She needs a fresh start. He’s got scars that haven’t healed. With the help of some rescue dogs, they’ll discover that everyone deserves a chance at happiness. After a year of heartbreak and loss, the only thing keeping Constance afloat is the dog rescue she works at with her sister, Sunny. Desperate for a change, Constance impulsively joins a new gym, even though it seems impossibly hard, and … hard, and despite the gym’s prickly owner.
Rhett Santos keeps his gym as a refuge for his former-military brothers and to sweat out his own issues. He’s ready to let the funny redhead join, but unprepared for the way she wiggles past his hard-won defenses.
When their dog rescue is threatened, the sisters fight to protect it. And they need all the help they can get. As Rhett and Constance slowly open up to each other, they’ll find that no one is past rescuing; what they need is the right person–or dog–to save them.
more
Ok, so I usually read different types of books but this is a book about not only people but the dogs they love. Since I am an avid dog lover I truly enjoyed reading this.
We are drawn into Constance’s story as she is dealing with a large amount of loss in her life and doesn’t exactly know where to go or what to do. An ex athlete she has let herself go and lost all her spunk. After being asked to take a spin class her sister is teaching she tries to go into the gym but all the pho pho people are not her type and the bakery several doors down draws her attention more.
Walking over there she sees a place called Semper Fit and decides to go inside and see what it is all about. It is run and owned by an ex military man and they don’t do the typical gym stuff. The climb ropes, do squats and roll large truck tires and she feels lost. Constance is standing watching when she gets wrap up in a class and decided to try it from the back of the room. Suddenly, she feels like she is home. She thinks that she is just going to slip out but gets pulled back in and ends up meeting Rhett the owner.
Well, from there the book just takes off. We learn all about Rhett and his story, Constance and her story, Detective Callahan and Pete’s story and of course her sister Sunny who runs a dog rescue and is always in trouble for stealing mistreated dogs.
It is a wild ride but one that you will laugh, love and look forward to reading.
I LOVED this book.
RESCUE YOU (Dogwood County Book #1) by Elysia Whisler is the first book in a new Women’s fiction series that had me hooked from the very first chapter. This is a new author that I will definitely be following into the future.
Constance and Rhett are such wonderful characters. Both broken and yet when they meet, they know just what the other needs even as they work through obstacles of their own. It is not a relationship that comes easily, but I believe the author handled the speed and interactions realistically. The use of Rhett’s extreme fitness center, Semper Fit, as a place for physical as well as emotional change had me as intrigued as the dog rescue, Pittie Place which had all of the sisters’ dynamics playing out around it.
Constance and Sunny’s relationship as sisters, who love each other dearly, but have had certain roles forced on them evolves as both sisters change throughout this story. The relationships with the men in their lives adds to the dynamic, but does not stop their growth and love for each other. Every character in this book is fully fleshed and play a pivotal role in the overall story.
While emotionally dense with several real-life serious situations and problems, the author was still able to make this story easy to read with touches of humor. This book covers rescue dogs and puppy mills, sister relationships, depression after death of a loved one, divorce and PTSD all with an authority that never had me doubting the research and knowledge of any one topic.
I highly recommend this book and new author! I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this series!
Easy reading for dog lovers and believers of rescuing animals
Great story and characterization. I wish we could have learned more about Sean. If you love dogs, and stories about people with imperfect lives finding love this story is for you.
Rhett has some remaining issues left over from a war wound, inside and out. He struggles to overcome so many challenges. Enter Constance… she just shows up at his gym one day and Rhett cannot stop thinking about her.
Give me a good romance with dogs and I am hooked. I enjoyed so much about this novel. I love Rhett and Constance. Rhett has had a rough time of it. Constance is hurting in her own way as well. These two find each other through a gym and tough workouts. They develop a bond and it just gets stronger as the story unfolds.
And don’t forget about Sunny. Sunny is Constance’s sister. She is tough as nails and steals dogs to save their lives…she is a character I truly admire.
Need a good, soul searching romantic interlude….this is it! Grab your copy today! Plus…it has dogs!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Massage for the soul
Constance Morrigan is a massage therapist. Most of her work lately has been on rescued dogs that have ended up at her sister’s rescue shelter. Sunny, her sister, rescues mainly pit bulls but other types of dogs also, sometimes taking them from abusive environments. She adopts them out or they go to a friend that trains them to be companion dogs for Wounded Warriors, soldiers with physical or emotional damage, or both.
This past year has been extremely hard for Constance and she has been having a hard time with depression. One day she wanders into a gym that caters mostly to ex-soldiers and finds that Rhett, the owner of the gym, intrigues her and makes her want to use her empathetic massage skills to help the wounded ex-Marine.
