NATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN ROMANCE FICTION AWARDS FINALIST Can a retired Military working dog help bring her former handler and new owner heal from the past and find love together in this perfect read for fans of AJ Pine and Jennie Marts?After an IED ends his military career, Major John Rathborne struggles to re-adjust to civilian life as a veteran. Haunted by the death of his friend, John’s … the death of his friend, John’s determined to find his canine partner, Koda, now retired and re-homed. The last place he expects to find her is on a ranch in Montana where he lands a foreman job and a chance at a new start.
Katie Locke just wants the new guy gone. She doesn’t need some stranger invading her ranch, no matter how much her father insists they need the help. But she can’t ignore John’s brooding presence, and even her dog shares an uncanny bond with him. When her father suffers a heart attack, Katie has no option but to put her differences with John aside to save the future of Three Keys Ranch.
As they slowly find a common bond and their attraction heats up, both realize they must heal from past wounds if they want to explore a relationship. But John hasn’t told Katie about certain parts of his life–including that he and Koda had once been partners. When they learn someone is out to destroy the ranch, and Katie is in their crosshairs, John is determined to protect her at all costs. But can he open his heart enough to save their blossoming relationship? Falling for the boss’s daughter was bad enough, but allowing Katie to see all of him could mean losing everything he’s fought for…including Koda.
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, reluctant hero, boss’s daughter
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A fantastic book with so many layers to it! John was such an interesting and complex character and I loved how his devotion to his former canine partner from his stint in the military was a driving force to reconnect with Koda after an IED ended his military career. I had a little bit of trouble understanding and therefore connecting to Katie though. I thought that her resentment of John taking the position on the ranch that Mitch had offered to him was immature and petty. I did eventually learn to like her more but never became a full-fledged fan even in the end. Koda was great! Everyone should have a dog like that and was the absolute best part of the whole book! I will be checking out more of the books written by this author in the future!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The author does a wonderful job of captivating the reader from the start. It’s well written and flows smoothly from page to page making it hard to put the book down. The characters are fun, engaging, easy to get to know and even easier to love. You won’t be disappointed adding this to your reading list.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
John is out of the service and looking for the dog he was the handler for. He finds Koda on the Three Keys Ranch where he is now the foreman. Mitch hired him and his daughter is not happy about it. Mitch gets sick and now Katie knows they have to work together to keep the ranch. They both have issues from past traumas. Katie figures if her father liked him and Koda likes him than maybe she thinks he might be okay. Then there seems to be someone out to cause trouble for the ranch. This is an edge of your seat kind of book. It had twists and turns and some intrigue. This is a wonderful book and the characters were so multi faceted. Great book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wonderful read
Hearts Unleashed is the first book in the Three Keys Ranch series by Paris Wynters. I originally read this book when it was first released but somehow did not review it. The story is a well written and fantastic story about Katie and John. Paris outdid herself with this story as it has so much depth of emotion and heart that it will break you but then put you back together and make you soar. John suffered an IED explosion in Afghanistan and has been working to overcome the results of it. But after a long stay at the hospital the service dog, Coda, that he worked with was retired and adopted by a family. John should have adopted Coda himself so he decides to search for him. What he finds is not only Coda but also a job as he is hired as a ranch foreman by Mitch, Katie’s dad, as he wants to help the Veteran out. Katie is working for her father doing the books at the family ranch. But Katie is also suffering from an attack that has left her with PTSD. Add on the fact that the family ranch has been having things go unexpectedly wrong at the ranch. With Coda there John settles into his job but does not tell Mitch or Katie about his attachment to Coda. Both Katie and John may be attracted to each other but they are both also determined to not get involved in any relationship and end up with a prickly way of being towards each other. But when John feels there may be an actual threat against Katie he is determined to protect her and keep her safe, not matter what it takes. There is a mystery happening that he is going to have to figure out. Along the way John and Katie grow closer and become a sort of support system to each other. Their relationship does make a hot and sexy left turn into love and a HEA, which also includes Coda of course.
This is a wonderful book that is well written. The story is nicely plotted and the characters are well developed with a lot of depth, showing bot their hurt, dark and sweet/caring sides. Plus you just have to love the way Coda is there for both John and Katie along the way. This book is a winner and I hope that Paris does write another in this series.
John worked with Koda in the military. Now that he’s out he wants to track his companion down. He ends his search at Three Keys Ranch in Montana and ends up as foreman. He falls for Katie and together they try to save each other and the ranch.
This a great story about John and Katie, he is trying to adjust to life after the service and find his K9 partner again. Katie does not want him around until she realizes that she needs him to keep her ranch going. I am looking forward to reading more form this series.
I received this book free and i am voluntarily doing a review. I loved the authors writing. I loved the characters and love story was very captivating, kept me reading all night
A fast moving, action packed story of a soldier, John being discharged from the military after being seriously injured in an IED explosion, where his friend Dirk was killed. Also, John suffered greatly from PTSD, as he had changed seats with Dirk, so John could fix the leash on his service dog, Coda. John should have gotten Coda, when he was discharged, but due to his long hospital stay and some other problems Coda was adopted out to a private family. As soon as John was able to get out of the hospital, he started searching for Coda. He was able to find a job on a ranch as foreman near where he was living, and fortunately it was with the same family that adopted Coda. The ranch was owned by Mitch and Katie Locke. They had gotten Coda as a protector for Kate, after she was attacked and almost killed.It
Besides the attack on Katie at work the Locke Family was having a string of bad luck at the ranch. Broken fences, and unreliable ranch hands. Katie was fearful to hire anyone else, they had so much trouble but her father insisted that they needed the foreman. She was determined that she was not going to like him and after she met him she knew he was hiding something. John decided not to tell them about his connection to Coda, because he felt Katie needs Coda more than he did.
