Very well written book. Really enjoyed this author, would definitely read more by this author and recommend on my book IG

Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title. While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

Laura

Not having read the other books in the series, I read this as a stand alone. I did not care for the crude language as they did not add to the characters or story. Tish Beck is the product of an abusive home, raised by alcoholic and drug abusive parents and she and her younger brother were bounced between foster care homes. She us very protective of her brother, but he seems to be following in his parents footsteps. She also does not trust others. K9 officer Jeff Pearl fell in love with Tish at first sight, but she just rebuffs him. I assume that he was in the other books in the series, but the author provides absolutely nothing about his background. The story is predictable and I found myself skimming much of it, especially the sex scenes.

Tish has not had an easy life with being shuffle from her parents to her brother, Steven. She keeps a no commitments relationship since she has trust issues. Jeff is a k9 police officer, happy with a every now and then relationship. He does no commitments until he meets Tish when her brother ends up in jail. He wants to have a deeper relationship with Tish. Can Tish come to terms with her past and have a good future?

This was enjoyable read but something was missing for me. I think the plot could have been a little more in depth. It was a quick entertaining story however and a good beach read for an afternoon escape.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another winner from Dorothy Shaw. A fast paced, smexy romance with lots of heat, emotion, and great characters. A quick read that just warms your heart!

Shuttled between her alcoholic parents and foster homes that separated her from beloved younger brother, Steven, it's no wonder Tish Beck is a woman with trust issues. To avoid getting hurt—or hurting someone else—she's kept her romantic life commitment-free, and that's fine by her. Until she meets exasperatingly hot, funny, smart-ass K9 officer Jeffrey Pearl, and stupidly spends the night with him . . .

Currently single and content, Jeff's always got his canine bestie, Rio, by his side, and loads of human friends. He enjoys the occasional close encounter, but hasn't been tempted into anything serious. Until Tish. He's inexplicably head over heels. Too bad she's determined to keep him at arm's length. But when Tish's brother winds up in jail—again—Jeff's glad to be the man Tish turns to for help. And with Steven back on the scene, she'll need it. Soon Tish will have to open her eyes—and her heart—to love, and realize where, and with whom, her safety truly lies . . .


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is not the 1st book in the series so I have some trouble to get through this. I enjoy it but it feel flat for me so a 3 stars from me!

This book was fine. I really wanted to love it, as everything about the premise was right up my alley. However, it turned out to be ok. The main characters were a little flat, the story was a little bit predictable, but the dog was fantastic!

I found TRUSTING THE BADGE to be an interesting look at what can happen to anyone who lives through a horrible childhood and still makes a good life, find new friends, and finally find the freedom to fall in love.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=74612

So the best about this was the dogs and the sexy scenes, but beyond that, i don't think i would recommend this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion from NetGalley.
Tish and Jeff's romance is one for the books, literally! They have a love-hate relationship that deep down is nothing but love on Jeff's part. Tish decides to give in and can't forget it. Their romance has to go through so many obstacles but true love is built on a solid foundation that will bring them through.

So I started this book thinking even though there's no thriller or mystery part, the romance would be good and hot. Boy, was I wrong. 17% into the book and I wanna punch both lead characters. Jeff, for being an a**hole and pining for Tish who couldn't care less. I mean he acted like a stupid ten years old trying to make his crush return his feelings. And Tish, gosh, she had no idea what the heck does she actually want. She wanted unconditional love yet didn't give a chance to anyone. Went on a lotta dates. Ugh! I'm done.

The plot of Trusting the Badge was interesting, but, in the end, I didn't feel it was holding my attention and I really struggled with it. I didn't realize this was part of an existing series, so I do wonder if my not reading the previous two books hindered my enjoyment of this one.

This book had great sex scenes. The rest of it was....not good. I did not like any of the characters except the dogs. There seemed to be very, very little development for any of the humans. Most of the dialogue was completely cringe-worthy. The fact that the MC, Jeff, continuously calls TIsh "mami" just made my skin crawl. Also the whole caveman "she's my woman" feel he gave off was gross.
And Tish...was problematic. She seemed to have a job at the beginning and then that stopped being mentioned at all. I'm glad she got the therapy she clearly needed at the end. But she didn't even seem to be a good friend, let alone a good partner for someone.
Both Jeff and Tish were described as being very good looking, but other than that they didn't have a lot going for them, as far as wanting to read their stories. Except the sex was good. So, good for them on that front. But I was not left with a desire to read any of the other books in this series based on this one.