I loved the main characters in this story, especially Constance and Rhett. And I loved the dogs we got to meet. The story takes place near Quantico, which is in Virginia and also near two Marine bases.
I highly recommend this romance to readers that enjoy stories about the wounded in spirit and body and those that like dogs.
I received this book from MIRA Books through Edelweiss and Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave a review or reviews on it.
Constance and Rhett’s emotional story in Rescue You by Elysia Whistler, book one in her Dogwood County series, was a story of two loss people unsure of what it would take to break through the walls constructed to protect themselves. During the past year therapeutic masseuse, Constance lost her dad to cancer and her boyfriend to another woman, feeling loss and adrift. Working at her sister’s dog recue helps keep her focus. Desperate for a change, Constance impulsively joins a new gym despite feeling unable to perform any of the impossibly difficult tasks and the gym’s broody owner. Rhett Santos runs his gym as refuge for his former-military brothers as well as to sweat out and work out his own issues. Rhett has no difficulty allowing Constance to join, but is totally unprepared for the way this funny redhead gets past the wall he built around himself. When the dog rescue is threatened by their unscrupulous neighbor, the sisters fight to protect it; calling in all the help they can get. As Rhett and Constance get to know each other and make themselves vulnerable, they discover that no one, person or dog, is beyond being rescued.
Rhett and Constance are attracted to each other from the beginning. They share a strong magnetism and off the charts chemistry that set the sheets aflame. Their attraction is strong enough to help them find a love that is soulful and fulfilling; matched together like puzzle pieces fitting together for perfection. There is a second love story between Constance’s sister, Sunny and their third Musketeer, Pete that is charming. Trigger Note: there is discussion of dog abuse, dog fighting rings, and puppy mills.
Ms. Whistler wrote an amazing, passionate, and emotional story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with sizzling chemistry, amusing banter, scary situations, and strong characters, giving Constance and Rhett a chance at true love and a forever together. I highly recommend Rescue You to other readers.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
This story took a bit for me to work out in my head. I was about a quarter of the way through before I could tell the voices of the sisters apart in my head. It was around the same point I felt the segues smoothed out. Of course, with any new-to-me author I have to get used to their writing style. After I finished this book I found out this is the author’s debut published novel, so she’s not just new to me…she’s new to everyone. For a debut novel, I was impressed.
Constance’s back story unfolds slowly, so we get to know her as we also get to know her hang-ups. Rhett is a bit harder to figure out, but I felt that was by design. We, as the readers, don’t need to know his details. We get his basic story of how he came to be where he is at, physically and emotionally, and that’s really all we need to know for the story to work. That way the story is not bogged down in details that are insignificant to the journey these characters are on.
While Constance (aka Red, aka Cici, aka Stanzi) and Rhett are the central characters to this story, there are other stories occurring at the same time. It felt like Constance’s sister, Sunny, was supposed to have equal billing in this book. Her story is interesting, to be sure. It’s also important to the overall story arc. But I found myself more immersed in Constance’s story and often annoyed with Sunny’s parts. I like Sunny, but her habit of wearing blinders and being too laser focused could grate on my nerves. I really found myself interested in Pete, the childhood friend of these sisters, and wish we would have gotten more about him and his service dogs. The same can be said for police detective/Rhett’s friend Callahan. Both of these men are important to the overall story, but we got some teases about them that left me a bit empty…wanting more.
It may not seem like it after that last paragraph, but I really did enjoy this story. At least after that first bit, when I was able to be fall into the story fully. I understood Constance on so many levels and feel like she is one of those heroines that all women will be able to see themselves in some way or another. She’s tough and determined but lost herself after some huge setbacks. And honestly, I think I was partial to her because there were things about her that reminded me of my older sister. She’s very intuitive and compassionate. My sister is much more of a warm and welcoming person, but her inner workings are similar to this character’s.
I’m hoping to read more by this author in the future. She’s off to a great start.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
I absolutely loved this story!
You cannot help but love this book with romance,mystery, fitness, dogs and friendship.
This novel has it all!
You will not go wrong with dogs and crossfit in the plot!
With each page turned, I got more involved with these characters who became friends!
Sunny is the rescuer and owner of Pittie Place, and it is her whole world.
She will do anything which includes stealing to save abused dogs.
Her sister is a massage therapist named Constance, who needs some self confidence and to rebuild her own life. She has always been the family caregiver and really needs some care of her own.
She joins a crossfit for some assistance. ( A crossfit??)
She learns more than crossfit and finds more than confidence in the box!
Beautiful novel!