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Amberly #1

Tiger Tricks

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Rhett: I’ve fought a lot of fires but this is one blaze I can’t put out.

I rose from my past and became a damn good fireman. They made me the cover model for the calendar, but I’m still not a fit for polite society.
I don’t do commitment. Or responsibility. But then a crazy fan sent me a puppy — a terrified untrained Dalmatian. I was supposed to throw him away?
The gorgeous guy at the shelter wasn’t impressed either. Oscar took my breath away, all dark eyes, glasses and skinny jeans.
He’s way out of my league. No strings? No problem.

But is our burning chemistry is too hot to handle?

Oscar: You know what they say about playing with fire.

I was a social media star until an ugly public breakup drove me to idyllic Amberly. I needed to get away from it all. Live the analog life. Work in the dog shelter. Stay out of relationships.
Then the fireman hunk on my calendar walked into the shelter cradling a Dalmatian puppy in his arms.
Rhett is sexy. Tattooed. Covered in muscles. He’s the player bad boy I definitely should stay away from. So when he answered my ad to rent my guest house, and my history of bad judgment, of course, I said yes.

Can I handle a fling without getting burned?

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2016

42 people are currently reading
104 people want to read

About the author

Edith Scott

26 books31 followers

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5 stars
68 (29%)
4 stars
92 (39%)
3 stars
54 (23%)
2 stars
11 (4%)
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6 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for ☆ Todd.
1,442 reviews1,587 followers
December 26, 2016

Both of the MC's in this book were great guys, but they each came with their own set of substantial baggage.

Rhett grew up in foster care, then was later adopted by an amazing couple at age 14, but he still can't recognize his own self-worth, regardless of what others say, so how could he ever be good enough to deserve love? Instead, he settles for out-of-town, one-off Grindr 'dates,' but never anything more. Ever. EVER. E-V-E-R.



As a popular Internet personality, Oscar may have a million YouTube followers, but he's hiding from past mistakes and most of the world at large after being taken advantage of in his last relationship. How can he allow himself to trust again so quickly?



So neither guy feels that they're either worthy or ready for anything serious, but a friends with benefits situation with the only person who's ever blown your socks clean off? Sure, that they can handle. Or so they tell themselves.

This was an extremely cute story that worked well for me, for the most part. There were places in the story that felt a bit too cutesy, a bit hokey, almost bordering on Hallmark, but overall I got pretty lost in the adorability of it all.

Then we have Tiger, the Dalmatian puppy who gets dropped into Rhett's lap by an adoring group who are fans of his Sexy Firemen calendar.



The story is fairly well paced, with little dragging, but an occasional lurch ahead in the timeline; however, my interest in what would happen next never waned.

As per usual in these "our relationship has an expiration date" stories, we get the requisite separation, but fortunately it didn't last long, with which I was both pleased and relieved.

There are also a few tugs at the old heart strings, especially the big climactic scene toward the end. Their reconnection was both impactful and touching, which left me with a bit of a lump in my throat.

For the sex, the story wasn't what I'd call heavily-populated with those scenes, but there were definitely enough of them, where they were actually needed. And they were pretty steamy. (The wedding scene. Jesus. 'Nuff said.)

The boys do get their HEA, which was convincing, although we don't get an actual epilogue to help cement the deal.

Overall, I'd rate this one at around 3.75 stars, which would've been slightly higher if the writing had been a wee bit less 'made for TV' movie of the week.

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** This story is available for *FREE* with a Kindle Unlimited membership. **
Profile Image for Denise H..
3,249 reviews271 followers
December 23, 2016
*** A romance for two men who desperately need each other.
Blue-eyed, 30ish, Rhett, is a hunky Firefighter; Mr. June

on the calendar and has some fans. A Dalmatian puppy is delivered to him at the firehouse, and he can't say no, he can't turn away from the little guy, like he was forgotten as a child.
Rhett takes the puppy to the shelter, where Oscar, 25,

who has dark curly hair and glasses, and bright shirts, helps out, and the men strike a deal. He can't have a dog at his apartment, so Oscar lets him rent his guest house and help with renovations, while Oscar trains "Tiger".

