I always love reading books like these; a suspense element and K9 dogs and their handles, wrapped up in a romance and preferably a small town setting. So I was really excited when I got an e-arc for this book and when I started reading it.

Overall, I think it’s a fun romantic suspense. There is a solid build-up overall seeing and it was always a good time when reading the book. I’ll definitely be looking into the other books in the series, since I haven’t read those (yet).

A recommended book to pick up, especially if you like the romantic suspense books that also have K9 and their sexy handles present ;)

I quite enjoyed this book. I'm a general fan of the author and their books and can rely on knowing what I'm expecting is what I'll get. The synopsis was interesting to me as were the tropes. I felt the action was exciting enough and the romance was both frustrating in small parts and wonderful in large parts. After reading the book and felt good and happy. It really all did work out the way I would have hoped it did. There weren't really any surprises along the way but I wasn't hoping or expecting any so that's definitely a me thing and not somehting that should dissuade any other potential readers. This was a solidly enjoyable read and I'm glad I requested it.

Rachel is a Hollywood stunt person who accidentally got mixed up in a dangerous situation with a weapons dealer. She runs to hide in a cabin owned by her friends. Dallas needs a break from his family after coming home from being a POW. He is invited to stay in his friend's cabin for a while. When he arrives and sees that the cabin is already occupied, he takes an interest in Rachel and is determined to make sure that she is safe.

I really liked Dallas and Rachel's relationship. I liked seeing it grow and develop. I loved seeing the couples from the previous 2 books in the series. I loved the mix of suspense and romance in this book. I'm seriously crossing my fingers that there's going to be more in this series!

*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*

Mountain Rescue (Operation K-9 Brothers #3). By Sandra Owens. Harlequin – Carina Press. (ARC eBook).

Mountain Rescue is the first book I’ve read by the author. Dallas and Rachel were well-paired and the romance and danger were engaging. There is a theme of healing, in which dog, Bella, and kitten, Blue, are also an instrumental part of. Overall, an entertaining read.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Murder, animal abuse (just talk of abuse, no description of the abuse)

Rachel Denning is a fantastic character. She's strong, intelligent, funny, and has a girl next door quality. When she sees a crime, she knows that she has to hide. She knows going to family or friends is risky and she doesn't want to put them in danger. That's how she finds herself at a cabin alone when someone also comes in.

Dallas is recovering from being held as a POW. He knows that his family just wants to help him through it, but they can't know that simply being near them, having them hug him and touch him makes his skin crawl. When his military buddy asks him to come out to their ranch, he jumps at the chance. When he finds himself having to defend against bodily harm again, the last person he expects is Rachel Denning.

Their attraction is slow and burning. Yes, they are attracted to each other, but both need to earn trust.

As the ranch helps them both heal, Dallas and Rachel find themselves encountering more and more danger. Rachel is trying to figure out how to beat the man she saw, and Dallas knows that he can't let Rachel leave.

This story will make you swoon and cheer with glee at how awesome Rachel and Dallas are. Plus, you throw in a rescue pup who is amazing, and you have the whole package. I really enjoyed this story.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series – I have to admit it is my first visit to Asheville, but there is enough detail to make me want to go back and catch up with the earlier storylines! It was definitely possible to enjoy this as a standalone as it deals with an ongoing background story, but a new couple.

Dallas is recovering from injuries sustained in war. He is struggling with his emotions at home, so is grateful to visit his friends, Jack and Noah. I really enjoyed getting to know him and them, and understand just what had shaped their lives and how they were moving forward. Dallas may have been behind them in his recovery, he showed himself to be completely on task when needed to act in the saving of another.

Rachel is hiding out due to being a witness to a crime. She has chosen to hide in an unused cabin on her best friend Nichole and husband Jack's land... yep, she and Dallas meet under somewhat unusual circumstances! And thus starts an attraction which we may know has to succeed, but that Dallas most definitely does not. He is badly scarred inside and out, and finds it difficult to believe that such a beautiful, fun, and perfect woman could care for him. I loved watching him realise what could be possible – as long as Rachel can stay safe.

