I liked that this story had a happy ending and I understand that both Adam and Dawn didn't always see their value but I didn't like the fact that Dawn seemed to use sex or sexual innuendo constantly. I love romance and I love strong characters but I am not a fan of descriptive sex scenes. There were numerous f-bombs throughout the book that, in my opinion, detracted from the story.

Dawn was the last of her three sisters to find love. Lila and Sophie had both met their soulmates and were on their way to their happy ever afters. The three were dog trainers for canine companions for those who needed a trusty companion due to a disability or a diagnosis. Dawn was a little lost. She only wanted Adam Dearborn, but he didn't seem to want her. Adam was mostly blind but he was strong and able. They had had a few flings but nothing that seemed to be lasting. Dawn always joked and was flighty and didn't seem to want more either. She never had before, anyway.

Adam was the oldest and in charge of running the family ranch/farm. Phoebe and Zeke were his younger twin siblings. Adam was the consummate rancher. It was in his blood and all he ever wanted. He wanted Dawn but she would never be happy on a ranch. She was a bright lights, citified girl. His lifestyle would never be enough for her. He would never tie her down and dim her lights by trapping her with him. But, he couldn't seem to get her off his mind.

This book has a dognapping/rescue, a cranky old woman neighbor, a years-long neighbor feud, lots of kisses and rescues of the heart.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

Reading the first sentence of the blurb is all I need to do in order to remember what happened in the book. I can easily recall how the story began, which was when Dawn and Adam's brother rescued Gigi. From the very first chapter, we get a clear image of Dawn's character. She is a free spirit and Adam's complete opposite. For a while, I thought that Adam's brother was a better fit for her. In the end, though, Adam proved himself to be the best man for her. Speaking of Adam, this is one of the few books I read that have a blind character. If it weren't for some mentions of his blindness, I wouldn't have known that he had issues with his vision.

The best part of the book was Uncle and Gigi. I loved these two and they were heart-melting. This story felt different from the others in the series. It was nice though and I liked it. Adam and Dawn had a lot of ups and downs. At times their bander made me wonder how these two managed to hook up in the first place, but after a while, I got used to them.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

Puppy Kisses is the third book in the Forever Home series but I’m happy to say this installment reads fine as a stand-alone.

In this book Dawn runs a dog rescue/training service with her sister Lila where they train the rescues to be service dogs. Dawn rescues a mistreated lab puppy and brings her to Adam Dearborn’s ranch. Adam and Dawn have a past history together and the two still have chemistry and seeing each other once again stirs up old feelings. The plot mainly centers on Adam and Dawn rekindling their romance while Dawn trains a service dog for him.

First off, Adam is a great hero. He’s a cowboy, owns his own ranch and he’s blind due to meningitis as a child. His being blind is not mentioned too early on and you need to be paying attention as you read to pick up on it.
Dawn is an extroverted social butterfly and a free spirit. She and Adam compliment each other well since he’s more quiet and down to Earth. Dawn feels she will never settle down and sells herself short a little thinking she’s not marriage material. Adam is more work oriented and doesn’t really make time for romance.

Puppy Kisses is pretty much what I expected when I chose to read this one; fluffy romance with puppies in the plot and a cute cowboy. While I enjoyed this one overall I found that the way Dawn and Adam met up again to be far fetched. It seemed like a stretch in order to get Dawn to Adam’s ranch and back into his life to rekindle their romance. However, once these two met up again the storyline flowed easy and this was sweet contemporary romance. The dogs in the storyline like Great Dane Uncle and Lab Gigi were also really cute. If you enjoy reserved but sexy heroes, sassy heroines and books with puppies in the mix you might like this one. I like the cover.

I have really enjoyed this series (or maybe trilogy since it was about three sisters) and this latest one was no exception! It was a lot of fun.

Dawn is the carefree middle child and she has taken on that role very well. Her older sister is very straight-laced and her younger sister was sick a lot as a child and always babied. So Dawn sort of fell into the middle and lives with carefree abandonment and never sticks with one man for long. She has done this for so long that its what everyone expects of her especially her sisters.

Her and her sisters run a service dog place that sets dogs with those who need a bit of help. Dawn in one of her reckless moments cons her friend Zeke into helping her rescue a dog that is being mistreated by a horrible man. The guy also known as "No pants Shotgun" take after them and the only thing they can think of to do after the police give chase is to go to Adam's house and pretend that they were getting the  dog for him.

Adam is Zeke's brother and he is a handsome, and somewhat grouchy rancher who has a bit of a vision impairment and is in need of a service dog but he refuses all the time. When Dawn and Zeke come with this little mistreated puppy and pawns it off on him to get out of trouble he decides he is going to keep it. Maybe it's mostly because it keeps bringing Dawn back to his house even though he knows she would never want to be with someone like him.