We do learn a lot about Dalmatians and their needs.
These men embark on a slow burn relationship, with timid kisses, then touches, etc., as their emotions grow stronger and their need for each other escalates. Their sexy times come later,

and are super sizzling. They like spending time together, too. They are denying the closeness as it takes hold, because neither wants to push the other. I liked these wonderful characters, all of the firemen, and Rhett's adoptive Mom. Lots of cute scenes, and scenarios. Much is happening with the firehouse class, dog training, the remodel, and Oscar's YouTube Internet show.

This is fun yet serious, and full of caring and loving. ENJOY !
====================
In this series each can stand alone.
Profile Image for sky.
652 reviews80 followers
December 27, 2016
suka sama bagian akhirnya, manis-manis utcul gimana gitu ehehehe. walaupun sebenarnya chemistrynya menurutku ga semagical apa yang kedua tokoh katakan ... :/
tiga bintang karena sebenarnya aku pengen tau gimana si mantan pacar, lalu YouTube Channellnya, tapi udah keburu ending :')
Profile Image for Rayne.
872 reviews29 followers
December 18, 2016
I totally loved the chemistry here between Oscar and Rhett. It was like fated mates, but not. They were just meant to be. And it was great because they started as friends and then gave in to the chemistry. And so fun that the town was so supportive. Tiger was adorable and I absolutely loved that the book revolved around this cute little Dalmatian.
Profile Image for Tristan.
918 reviews20 followers
April 1, 2017
3/5

It has its moment, but nothing to write home about. One thing stood out, however, were the little drawing of the puppy. At first I was conflicted about them since they made me feel like I'm reading a children book - "The adventure of Tiger the Dalmatian and Friends" and the book does feel that way sometime. However, over time they grew on me, and I was actually looking forward to the next one to come in the book.
Profile Image for Sylvia.
1,436 reviews13 followers
April 24, 2017
3.5☆

Such a sweet and cute story.

I really liked the cute little drawings of Tiger in every chapter.
both Mc's came with some baggage and some insecurities but overall it was a very sweet and fluffy story .
I would like to read more about the other men in the adorable little town like Angel or Beckett.
Profile Image for Cadiva.
4,005 reviews441 followers
December 28, 2016
Illustrations help make this story special

This is a much better rounded story than book one in this loosely connected series and the wonderful illustrations which highlights each chapter help make it feel special.

I felt both Rhett and Oscar were more developed as characters and their relationship was also given time to breathe.
Tiger was a cute dog and I also liked that the author emphasized the importance of having the right sort of dog and that Dalmatian dogs aren't for everyone.

It was also interesting that she chose to have one of the MCs be a YouTuber, there are many people making a living now from this social media channel and I think she did well to portray the additional pressures which come with such a public medium

I did have an odd sense of deja vu at times with this book but I don't think I've already read it, more it being familiar situations which occur often in romance novels. Overall I enjoyed it more than book one.
Profile Image for Kevin.
2,675 reviews37 followers
December 25, 2016
Two emotionally damaged men are brought together by a baby/child/puppy/kitten. One is bad at reading, but the other suspects he has dyslexia. All well-worn plots.
Here it's a fireman who gets a Dalmatian puppy and meets a former YouTube star at the animal shelter. The two hit it off but obligatory problems push them apart until the overly sappy conclusion.
It was a fun diversion and it had a lot of nice illustrations. The dog was maybe the best part of the story.
Profile Image for Susan.
2,349 reviews459 followers
dnf
December 23, 2016
DNF at 30%

I don't understand the high ratings of this, the writing was quite awful and disjointed.

Not the book for me.
Profile Image for Alisha.
80 reviews29 followers
April 13, 2018
Goodreads has this as the first in the Amberly series while in some places it is listed as the second. They are standalone books, but this did feature Mike, David, and Sarah from Stray Home, so I liked having read that one first. And it was fun to see Sarah again.