Lots of good drama, delicious romance, and plenty of tension. A very engaging read, thank you.

This is the third book in the k9 series. I actually didn't know this at the start but it reads fine as a standalone. As I was totally absorbed with all the characters and the setting and love this genre I will be going and reading the first two now.
Really well written, the plot pulled you in as much as the steamy chemistry between the characters. I loved the HEA .
Some delicate issues covered with sensitivity and honesty.
Can't wait for what comes next from this series




I voluntarily read and reviewed this book,. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rachel Denning witnessed a murder of her friend and is now hiding out in a remote cabin. Dallas just needs some quiet space alone away from his family's smothering love after dealing with a traumatic experience. The last thing Dallas expected was to be attacked and after finding out why she was there he'll do everything in his power to keep her safe.

This was an interesting read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters Rachel's career choice was defiantly a unique one. As for Dallas you can't help but want to like his family smother him with love because after what he went through wanting to protect him is everything. But this book it about Rachels issue after witnessing a friend being killed and running from the killer. Dallas it seems found something to keep himself busy in assigning himself as protector for Rachel. There was also the program his friends were running and was trying to get him roped into which was kinda interesting as well. There was suspense, and romance between Dallas and Rachel and its only a matter of time things will take a turn and it was interesting seeing how everything played out. Personally I was hooked till the very end I just couldn't put this book down.

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this book is the third book in the Operation K-9 Brothers series. I have read and reviewed the first book in this book series. This book had a great mix of romance and suspense. There was so many cute and funny moments in this book, and I think the those moments broke up the suspense and action in this book. I love all the characters in this book, but I have to say the animals where so great in this book. I also love seeing this Cowboy that had been through so much learning to live and love again. This book as some steamy times in it, but I do not think they where over done. I have to say the old ladies in this book was so much fun. Rachel's Grandmother had me laughing so many times while reading this book. This book had so many fun secondary characters that really make this book so much fun to read. Great read, and if you love a book that has a lot of suspense, romance, and humor then this is the book for you. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin) or author (Sandra Owens) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Mountain Rescue by Sandra Owens is the final book in the series but can be read alone. I recommend the entire series though!

Dallas comes to Ashville NC to be with his brothers in arms. He was finally rescued after weeks of torture and needed to escape his families pity. What he found was a ‘wildcat’ aka Rachel in the cabin. 😊
Rachel is on the run after witnessing a murder. I loved how her skills as a stuntwoman helped her throughout the book.

Dallas and Rachel have great chemistry and work well together.

Bella and her kitten are adorable. The author has a talent for balancing the serious nature of the characters dealing with their issues and adorable sigh worthy moments.

If you have been following the series you will be thrilled to know that the author included several scenes with Jack and Noah.

Violence - someone is out to get Rachel, but for me the worst of the violence was thinking about what must have happened to Dallas. the author did not give excessive details; thank goodness.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Harlequin Carina Press and Sandra Owens for the E Arc copy of the is book. Publication date 28th December 2021.
Rachel is a fisty woman who is on the run. She is the only witness to a murder and needs to hide away. She chooses a cabin in remote North Carolina, that is owned by her friends – they have no idea she is there. However, one night a strange man enters the cabin and Rachel thinks he has come to kill her. As it turns out his name is Dallas and he is at the cabin to recover from his capture from the Taliban and his rescue by his SEAL brothers.
Dallas has been given the cabin to aid his recovery and to help his former SEAL brothers to train dogs to become service dogs for veterans. As part of his own recovery his friend asks him to help train Bella, a dog who has many issues. As Dallas and Bella bond, and Dallas and Rachel try not to act on their attraction, they all have to learn to communicate and trust each other.
Can they have a future together?
I loved this book and will be reading the other books in this series. Would recommend.

