Blaze

Where most people keep pictures of their human loved ones in their workspace, Blaze’s loved ones were the puppies he’d met in his volunteer work at the local animal rescue shelter, many of whom he had helped find loving homes. When asked the extent of his dog experience and training, he explained that he tried to get into the military K9 program but had “failed for the right reason.” Not getting attached to the dogs with whom he was working was a harder task than Blaze was willing to master. I couldn’t agree more. To really know a dog is to truly love a dog, impossible not to. Raised in a family that raised and trained the big Newfoundland and St. Bernard breeds, Blaze had experienced the strength of human-canine bonds. Solo is the name of the shepherd-mix K9 that Jager assigned to Blaze for a “welfare check.” How very apt because Solo was a dog who bonded strongly with her first handler/trainer and then attached less and less as she was passed along to subsequent handlers until she became a loner. Her eventual adopted family from whom she ran away was not invested in finding her because they felt she had not bonded with any of them. In his case, after his years of service as a SEAL, then injuries, surgeries and rehab, Blaze himself was on a one-man trip to find his way back to civilian life and find a job that was not based on physical strength and knowledge of strategic warfare. Job prospects weren’t evident as Blaze didn’t know what he wanted or was qualified to do. That uncertainty had him wandering around looking for himself when he took a job working in New Mexico for Titanium Corp. (See the Mayer series SEALs of STEEL.) Returning to Kentucky with the mission to look for Solo, a dog needing a safe place for herself and someone to love, gave him a way to go home looking less broken than he felt. Kentucky event planner Camilla is impressed with the young man who stopped to help when she went off the road to avoid hitting a shepherd-mix dog running around loose. That he made sure she and her event materials arrived at the venue where she would be running a wedding rehearsal dinner, after which he planned to go back to the scene to look for the dog before going to visit the family he hadn’t seen in years impressed Camilla. And contrary to his loner tendencies, Blaze turned her offer of thank-you coffee into a dinner date, and then stuck around to help when trouble started. Sounds like a promising adventure is already in place. If you want to know the rest, read Dale Mayer’s K9 series Book 4 – Blaze. Then, if you haven’t already, look for and read Books 1-3, Ethan, Pierce, and Zane, as well. What’s not to love about men who rescue and resurrect trust and love in smart and beautiful dogs and, in doing so, find their human soulmates? I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Blaze has worked hard at healing after his injuries as a Navy Seal and a trip home seems to be the next step. He has been asked to return to Kentucky to look for a vet dog named Solo who has retired from the service and is lost. Since his dad is still working with dogs in Kentucky this seems to be a great choice. There he meets Camilla on the side of the road where she has had an accident trying to avoid hitting a dog who might be the shepherd Blaze is searching to find. Camilla is an events planner involved in setting up a wedding (she always avoids weddings but is doing this for a friend). Soon it becomes clear someone is trying to harm the plans for the wedding and the relationship growing between Blaze and Camilla. There is some dysfunctional family history in play, Solo is a loner so it's making it difficult to track her and Blaze wants to protect them both. So love, romance, loyalty, honor, mystery, and finding Solo are all involved. I would have loved to see this story develop even more but thoroughly enjoyed it as is too. Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!

I really loved this book.Blaze is an ex army seal, discharged on medical grounds due to severe injuries after an encounter with an IED. His father runs a successful animal sanctuary and Blaze is given the task of finding Solo, an ex military dog that has gone feral . Camilla is an events planner who Blaze comes across at the side of the road, she has a bent wheel after swerving to miss a dog who Blaze thinks may be Solo, the dog that he is trying to find. I loved the gentle romance that grew between these two, she was slightly dippy and made him laugh, which he hadn't done much of in a long time, however someone was trying very hard to keep them apart and Blaze was determined to find out who, I loved the empathy and the gentle way that Blaze earned the trust of Solo. This book is one of a series of books involving dogs, it is the first one that I have read but it wont be the last. This is a standalone story with a HEA I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.