I really liked Dawn as she can take about anything and give it a positive spin and she is very good at hiding her emotions. She tries to hide a lot of how she is really feeling with sex, even with Adam. She really likes him but doesn't really know how to come out and say so and Adam doesn't help because he pushes her away in his own way because he doesn't think she would really want to be with him. Sometimes that was very frustrating!

There was a lot of funny moments in this that made me laugh so much. Dawn really is my favorite sister! Adam has a very stubborn cow that he named Dawn! So it was funny when Dawn the woman was scolding Dawn the cow. :)

If you want a really fluffy fun contemporary romance read then I suggest you read this whole series and it was just pure fun!

Adam & Dawn have apparently been dancing around each other for months, although it’s mostly happened off page. We still get the humor, heat, and liveliness that a romance involving Dawn is guaranteed to bring but I felt like I missed out on something important, something that could impact their current & future relationship. It’s not a deal breaker, though, because this author definitely knows how to give you characters to care about.

I loved how well Adam has adapted to his situation. He’s had a lot of years to find things that allow him to be head of the family and run the farm. I do wonder if Gilmore glossed over his limitations a bit – you wouldn’t know that he was blind excerpt for a couple of throw away moments. I get that he isn’t defined by his disability and is very competent in many aspects of his life, but I would think some consideration needs to be made as well because it is a factor in many situations. Having said that, Adam is a very appealing hero. He cares about his family, wants to make sure that the family business can support his brother and sister into the future, and contributes to his community. He’s also got a sense of humor, even if his siblings thinks he’s a bit hard, and a special understanding of the real Dawn.

Dawn is fun and caring but she’s definitely a very big personality that can be a little intimidating for some. While I enjoyed her as a character for how she does her best to be true to herself, although there were a few times where I felt she didn’t think things through too much. Overall though I found her to be appealing and with a good heart that can easily get hurt when people blow her off as shallow and impetuous.

In addition to an appealing couple, Gilmore also gives her readers enjoyable secondary characters, of the two AND four legged kind. The Dearborn’s neighbor Bea is a special treat and I’m hoping Adam’s siblings get their own stories. There’s plenty of potential with those two (and getting more Bea would be a bonus!).

In Lucy Gilmore's Puppy Kisses, the third installment in the Western contemporary romance series, this heart-warming romance will have you heart thump like a happy puppy's tail. Dawn Vasquez always means serious business. It all started when she rescued a golden retriever from his owner and taken him to Zeke's brother's ranch for rehabilitation as his service dog. That dog fought for her life if it wasn't for dawn. Adam Dearborn had always lived his life as a rancher, even if he was visually impaired and used a cane to get around the ranch. But when Dawn brought Gigi, the golden retriever, onto his ranch, he knew she was nothing but trouble, when she always had a way to get under his skin and make his sweat. While she trained Gigi to be his service dog, she didn't think Gigi was cut out for the dog when Uncle, a Great Dog, fit the job well. During the next couple of weeks, they've gotten close together and the chemistry between them was red-hot. She placed her heart and soul to help Adam have the perfect service dog and want her to love her just the way she is. When he rebuffed her feelings, she came up with a plan to tell Adam how she felt by placing her proverbial cards on the table and putting her life on the line to call his bluff. In the end, she received a happy ending including her man Adam.

Puppy Kisses (Forever Home #3). By Lucy Gilmore. 2020. Sourcebooks Casablanca. (ARC eBook).

Dawn Vasquez’s plan for rescuing a neglected Golden Retriever puppy didn’t entail taking the poor little bundle to Dearborn Ranch, or blind cattle rancher, Adam Dearborn. But when Dawn places Gigi into Adam’s arms the stubborn man refuses to let her go. He’s instantly smitten. And he’s just as smitten with Dawn. But Adam bets he has a better chance at keeping his new guide (dog), a Great Dane puppy named Uncle, and the recovering ball of fluff Gigi, than he does with the bright, vivacious Dawn. He’s just a rancher, who can’t imagine keeping Dawn as bound to his duties and land as he is.

Dawn wants the handsome, stoic rancher in her life. She’s never been with a man as strong, dedicated and caring as Adam, but she can’t help keeping her walls up; playing the hopeless flirt; knowing Adam will eventually lose interest in her.

I loved this story and Lucy Gilmore is now on my watch list. With such engaging characters, Adam, Dawn, Gigi and Uncle, there was all-around swooning from me is this heartwarming, witty and passionate story.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish and it was impossible to put down once I had started reading and it’s now my favourite book by this amazing author. I loved everything about this book, the storyline, the characters and the romance and chemistry between them. The characters are what make this book, they are just fabulous with each other and I really liked how their relationship develops throughout the book and how they interacted with each other and with other characters too.