John soon felt that there was a real threat to Katie and he was determined to protect her. He was not sure where the threat was coming from, but to many things kept happening that were not accidents. He would just have to keep watch until he unraveled this intriguing mystery.
The romance between John and Katie was electrifying when ever they were together. They were naturally drawn to each other, but neither felt worthy of a mate do to their physical disfigurement and emotional/mental status of their past. Somehow they always found themselves together helping each other through the rough patches. Of course they had Coda right there to help both of them. This was a wonderful romantic story with a little suspense thrown in for good measure. Well worth the read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Katie’s dad hires John as their new ranch manager – Mitch is a sucker for a vet in need of a job. From the beginning, Katie and John don’t like each other, and their snide and sometimes nasty comments reflect those feelings. They’re two broken souls, physically and emotionally. His injuries are the result of an IED blast in Afghanistan – she was attacked one night at the hospital. Their common ground is Koda, the dog they both love. Koda is Katie’s companion and protector, but John was Koda’s handler in the service. This is an emotional and heartwarming book. John and Katie have to figure out how to work together, especially after her father get sick. It’s a two-steps-forward-one-step-back as they learn how to get along and trust each other. There’s a mystery to be solved as well – things happening on the ranch. This is my first read from this author, but most certainly not the last.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received an ARC from the author thru Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review. This is the story of how John and Katie fight thru life to find their happy every after. These are two very broken people who need each other. It is heartbreaking when they cannot see that their broken pieces might fit together to make them whole. But there is a very special dog that loves them both and ties their lives together. Paris did so well writing a story that draws you in with such strong emotions. The characters keep you tied to the book. You will not want to put it down until Kate and John can dig their way thru their demons to a life of love. Plan on a rollercoaster of emotions and a dog that knows what they need even when they deny it
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A wonderful love story that’ll warm your heart!
by Happy-Girl
I have a soft spot for cowboys and that was the reason I chose this book.
John is a man, an ex-soldier, a cowboy with scars on his body, and his soul.
Katie is his boss with a secret tragedy on her own, and now she doesn’t trust easily.
And Koda is the dog that unites them, a former military dog, John’s partner, and now Katie’s emotional lifesaver.
I loved this story because it grew on me, tender feelings becoming stronger any day with a sexy twist!
And when danger strikes the Three Keys Ranch, John and Katie found the strength in themselves to help each other and defeat the threat.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book in the Three Keys Ranch series. This is John and Katie’s story. This was an excellent book. It’s emotional, well written with a storyline that made me want to keep reading. John and Katie are both powerful characters that clash throughout the book. I really recommend you grab this book.
John is an Army vet looking for his military working dog. They were both hurt in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, Koda was adopted out before he got out of the hospital. He finds her on Katie’s dads ranch, the Three Keys. He gets a job working as the ranch manager but butts’ heads with Katie on pretty much everything. He never mentions that Koda is so friendly with him because she was his partner. He sees that Katie needs Koda and decides being near the dog is enough. As Katie and John work together, they get to know each other, and feelings start to develop between them, but both are dealing with some serious issues. Can they help each other heal?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Katie and John keep butting heads but the attraction to each other is sizzling. They both have pain and secrets they need to heal from but can both of them help each other? Or will certain parts of their lives ruin their chances?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a complimentarily copy of this book from Booksprout and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
What a great read. This was such an endearing, heartfelt book. I felt for John. He had his canine partner adopted out from underneath him, the heartless reaction from the woman at the bar and PTSD. His suffering was never ending til Katie. Their love story is one for the history books. I highly recommend.
This book is one that I really enjoyed. It really had me drawn in and at times I truly was sympathizing with the characters. They were well written and the storyline was amazing. This author does a great job, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.
What an emotional story of trust, romance, PTSD, and working on a ranch. I really liked John Rathborne, who not only had physical scars from an IED but emotional scars as well. He was trying to find himself after being in the Army was no longer possible and so he ended up on a ranch in Montana.
I also liked Katie Locke, who was dealing with her own scars like John but for different reasons. It was fun watching the two of them work together.
I especially liked the mystery in the story and how it made me want to quickly turn the pages to find out how the story would end. I cried when I was done reading the book. I received an advance copy of this and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
An emotional drama that has broken souls who fate designed to bring together and help heal each other. The road was rocky and their initial reaction to each other not the best but the spark was there. I enjoyed reading this story as they began to believe that happiness was possible.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Talk about hitting you in the feels! This story grabbed me right away and was intense at times. I was completely engrossed in this one. It will pull on your heart strings and not let go until the very end. And that ENDING!!!! This is a MUST READ!! I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.
Great characters that will keep your interest extremely well.
I’m not going to go into detail, no spoilers, just read the book if you are even mildly intrigued by the blurb. You’ll thank me later!
The chemistry, sweetness, and twists in plot kept things interesting. Add in drama and passion and you have a good read.
I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Enjoyed this story more than I anticipated because it is extremely predictable. It was well done and the characters were wonderful.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.