An enemies-to-lovers trope in a small-town romance, two of my favorites in romance. Add in the huskies because - well, huskies! - and this was a must-read. It doesn't hurt that I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it as well. That said, you can read this one as a standalone, but in small-town romance series, there's a pretty good chance you're gonna run into some characters from earlier books, and the characters in this series are a hoot. As for this couple, Kelsey and Ian have good chemistry, but there are a few things to work through. First and foremost is Ian's dislike for her huskies. Gasp! That's a pretty big dealbreaker for a dog owner. Granted, he has a reason, but Kelsey has more than that to cause her to be so crabby about things. She has a secret that she doesn't want the townspeople of Helen to know, and the job her father has volunteered her for may bring out the truth whether she likes it or not. So, like the first in the series, Paws and Prejudice is an entertaining RomCom with engaging characters and a fast-paced storyline. I'm really liking the town of Helen and its quirky inhabitants, and I'll be looking forward to whatever's next.

Paws and Prejudice is a cute second installment in the Hearts of Alaska series. It can be read as a stand-alone, although the previous book also has similar sweet vibes and I do recommend it, especially to provide context on some of the family dynamics.

Like the previous one, this book has some wonderful literary references. From Shakespeare to Austen (as the title suggests), there are fun little nods, like the names of the dogs to the general plotline of enemies-to-lovers.

I immediately liked Kelsey. She’s a writer of husky shifter romance (has anyone actually written this?! I need this!) who is caught up in her family’s feud with their rivals. She has a great balance of toughness and softness. I loved when she finally told her dad enough was enough with all the inter-family drama with the Lipins!

Ian is also great. He comes to town with the intent of starting a new brewery, something which Kelsey is opposed to at first due to her belief he doesn’t appreciate the small town of Helen. But the way they get over these perceived differences was well executed.

I also really liked the exploration of a romance between a dog lover and someone who has a phobia of dogs. That could potentially be a hard nope, if executed poorly, but Ian’s past trauma with dogs is depicted compassionately as he navigates the issue by spending time with the dogs…and Kelsey, of course.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and if you love small-town settings, adorable dogs, and fun literary references, I think you’ll like it too.

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PAWS AND PREJUDICE – Alanna Martin
Hearts of Alaska, Book 2
Jove
ISBN: 978-0593198858
June 29, 2021
Contemporary Romance

Helen, Alaska – Present Day

Ian Roth and his partner, Micah, have been working hard the past few months to get their brewery up and running. They have to contend with the locals that are suspicious of them because they are outsiders. The town is ruled by a feud between opposing families, the Porters and the Lipins. So far, Ian and Micah have tried to work both sides with success. Ian has run into Kelsey Porter on more than one occasion, with her attitude toward him not so friendly. Which is fine with him since she owns three huge dogs. Ian is terrified of dogs. You won’t find him dating a woman with dogs.

Ian needs a website. He’s become semi-friendly with Kelsey’s dad, who suggests that she exchange services—he will help her move some furniture and she will create the brewery website. Seems fair, but Kelsey is opposed—at first. On the trip to pick up the furniture, the two talk and get to know each other a little better. By the time they return to Helen, Ian and Kelsey are attracted to each other. It helps that he now knows her little secret and promises to keep it to himself. Kelsey is a bestselling fantasy romance author who writes under a pen name. Ian then reveals to her about his dog phobia. They are soon growing closer than ever. But with his relationship with Kelsey coming out in the open, Ian is finding his neutrality in the Porter/Lipin feud is about to evaporate. How will it affect the brewery and his relationship with Kelsey?

In a normal town, Ian and Kelsey would probably have no problems hooking up, but it isn’t easy in Helen, Alaska. The Lipin and Porter families have fought for years, though if you’d ask the main players the reason why, they’d stare at you blankly. Readers first met Kelsey and Ian in HEART ON A LEASH (Josh and Taylor’s story) and now readers are treated to their tale in PAWS AND PREJUDICE. Kelsey has lived with the feud all her life, and while she doesn’t necessarily agree with it, she has sided with her family. One rule in Helen is that if newcomers choose a side, then they will be ostracized by the other side. Ian wants to sell the brewery’s beer to both sides, and so far, has kept mostly neutral. But that all changes when he starts seeing Kelsey.