Highly entertaining, heartwarming and fun journey filled with engaging charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and undeniable passion. Really enjoyed this emotionally thrilling roller- coaster adventure.

Perfect for a lazy afternoon escape. Adam is a blind hero that will melt your heart and Dawn is his ideal counterpart, even though it takes them a while to figure it out. Plus, fluffy puppies!

Absolutely wonderful story. I loved every moment and highly recommend this series and author. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Can a blind rancher and a free spirit find happiness together? Full disclosure, I did not read the previous books in the series, so am still mystified how the two main characters got together for their carnal "relationship", 6 months before the book begins. Where the Dearborns in the previous book about Sophie Vasquez? If so there should have either been a Prologue at the beginning to establish their relationship or some context in the narrative. There wasn't and that is the only negative that I have about the book.

Dawn Vasquez is the middle sister of the three sisters that own the service puppy training business. She lacks impulse control and has wanderlust and seems to be a free spirit, bring love wherever she goes, but she hides from everyone her desire to be wanted, needed and accepted for herself, because most people find her exhausting. Rancher Adam Dearborn has had a lot of loss in his life. He became blind from a bout of childhood meningitis and by the time he was 19, he and his younger twin siblings had lost both their parents, leaving the raising of the twins and running of the ranch on his young but broad shoulders. He is so attracted to Dawn, but he isn't willing to offer his heart to someone who will most likely leave him or tie her down to the ranch.

The story starts with Dawn and Zeke, one of the twins, rescuing a puppy who is being abused, but when the owner chases after them and they get caught speeding, instead of telling the Sheriff about the abuse, Dawn makes up a story about the puppy being a service dog that she is bringing to Adam. And Adam perversely not only goes along with the story but then insist that he is going to keep her. Dawn is then obligated to train her, but knowing that the pup would not be a good service dog, she brings another more appropriate pup, Uncle, a Great Dane to Adam. The story not only explores how a ranch can be run by a blind man, how service dogs are trained but also the different ways that people hide themselves from others to avoid the pain of heartache, while causing themselves just as much pain by holding it all in. The story is well written with inspiring characters and cute puppies.

I read an ARC provided by NetGalley.com. thi is my unbiased and voluntary review.

‘Puppy Kisses‘ is the third title in the ‘Service Puppies / Forever Home‘ series – and really all you need to know to fall in love is…Puppy! Okay, maybe there’s also a stubborn rancher smitten with a woman he’s convinced is not able to be serious about ranching. Perhaps that woman might agree on principle but she’s ready to try – especially if that keeps her around one small bundle of mischief, fur, and puppy kisses galore… and maybe the rancher, too.

I had such a fun time back in this world again. Come on, adorable puppy, stubborn man, sunny woman – what is not to love about that outline? I know, right? Well, I was hooked on this series once again – little Gigi drew me in but Adam and Dawn kept me in their world just to see who could outlast who – the stubborn or the sunny disposition. I adored them all, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. (And really, Adam, since when does upbeat, seeing the bright side of life, or just being happy say a person cannot handle the hard work of ranching? Hmmm?) Stubborn man.

There were times in ‘Puppy Kisses‘ that I had to remind myself that Adam is blind. He knows his ranch, he knows his cattle right down to the mischievous one he’s named Dawn. As the parent of a physically disabled son, I think we (general we) don’t give enough credit to people who figure out how to live a full life on their terms without a fuss made about that fact. Adam is a perfect example of that to me.

I adored Dawn. She knows what she wants, she lives her life in a way that brings her joy – and there is nothing at all wrong with that. And she wants Adam in her life, convincing the stubborn rancher is going to take some work but she’s in this for the long haul – no matter how often Adam tries to push her away ‘for her own good’.

And Gigi – just a cute, wiggly, ball of fur and puppy kisses. And devoted to her humans, both of them.

The secondary characters made this world so very real, the emotions between Adam and Dawn could be felt (even if we couldn’t always see them), and the bond between man, woman, and a dog just grows stronger throughout ‘Puppy Kisses‘. It is perfect? No, it’s a rare book that is – but it felt real, like neighbors down the road, and that matters more to me in the long run than anything else. I enjoyed myself with these characters, and I believe you would as well.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

4.5 Stars

Lucy Gilmore infuses her latest contemporary romance Puppy Kisses with plenty of humor, heat and heart.

