This was just wanted I needed during a dry spell of reading. I felt like everything I read had the same premise and plotline. This one was very different from those books. It had sexual tension, romance, a little smut, mystery, and tons of thrills. Oh and an adorable white German Shepherd named Ghost!

It's about a guy, Marcus, who is in hiding after he had an assassination attempt on his life. There he gets in trouble and meets his next-door neighbor Cassidy. She saves him and they are ordered to remain together to keep him (and her) safe.

Tropes include: forced proximity, fake dating, "I'm too broken to be loved", denial of being in love and more!

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a cute K9 romance with two thrilling plotlines full of danger and heart wrenching love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was introduced to this particular kind of reads, romantic suspense featuring dogs, by a GR friend. After a few months, I guess I just couldn't resist anymore and had to dip my toe in. I am a dog person though and I had my white fluffball sitting by me while I read so it was lovely.

Both characters were very easily likable. Marcus York, our tall, dark, handsome, & broody hero with his beautiful white German Shepherd, Ghost. Cassidy Morgan, strong, independent, and ever bubbly survivor of a horrific car accident. Ghost, of course, is the one who brought them together. The course of true love never did run smooth with a few murderous incidents and a wrong turn but no fear, this is a read you can expect a HEA from ;)

While this is a book 5 in a series, it can really stand on its own as each book is about different team member of the K-9 team and their own experience in finding love. I haven't read any of the first 4 books and decided that I'm going to defy my own rules of reading in order by just reading this one and see whether I like it or not. It was definitely a fun read and while I'm not particularly interested in reading previous books, there were some teasers about the next book, I think, and I am curious about him! Bring on book 6!

My thanks to Entangled Publishing for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

Serve ‘N’ Protect is the fifth book in the Federal K-9 series by Tee O’Fallon. This has been a great series and each new book gets better and better. This was easy to read and a fast read for me. I was hooked from the beginning and the intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. The characters and storyline were realistic and had many layers. I really enjoy reading about these amazing dogs and their loyalty to their owners. This was definitely a book worth reading and one that I would read again.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an awesome storyline! Markus was struggling to just mend his body when Cassidy entered his orbit (with Ghost’s help of course). They worked together really well. I was wondering when they would figure out what was happening with Cassidy and her indifferent client. The K-9 guys were great as usual, and Cassidy’s family was fun. Wonderful HEA!

I’m really enjoying this series by this author! Here is another fast paced, action packed read. Cassidy came across as a real person. I loved her snarky attitude. Markus was a grumpilicious alpha male with a canine sidekick, Ghost. What a wonderful trio of characters. I was rooting for all of them throughout the book. There were 2 mysteries to solve of which one was easy to guess. But I was fully invested to read to the end.

Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for an Advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I tore through this book in a matter of hours. I didn't realise it was part of a series of books but I don't think it's necessary to read the others in order to enjoy this story. The book opens with Markus York being rescued by his next door neighbour, Cassidy, who later discovers that someone is trying to kill him and is caught, quite literally, in the crossfire. Cassidy has her own issues to deal with after being gravely injured in a car accident the year prior and promptly abandoned by her fiance. She is in debt and in pain from the accident - the last thing she needs is a surly neighbour who keeps getting shot at.

But as Cassidy takes on the role of carer for Markus they realise they have more in common than they first thought. I love the way Cassidy becomes more attractive to Markus the more he gets to know her. It's wonderful when a book highlights the importance of strength of character and not just physical, conventional beauty.

It's a pretty wild ride, with both characters having to fight inner and outer demons, and there are some moments that stretch the limits of plausibility but I didn't really care because the chemistry between Markus and Cassidy is pretty special.

A solid 4 star read.

Surly Markus was the perfect blend of grumpy and protective—and the man loves his dog, y'all—while Cassidy is simple pride and kindness personified. They made a lovable couple, and when added to the edge-of-your-seat action, their love story became unputdownable.