Kelsey gets annoyed with her family at times. There’s too much interference from them and she’d rather be holed up in her apartment writing. She hasn’t told anyone in town—even her family—that she is a published author. Ian accidentally finds out and, instead of being appalled, it intrigues him. After learning about Ian’s phobia, Kelsey is sympathetic, so offers to help him overcome it using her dogs. There are a lot of dogs in Helen, and he can’t hide from them forever. Once their relationship heats up, they will need to decide as to where it will lead. Or will the family feud decide it for them?


PAWS AND PREJUDICE is a cute and funny tale that will tickle the funny bone of readers. The sparks fly between Ian and Kelsey, which will have readers rooting for them to have their happily-ever-after. Don’t miss the fun, so grab a copy of this tale.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

DNF - Just not the book for me. I didn't love the author's voice, and the characters felt flimsy and unrealistic. Thank you for the opportunity to give this title at try.

Cute dogs and enemies-to-lovers trope both make this a great story. The romance between Kelsey and lan is cute and I love how they make each other grow instead of just staying the same. The family drama on both sides leaves me wanting more especially of his sisters story. There is more to explore in this Alaskan town and I am here for it.

The dogs on the cover instantly made me want to read this book. Who can resist three adorable huskies? Throw in the enemies to lovers and small town tropes and I was sold on this book. I loved that this book had Jewish representation in it, that was such a nice surprise when I started reading it. There were a few times throughout the book where Kelsey being a standoff-ish person annoyed me and I did feel like at times the story did drag in places and the lead up to the ending was rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Back to this cute little feuding Alaska town. We meet both Ian and Kelsey in book one along with her pups. Kelsey has a big secret and hasn't told anyone but three of her closet friends- not even her family in fear of the feud and other's thoughts. Ian is well scared of dogs... so that doesn't go well with someone with 3 of them, but he gets over his fears as well. This is a great one where they work and the chemistry is hot!
Again, just like book one this is not all cute and puppies we get some good steam and F bombs!
Can't wait for more of these!!

4 stars
3.5 steam

Thanks to Berkley Romance for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Second in this fun and husky inspired series. We meet Kelsey and Ian, who must navigate the “Hatfield and McCoy” system of Helen, Alaska and decide what is most important to each of them. Excellent read with furry friends. Add to your TBR list.

This series just keeps getting better! It was such a pleasure to revisit the town of Helen, Alaska, and the feuding Porter and Lipin families. In Paws and Prejudice, we get to watch Kelsey Porter fall for newcomer-to-town Ian Roth. Ian is in Helen to open a brewery, an enterprise which Kelsey, who is concerned about new development destroying the small-town charm of Helen, isn’t wild about. Nonetheless, her father ropes her into helping Ian write copy for his website and press releases, as well as writing an article about the new brewery for the local paper.

Things get off to a rough start when Kelsey shows up at the brewery with her three huskies to discuss their business and Ian, who is terrified of dogs, slams the door in her face. There are complications aplenty because Kelsey is hiding her true identity as a successful romance novelist from everyone and Ian, who desperately wants his business to succeed, has to walk a fine line and not anger either side of the Porter-Lipin feud. This means there’s no way he could do anything so rash as fall for a Porter.

But, of course, that won’t happen because no matter how attractive he finds the prickly Kelsey and no matter how hot she finds the new guy in town, they are both determined to keep their relationship strictly business. Well, all right, maybe they’ll just keep it a friends-with-benefits relationship. Yeah, right. We know where this is headed and I was happy to go along for the ride!

I’m already excited for the next book in the series, Live and Let Bark, which features Lydia Lipin and Nate Porter.

3.5 stars

Pride and Prejudice and puppies? Should be a home run for me.

And yes, whilst I loved the love story that is woven between Kelsey and Ian, there are things (that run throughout the series so far) that just annoyed me so much I had to take half a star off.

So, here we go *takes a deep breath* the people of Helen, Alaska need to take a good, hard look at themselves and grow the eff up

There, I said it.

The feud between the two families is making all those involved look stupid, and ruining a wonderful town,

I liked that Kelsey has finally stood up to her father and told him what's what.

I liked that Ian is telling people that the fued is stupid.

I loved the puppers.

I loved Kelsey and Ian together,

Now, please, in future Heart of Alaska stories, please/i> can we end this dumb a$$ feud.

