilcannon, who has some skills she desperately needs to save her uncle's local pizza business.

With an uneasy truce, a restless dog, and an attraction that bubbles like one of Slice of Heaven's award-winning pizzas, Aidan and Beck soon realize they can help each other heal. But as they fall deeply in love and discover the true meaning of family and home, they’ll have to face the pains of their past if they have any chance of a future.



Aidan Kilcannon has been away from home for a long time. He and his best friend served in the military together until a combat injury ends his best friends life. Now Aidan is back home and he's hell bent on honoring his best friends final wishes for the beloved stray dog, Ruff he found in Afghanistan Aidan had Ruff shipped home. It took a lot of work and money to do it but it's all he has left of his best friend, Charlie. He's got one problem. Charlie's baby sister has a letter that her brother wrote her saying he wanted her to have the dog. Beck is so excited to have her brother's dog. It's all she has left of him now that he's gone. She butts heads with Aidan over the dog but she's determined.  The dog isn't the only issue these two are dealing with. There's a lot of loss mentioned in this book as the two main characters both have had signmificant loss in their lives.  It was great to see these two figure out the dog ownership problem and help each other heal. The Kilcannon family is a delight as they have been in every book and Roxanne St Claire does a wonderful job making you feel like a part of all that. There's just so much to like about this book and the series on the whole. At the end of this book is a sneak peek at the next book in the series which of course makes you want to read it now! Going to have to wait a while. 

Find out more about this series and Roxanne St Claire here www.roxannestclaire.com

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