Unleashed Holiday
Contemporary Romance
Berkly
September 26, 2023
Paperback , Ebook, Audiobook
352
When an old rival reappears right before the holidays, a professional dog trainer must decide if the melting frost between them can make up for their ruff past, from the USA Today bestselling author of Dog Friendly. Chelsea Higgins is doing just fine. She’s heading into the holidays at the helm of a thriving dog training business, and she’s got a mellow senior dog at home to keep her warm at the end of the day. What more could she need? Enter certified gym bro Andrew Gibson: Chelsea’s former nemesis, and now the newest neighbor in her business complex, who also wants to expand into the vacant space Chelsea’s been eyeing for months. Who cares if it’s the season of joy? Let the turf war begin. When an unfortunate (and literal) run-in with Andrew’s lawless dog leaves Chelsea with a bum wrist, the two strike a deal: Andrew will help Chelsea rehab the injury if she’ll work with him to train his adorably uncivilized boxer. Their typical bickering soon turns to bantering, and Chelsea finds herself inexplicably drawn to the man she thought she had nothing in common with. As she gets to know Andrew and his parents, she realizes she needs to refocus on her own family, especially with a milestone Christmas speeding toward them. But Chelsea can't help wondering if she and Andrew are training for keeps, or if this unexpected Christmas gift is just too good to be true.
Let it be known that I’m guaranteed to read a book with cute dogs on the cover. Allow me to introduce “Unleashed Holiday” by Victoria Schade. Come for the dogs, and stay for the tension-filled pages of a ‘will they or won’t they’ dance between two business owners who are disgruntled to be sharing business space.
Book Lover
Victoria Shade’s books are written to make you want to savor, not binge. “Unleashed Holiday” immediately starts off with action. A dog is loose in Chelsea’s parking lot and readers are immediately invested in a resolution for this precarious situation. The author expertly and successfully brings us into the plot without any pomp or circumstance. She naturally draws on our humanity. Schade writes in a style where details are dropped into the scenes like breadcrumbs, encouraging and enticing readers to continue reading to follow those clues to the end for a reward.
‘Where did you come from, cutie? Where’s your person?’
It wasn’t a complete shock to discover an adorable white boxer in my parking lot, given I ran the only dog training school in town, but it wasn’t exactly normal to have a student try to register for class solo.
Unleashed Holiday
Dog Lover
Victoria Schade writes beautiful novels where human characters share the spotlight with dogs (and goats and sheep) determined to make their presence known. The four-legged loves don’t sit quietly in the background – they stand at attention and will work hard so that their main character energy is acknowledged and appreciated. Edith, Birdie, and Dude are the three dogs in “Unleashed Holiday” and they all steal the show in their own ways. Edith is a puppy learning how to be a dog. Birdie is a sweet senior girl who loves Edith, but also find herself exasperated with the puppy’s youthful exuberance. Dude is a beautiful, smart, deaf white Boxer with a love of life. I wish these delightful dogs were real so that I could kiss them up.
The dogs aren’t the only thing front and center. On top of the four-legged love and adoration is the actual education behind Chelsea’s dog training business. Victoria Schade has been a dog trainer and writer for more than 20 years and layers her books with first hand knowledge. She continually shows that she is an expert in her field. Both of her fields – dog training and book writing! Check out my thoughts on her previous novel “Dog Friendly” at Thelitbuzz.com.
I was used to all sorts of strange questions, like if letting your dog watch you pick up their poo gave them a power trip, or if two male dogs humping one another meant they were gay.
Final Thoughts
The title “Unleashed Holiday” and the cover suggest that this book takes place over Christmas. Like many of our readers, my head is currently buried in the sand, pretending we’re still in full-fledged summer, so I wasn’t really ready for a Christmas book. However, I was pleasantly surprised to know that this book actually spans Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, which made me more excited for the fall season. This is the perfect novel to read to initiate that fade from Summer to Autumn; it’s just light enough to make you feel nostalgic, not rushing the rest of the year.
I love Victoria Schade books. I hope you all love them, too. If you like “Unleashed Holiday” I’d also recommend picking up her backlist title “Lost, Found, and Forever”.
I’m Val, and I’m excited to share my love of books with you! I’m a sassy Sour Patch kid from New Jersey, dog mom to Chance the beagle, and much like the rest of the Hive, I’m a coffee lover (I think it’s a requirement to be here). The first book I remember reading voluntarily involved a boy wizard who lived in the cupboard under the stairs, and I’ve been chasing magic ever since. I love Happily Ever Afters, and I love love. My favorite genres are romance and rom-coms, fantasy, and young adult/new adult. If I’m not reading, I’m probably kayaking, watching the Great British Baking Show, or discovering a new craft beer.