I do want to read more of the series, but any more of these so called grown ups acting like 2 year olds might be enough to do me in,

Kelsey Porter loves her family, her dogs, and her town of Helen, Alaska. But she has a huge secret: she's a writer. A romance novel writer. No one can know. It doesn't go with the persona that everyone in town knows her by, not the way her father expects her to be and act, especially in regards to the feud between the Porters and the Lipins. No, Daddy's Good Little Soldier is supposed to everything she's asked. Unfortunately, this has ended up putting her working with Ian Roth--an outsider who Kelsey feels is a threat to Helen. Worse, he doesn't like her dogs. And if someone doesn't like her dogs, Kelsey doesn't like them.

Ian Roth has dreams, and right now it is to get a brand new brewery up and running for the family business in Helen, Alaska. But that has him working with the woman who hates him the most: Kelsey Porter. Now, ordinarily, Ian thinks he could like Kelsey. Except she wants to see his business fail. And is actively working to turn the town against him. And he may have just slammed the door in her face because he was not expecting her to bring her huskies. Ian's fear of dogs isn't widely known, but he especially doesn't want to show weakness to Kelsey. But when he stumbles across her most tightly held secret, he offers one of his own to make them even.

Now, things have changed and maybe, just maybe, they can get along and find out that they're not too different after all. And, maybe, just maybe, they can be friends. Or something more...

The amazing second book in the Hearts of Alaska series featuring a small Alaskan town, two feuding families, and a whole bunch of adorable huskies, Martin continues to make readers swoon and fall in love with this quirky town and its cast of characters. A brilliant and fun read for the summer, I give "Paws and Prejudice" two paws up!

4 Look At Those Husky Faces Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
I have a confession, we use to have Huskies years ago. When I saw this cover, the sweet Red Husky on the Right side was a spitting image of my little girl, Samantha. She was The Best. PERIOD. To this day, I miss her and her laughing face. So I clicked on this without even reading the blurb.

Surprise, Surprise, this has turned out to be a lovely read. It takes place in Helen, Alaska where there has been a feud between two families for generations. This impacts the town and all of the gossip.

This book focuses on Kelsey Porter, a family resident who rescues huskies, and Ian Roth, an "outsider" who plans on opening a brewery. Kelsey is deemed by her family to assist Ian with marketing and advancing his brewery. Normally that wouldn't be an issue but this man has committed the one cardinal sin Kelsey will not forgive, Ian seems to hate her huskies.

It turns out Ian had a bad experience with dogs as a kid and like many, it has impacted his feelings about the four-legged creatures. The real problem is both of them really have feelings for each other and the desire to make these feelings real is strong.

This is a warm, fun, and smart story.

Fun, heat and good banter including library jokes (sexual innuendos and all :-D ) Mix it all together with some good huskies and you have Paws and Prejudice!

I loved Kelsey! She is such a softie inside but acts tough (much like many of us out there) it's hard not to relate and like her. She is a trooper, she shows her dad at the end what's what (I loved that scene!) and well she is a romance writer so a woman after my own heart. She hates the outsides (prejudices) but then sees Ian for what he is and cares about him, an outsider or not.
I loved her no-nonsense persona and how it evolves in accepting love for herself, bit by bit growing to build her sexual confidence.
Ian is a very lovable, perfect snark partner for her :-D He doesn't miss a beat, doesn't try to be overly polite, and keeps mum in the face of her snark. I like that a lot. what won me over is he reads and he cooks. ok, great abs too but give me a guy who reads and cooks you all!!!

They both have their family issues and the feud which Kelsey is directly part of plays a big role in disturbing their attachment to each other. I like how they both are in denial and then realize the feud is..... it is what it is. You don't want to miss the scene where Kelsey plays a beautiful manipulative, convincing argument for Ian's sake so he benefits from the feud. umm.. won't add the spoiler but that was my favorite scene I think!

Another must mention is the dox anxiety. I am myself a phobic. (childhood trauma lol) I still freeze when cute puppies come running over and jump around my feet. The plot is beautifully brought together using this theme and Ian's fear and it felt very natural to me.

Another great add on the huskies read list! Can't wait for the next one! there is a teaser for Nate and Lydia's book!

Paws and Prejudice by Alanna Martin is the 2nd book in her Hearts of Alaska series. Kelsey Porter, our heroine, has been very supportive of her cousin Josh and his relationship with Taylor Lipkin. If you read the first book, you learn all about the 100-year feud between the Porters and the Lipkins of Helen, Alaska.