Tiger Tricks is the story of Rhett and Oscar. Rhett is a firefighter, one of those hunky ones they put in their calendars. While he is assertive at work and pretends to be outgoing, he's actually a bit shy, so everyone constantly commenting on his hotness and sending gifts to the firehouse for him makes him really embarrassed. Getting mailed panties from the Junior club is really not his thing.

One day he gets yet another gift, but this is the worse gift someone could give someone. A courier delivers a little Dalmatian puppy. Everyone knows you should never give an animal as a gift, and a single firefighter who lives in an apartment is one of the worse people to own a Dalmatian. They're way too smart and active to be kept locked up all the time. And without intensive training and a ton of dedication they are trouble. Rhett thinks he can barely take of himself, let alone a high-needs puppy.

Rhett was abandoned by his mother and placed into foster care, where he was passed around until he was 14 and was adopted. Knowing what it's like to have no home and be considered trouble, he can't stand putting the puppy in the same position, but he doesn't know what to do with the puppy except take it to the new animal shelter in town. There's no way a non committal guy like him can take care of a puppy, let alone one as much trouble as a Dalmatian!

Oscar used to be a big YouTube star until he broke up with boyfriend / cohost and had a meltdown. He moved to Amberley to get away and have a fresh start. He's taking a break from everything--social media, people, and especially, men. Spending his time fixing up the house he just bought and volunteering at the new animal shelter is his new life.

When Rhett walks into the shelter with the little puppy he's fighting himself every step of the way. While he didn't want a pet and had nothing to do with getting it, he feels responsible for it now and he doesn't want to abandon his new puppy, especially when he finds out that Dalmatian puppies frequently get adopted but are quickly returned because they're extremely difficult to take care of and don't make good pets for most people.

When the hot firefighter walks into the shelter with a cute puppy, Oscar can't help feeling sorry for the pair. He fights the urge, but eventually he volunteers his services as a dog trainer so Rhett can learn to care for the puppy, if in return Rhett helps redo his house.

When Rhett gets kicked out of his apartment for having a puppy he moves into Oscar's guest house and the two and the puppy spend lots of time together. Rhett doesn't do commitments, he knows no one would ever want him, and Oscar is afraid of getting together with another guy when he's still recovering from the last one. But training a puppy together draws the two closer together and soon they're nearly inseparable. But their baggage may prevent these guys from taking the next step.

This book in the Amberly series was a much better one than the first. The writing was smoother and the characters less of caricatures. I really think this writer will improve more and her books will only get better.

It was really refreshing to see a book featuring Dalmatians that reminds people of why they shouldn't get one. They're super cute dogs, but have a lot of health problems from being overbred because of the 101 Dalmatians craze. Mentions of their neediness and reminders of what the breed was actually originally bred for are worked in throughout the book, not heavily enough to be obnoxious but enough to educate people on this breed of dog.

There were cute little drawings throughout the book as well. Little images of Dalmatians puppies accompanied the text and were a fun surprise. A bit old-fashioned and different, but I liked it.

My only fault with the story is the haziness of the whole YouTube issue. The disjointed mentions didn't quite come together to really explain the whole problem with it and what went wrong that caused Oscar to run away from it. It sounded like he was posting dog training videos at first and then started doing things like the Cinnamon Challenge and got carried away? Not really sure. For a while it sounded like he had done a drunk posting, then it sounded like he almost killed himself by drinking and taking meds. But the entirety never quite coalesced into a complete image of his past. And starting making videos again was supposed to be a big deal, but we never heard how he dealt with the new comments or anything that he was bothered by so much before. It all just felt like there were missing pieces.

Otherwise I liked the book. A shy yet hot firefighter with a cute puppy paired up with a pastel-wearing dog trainer? Who could resist?

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Amberly series.