This is book number three of the K9 Brothers series, but you do not have to read the others to enjoy this one, it stands alone. This book also contains sex and cursing, but neither overwhelm the story. There are a handful of f-bombs and a few (easily skimmed without missing much) sex scenes if those bother you. If those will cause you to leave a bad review, you should skip this one.

I have loved this series and the last book in the series is another winner. I adored the fun, snarky relationship between Dallas and Rachel, and Ms. Owens' sneaky sense of humor in her writing. This story line easily could have been heavy and depressing, but her style of writing infuses enough humor and warm fuzzy moments that it is still a feel good book without tipping back over into syrupy and cheesy territory. That's not a balance that every author can find, but Ms. Owens is one of the best at it. It's also a testament to this author's writing style and story telling that I wasn't bothered by Rachel being an “empath” even though I would normally quit a book with that type of story line because woo woo stuff is not my jam at all. Unlike so many books in the genre these days, it wasn't “love” at first sight for Rachel and Dallas, they actually built a friendship and a relationship and I loved that. Without spoiling anything, I also love that they didn't just go from “hello” to “I love you” and marriage in a few days as if that's a realistic way for a healthy relationship to be started. Everything developed organically and naturally, and they figured themselves out before trying to wedge their broken parts into a relationship before they were ready for it.

As with the first two books, Bella the dog was a beautiful addition to the story. I won't spoil anything, but I loved her so much. The characters from the previous books also play a big part, and it was nice to see how their lives have shaken out. I also hope that one day Carter gets his own book, because he was an awesome side character and I loved his sense of humor.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-written, character driven book with heat, heart, and humor and just enough angst and suspense to make it interesting without weighing it down – those are hallmarks of Ms. Owens' books and this is no exception.

Mountain Rescue is the third book in Sandra Owens’ Operation K9 Brothers series. It is a romantic suspense story with great well developed characters, a brave K9, a fantastic storyline and an emotional happily ever after.

I truly enjoyed how Rachel and Dallas met. I couldn’t stop giggling, The chemistry between them was instant and despite all the issues in their lives their connection was soul deep. I loved how Rachel encouraged Dallas to open up and deal with his trauma and how, in return he helped keep her safe. It’s a great read!

All the books in this series can be read as a standalone, however, reading it in order will give you a better appreciation for the characters and the series itself. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

Just what would a cowboy do when he runs into a wildcat? Not what you would think in this 3rd book in Sandra s Owen Trilogy, Operation K-9 Brothers. This book can be read as a stand a lone and has a HEA.. The cowboy in question is Dallas, a Navy SEAL who was captured and tortured. He does not like to be touched, even by his family. The wildcat in question has two legs, no fur and is named Rachel. She is a empathetic stunt double who witnessed a murder and is on the run. I really enjoyed Mountain Rescue, it provided laughter, romance, some steam and family. Dallas was Alpha, but not completely a butt, Rachel was gutsy and all about not putting her friends in danger. I absolutely adored Belle the rescue dog and his kitten Blue.. Seeing Grammie and Dirty Mary again was a hoot. I knew this was a trilogy but I think it could have gone into a book 4 or novella. They could update us with Operation K9. Grammie, Dirty Mary , all the wrapping up in the epilogue was its own chapter, and Rachel s Grandma, Have his family come visit. Sigh I am not a writer, I am not a critic. This series was so good I wanted a wrap up Novella. This book provides entertainment and the feels. You really can't go wrong with a Sandra Owen book and recommend checking out her other series. Thank you for the arc. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I am a sucker for a wounded warrior romance, add some danger and I'm there--and Dallas Manning, a Montana cowboy and Navy SEAL, our hero, is more wounded than most, having been held prisoner and tortured by the Taliban for two weeks, and he has the scars to prove it. Even after being rescued, he can't stand to be touched, including by members of his own family. An invitation to Operation K-9 Brothers from a former SEAL teammate, Jack, in North Carolina, a private cabin where he can try to deal with his trauma and nightmares, seems like a good idea, and it's how this novel begins, and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I liked it slightly less than the two previous novels in this series, and it gets 4 stars from this reader.

