I'm a sucker for K-9 suspense stories, I love the military brotherhood, I adore passionate, flirty romance, and pets in books just give another element to dote - and Sandra Owens delivers on all these fronts with great flow, flare, and fire that makes an impression!
With lots of delightful humor and banter that made me chuckle out loud, the author entertained and charmed me with her smoothly flowing tale.
The ardent attraction that flared between Jack and Nichole was deliciously appealing and irresistible. The connection between them was real and true, no doubt about that. The deeper feelings developing and the passion igniting, it all made me smile and sigh and swoon, it was so enchanting with a close second the connection between the doggies and their owners.
The threat that was lurking on every corner, the obstacles in Jack's mind that he had to conquer, the challenges Nicole and Jack faced, it all was wrapped around a story that captured my mind.
Operation K-9 Brothers is the first book in the series, that I am looking forward to reading and devouring.
~ Five Spoons

This is a Suspense Romance, and this is the first book in the Operation K-9 Brothers series. I really enjoyed the characters in this book, and the storyline in this book was really good. I love the dogs in this book. I cannot wait for the second book in this series to come out. The romance in this book was more then most suspense romance book. I enjoyed the writing in this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Carina Press) or author (Sandra Owens) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Brilliant story.

I liked the flow and the characters. There was a great amount of conflict and interest to keep page turning.

Attractive title and cover.

Love the entire K9 series.

Recommend.

I couldn't finish the book, I just couldn't connect with it. Not that it was good or bad, I think it's just me. I was hoping it would draw me in but it didnt.

This is the first book in a new series featuring K-9s and is a great start that has me keen to read the rest of the series!

Nichole Masters calls her ex-boyfriend in the middle of the night berating him because he just won’t accept she’s gone. She’s fiery, feisty and determined - but she called the wrong person and doesn’t realise it! She actually called Jack Daniels, a Navy SEAL who is currently on medical leave after an IED severely injured both himself and his K-9, Dakota. He decides to try to find out more about what’s happening - much more interesting than worrying if he’ll ever recover enough to rejoin his team.

Her struggles with her rescue pup, Rambo, give him the excuse to talk to her and give help with the pup’s training. When she feels in danger, he’s the one she asks for help, never anticipating their mutual attraction could develop into anything more. However, when your plans are scuppered, it is time to have new hopes and dreams - and maybe these will enable them to have their HEA!

This is definitely more romance than suspense but it is still a heartwarming story about the fantastic dogs and their owners, about being prepared to alter your goals and help others whilst doing so. It deals sensitively with the problems faced by those with PSTD, especially veterans, and how trained K-9s can help them. There’s also humour, especially that supplied by Grammie and Dirty Mary, both of whom are fabulous characters. I really look forward to reading more books in this series and discovering how things develop for everyone involved.

Thank you to Harlequin/Carina Press and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

I liked how this started and how this ended, but there was a huge issue I had in the middle where the hurtful moment that caused the separation went too far. It was actually predictable in what was going to happen and I kept hoping before reaching that point that the author would do something unique or make the moment meaningful rather than hurtful, but alas, my hopes were dashed. They did work it out and the groveling was sufficient, but I can't say I was moved by it. Where they ended up and how things were resolved was great though, so it was worth starting and worth finishing. I'm quite interested in the rest of the series from here on out because despite my frustrations with certain things that happened, the community and characters created for the series are flawed, human, memorable, and interesting. Definitely a good way to begin a series.

Jack Daniels was injured and left on the mead until he can get the clear to go back to his brothers in the SEAL. One day he receives a drunk dial from Nichole by accident he goes searching for her and likes what sees. Nichole has an ex who isn't interested in just being an ex and making sure she knows he's around and doesnt plan on leaving her alone. Jack offers to help train Nicholes puppy problem but if she's around.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that attraction between the two seeing their interaction and seeing how they were falling for eachother. Problem is there is going to be a limit how things works I mean he has every intention of getting back to the SEALs and if he starts a relationship he knows from his brothers how that can turn out. Then there is Nichole who has bad luck with guys and her ex is looking to make things worse because he can't take a hint. I loved seeing how everything played out though because clearly that ex wasn't backing off and the lengths he went though was kinda ridiculous. There was plenty to enjoy about this book and I really enjoyed myself reading it.