Josh and Taylor decided to ignore the families feuding and solidify their relationship, with Kelsey’s support. Kelsey meets with the new owners of a brewery, as her father insists, she write something for website, since she writes (though no one knows she actually writes paranormal romance novels under a pen name). When she goes to meet Ian and his partner Micah, Kelsey has the door slammed on her by Ian. Unknown to her, Ian has a phobia of dogs, and Kelsey brought her three huskies, and Ian ran to throw tools and such on the floor before opening the door again, telling her she can’t bring the dogs inside, as it would be dangerous. They get off on the wrong foot, as Ian noticed Kelsey wearing a pin that is part of a group trying to stop new business to come to Helen, and he came across as a bit arrogant.

Kelsey will slowly overlook Ian’s attitude, and tries to help write something for their site. When her father forces some restaurants owned by Porters to back away from the brewery, because of one deal with the Lipkins, Kelsey realizes the unfairness of her family, and discards the pin, and decides to help Ian. In a short time, both of them feel their attractions to each other heat up, and a romance between them begins, with their chemistry sizzling. The more time they spend together, Kelsey learns of Ian’s phobia, and begins to help him overcome that, and he knows of her being a secret novelist, with both keeping those secrets private.
Kelsey, was a great heroine, as she is tough, savvy, independent, at times surly, but also very smart and loyal. I loved Kelsey and Ian together, and especially adored the time spent with the dogs, and Ian opening up to feeling safe and loving the dogs.

What follows is a fun and sexy romance between Ian and Kelsey, and the adorable huskies, who made this story even better. Just when we realize that they have fallen hard for each other, something will happen with the feuding that could cause issues. I certainly hoped they would find a way to bring them totally together, despite the family feud. Paws and Prejudice was a sweet romance, but the feuding of both families continued to bring problems. Will Kelsey and Ian despite their love for each other, walk away?

Paws and Prejudice was a wonderful steamy romance, great couple, three fantastic dogs amidst a terrible family feud that created a tense background. Alanna Martin did a great job writing this book, and continuing the family feud. I suggest you read Paws and Prejudice.

Let's just say...this story is so hot all of Alaska is melting. And not due to global warming. I adored Ian (swoon worthy) and Kelsley (so much fun!)

This was an interesting read. I really liked the characters in this story. Heroine Kelsey Porter thought hero Ian Roth and his idea for a brewery wasn't good for her hometown of Helena, Alaska. How this difference of opinion resolves and ends up with a Happily Ever After makes for a fun read.

I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

You had me at huskies.

Paws and Prejudice is the second in a 3-book series and works as a standalone but WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO READ JUST ONE when you can READ ALL THREE?

Kelsey, the main character, likes dogs more than she likes people (she rescues huskies!). She's got a secret that I can totally relate to. She's a tough, independent cookie that no one takes seriously, even (especially) when she scowls. I admit it. I adore Kelsey! I am Kelsey!

Love interest Ian in an outsider in a quaint Alaskan town that doesn't like change. He's a tall, hot, slightly damaged brewmaster determined to find success at any cost. To make matters difficult, he is caught between two warring factions.

There's no way that they're gonna get together - even though they're 100% meant for each other. They bring out the best in each other, and had me smiling the entire time. Kelsey and Ian are easily as irresistible as this steamy romance, and I can't wait to get my hands on Book #3 in the series.

Another smart, steamy, and thoroughly enjoyable book from Alanna Martin. I laughed, I swooned, and I'm definitely looking to the third installment.

Pride and Prejudice and huskies. Can a dog lover and a man who’s deathly afraid of dogs form a love connection? If she were actually willing to date, Kelsey Porter’s dating profile would begin with the words “must love dogs.” Kelsey is a jaded and surly secret romance novelist who hadn’t dated in six years and doesn’t tolerate anyone disrespecting her babies (the three huskies she adores). Budding entrepreneur Ian has his eyes firmly fixed on the prize— and no distractions or canines are allowed. Forced to work side by side on launch communications for Ian’s new brewery for reasons that aren’t quite clear, they find that they push each other’s buttons but are inexorably drawn to each nonetheless. One of the strengths is how Martin adds layers of specificity and depth to Ian’s character by exploring the cultural, religious and familial dimensions of his Jewish identity and how it differs from his roommate Micah’s. This novel is as warm-hearted and adorable as the first book in the series (Heart on a Leash) even if the initial setup and conflict aren’t quite as convincing. Definitely comfort food for your brain.

A romcom set in Alaska. Kelsey is a secret romance writer who loves her 3 husky dogs. Ian, who is new to town and setting up a brewery, is petrified of all dogs. A long-standing family feud that runs the whole town threatens to get in the middle of his business and their relationship. Fans of the author will enjoy this new book.