I am already ready not only for Tough Justice, the first book in the spin-off series, but for the final two Federal K-9 books. Why must I wait?!

I was hooked to the story from the very beginning and wanted to read it in one sitting. It was intriguing, suspenseful love story that had nice twists and turns, few of them took me by surprise! I enjoyed reading every page of it and I had great time while reading it. I will definitely read other instalments in this series

What makes it so amazing is that Markus is a huge, strong, tough person, but Cassidy discovers him when he is at his weakest and must rely on her and his dog, Ghost, who is a star in this novel! I love dog stories!
Romance and suspense mixed like fine wine. I liked reading on to see Markus and Cassidy's romance blossom while also relishing the danger and excitement of the story.

Markus York was injured on the job as a secret service agent. Frustrated with nothing to do while recovering in protective custody waiting for his attacker to be caught, he reinjures himself doing too much. His service dog, Ghost, leaps through the window to get help.
Sophie Morgan is recovering from a car accident that nearly severed her leg. When the neighbor dog comes barking and insisting she follow, she finds Markus delirious and heavily drugged with pain meds. But when she tries to call an ambulance, he refuses. Markus' boss decides he needs someone to take care of him and keep him from doing too much so he hires Sophie. He's determined to keep her at a distance to keep her safe, but her positive sunny nature slowly works its way through his grumpy standoffish shell.
A tough manly guy afraid to show feelings, a girl with her own problems hiding behind a bubbly exterior, and a loving, seriously awesome dog. What more could a story need? I loved this book!
I received an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon
A Federal K-9 Novel #5

What a delight to find a wonderful new author that made me smile, care, and want to read more of her work. I even chuckled a bit here and there even though this was definitely a romantic suspense genre novel.

What I liked:
* Cassidy Morgan: feisty, strong, survivor or major physical and emotional trauma, math wizard, accountant, giving, caring, loquacious, sister, daughter, and al- around good person. She was perfect for Markus
* Markus York: K-9 Secret Service Agent, survivor of brutal attack, in hiding, quiet, back story impacts his present, team player, more than he realizes and perfect for Cassidy.
* Ghost: K-9 partner of Markus, made me smile, smarter at times than his partner, stole the story from time to time, loved his part in this book.
* The Morgans: big fun-loving, talkative, intrusive family that explained why Cassidy was as she was.
* The writing: I loved the way it made me feel, care and want to read more
* That this was a standalone story
* The men mentioned in the book that must have been part of previous stories in the series…would love to know more about them all.
* That there were mysteries to solve and bad guys to catch
* In a way…being able to empathize with one of the bad guys…could definitely see why he did what he did though it was wrong.
* How the bad guys were caught
* That the H/h were both imperfect but perfect in their own right ~ Really liked this couple!
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* The bad guys…especially one of them…what a creep!
* Knowing that there are people out there willing to do evil things for money
* Hugh – the ex-fiancé of Cassidy – what a creep and spineless guy!

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing-Amara ~ This is my honest review.

5 Stars

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2021/09/23/serve-n-protect-by-tee-ofallon/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I love these books in the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/232003-federal-k-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Federal K-9 </strong></em></a>series because of the dogs who work and the law enforcement aspects.  The author has 23 years as a federal agent and it shows.  I like it because the dog has a personality and a role in the story.  We get at least brief mentions, if not short scenes, with those from earlier books.

<strong>Serve N Protect</strong> has Markus York who is a Secret Service agent on leave, recuperating from an injury.  Markus had a very bad childhood, followed up with the marines and now law enforcement.  He is taciturn, used to speaking as little as necessary.  He believes he isn't capable of having a real relationship.  Other than his K9 handler friends and his K9 Ghost, he keeps to himself.  He doesn't even spend any time with his sister.