Upon arriving at the secluded cabin, Dallas soon discovers he's not alone when an angry woman already in residence attacks him with a large tree branch. That woman is Rachel, the best friend of Jack's wife, Nichole, who stayed at the cabin when she was there for Jack and Nichole's wedding, but not even they know that she's there now. She's hiding from a former boyfriend, Robert, after witnessing him commit a murder, and even the detective she's dealing with doesn't know where she is, and until Robert is found and under lock and key, awaiting trial, Rachel intends to keep it that way. She as feisty a heroine as I've encountered in some time, and works in L.A. as a movie stuntwoman, so she does have some skills.

The growing attraction between these two main characters starts early and builds slowly--Rachel is an empath, but she can't read Dallas. It turns out that Dallas doesn't shy away from Rachel's touch, but both are aware that once the danger is over, Rachel will go back to L.A., and Dallas will return to his family ranch in Montana. Sharing a cabin means that these two wary individuals are constantly in each other's company, and as they slowly grow into their relationship, Rachel's location is soon to be a secret no longer, and the suspense part of this novel really kicks in.

There's a lot of sweetness in this novel as well, as Jack introduces Dallas to an abused dog, Bella, and the two slowly form a solid attachment, with Bella eventually finding and rescuing a starving kitten, Blue, and adopting it as her own. There's plenty of heat too between Dallas and Rachel, so be prepared for that as well.

As feel-good, romantic suspense novels go, this was a very good read, my only real issue was the somewhat cheesy and hard to believe HEA ending, and an epilogue set too far into the future. While I often wish there was an epilogue in many of the books I read and review, I rarely expect it to be 7 to 10 years in the future--that just didn't work for this reader.

All in all, a very well written and gripping romantic suspense read--this series is a good one, and although this wasn't my favorite novel in the series, I'm happy to recommend it, and suggest starting this series from the beginning.

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

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/12/14/mountain-rescue-by-sandra-owens/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I continue to love this <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/306297-operation-k-9-brothers" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Operation K-9 Brothers</strong></em></a> series with dogs and a North Carolina setting.   The blurb for <strong>Mountain Rescue</strong> didn't sound too appealing to me but I loved it.   Rachel is a strong woman in a lot of trouble.  She heads to her home town area and hides out in the cabin from Operation K-9 where she stayed during her friend's wedding.  Dallas is in bad shape, on medical leave from the Seals.  He goes to stay with his team mate, Jack, who runs a place for veterans near Asheville, NC.   The dogs are part of the story but not the key focus here.

Dallas and Rachel collide since they both plan to use the cabin.  They quickly become supportive to each other.  Neither has had a real relationship and they don't live in the same state.  So they don't believe they have a future but they have a strong attraction.  Their banter and sexy connection is a fun ride.  Dallas is protective. Rachel is healing.

The criminals wanting to kill Rachel are dogged.  She is right to be worried. There's also the family and friends who might be hurt to find her.  Lucky for her, she has a team of SEALs who want to protect her. They are smart with strategy and skills which I really appreciated.  It's a suspenseful time with plenty of danger but Rachel has amazing friends.  I love the circle of friends and the business they have created.

Since discovering Sandra’s books, I am hooked. I started with her Aces & Eights series and now K-9 Brothers. Sandra writes with such passion and pulls that big hook out and grabs you and you cannot get away. Reading as fast as I can but also wanting to slow down and savor every word. I laugh out loud at the antics of all of the characters. Ah, Dallas…a hot, sexy, Seal cowboy. What is not to like? Sandra does not write the heroines as ninnies but as intelligent women who can kickass, literally. Enter Rachel. I really liked her character and how she saw beyond the scars and loved Dallas. Shouldn’t we all be like this? Are we too caught up in looks? I would take Dallas any day of the week. I have a soft spot for Labradors and Bella was so loveable and with Blue she was too adorable.