Nothing distresses and infuriates Dawn Vasquez more than seeing an animal being mistreated. When she comes across a malnourished and ill-treated puppy chained by its owner’s front-door in the blazing sunshine, Dawn finds herself with no other choice but to rescue the pup and take her to safety. Only on her quest to rescue the adorable dog, she ends up trailed by a police car! Thinking on her feet and needing to escape the long arm of the law, Dawn is determined to throw the sheriff off the scent and tells him that she was speeding because she was taking the puppy to its new owner, respectable rancher Adam Dearborn. Dawn might have been able to convince the sheriff, however, persuading the brooding rancher proves easier said than done…

Adam might have been in need of a guide dog, but he isn’t at all happy to have Dawn Vasquez use him as an excuse for breaking the law. Worse, being anywhere near Dawn is not good for him as the buttoned-up rancher always finds himself acting irrationally around her and ends up having to use all of his strength and resolve to keep himself from kissing her. Dawn might be his complete opposite, but nobody can deny the fact that the attraction between them is anything but mutual. As Dawn begins to spend more and more time on the ranch training the adorable ball of fluff which he has fallen in love with, Adam realizes that giving into temptation and succumbing to the desire that sizzles between them is inevitable.

As lust gives way to something far deeper than either one of them had ever imagined, will Adam and Dawn take a leap of faith and a chance on love? Or will they continue to let their fears and insecurities get in the way of their happy ending?

Lucy Gilmore’s Puppy Kisses is a book that is impossible not to be charmed by. Heart-warming, uplifting, feel-good and wonderfully romantic, Puppy Kisses delights with a beguiling blend of witty banter, intense emotional drama, red-hot chemistry and poignant romance.

Dawn is a terrific heroine and I defy any romance reader not to fall in love with brooding cowboy Adam Dearborn.

Funny, captivating and a joy from beginning to end, contemporary romance fans will not want to miss Puppy Kisses by Lucy Gilmore.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Lucy Gilmore for the ARC e book to review.
This is the 3rd book in a series but you can read it as a standalone. This is the story of Dawn and Adam. Dawn, along with her sisters run a training centre for “service dogs”. She is a friend of Adam’s brother Zeke and asks Zeke to help her rescue an abused puppy. For various reasons they have to take the puppy back to the farm that Zeke helps run with Adam and their sister Pheobe. Adam likes the puppy and won’t let Dawn take her away. This is the story of the relationship between Dawn and Adam, as they work to together to train not just the rescued puppy but the replacement that Dawn brings for Adam.
There is a side-line story about Adam wanting to extend the farm and what that means not only for him but his brother and sister, their next-door neighbours. I loved all the characters and the way they were written.
There were a couple of things that did annoy me a bit but not enough to detract from the story and the enjoyment of reading.
I would recommend this book and the series (although I haven’t read the others).

Seriously guys, I've read two of this (currently) three book series and LOVED EVERY MOMENT! This time around, we've Adam and Dawn. Both are decidedly headstrong, wanting to do things their own way, and always seeing black and white versus gray. They have hopes, dreams, and desires...and that last one actually involves each other, if they'd ever get around to admitting it! Once upon a time, they had a bit of a thing, but nothing solid ever came of it. Was it for lack of chemistry? No...that was off the charts THEN and NOW! Was it a lack of trying? Sort of...but not in the way you might think. They were almost too careful of each other's feelings to actually make that connection they shared be unbreakable...and until one or the other ante ups, they'll be in a circle forever, and ever, and ever, and...well, you get the picture.


Watching them try to get it right THE WHOLE TIME was good, sometimes fan worthy, a time or two blush worthy, mega frustrating, but ultimately happy ending making. I can't tell you how (it'll spoil it), and I can't tell you why (same reason), and I can't even reveal if they end up together (ditto), but I can tell you that these two (well, technically four considering the puppers!) AMAZING leads will steal into your heart and make you feel all the feels for better or worse. Get to know Dawn as she doesn't even know herself. Get to know the other Dawn that likes to crash fences and play in mud puddles (not as risqué as it sounds!). Understand the enigma that is Adam, our fearless (sightless!) leader that knows more through his other senses than can meet the eyes. Giggle at Gigi's antics and grow fond of the horse size dog that might win the role of service dog to our slightly grumpy rancher. Whatever you do, get involved in this series and this story! You won't regret a page of it.

Puppy Kisses by Lucy Gilmore was the perfect third book in this series. I love these sisters and am loving the puppy themed books. I can’t wait to read more from Lucy.

Puppy Kisses is a sweet book by Lucy Gilmore, featuring the middle of three sisters in the Forever Home series. It had some unusual character traits which add twists to the storyline. If you love dog stories, you'll like this book too.

Third in a loosely connected series, this book can be read as a stand alone. Dawn is the sister that no one expects to settle down, or to want too much more than a fun time. But as her sisters have both found love and moved out, and their family business is thriving, she starts to question her own life choices and the reasons behind them. Maybe it is time to find a place to call her own.