With Christmas and a family wedding fast approaching, there’s happy chaos in the air at Waterford Farm. However, not everyone in the Kilcannon clan is caught up in the magic of the moment. Matriarch, octogenarian, and beloved blogger Gramma Finnie hears the clock of her long life ticking far too fast, while her great-granddaughter, teenager Pru, feels squeezed out of planning her mother’s … nuptials.
But when this unlikely duo is tasked with the project of producing the “Somethings” for the wedding – and only have Christmas Eve to get the job done – Gramma Finnie and Pru have a purpose and a plan. They set off to find the perfect old, new, borrowed, and blue treasures, but it doesn’t take long for things to spin out of control faster than Gramma’s Toyota in a snowstorm. Detoured by a stray border collie, thwarted by nature and an elf parade, and trapped by a rifle-toting mountain man, it will take more than the power of the Kilcannon clan to save these two from a Christmas catastrophe. It will take the luck of the Irish, a love story from long ago, and a whole lot of help from the angels to make this holiday merry and bright.
The Dogfather Series
The Dogfather isn’t just one man…it’s a brand new contemporary romance series from New York Times bestselling author Roxanne St. Claire celebrating what she loves most: hot guys, great dogs, big families…and true love. And a portion of the proceeds from every book in the series will be donated to the Alaqua Animal Refuge in the author’s home state of Florida!
Daniel Kilcannon is known as “The Dogfather” for a reason. It’s not just his renowned skills as a veterinarian, his tremendous love of dogs, or the fact that he has turned his homestead in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains into a world class dog training and rescue facility. Ask his six grown children who run Waterford Farm for him, and they’ll tell you that their father’s nickname is due to his uncanny ability to pull a few strings to get what he wants. And what he wants is for his four sons and two daughters to find the kind of life-changing love he had with his dearly departed wife, Annie. This old dog has a few new tricks…and he’ll use them all to see his pack all settled into their happily ever afters!
The Book List — Each Title is a Stand Alone!
Sit…Stay…Beg – Book One
New Leash on Life – Book Two
Leader of the Pack – Book Three
Santa Paws is Coming to Town – Book Four
Bad to the Bone – Book Five
Ruff Around the Edges – Book Six
Double Dog Dare – Book Seven
Bark! The Herald Angels Sing – Book Eight
Old Dog New Tricks – Book Nine
And there will be more!
About the Author
Published since 2003, Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty romance and suspense novels.
In addition to being an ten-time nominee and one-time winner of the prestigious RITA™ Award for the best in romance writing, Roxanne’s novels have won the National Readers’ Choice Award for best romantic suspense four times, as well as the Maggie, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others.
A recent empty-nester, Roxanne lives in Florida with her husband, and still attempts to run the lives of her young adult children. She loves dogs, books, chocolate, and wine, especially all at the same time!
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Another Christmas gem in the Dogfather series!! Gramma Finnie and Pru take off on a risky, things-will-get-complicated adventure to find the “somethings” for Molly’s wedding — something old, new, borrowed, blue. Of course they find a beautiful dog, in need of help, and some amazing things happen in their journey to find her owner and help her through her time of need. And seeing the whole family come together to help find the daring duo is always amazing — I want to be part of this family!! I love their love and devotion to each other! And Gramma Finnie’s story of her young years in Ireland and finding her true love was beautiful!!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC — which I am reviewing with joy and honesty!!
A story teller within a story teller. You have such a way of writing, Roxanne St. Claire, that had me smiling, worried, in tears, smiling again, and did I mention, in tears? I loved this story of Grandma Finnie and Pru’s great adventure and Grandma Finnie’s older, greater adventure. And I love puppies. Was Cutter on the pier that day? Will Pru get to keep a puppy? Will Queenie survive? Thank goodness the Kilcannon family has vets, and Vets to help Cutter. I can’t wait for the wedding now! Thank you for this heart-touching Christmas story.
An angelic novella just in time for Christmas traveling from the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains with glimpses back in time to the lush greens hills of the Emerald Isle itself – Ireland during the mid 1940’s.
In this, one of the sweetest, most heartwarming and very first love stories of all in the Kilcannon Clan, we learn the breathtaking story of Finola Brennan, the Dogfather’s cherished mother, affectionately known to all as “Gramma Finnie”, and his father Seamus Kilcannon.
As Molly and Trace are finishing up last minute wedding plans, Pru their only daughter, plans the special “somethings” with Gramma Finnie that ends up taking them both on a grand and daring adventure on Christmas Eve! Special “somethings” that include “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”. Together they discover the most adorable, very lost and desperately pregnant border collie in serious need of help.
Far away from home, on dangerously slick roads during a snow storm in the backwoods of the Blue Ridge mountains with Gramma Finnie’s somewhat questionable driving, things take a treacherous turn for the worse.
Don’t miss this exciting adventure with Gramma Finnie and Pru that brings together the entire Kilcannon clan and their dashing cousins. Meet some new members of the family from days gone by and learn the true history and love story of the couple who started it all, Seamus and Finola.
