Never say never… After loving and losing a soldier once, Isabella Knowles made a vow: No more military men. She’s rebuilt her life and has a classroom full of fifth graders to love, which is more than enough even though her father doesn’t agree. When he sets her up on a blind date, she only goes to humor him — never dreaming that the man she meets will tempt her to break her one rule.In theory, … rule.
In theory, Ethan Masters is not opposed to the wife, kids and house with a white picket fence. But he loves his career as a K-9 handler in the air force, and a dream promotion dangles before him like dog tags. While contemplating his future, he accepts a drunken bet for a blind date, never dreaming that the captivating woman fits perfectly into his ideal, all-American dream. Only one problem. She’s gun-shy about all things military.
Can Ethan prove to Isabella love is worth the risk?
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I enjoyed reading this book with the exception of the f-bombs and descriptive sex scenes. The story was good and the characters were well developed.
Isabella Knowles had some baggage and was determined to never become involved with another military man. Ethan Masters was a K-9 officer in the Air Force and agreed to a blind date on a drunken bet. Izzy was the blind date and the first “date” didn’t end very well when Izzy realized that Ethan was in the military. She didn’t want to risk the pain of losing a loved one to the military. But, Ethan was a good man and he made Izzy feel things that she had never felt before. She had to decide if a relationship with Ethan was worth the risk or not.
I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
Overall this was a great book. For the most part the plot flowed smoothly. There were times when I did get frustrated with Isabella though. While trying to make her a strong independent heroine, I felt she was a little childish at times. While she had kept a secret from Ethan (her past with a husband who was killed in a military training accident) she was incredibility upset when Ethan reveals his (deployment date, re-enlistment…) even though she was the one to change the subject if he brought it up prior to his finally forcing the discussion.
This book did a great job though in highlighting how military personnel can have a hard time connecting to others and in trying to make a relationship work. It isn’t all sunshine and roses. Also the families that stand behind their loved ones really do sacrifice a great deal while a loved one is deployed.
I really did appreciate the book having a dual POV format. Seeing into the characters’ mind was wonderful here. Again I got frustrated with Isabella but seeing into her thought process was really helpful to me to not put the book down and keep reading. I am very glad that I did.
I highly recommend this book.
I requested an advance reader copy of this novel for several reasons. First, I’ve never read anything by this author before and thought I’d give her a try. Second, it’s the first novel in the series, and I’m tired of always starting a series somewhere near the middle or end. Lastly, the cover and series title led me to believe that a dog would play a major role in this novel. While the writing was quite good, the premise of this novel struck me as odd, and the dog, a K-9 companion to the air force hero, Ethan, was barely mentioned. For these and several other reasons, I could only give this novel a 2-star rating.
The heroine in this novel is Isabella (Izzy), who married her high school sweetheart as soon as they graduated and he immediately joined the military. Being the daughter of a military father and moving from base to base, Isabella envisioned her happy future as being one of a group of friendly and supportive military wives on base, happily married and raising her children. A freak training accident before her husband was ever deployed put an end to those dreams and she swore that she’d never get involved with another military man again. This novel is set 10 years after the death of her husband, and although she’s had sex with several men since being widowed, none were in the military, and there were no long-term relationships with any of them.
Izzy’s relationship with her father is and has been strained at best for years. Her mother divorced her father when she could no longer handle being a military wife. Why that made Isabella dream of being a military wife is never fully explained, and was a mystery to this reader. Basically, Izzy has gone along for the last decade living a half-life, she teaches grade school, has a few friends and that’s about it. When her father arranges a blind date for her, she reluctantly agrees.
Enter the hero, Ethan Masters, and of course, he’s handsome, hunky, polite, and oh yes, he’s in the air force, and has a K-9 companion, Sam, who makes 2 brief appearances. No sooner does Ethan remove the red fedora he’s wearing so that Izzy will recognize him as her date, when she sees his buzz-cut, turns around and literally flees. The two attempt a few more dates, but between Izzy’s mood swings, and on-and-off attraction to Ethan, while never explaining why she can’t seem to make up her mind about dating him was both childish and ridiculous. She certainly has no problem getting into bed with the handsome airman, but her inner dialogue about him and their relationship, and her fear of losing him as she lost her first husband went on and on, and got her and this reader nowhere.
While I liked Ethan’s attempts to get to know Izzy, and his attempts to put her mind at ease about his choice of career, and his introducing her to the wives of his military friends, he doesn’t bother filling her in on his plans for the future, a future that includes the fact that he’s about to be deployed again, that he’s been offered a promotion, and that he plans to re-enlist when he returns from this latest deployment. No sooner does Izzy hear the news when she breaks off the relationship, but is there any hope of a future for these two? Frankly, at this point in the novel, I simply didn’t care. I thought Ethan could do better than tie himself to a woman who can’t seem to decide what she wants, won’t support his military career, and who will probably be a basket case whenever he’s deployed.
Of course, there’s a big surprise and an HEA ending awaiting you, but this novel truly left me totally unmoved and unsatisfied. It needed more depth, more drama over and above the relationship drama between the two principle characters, and more importantly it needed more of a story than just this on again, off again relationship.
As stated, I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
Blind Date Bet by Nicole Flockton is a lovely distraction from reality. You can’t go wrong with this read. Nicole Flockton is able to pull you in from the beginning with this book and won’t let you go until the last page. This was a cute and totally loveable story with not only great characters but with fabulous secondary characters that capture your heart and interest as well. I was disappointed that there weren’t more interactions with the dog, but I understand it’s not a doggie love story. The scenes with the dog were priceless, I could have read more of those, for sure! This book has all the feels, friendship, romance, pain but by the end, you feel privileged to have been a part of the story. Looking forward to having these characters pop up in future books. This is definitely a book you want to pick up. As a matter of fact, you might just want to add this author to your one-click list.