So when his neighbor Cassidy rescues him talks a mile a minute and has a big, noisy family, he is uncomfortable.  But he likes her strength and stoic reaction to her injuries and other crazy things that follow.   Since Markus was a fitness instructor in the Marines, he helps Cassidy with her lingering issues from her car accident. Her fiance dumped her right after her accident. Cassidy is a CPA and has her own client issues to handle.

Markus and Cassidy work together and help each other with their injuries and the people who are after them.  Ghost helps to protect them.  Cassidy suggests a new perspective which puts Markus on to the people who are trying to kill him.   I really enjoyed how they supported each other and appreciated each other's talents.  When things got dangerous, they went all out to protect each other, too.   It was nice to see them open up to each other and enjoy spending time together even if neither of them wanted a relationship.  Markus and Cassidy were both people of integrity who enjoyed working out and dogs.  But their eating habits were not the same.

I'm always happy to have a new story in this world.  I appreciate a plot with mystery, action and K9s, in addition to a romance with personal growth.

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<b><i>Many many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book!</b></i>

Another Federal K-9 book done. Another excellent romantic suspense by Tee O’Fallon, just like I was hoping to get! Markus and Cassidy’s story had a fantastic amount of story- and character development, angst, steam and the presence of a wonderfully written K-9 dog!

I just can’t get enough of these books and Tee’s writing in general. I was hooked right from the very first page and finished it in no time. This book, this series, this author is a must read if you’re looking for an addictive and engaging romantic suspense story that also has wonderful K-9 dogs present! The dogs’ characters are always so wonderfully written down and I love that. K-9 dog Ghost is yet another K-9 I truly fell in love with. I am so in awe of K-9’s and I think that the way the author herself loves dogs, has dogs of her own (shepherds) and has done research on how K-9 dogs and their handlers work together is a huge plus for how you experience the whole K-9 element in these books. It’s so realistic and exciting!

And the balancing out of elements like romance, suspense & crime was really well done. I liked these characters together so so much. Each has their own background story and each has his/her own ‘hurdles’ to overcome. Both do this partly on their own because they’re such strong characters, but mostly they do it together on an emotional level because they are just so well matched and I love it when characters come across as realistic. I like it when characters bring out the best in each other, while forming a strong bond and relationship without either of them being Too much ‘present’ you know? Like their meeting for example; I think it’s very good to see Markus in a time of need in which Cassidy is the one to help him. This ‘evens’ things out a bit, when later on Cassidy is the one in need of help and Markus is there for her. And of course, them ‘connecting’ is an easy part but the development of something ‘more’ just doesn’t come easy for them though, and I think this story is a beautiful way of showing how people just ‘click’ right from the get go and how they can be such a great ‘healing’ element for the other while developing a more intense emotional connection/relationship while holding on to their true self.

I highly, highly recommend picking up this book, and to also read the other books in the series! If you love reading this (sub)genre, you just cannot go wrong when picking up a Tee O’Fallon book! If you aren’t already, you need to get yourself acquainted with her work asap. This book is #5 in a series, but can also be read as a stand-alone, so if you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to pick it up! You won’t regret it, I promise.

I found Markus and Cassidy's story both interesting and romantic with all elements working together to keep the reader engaged and invested in its outcome.

I appreciated the fact that the author took the time to bring Markus and Cassidy's connection to the page while still maintaining the suspense and highlighting the action scenes. I especially loved the way she went about developing their connection. Cassidy's constant chatter paired with Markus' silent-type personality made for some enjoyable dialog. I loved their banter and good-natured bickering just as much as their candid moments and intimate confessions. Markus and Cassidy complemented each other very well and although their attraction was immediate, their romance was a slow burn that sizzled when they finally got together. The reader gets to experience most of Markus and Cassidy's relationship--as friends and as lovers--first-hand and I think having been shown how their relationship developed rather than being told about it helped greatly in keeping me engaged, especially after I had figured out who was behind one of the "mysteries".