Keywords: firefighter, Dalmatian, puppy, dog trainer, YouTube, hit-it and quit-it guy
Profile Image for Lora Graham.
458 reviews20 followers
March 15, 2019
THIS WAS SO DULL. At least 60% of the book is just talking about dogs and Dalmatians and how difficult they are to raise. I don't care! I don't want one!

It took me over a week to finish this book, and that's after I started all over again because I got halfway through it last year and couldn't stand it. It's been sitting in my Kindle Unlimited queue since last May! And it was just as bad the second time around. Rhett is a fireman who the whole world thinks is a hot hero but he has low self-esteem from being bounced around foster homes; he spends the entire book lamenting about how unworthy he is of everything. He also spends the entire book wondering how an "elegant, classy guy" like Oscar could be interested in him, but based on description Oscar dressed like some preppy frat boy and he had the brain of a 14 year old. He just seemed so dim to me.

I felt zero chemistry between them, which they must not have either because they didn't have sex until the very end. Nothing they did up until then was hot and I skimmed over all of it, including the sex. Oscar was supposedly a dog expert, but it was never explained how or why. Then he diagnoses Rhett with dyslexia but never encourages him to get a professional diagnosis or help; he simply teaches Rhett some "tricks" that an old friend used when he was diagnosed with dyslexia. And lo and behold, now Rhett has no more problems! I wasn't even all that pleased with the first book in the series, I don't know why I started this one. But you can bet I won't read the rest.
Profile Image for Denise GremoryKohta.
4,263 reviews8 followers
June 6, 2017
You can't help but fall in love with Rhett and Oscar. Two men with deep emotional scars that grow to be an amazing couple. Just like the last book, a puppy leads to them meeting. Through Oscar helping Rhett with Tiger and Rhett helping Oscar with remodeling, they trust each other. Trust enough to overcome their struggles and fall in love.
922 reviews7 followers
July 8, 2017
3.5* again editing is letting this series down.
1,787 reviews26 followers
March 12, 2017
Woof!

Even though the curiously named Rhett and Oscar have some serious hang-ups about life, love, each other and themselves, this book is held together by Tiger the Dalmatian, whose cuteness appears throughout in sketches, and whose lot in life is to be loyal, and a matchmaker par excellence.

Not that Rhett and Oscar play secondary roles: Indeed, they are as complex and as frustrating a couple of semi broken guys that you will meet in a guys-are-gay romance, and they come to life from the start. Even though you might find Rhett a bit deeper, Oscar the YouTube entrepreneur from a money background is just as complex, and needy, as Rhett the fireman from the cliche foster family life story.

Both fall stupid in lust and then love and then both fall stupid in making a commitment when the time comes. That will really get you nasty angry, but you push on looking for that HEA--or even a HEA-for-now ending.

And every step along the way, Tiger the Dalmatian is there to frolic and learn, yip and yelp, and serve as one of the coolest animal catalysts in a MM romance.

How author Scott brings it all about is easily telegraphed in the last 20% of the book, and you will smile and congratulate yourself for figuring it out--and thank Oscar and Rhett for making your wish for them come true.
Profile Image for Louan.
794 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2017
Sweet story- hot fireman, adorable puppy are the yay Points of the book, oblivious characters, lack of communication would be the villian of the piece.
The illustrations were a wonderful addition - unfortunately now I want a puppy & and a hot fireman
But I always want a hot fireman
Profile Image for Patrice Leonard.
Author 1 book15 followers
December 23, 2016
3.5 stars