Enjoyed it
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Man’s Best Friend
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
This blind date military love story started very well and optimistic. It seemed that it will be funny and hot but more into the book we got the less satisfied I was. Ethan was so good guy everything about him was great and I liked him and fell sorry for him because with Isabela I felt so frustrated. She just didn’t know what to do, her playing hot and cold and for my opinion not so solid reason for not to date a military guy. In a way, her ex had had in a sort of way working accident and was not KIA so it was really hard to understand her. It was like she was searching for a reason not to date Ethan and she found it in trivial thing. The end of the book was for my liking and I was glad to see their HEA.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly
I thoroughly enjoyed the building relationship of Izzy and Ethan. Both have obstacles that they must overcome to go forward in their relationship. Izzy lost one husband to the military is she ready to take that chance again with Ethan. Ethan is everything military as a K-9 handler in the air force. Sam is right hand dog, until he meets Izzy on a blind date and his priorities may soon change.
Loved these characters, great character development. I only wish Sam was more part of the story. Looking forward to reading more in this series.
So, so, good…the storyline in this book about AirForce Staff Sergeant Ethan Masters and school teacher Isabella Knowles is touching heartwarming vision about military life and new relationship. This is most definitely a 5-star read.
I love to read books with men in uniforms, add k-9 to that and I am hooked. I finished the book in one day I had to see what is in the next chapter. Ethan is a great character but Isabella who was sworn of military men complicated their chemistry from their first encounter in the mall. All in all I had nice time reading while outside is a crappy weather
This is the first book by this author I have read but after reading this one, it is not going to be my last book! No sir… She is one awesome storyteller and this one grabbed my attention from the start. I come from a family where all 5 brothers have served so this book touches my heart deeply and tugged at emotions. While we never lost one of them, two of them have been injured several times so I get where Izzy’s deep fear is rooted. Ethan and Izzy have that chemistry you can just see PoP off the pages of the book…which make this one really great read. OH yes add in Sam..who is Sam. Sam is Ethan’s K9. OH MY i am a sucker for a K9 in a read!!! I can not wait to see who’s story author Nicole Flockton gives us next and I am excited to know there will be more books coming soon.
Easy quick read. I loved Ethan from the start but took awhile to connect with Isabella. Looking forward to future books in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC received via NetGalley.
After previously losing her soldier husband, Isabella Knowles has sworn off all military men and dedicated her life to teaching. When her father sets her up with Ethan Masters, she immediately has her guard up. He convinces her to give them a real shot, but after something triggers a memory from her past, it’s too painful and she runs.
Ethan loves his job working with the K-9 unit, but when he’s offered a promotion that is the culmination of all his hard work, he’s torn as to what he should do. This story went from cold to hot super fast for me, but I was happy with the progression of the last half of the book. It was an enjoyable book, it just took me a few tries to get into it.
Ethan Masters agrees to a blind date and will get more than he bargained for. He loves his job in the Air Force as a K-9 handler and is backed by a family history of military service. When a mall is evacuated, he is immediately attracted to a woman who he has to persuade to leave the mall. When he shows up for his blind date, Isabella Knowles the woman from the mall, is his date. He is pleased…she is not. Isabella realizes that Ethan is in the military and she has no intention in getting involved with another military man. Can Ethan change her mind? He loves his career, but also thinks about marriage and a family of his own. Ethan will need to be patient with Isabella as her brief marriage to a military man, ended in tragedy. Will Ethan be able to win her love and change her mind about a military man? I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
Fantastic book that I thoroughly enjoyed. My only complaint is that I would have liked Sam, Ethan’s K=9 companion, to have more of a role in the story but his lack of mention doesn’t take away from the story so that’s no biggie. Ethan and Isabella are terrific together and I wanted this to work out for them right from the start. The have obstacles to overcome. Major ones! Yet you can’t help but hope they find their way. The book is wonderfully written with a nice easy pace and characters that will win your heart. I definitely recommend this one.
The premise of this book is one that interested me, with a military hero and his K9 partner. I especially love when there’s an animal as a secondary character. The writing is skilled and the editing flawless, which is becoming more scarce, especially in advanced copies, so I always appreciate an author who cares enough about her craft to put forth the best possible published work. That goes a long way with me.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t negate the issues I had with this book. First of all, there was very little of the dog, Sam, in the book, with several mentions but only one or two scenes in which Sam played only a minor part. My other issue was with the heroine, Isabella. I initially connected with her, and the fact that she had lost her military husband early in her marriage garnered sympathy. While I appreciate the author’s attempt to perpetuate feminist ideals, Isabella came off as petulant and whiny, devolving into several temper tantrums, and in my opinion did more harm than good with what should have been a strong, independent female. Fortunately, Isabella’s friend, Meredith, was there to set her straight in time for a predictable, Hallmark ending. This one just got more and more difficult for me to get through. I usually read a book per day, but these sixteen chapters took me three days to finish.
On the other hand, I adored the hero, Ethan, and I appreciated the growth in the relationship between Isabella and her father. Because I’m impressed with the author’s writing ability, I’ll check out some of her other work and hopefully find both a hero and heroine I can connect with who have me eager to take their journey to forever with them. And if you’re already a fan of this author, I imagine you’ll enjoy this one.
Rcvd an ARC at no cost ot author (netgalley)am sorry, I wanted to like this book but it was so oooooo boring, like so much. I tried because a hot military guy what is not to like but it was painfully boring to me. We had Isabella who lost her husband as soon they married due to a freak accident and she hasn’t been able to move on. She meets Ethan on a, yup you guessed it blind dqte. He likes her she is scared he pursues she gives inm dumps since scared then regrets..save yoyrself.