Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Rescue My Heart (Animal Magnetism #3)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Berkley (November 6, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0425255816
ISBN-13: 978-0425255810
Pages: 304

Adam Connelly has PTSD and although has been in therapy for two years he does not believe he is dealing with it well. Two years ago he came home from a mission in Afghanistan and has battled his nightmares ever since. He makes a living teaching and training search and rescue personnel and dogs and is very accredited; however he had not been involved in an active rescue in two years, not since Afghanistan when he and his unit had been called to rescue a group of British soldiers stuck on the side of a mountain. His group rappelled from helicopters into enemy fire and were stuck in caves for several days, half his unit was killed in that rescue attempt and he has not gotten over it.

Holly Reid is the daughter of one of Adam’s clients and what others do not realize is that twelve years ago, before he went into the army she was much more to him. Holly’s father, Donald Reid is a very wealthy business man who has bought several failing ranches and turned them around. Holly is handling the business side of the ranching conglomerate. Her father and Adam work together as Donald fosters several search and rescue puppies while Adam trains them until they were ready to go to work.

Adam had been Holly’s first everything until he left for the army breaking her heart. She got married quickly when she left town much to the dismay of her father and brother. It turned out to be a miserable marriage when she caught him cheating so she left him and when Derek did not show up at court, was granted a divorce. Her pride has prevented her from saying anything to her family, as she did not want to hear the “I told you so” speech.

Holly has only ever asked Adam for one thing, that when he went into the army he kept her in his heart, however he didn’t and left without looking back. And now unfortunately she is back seeking him out to ask him for another favor. Her father is missing and she feels something bad has happened. As they race to find her father in the Idaho wilderness, they relive old hurts. Holly realizes she still has strong feelings for Adam and yet Adam feels his current state of mind is dangerous and does not feel he is stable enough to take on more than he is doing now. Even though he has strong feelings for Holly, he is one very scared man.

I think this was my favorite out of the series so far. I love the damaged hero and Adam was the perfect fit. They complemented each other nicely and I loved how Holly helped him deal with his issues without making him feel worse. Holly so protected her feelings from everyone that when she did let them show it was unforgettable. I enjoyed seeing Adam’s brothers as they tried to help him yet realizing that Holly was so good for him. All in all a wonderful story full of hope.