Synopsis:
Penelope Ramos has dreamed of being a K-9 search-and-rescue handler since she was a little girl. Armed with a quick mind and her German Shepherd, Havoc, she rides into Maple Falls, Vermont determined to get her certification.

She isn’t expecting the gruff, unreadable park ranger assigned to evaluate her skills.
Park ranger Jay Gosling is a pro. It’s clear to him that neither Penelope nor her unpredictable canine has what it takes…although his boss feels otherwise. Whatever. Jay will never have to work with them and he has half a mind to escort them both right out of town. But when a young boy goes missing, he doesn’t have that luxury.
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This book surprised me by being far more of a romance read than I expected. Reading the synopsis, I thought the book would revolve around the training and rigors of becoming a K-9 search-and-rescue handler. Although the book touched on the subject, the story was really about Penelope and Jay’s relationship after meeting under less than ideal circumstances in the small town of Maple Falls.

Penelope only came to Maple Falls to work on handler training and testing. She lives New York and is successful in the construction industry, working for her uncle. Jay is a Maple Falls native, divorced and had previously been a successful handler until a devastating event. The memories of the event and the consequences are never far from his mind.

Penelope and Jay start off disliking each other, although each of them immediately feel chemistry. Both are independent, stubborn, driven and loyal.

The story takes the reader through Penelope trying to make up for some mistakes she made when first arriving in Maple Falls. There are great side characters who round out the story – residents and neighbors who look out for each other. Penelope and Havoc finally have the chance to help the small community when a young boy ends us missing. Jay and Penelope learn to trust each other and work together to find him.

This is a slow burn romance and most of what is described in the synopsis doesn't really happen until late into the book.

The story is written well enough just like the romance it is a slow story but when the action happens it is quickly and wish the author had a better balance between the fast action pace and the slow more getting to know you stage in the story telling.

All in all the romance isn't steamy but just the right amount of romance to leave readers satisficed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for the advance copy of Paris Wynters Called to Action

Called into Action
Rating: 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

*********SPOILERS**********



I loved how Called into Action started. I could see that this was going to be hate to love romance and I wished it could of been more of it. Jay treats Penelope badly through out most of the book. Some of the comments he makes towards her were not very nice. His one redeeming quality is his love for the pet/coworker he lost. Boy did this man grieve his dog. I loved how he honored his memory by creating a sculpture of him, but it is devastating loss that makes him drive Penelope away.
I liked Penelope and I especially loved her dog, Havoc. She was an okay character I just wished she would of stood up more to Jay's comments about her not being ready to work in search and rescue with Havoc.
To be honest the synopsis of the story through me for a curve....what it describes that will happen didn't actually happen until towards the end of the book. I thought the search was something that was going to happen through out the book and due to them working together is what made them realize their feelings of hate more more of those of liking each other.

Called into Action by Paris Wynters is a steamy romantic suspense. The romance is a slow burn but one I could get behind.

I don't know if it was my mood, the pandemic, the subject matter (which I usually love), or the author's writing style, but this book was simply not for me. I'm seeing glowing reviews and yet I found this book incredibly dull, written for a much younger audience than myself, its characters one-dimensional, the plot slower than molasses in January, and beyond simplistic. Even with K-9 dogs, a romance trope I generally love, I gritted my teeth and finished it, but it was a 1-star read for me.

Had I not requested an advance reader copy of this novel, I would have stopped reading it at the midway point. My apologies to the author, previous reviewers, and to Netgalley, but on rare occasions, I simply find nothing I like about a book, and, regretfully, this is one of those times.

After a bad break up, Penelope takes her dog to a state park to continue working with him on Search and Rescue training, so they can take their certification test. She accidentally starts a fire that destroys a building and safety equipment, and Park Ranger Jay Gosling is livid.

This is an enemies-to-lovers story in which the whole town is Penelope's enemy after her disastrous fire. I live in Oregon where careless fire in the woods led to a major wildfire and destroyed a huge amount of natural habitat and much of the trail system in the gorge, so this book made me think about personal responsibility and appropriate consequences for destruction.

I loved both Penelope and Jay and enjoyed the romance between them, as they got to know each other. They both brought a fair amount of baggage from previous relationships, so their relationship was slow to progress.

From the beginning, I struggled to tlput the book down. I was as intrigued learning about Search and Rescue and the park ranngers as I was about the romance. Reading at the end that Paris Wynters does K-9 Search and Rescue herself added to the impact of those parts of the story.

Thank you to Carina Press, Paris Wynters and NetGalley for this advanced copy. These opinions are my own.

Interesting book. I enjoyed the small town, its people, and the romance. This is a slow burn. What's great is the dog is a prominent character.

Good thing Judge Carter believed in second chances. Penelope Ramos had traveled to Maple Falls, Vermont for her K-9 Search and Rescue Air Scent Handler evaluation. She certainly hadn't meant to cause the check station to burn down. Ranger Jay Gosling wasn't sure he believed her story. Penelope definitely wasn't his favorite person at the moment especially since the judge decided Penelope's community service was to work with the ranger rebuilding the check station. I really enjoyed the back and forth dialogue between Penelope and Jay. I also liked the building attraction between the two. Although they sure had to work hard for their HEA!

This was a fun read.

This story centers around two characters very opposite of each other.
Penelope Ramos has always wanted to be part of a K-9 Search and Rescue team. Her dreams are just about to be fulfilled once she gets to Maple Falls, Vermont. Here she hopes to get her certification and start a new chapter in her life.
But the plans come to a halt when she meets the man that’s going to certify her, Park Ranger Joy Gosling. Add to that a mishap and he definitely doesn’t believe she is a candidate. Both have relationship issues that compound the story, but when a child is missing, he needs all the help he can get to rescue the boy.
This was an engaging story with complex characters. Both struggling to trust again.
It was interesting to see how these two developed as individuals and as a possible couple.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley and Carina Press. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

4.5 stars

I don't usually read contgemporary books but this was a delight. Jay, our hero, is a park ranger and was a search and rescue instructor. Penelope is training her dog, Havoc and has just finished an acrimonious relationship. She decides to funeral pyre her exs letters and teddy bear in a file pit in the park but this falls over, gets out of hand and burns the park wooden station down. Jay has got issues and acts in some cases like an idiot, Penelope is proud and reluctant to ask for help. The characters in the town are very lovely and work hard to help the romance along. Paris is a new author to me so I'll look out for more books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this romance between dog handler Penelope and park ranger Jay. They have both had unsuccessful romances in the past and Jay in particular has a lot of baggage, but they work well together and make a good and interesting couple.
This is, in some ways, quite a slow burn romance. When they first meet, Penelope has done something (accidentally) that is likely to put the whole town against her and Jay in particular and it is partly this that keeps them at a distance to begin with, despite their red hot chemistry.
Jay does seem to drag things out a little and he does run hot and cold, there were times when I wanted to shake him trying to make him just get on with it. He does have serious concerns when it comes to being abandoned and it wasn't too laboured.
The only thing that I wasn't totally convinced about, was how cut up he was about the death of his dog Zip. I know that people take the loss of pets hard, but he did seem more bothered about an animal than what had happened to the boy on that particular mission. I suppose he might have been using his loss as an outlet for everything else he'd been through, but ranking animals as more than humans does put me off people a little.
All in all a good read. I'd be keen to read more from this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.