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Caring Canines #2

Her Holiday Hero

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The Soldier's Gift

The holidays are right around the corner, but Captain Jake Tanner is struggling to find Christmas cheer. Having survived a devastating attack overseas, he has emotional scars that run deep. When Jake meets beautiful widow Emma Langford, his heart is unprepared for the feelings she inspires.

Training service dogs has taught Emma to recognize those in need. She wants to show Jake that a four-legged companion is the best therapy, but she's afraid that the closer she gets, the more her own wounds are revealed.

Together, Jake and Emma will discover it takes a different kind of bravery to open themselves to love—and to healing.

Caring Canines: Loving and loyal, these dogs mend hearts.

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

22 people are currently reading
416 people want to read

About the author

Margaret Daley

208 books494 followers
Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of seventy-six books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Paula.
545 reviews7 followers
August 30, 2017
Captain Jake Tanner meets single mom Emma Langford when he saves her son from bullies in the park. Jake has an injury to his leg after serving overseas and he is dealing with PTSD. Emma trains service dogs and thinks that a dog she is currently working with, Shep, can help Jake with his PTSD. In return for Emma’s help, Jake agrees to teach her son, Josh, some self-defense moves and provides a male influence in Josh’s life.

This was such a lovely inspirational romance. The cast was filled with such likable and caring characters. I really liked how they were there for each other to deal with and help each other with problems that seemed insurmountable to them. I loved Jake’s elderly neighbor, Marcella, and I liked how Jake and Emma tried to include her in activities with them. The dog, Shep, was pretty awesome and I loved that he was such a comfort and a help to Jake. An all-around wonderful read.
Profile Image for Gail.
Author 25 books216 followers
June 13, 2015
Nice story, I liked it a lot. Hero is a military veteran healing up from a major injury, trying to recover on his own from PTSD. He rescues a boy from bullies in the park across the street and walks him home. Turns out mom is the sister of one of the men in the hero's outfit, and also trains service dogs for various needs, including PTSD. So the story begins. He helps her son learn to deal with the bullies. She fixes him up with a service dog and gets him back into the world. It's a nice story without heavy preaching. Good Read.
Profile Image for Harlequin Books.
18.4k reviews2,804 followers
Read
December 29, 2014
Received 4 1/2 stars at RT Book Reviews
Miniseries: Caring Canines

Harlequin Reader Reviews

"I just love this series!!!! ... Daley knows how to tell a compelling, vibrant story. Her characters are real, and unfortunately, their dilemmas are all too heartbreakingly believable as well. I love her realistic portrayals of life -- both the failures and the successes and there are plenty of both in this thought-provoki­ng read." to read more, go HERE>

Profile Image for June.
1,542 reviews17 followers
February 25, 2014
I so loved this story about a war veteran who had a physical war injury along with dealing with PTSD. What an amazing job Margaret Daley has done on helping her readers to feel and understand the issue of PTSD as real and intense as it must feel to those who suffer from it.

Profile Image for Aerykah.
465 reviews40 followers
January 6, 2016
Very good! Loved the storyline and the characters! And it takes place in Oklahoma, which is almost always a plus for me. ;)
The only real "problem" I can think of is that the last chapter seemed pretty rushed. I loved the epilogue, though!
Profile Image for Michelle.
446 reviews10 followers
December 28, 2015
Caring Canines
Book 2

What a very good book! The author took two very tough subjects and put them together in this book. This book focuses on Jake Tanner, newly discharged from the US Army after a leg injury. But his main problem is PTSD. Emma has just helped her brother deal with this through the help of a therapy dog, and she was very successful. She knows this is what would help Jake, and she approaches this so subtlety...

Meanwhile, Jake discovers that Emma's eleven year old son is being bullied by three boys. They take on this battle together.

These two come together to fight so well. The chemistry was right on. These two were made for each other! The issues were so tough - I cried through a lot of the book - but the ending is so worth all the tears!