This story grew on me the further I read into it. I ached for Trish dealing with her brothers addiction. It is so easy to get sucked under by a loved one with addiction issues. Jeff provided some much needed comedic relief.

3.25 stars. This book was an okay read for me. Trusting the Badge is book three in the Arizona K9 series. This is Tish and Jeff's story. The two have been in the same circle of friends and known each other for a while. Jeff, a K9 cop, has continously pursued Tish, but she has rebuffed all of his advances. Yet, he finally wears her down and she gives him a chance. Tish has a lot of past and family baggage to work through but the two make it work and fall for each other.

I did condider DNFing this book at one point, but I did keep going and am glad I finished it. This story was interesting and easy to read. I liked Jeff okay. He was a really nice guy. I didn't understand why he called Tish "Mami". He was not Latino that I could tell. He was a cheesy kind of guy who said phrases like "For realsies!". Tish was not my favorite heroine. She was prickly. I didn't understand why Jeff liked her so much. He worshipped the ground she walked on and accepted any crumbs of attention she gave him. She did some pushing away, but not as much as I thought she would. Trish and Jeff's pillow talk was cringeworthy to me and not sexy, and they were very chatty. So I didn't fully connect with either character, but I was happy they got their HEA. They both deserved to be happy together. Trish's drama with her brother and his drug addiction was a little depressing for my taste.

Overall, Trusting the Badge was not my favorite book by Ms. Shaw. Still, It was a pretty easy and entertaining story to read. I look forward to more from Ms. Shaw in the future.

The cover caught my eye so I figured I'd give the book a shot. The story got sidetracked a lot because of the focus and detail on all of the sex. Frankly, it was overkill and annoying.

Trusting the Badge has several elements that appeal to me:

 - dog!!! Rio is great!
 - Heroine was raised with addict parents and now has an addict brother

Jeff is a very devoted hero. Once he sets his sights on Tish, he is determined. I like this in a hero, but something about Jeff and Tish didn't click for me. I can't put my finger on it, but sometimes his behavior rubbed me wrong. Even though Jeff is a cop, the story isn't about that either. Its more of just a straight romance between Jeff and Tish, occurring while she tries to locate her brother. Jeff is kind of a smart ass, so there is some levity in the story that I appreciated.

The angst in the story comes from the stubbornness of the heroine in regards to the relationship. With good reason, she has trust issues. Jeff has a playboy past that doesn't exactly scream "stable boyfriend". She is fine with a casual relationship, but Jeff isn't. Both characters struggle through this, but you can tell there are feelings there and Tish is afraid.

Trusting the Badge is a quick read for readers who enjoy a focus on relationship building, characters with tragic backstories, and some steamy moments.

Ok so let me start of by saying that this is a new to me author, and I love finding new author's because I am always looking for something to read. And even with this being the 3rd book in the series, it can absolutely be read as a stand alone. I wanted to read this book just based off the blurb. It sounded excellent and right up my alley. However, for me, it just wasn't that great. So basically, you get Tish and Jeff's story in this book. Tish has lots of issues because of being in the system as a child and having addict parents. She has trust issues and is also dealing with her addict brother as well. Jeff is this happy go lucky K9 cop but his job isn't really shown at all so I am not really sure why it was even in the blurb. It just seemed strange to me and almost like that was thrown in there in order to suck in those of us who really like romantic suspense books. The two just seem like a weird coupling. And with the way Tish treats Jeff through most of the book and how Jeff reacts to her in most of it? I just had a very hard time even finishing the book. It definitely wasn't for me. Now, that's not to say that some people wouldn't like it. I am sure that some would. It's not that it's horribly written or anything like that, I just really couldn't connect to the story line or to the characters. As a matter of fact, I seriously disliked Tish through most of this book. I had high hopes for this one, but it just didn't live up to it for me.

I really struggled to get through this book. What initially attracted me to this book was the cover and the title and after I read the blurb I didn't hesitate in jumping right in. Unfortunately, within the first couple of chapters I knew this was not the story I for me. Honestly, I thought this would be more of a Romantic Suspense so I was surprised to see there were no scenes with Rio and Jeff "in action". As for the romance, I didn't really became invested in it. Both Tish and Jeff were hard characters to like. With Jeff behaving so juvenile and Tish behaving rudely, their "flirty banter" did nothing for me. Yes, they had chemistry, but even that element was overdone. And although Tish's brother brought in some drama it was there and done and it's resolution very anti-climatic.

All in all, an okay read.