This was a really cute story. I really adored Rhett. For some reason, I didn't care for Oscar. I can't put my finger on why though to be honest.
Also, I wasn't a fan of how the author portrayed Rhett. After almost the whole book we finally find out how old he was. He is 28. I'm glad it was disclosed because for most of the book, thanks to the way the author wrote him and his dialog I got the impression he was really really young. He spoke like a teenager most of the time. Also, Rhett is found to have a learning disability in dyslexia. I am also dyslexic, and I don't sound like that. The author almost made his sound like he was slow. I really bothered me because as someone who suffers from this issue, and knowing others who do as well, I know no one who speaks like Rhett was made to in this book. Anyway, maybe that all hit a bit too close to home for me and I didn't like the way that character came off on the page. And that's probably why I fell in love with Rhett in the first place. Who knows.
I enjoyed the first book, Stray Home, and was glad to see David and Mike's wedding. And Bacon, of course!
Anyway, in the end, this was a good story with at least one lovable MC and a cute dog(even if the word 'velvet' was WAY overused to describe him).
596 reviews2 followers
December 14, 2016
Rhett does not do relationships, victim of neglect and the system he never lets anyone in. When he is sent a Dalmatian puppy that everyone says is trouble he cannot bring himself to abandon him like he was. Oscar was a YouTube star that became disillusioned and moved start fresh and out of the spotlight so he could get his head on straight. When Rhett comes to the shelter with the puppy, Oscar finds himself volunteering to train the puppy, mostly because there is a strong connection brewing from the minute he and Rhett saw each other. Working with “Tiger” brings Rhett and Oscar closer and closer, but lack of communication, insecurities, and negative experiences threaten to squash the budding relationship. Super sweet and sexy read, very lovable characters (loved the puppy pictures sprinkled in), lots of emotion and smashing HEA!
**I voluntarily chose to review a copy of this book and I have not been compensated in any way**
27 reviews11 followers
December 9, 2016
Sweet and adorable

I love mm romance because the books are about two people, and don't get stuck in the usual MF gender tropes. The books are sweeter too. No mafia, no stepbrothers, no gangs, no murders. Just two unique individuals finding themselves and finding love. And this one has a puppy! What is hotter than one gorgeous guy? Two, of course. This book will make you smile and laugh. And the ILLUSTRATIONS!!! What a treat. If nothing else, read this for the unique and charming illustrations that appear throughout the story. They enhance the entire charmed feel of the little town of Amberly and the adorable puppy who changed a fireman's life.
Profile Image for Jodi Bobbett.
129 reviews2 followers
December 14, 2016
Interesting

Not a lot of MM stories catch and hold my attention but this one had me laughing, almost crying and staying with it to the end almost in one sitting. Great read, great story!!
38 reviews35 followers
February 8, 2017
I want more!!!

Could you write more on Oscar, Rhett and Tiger! This book needs to see more of this couple! I look forward to reading more from Edith Scott!!!
Profile Image for Sheri (Tangled Up In Books).
470 reviews51 followers
December 29, 2016
Quick. Fun. Easy read. Not absolutely amazing but I enjoyed reading it and the characters especially all the same. Plus I loved the fact that this book repeatedly reinforced the fact that going out and getting certain "purebred" dogs such as Dalmatians for a starter dog is not smart and they're a lot of work. It put out some good messages on pet ownership instead of just as bunch of aww this puppy is so cute.
3,557 reviews38 followers
February 3, 2017
Tiger Together

A young fireman with no experiences with relationships is immediately attracted to a young recluse who agrees to train a dog he's been gifted with. Luckily, the training goes really, really well!

A sweet romance with an auction that reaches a beautiful conclusion for all.
Profile Image for Elithanathile.
1,927 reviews
December 25, 2016
Okay, this is where I give up where this author is concerned. Nothing about this book worked for me and I found it to be just as bad as - if not worse than - the previous book. Nope. I'm out.

*****
KUed this.
252 reviews
December 22, 2016
Loved!

I loved this book and these characters! And I really loved the idea of the illustrations of Tiger the puppy throughout the book. It added that extra element! I wish more authors would add these little extras in! This is now one of my favorite books!!!
Profile Image for Eva.
Author 1 book2 followers
December 27, 2016
Nothing earth shattering but it is sweet and nice. The characters are solid and you appreciate why they are sometimes slow to get together. Informative about dalmatiens, although sometimes I felt like that was too much.

Over a good story and fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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