The secondary characters were a great addition to the story and served to highlight the different aspects of Markus and Cassidy's personalities. I loved watching Markus interact with his best friends and fellow agents, it definitely helped me connect to him fully. And of course, I loved Ghost. 😆 Like Markus, he was a sweet yet fierce protector.

Although this is the 5th book in the Federal K-9 series, it can be read as a stand alone. I didn't have a problem following and enjoying the story, but I will be reading the previous books in the series simply because I enjoyed this story so much.

All in all, a surprising enjoyable read from a new-to-me author.

This was a lot of fun. I was immediately drawn into the story and it had a great mix of action and romance.
My one negative is that I wish Cassidy wasn't magically healed from her injury at the end of the book. Of course I don't want her to continue suffering after the accident, but I wish she hadn't ended up no longer needing a cane. It feels like it diminishes what not fully abled people go through. I wish the author had found a better balance.
Solid 3.5

Serve 'N' Protect by Tee O'Fallon is the fifth book in the Federal K-9 series, honestly, I haven’t read them all and I will now go rectify that error as quickly as I can.

Markus is recovering from a serious injury and decides to stay at a friend’s house, along with his K-9 partner Ghost. Ghost is a white German Shepard that reminds me of the pup I just lost so much that it was comforting picturing him in the role.

But I digress, when Ghost breaks out of the house to go for help, he lands at the doorstep of Cassidy. Cassidy has no idea where this dog came from and follows him back to her neighbor’s house. She finds an unconscious man bleeding and struggles to get him the help he needs. Which isn’t easy for her since she has a serious leg injury from a car accident last year.

Markus isn’t the greatest when it comes to being friendly, his job has him on alert pretty much every minute of the day so when Cassidy starts looking after him, he isn’t the best company. But that soon changes when someone enters her home in the middle of the night. Markus makes her safety priority number one above his own recovery.

This is a great story that has wonderful background for both characters too. Many times, the back stories are rushed and we don’t get a full feeling for what the characters have gone through. In this case, however, I feel as though I know and understand these characters well. Cassidy and Markus are basically opposite on paper but that doesn’t always transfer over in real life. Especially when her life is in danger. Romance doesn’t care what’s written on the paper.

The love story, the action, there is so much more is going on in this novel that my review could be pages and pages long. I’ll stop here and just say, get a copy for yourself as soon as possible. You will not regret it.

Cassidy is still dealing with the emotional and physical aftereffects of a serious car accident and is now working from home when she is interrupted by the frantic and persistent attempts of a dog to gain her attention and leads her to her neighbor’s house. While there she finds a house guest injured and needing medical attention, but their interaction doesn’t end when she brings him to the hospital.

Markus is a Secret Service Agent who was injured on the job and is staying at a friend’s house with Ghost, his K-9, as her recovers. When his injuries threaten his independence, he agrees to let Cassidy assist him but when they both find themselves in danger will they find out who is behind it before it is too late?

Although their reasons are very different neither is looking for love or a relationship but as they spend time together not only do they develop feelings for each other but trust as well which allows them to overcome the pasts that are holding them apart.

When I get a chance I do enjoy reading this author. Such a good mixture of suspense and romance through out when reading one of her books. I seem to be into K9 novels of late also. Markus will have a close call but he is not just going to stand by either. He begins to do home stuff but that is not such a good idea either. Ghost does not let his person just lay he goes for help and it comes in the form of Cassidy. What a pair these two are with are interest cemented and we turn the pages to see who is after him but also will their be healing in more ways than one.

Serve 'N' Protect is the fifth book in the Federal K-9 series by Tee O'Fallon. A captivating read with characters that beautifully mesh together. The chemistry and lust for each other are slow to manifest, but you get that burning desire that builds throughout the book. So much love for this one! Now I need to read the others!

Love this series and this was a great addition to it. Nothing better than a great romance, strong characters and wacky K-9 to make a wonderfully written book. Can't wait for the next one.