Unleashed

September 1, 2014
Dog lovers rejoice! The stars of Lacey’s cute series opener set in Dogwood, N.C., have four legs instead of two, and their happy ending is guaranteed. Part-time photographer Cara Medlen provides the Triangle Boxer Rescue’s most reliable foster home, but her neighbors worry that the untrained dogs are dangerous. Private detective Matt Dumont starts out suspicious of Cara as well, but soon enough he joins her in the rescuing business, and makes sure that Cara doesn’t get herself into precarious situations while attempting to free abused dogs. Cara’s sweetness and determination attract Matt, but he’s planning to move to Massachusetts to be closer to family, so he’s certain that they won’t be able to form a lasting connection. But when the two are forced together by a well-timed snowstorm in a sleepy mountain town, all good intentions go out the window. Lacey’s debut entertains, and readers will look forward to meeting Cara’s dog-loving friends in two planned sequels.

October 15, 2014

Ever since her teenage bout with leukemia, Cara Medlen has avoided long-term commitments. Marriage, children, and permanent pets are out (until she reaches the ten-year mark), but fostering rescue boxer dogs is in. If only she didn't have such grouchy neighbors, whose complaints are about to force her to sell her condo. Sexy, law-abiding PI Matt Dumont lives next door and thinks she's harboring fighting pit bulls. But Matt is moving from North Carolina to Boston and has issues with some of Cara's less-than-legal methods of rescuing dogs. Though he's as hot as they come, there's never going to be anything between them. Of course; never. VERDICT Gentle humor is a perfect foil for the more serious issues of health, trust, and commitment in this boxer-blessed story. Animal lovers will adore it and rejoice that it's the first of a three-book series. Debut author Lacey lives in North Carolina.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
After battling cancer as a teen, Cara Medlen vowed not to make any commitments until she'd been in remission for 10 years. She rescues dogs, especially boxers, and fosters them until they can find permanent homes; works as a nanny; and rarely goes on a second date with anyone. But when problems arise with her homeowner's association over her foster animals, and her concerns deepen over the plight of some local dogs she believes are being abused, she ends up involved with Matt Dumont, the very hot private investigator next door. Matt might just be the one who can change Cara's mind about her future, but he has only one more case to wrap up before he leaves North Carolina and returns home to Boston. A sweet and sexy romance debut with several scene-stealing dogs, Unleashed is the first in Lacey's Love to the Rescue series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)