Keep up the great work!!!
Profile Image for Michelle Morgan.
254 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2014
Her Holiday Hero by Margaret Daley
When Captain Jake Tanner rescues Josh Langford from three bullies he had no idea his world was about to change. Emma Langford trains service dogs and feels Jake could really use a service dog to help with his PTSD.
The author Margret Daley did an outstand job of bringing the characters to life. She was able to touch two tough subjects that affect many today, bulling and military PTSD. With this book she brought honor to our service men and women. This is the second book in the series Caring Canines but it can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed this inspirational romance and highly recommend it to others.
Profile Image for Susan.
630 reviews31 followers
February 1, 2014
Margaret Daly's Her Holiday Hero was a really good read. The characters of Jake, Emma and Josh were very likeable. They were all hurting in their own way, and the story told how each worked with God and each other to get past those hurts. Ms. Daly's description of someone with PTSD was very good. This book spoke to me about letting God have control and not try to control everything myself. I also liked the way the service dog, Shep, had a major role in the book. I would recommend this book.
I won a copy of this book in an online giveaway and was not required to give a review.
Profile Image for Dawn Leonard.
328 reviews
June 13, 2014
Caring Canines is a great series about service dogs and their trainers, owners and families. When you "meet" Jake, Emma, and Josh in Her Holiday Hero, you'll care about them. Because you can relate to Margaret Daley's characters, you wish you could be part of the story and whisper advice in their ears. The story line is believable and as another reviewer wrote, you can see the simliarities between the characters' issues even if you had never thought of them as comparable. Looking forward to future books in the Caring Canines series and from Margaret Daley.
934 reviews4 followers
December 21, 2013
Her Holiday Hero is one of the Caring Canines series books. Jake has PTSD from being shot in the war. He has bad flashbacks of that time. Emma trains service dogs. She gets Jake to take one. Which helps him. Emma's son has problems with bullies. A lot goes on in the book. It tells how a lot of guys from the war has flashbacks and PTSD. It shows what can be done to help them. A very good read.
Profile Image for Linda.
455 reviews23 followers
January 10, 2014
Loved Her Holiday Hero from the Caring Canines Series and how Margaret Daley addresses PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). From personal experience with a family member with PTSD, Margaret’s research was dead-on. As an animal lover I know how comforting a pet can be, so loved how Shep helped Jake during rough times. The characters are well-developed and easy to relate to….definitely a- couldn’t-put-it-down-book.
984 reviews18 followers
March 10, 2014
What a great book of healing and trusting in the Lord. Dealing with PTSD, bullies, and the feeling of being responsible for someone else's death are all written into this moving story. The book is well written. I am wanting to read more by this author.
1,323 reviews23 followers
September 24, 2014
Wow,I loved this book it is a Caring Canine book and this story just will tug at your heartstrings. This book also deals with bullying which I think every school has been dealing with on every level.A wonderful book to read at anytime during the year!
Profile Image for Dorel.
4,342 reviews38 followers
June 14, 2018
This is the 2nd book I read by Margaret Daley. I loved this book's story line. I loved Emma & Jake's characters. I loved what I learned from this story. I loved the ending. This is a sweet, caring, holiday story to read. Awesome job Ms. Daley.
Profile Image for Anne.
590 reviews97 followers
December 5, 2013
Great story. I love Christmas stories with happy endings. I also learned so much about PTSD in soldiers. I loved learning about the dogs and how they can be trained to helped people with PTSD.
Profile Image for Britney.
768 reviews12 followers
September 10, 2016
Her Holiday Hero is the second book in the Caring Canines series. I love the special animals featured in these books and look forward to reading more of this series!

Margaret Daley does an excellent job of writing complex characters and engaging storylines. The complexity of the characters in Her Holiday Hero and their struggles with issues such as PTSD and bullying added to the depth and richness of this meaningful story.

Her Holiday Hero is a wonderful book and one I highly recommend!
1,382 reviews13 followers
September 26, 2015
Jake has experienced a traumatic time while in the service and now it is time to heal and make sense of the world. A Caring Canine is there to help with Emma and her bullied son.
344 reviews
December 15, 2025
A nice book about service dogs and xmas romance.. Always true, dogs help[ you meet people! So our heroine trains service dogs, has a brother who worked through some of his PTSD from beoing a soldier, meets a neighbor who is isolated and doesn't know how to deal with his PTSD, who, as it turns out, was the captain of her brother in the war - well, together they figure out how to help this guy. Oh, coincidently, our heroines best friend runs PTSD groups. And the nosey neighbor helps to. Throw in some pontiffs on schoolbullyiong. It all comes together. So I liked it but it didn't hae a;ot of depth,
Profile Image for Dianne Sidebottom.
1,433 reviews15 followers
September 28, 2018
ebook from the library. Good way to read books that have been written earlier and haven't been given knew front covers and titles as some are. This story covers many issues from bullying, Christmas, families, PTSD. I like Margaret's style of story. A gift I missed is for women to cook and be hospitable. Christmas time can be difficult and it is not to far away.
1,048 reviews
November 7, 2024
This is a different book than I expected. Jake is survivor from Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD. He helps a boy who is being bullied by three boys. Upon taking him home he meets Emma who works at training service dogs for those in need.
938 reviews
April 14, 2018
Great book that handled a real life issue our returning soldiers face with compassion and dignity! Wonderful love story!
Profile Image for Sheila.
3,117 reviews126 followers
December 2, 2021
This was a really good book. It had a lot of sensitive topics: bullying, PTSD, among others. The characters were very nice.
Profile Image for sweet orange books.
669 reviews8 followers
May 19, 2023
The romance was a like bit too slow and simple for my tastes, but I really like how realistic the topics of school bullying and veterans' PTSD were.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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