What can I say? This is getting to be a habit with this series but I loved it. Truly.
Pamela Clare just has a way of not only bringing her characters to life, but making you feel like you know them, that you feel their pain, and makes you want to root for them. She gives you plenty of little details, provides significant back stories, and manages to teach you something new (the lady does her research) in each book.
There's no crazy plot twists or unusual characters (well, maybe Harrison's next door neighbor who saw his 'Franks and beans' , just some down home good storytelling. PC makes even the mundane day to day activities seem interesting. How does she do this? Of course there is the expected heat between the characters (and ohhh, that one scene where they act out Kenzie's fantasies...:o)
So this was a fairly simple, straightforward romance, with a little bit of some needed suspense at the end. I say 'needed' because the hero was really doubting himself, and this bit of suspense went a long way towards him finding himself and making him trust himself again.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters--dog trainer/kennel owner Kenzie, and alpine climber (alpinist?) Harrison Conrad (okay, confession: this name of his gave me a little bit of fits. Sometimes PC would refer to him as 'Conrad'--his last name, while Kenzie almost always called him 'Harrison'--his first name. At one point I got a little bit confused about which was his first name and which was his last (lol), but eventually I caught on!)
So the book blurb spells it out pretty well for you about what to expect. But I'll add my 2 cents...
Kenzie and Harrison were friends for years, both volunteering on Scarlet Spring's Search and Rescue team. Kenzie trains SAR rescue dogs (her wonderful dog Gizmo is a major character in the book). Harrison travels the world climbing huge mountains (like Mt. Everest) and makes his living this way. (who knew it could be so lucrative?) Anyway, after a horrible accident where he lost his best friend and barely survived himself, he finally comes home to his base in Scarlet Springs, Colorado. Kenzie is worried about him because he has become a recluse. He's all guilted out by what happened to his friends. He's clearly suffering from PTSD, but doesn't want to talk about what happened. He just wants to forget. Kenzie wants to help him but doesn't know how...until she uses her brand new puppy Gizmo as a way to reach him.
Now, Kenzie has vowed never to get involved with a 'climber' again. She's had boyfriends in the past who were climbers and they always left her. Kenzie has no interest in mountain sports. She's a homebody at heart, not an adventurous soul like Harrison. On paper these two don't work. But how can you deny chemistry...?
I loved everybody in this story! I admired Kenzie (she turned out to be a badass), I felt bad for Harrison/Conrad and what he went through, and I loved them together. And my god, those dogs? Gizmo, Gabby, even Snickerdoodle and Prince! All wonderful additions to the story.
I loved catching up with the rest of the 'team' (even though I might have forgotten a few of their stories...). But it doesn't matter--this can be read as a stand alone, or even out of order like I did at first.:)
All in all, a great addition to what is becoming a favorite series for me.
5 stars
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book.