Mountain Rescue
Sandra Owens
December 28. 2021

Dallas Manning arrived at his family's home in Montana. A Navy Seal, he´d been captured and tortured. Upon his rescue he was in the hospital, then rehab. He was better physically but the dreams of horror never left him sleep. After contact with his pal in the Navy, he'd chosen to head to Asheville, North Carolina where Jack ran Operation K-9. It is a kennel where he adopts dogs and trains them to assist Veterans. He arranged for Dallas to stay at his cabin on the K-9 property. He felt that getting away would help him to recover. Dallas drove down the lane and saw the quaint structure. He parked in the garage and grabbed his gear. Once inside he discovered a beautiful woman sleeping in the king bed. She awoke and thinking he had come to harm her began hitting him with a tree limb she brought inside. She was running from a killer who had been chasing her after she observed him harming her best friend, Henri.
Both had history to overcome but his retired Seal team stepped in to help them both.
This is the 3rd book in the Operation K-9 Brothers series, an excellent selection that gives the reader information on Veterans and their needs after retirement. Mountain Rescue will be published by Harlequin Digital Sales on December 28, 2021. I appreciate their allowing me to read and review Sandra Owens latest novel via NetGalley. I enjoyed the story. Itś very well written, warmhearted ,yet suspenseful in plot. Her K-9 mysteries deal with dogs and their training; how they help their owners with protection, tracking and companionship. Mountain Rescue is an excellent continuation of the K-9 series.

Author Sandra Owens has a great story in her latest Operation K-9 Brothers series, Mountain Rescue.The storyline is full of action and the sex scenes are steamy. I loved the two main characters. Rachel Denning is very impressive with her take charge attitude and warm heart. I really love Dallas Manning's personality. Yes, he's a tough Navy SEAL, but he is sweet and funny too. What he went through when held prisoner by the Taliban was horrific and finding someone like Rachel was so very healing for him. Then there's the labrador retriever, Bella and her kitten Blue. They added so much to my enjoyment of the book.

I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

I actually really enjoyed this book!
I knew going into it it was going to have a lot of drama so it wasn't a huge shock and a lot of the time with these types of story lines the authors go about it wrong and it's just cringey to read about but that was not the case with this book.

Honestly, this book was written amazingly and DALLAS oh god give me a hot cowboy any day of the week 😍

He was such a caring sweet guy. Even in the best of books you can find alarm bells with how the male lead is portrayed but not in this book! Don't get me wrong he is also a protective sexy alpha male but I mean what SEAL cowboy wouldn't be 🤭 He was just such an amazing guy and one I loved to read about!!!

And Rachel...... She was amazing! Honestly, in books like these you either find that the female protagonist is either too selfless that she will actually sacrifice herself without using her brain to think of a smart plan or they just cry and are scared the entire book. Rachel was neither!!!

Don't get me wrong Rachel was completely badass but she actually used her brain which I loved!!!

Mix Dallas and Rachel together and they are the perfect couple, and that's what made this book so enjoyable. Even the side characters were fun to read about. I know this isn't the first book in the series but it is the first one I've read and I still absolutely loved this book 😍

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4315431254?book_show_action=false

Sandra Owens is a favorite author of mine for a reason. She writes inspiring storylines with great characters. I love this world, seeing characters from one book to another. This book did not disappoint! Grammie, Dirty Mary, and June are a hoot! The interaction between all the characters make me wish I was a part of this world. I enjoyed Dallas and Rachel's beginning and suspenseful romance. My heart dropped several times. I couldn't put it down. The HEA made me cry. Such a great read!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC of MOUNTAIN RESCUE. This is my voluntary and honest review.