I truly loved this novella. It was everything I could have dreamed for the beloved “first couple” of the Kilcannon Clan and then some, with a little luck O’The Irish and a lot of charm. It will pull at your heartstrings and remind you of the true meaning of love, family and the magic of Christmas. And of course, have you pulling for one very pregnant pooch and her precious pups.
*I was honored to be given an ARC by the author for an honest review.
The perfect adventure for Pru and Grandma Finnie to find out that they are totally and completely loved by the entire Kilcannon family. As Molly and Trace’s wedding approaches along with Christmas, Pru finds herself feeling left from the planning itself. Pru, even at 14, is the ultimate planner in the Kilcannon family. At the other end of the age spectrum is Gramma Finnie who finds herself reminiscing about the first time she met her Seamus in Ireland. After Pru is tasked with finding the “somethings” for Molly’s wedding, she and Gramma take off to fix a special piece of jewelry. Gramma tells the beautiful story of her teenage years in Ireland and how she met Seamus and they made their journey to America. During this grand adventure Gramma and Pru find a beautiful dog Gramma names “Blue” because of her beautifully special eyes. As Gramma and Pru go about returning Blue to her owner circumstances begin to endanger them. Now the Kilcannons come together to locate Gramma and Pru. Another beautiful story of the Kilcannons by Roxanne St Clair. I have loved each and every Dogfather book and this so special because of the relationship Pru and Gramma Finnie have developed over the years. I found myself pretty teary eyed towards the end because this is a wonderful family to be a part of. Even if they are only in my mind. Looking for a kick start to your holiday season, then grab ‘Bark, the Herald Angels Sing!’ by Roxanne St. Claire, you won’t regret it. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars*****
This novella is another fun romp (through the snow this time) with the Kilcannon family. Although each book stands alone, we know the family well by this, the eighth book in the series. All the other books involve adult members of the family. This one, however, involves teen-aged Pru and her Great-Grandmother. And dogs, of course, everyone is a dog lover.
Pru is feeling left out of her mother’s wedding preparations, so her mom assigns Pru and Gramma Finnie to help by finding surprise “somethings”: something old, something new, that kind of something. Because it is to be a surprise they sneak off to do their errands. Of course, unexpected things happen. Since this is a novella Ms. St. Claire does not have time to do as much plot development as we expect in her full-length novels, but the story is fully developed. And, as always, the dog on the front cover is a main character.
I recommend you read Pru and Gramma Finnie’s Christmas story. I think you will enjoy it.
The Dogfather series of books is one of my favorites ever from Roxanne St. Claire. With each new installment, I fall more in love with the entire Kilcannon Clan.
Pru and Gramma Finnie are two of my favorite characters from this series. I love how close these two characters are and how Pru keeps Gramma young and Gramma helps Pru have fun. I love they take over finding the “somethings” for the wedding, and get to have a grand adventure at the same time. No adventure with a Kilcannon would be complete without a dog, and I loved Pru and Gramma come the aid of sweet Blue in her time of need.
I love how Gramma Finnie shares stories of the past to help everyone see the right path now. I adored reading about Gramma’s sister and how she met her Seamus all those years ago. Gramma sharing these stories of love with Pru and even their new friend Cutter as the work together to save Blue (Queenie) as she delivers her puppies was perfect. You can’t have a Dogfather book without a special dog, and I absolutely fell in love with Blue along with Gramma.
I love seeing all the Kilcanons come together to help each other out. When Gramma and Pru need a rescue, the Kilcannons are all hands on deck. Seriously I have so much love for this family and these stories and each one just builds on the last as they get better and better.
Bark! The Herald Angels Sing was the perfect Christmas novella for the Kilcannon clan and totally had gotten me into the Christmas spirit early. I highly recommend the entire Dogfather series and have to say Bark! The Herald Angels Sing was an absolutely perfect addition to the series.
Rating: 5 Stars (A)
Review copy provided by publisher
You can never go wrong with a book by Ms. St Claire, and if you have come to love her Dogfather series as much as I have , this sweet and touching story will undoubtedly touch your hearts.
Molly and Trace are about to get married and their daughter, Pru, is feeling left out . While the matriarch and glue of the Kilcannon clan, Gramma Finnie, feels her life is coming to an end , as she is 87 years old, and wants an adventure.
When these two embark on a search to finding the wedding treasures, off they go in Gramma Finnie’s Toyota. Little did they know the adventure was the least of their worries.
The reader also gets a chance to find out how Seamus and Gramma Finnie met, and about their lives before coming to America.
Pru and Gramma Finnie might be decades apart in age, but their love of family and their spirit is wonderful to watch. Both are strong, smart, capable, and powerful. Able to overcome obstacles while still being loyal and full of heart for their families.
A truly wonderful story for this holiday season. One that will stay with you for a very long time.
I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.