Operation K-9 Brothers is the first book in the exciting new Operation K-9 Brothers series. This was a new-to-me author and I was so excited when I got the ARC. The book was well written and the characters were genuine and easy to connect with. Jack was such a great guy and was devasted when he was given the news he could not return to his Seal team. He felt as though he lost himself because that’s the only life he knew and understood. His love for dogs provided him a way to help his fellow brothers and sisters. Nichole couldn’t help falling for Jack even though she knew he would be leaving to rejoin his team. I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to the next book in the series.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m a sucker for books with a dog on the cover. Especially service dogs. Romantic suspense, one of my favourite genres, and a service dog? That’s my catnip, right there. So I was predisposed to like this going in.

Delightfully, there’s lots of doggy action, as both the hero Jack Daniels (um...right) and the heroine Nichole have dogs. Jack is a SEAL dog handler, and he and his dog Dakota are both recovering from an IED in Afghanistan, one which has seen Dakota invalided out of service and left Jack with serious scars and a lot of recovery still to do. Nichole has pup Rambo, who she picked up hoping he’d become protection against the jerky men who seem magnetically attracted to her, but Rambo needs a lot of training she doesn’t know how to give. Enter Jack.

While this had plenty of great doggy action, it somewhat lacked in suspense, for me. A jerk of an ex and a business rival who keeps coming around don’t really make for great suspenseful action, not when it was obvious from the beginning they were both pitifully outclassed by Jack (never mind Dakota). For a book to be romantic suspense, I think it has to include situations which pose a serious threat to the physical safety of both hero and heroine, and which they then have to overcome together, and this one really missed the mark. I never really even felt like Nichole was in serious danger. This was just a contemporary romance with a Jerk Ex storyline, and as such, I was disappointed.

I actually enjoyed the read - Nichole is no-nonsense, despite previous unfortunate taste in men, and takes no prisoners when Jack has a self-pitying man fail. I like the concept of the series and I loved the dog characters. But the fact that it fails at being a romantic suspense means I cannot give it more than four stars.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Stalking

Jack Daniels and Dakota are quite the pair. After being the unlucky victims of an IED, both Jack and Dakota are in need of mending. Being back home, Jack is working hard to get back to his team. And while he knows that Dakota won’t be able to come with him, he’s content to know that she is living her best life.

Nichole is a great artist, but she has been quite unlucky in the love department. I liked her spunky attitude and how she was compassionate without being a pushover. On a drunken night, she drunk dials who she thinks is Trevor, the fellow artist who scooped a commission out from under her with false promises. She ends up dialing Jack instead.

Nichole and Jack, along with their adorable dogs, Rambo and Dakota, start their romance as a friendship. Jack isn’t one to mince words, so he tells Nichole what he can offer and hopes that she’s willing to take a chance with him.

When people from Nichole’s past come back, making her life difficult, both Jack and Dakota will make sure that she is protected. The big question is whether or not Jack can keep her safe from his own demons.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for more. I do hope that Grannie makes more appearances. She was hilarious.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Watching Jack and Nichole navigate the whole are we/aren't we was nice to see.

Nichole's pottery career is really taking off until a betrayal by a person she thought of as a friend. Ranting and raving one night after drinking a bottle of wine, she dials what she thinks is her former friend’s number and unwittingly gives Jack a piece of her mind. Intrigued, he figures out who she is and strikes up a conversation with her.

Jack's still recovering from an injury he suffered during his time overseas. Determined to rehab his arm and shoulder so that he can return to the SEALs, he knows that anything with Nichole can't last but he can't seem to stay away from her.

I really enjoyed learning about how dogs are trained to be service animals and how the dogs bring a sense of companionship that people dealing with PTSD seem to need.

I liked this one so well read it twice which is something I do not do often. Jack and Dakota will weave their web and you are theirs for the duration. Hence this is a page turner also. The author has him looking for a miracle. Then this has Nicole and pup Rambo whom specialty is pottery. The two have their own ideas on what they want with also what they do not want but funny we do not always get what a body wants but what the heart needs. Seeing and chemistry jump start this but danger pushes it along. This intrigue will give its all taking us and squeezing out our all.

This book is fantastic!
Nichole is a feisty heroine. Jack is a charming and tortured hero.
And there are DOGS!! Adorable ... protective dogs!
I loved it!
I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Sandra Owens has a hit on her hands!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Operation K-9 Brothers is the first book in the romantic suspense series by Sandra Owens. The characters are vivid and real, with intriguing backstories that slowly come to light at just the right time to pull you in and leave you wanting more. Owens has written a captivating story full of drama, suspense, and undeniable chemistry that leads to a steamy romance. I can't wait to read the next book in the Operation K-9 Brothers series!

This is the start of a new gripping and entertaining series.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment, had a lot of fun reading it and rooted for the characters.
I liked the fleshed out and interesting characters, both human and canine, and the tightly knitted plot that kept me hooked.
I look forward to the next installment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Good start to a series. Love the dogs. The humans are interesting, too. Too many intimate activities for me, but I skipped over them. I enjoyed the growth of the characters. Fun dialog.

Jack is a former Navy SEAL whose life was saved by his military dog Dakota. He and Dakota find themselves in NC as they heal from their injuries and although Jack hopes to return to service the same fate isn’t possible for Dakota. All it takes is answering a call not meant for him and he is on a mission of a different kind and that is to track down the woman who intrigued him with only a few choice words.

Nichole is an artist who hasn’t made the best choices about the men she has allowed in her one. She escaped a relationship with an abusive ex and now she has been betrayed professionally by a friend she thought she could trust. When she meets Jack although she is cautious but their affinity for dogs brings them together.

Seeing the relationship between Jack and Nichole was fun to watch but it wasn’t without its complications due to their pasts. The characters draw you in and there was a great balance between romance, intrigue and emotion.

What a great feel-good story. Jack and Nichole navigate their way through ups and downs and there are dogs. Oh yes, dogs to warm your heart along with your soul. I swear reading about Dakota was like her being beside you. I think Sandra is a fantastic author who brings to life these ordinary people and makes them extraordinary. An amazing read.

Sandra Owens is a new-to-me author, and Operation K-9 Brothers is the first novel in her new series, and if the upcoming titles are as good as this one, I'll be following this series. This novel gets 4.5 stars from this reader.

Jack Daniels (Whiskey to his SEAL team) is a Navy Seal. He and his K-9 partner, Dakota, were injured when an IED exploded, Dakota pushing Jack back, which saved his life, but left both dog and SEAL badly wounded and burned. He's home on medical leave recuperating, as is Dakota, whom he searched out and brought back home with him. Dakota will be retired, but Jack is trying very hard to get back in shape and return to his team. No matter how hard he pushes himself, his damaged left arm and shoulder are still a problem when he tries to aim and shoot a weapon

Late one night he gets what amounts to a drunken phone call from a woman, who spends a great deal of time verbally abusing him and when he tries to explain that he has no idea who she is, she curses and hangs-up, leaving him rather intrigued. The next day he tracks her down, and learns that she is Nichole Masters, a potter, and she's displaying her work at an arts festival, but her little puppy, Roscoe, is untrained and causing problems. After introducing himself, Jack lets her know that he's experienced at training dogs, and offers to help train her to train Roscoe, and so begins the relationship between Jack and Nichole, and their respective dogs, and that relationship is going to hit a couple of snags.

Jack's only attempt at a physical relationship since returning home ended badly when the woman he was with couldn't deal with the sight of his scars--so he courts Nichole rather slowly, which was really sweet and sexy as all get-out. Nichole has also been having relationship issues, first with a friend and fellow potter who stole her designs and a fat commission for producing all the pottery dinnerware for a new restaurant. As if that wasn't enough, she's being harassed by an old MC boyfriend, Lane, who she sent to jail for physically abusing her--but he's out now, and Jack's involvement with Nichole is making Lane more determined than ever to win her back.

There's so much I liked about this novel it's hard to know where to begin. Each of Ms. Owens' characters is well-drawn and fully realized, even the dogs are endearing and funny, and so is the relationship between Jack and Nichole, who really seem perfect for each other, although their feelings about one another will be tested in more ways than one. There's plenty of emotional angst, and some hilarious moments with Jack's only relative, his aging Grammie, who, along with her friends at the nursing home are an absolute hoot. There's enough suspense to keep you hooked until the very end and all in all, this was one very enjoyable, sweet, sexy, suspenseful read and I'm happy to recommend it. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Love this new series and cannot wait to read each and every single book.

When Nichole calls Jack in the middle of the night calling him all kinds of names for hurting her; she has his attention. Maybe he just found a new way to keep his mind occupied while he rehabbing and waiting to return to his SEAL team.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very insta-lovey. I liked that Nichole made Jack work for it. The ending seemed a little anti-climatic.