I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.
Loved it. A really great romance, that draws the reader in and you become invested in the characters and their journey.

Blind Date Bet

Quick recap: Ethan, airman & k-9 handler, gets set up with Isabella, widow and school teacher. Ethan does a hefty amount of perusing. Izzy’s hung up on the tragic, accidental death of her first husband. There’s also some strain between Izzy and her dad.

This one was of those books where I liked and hated it at the same time.

I wanted more Sam (Ethan’s k-9 partner), less random bursts of indignation over Ethan’s protectiveness and I want to know what the hell happened to the kid at the beginning of the book!

After previously losing her soldier husband, Isabella Knowles has sworn off all military men and dedicated her life to teaching. When her father sets her up with Ethan Masters, she immediately has her guard up. He convinces her to give them a real shot, but after something triggers a memory from her past, it's too painful and she runs.
Ethan loves his job working with the K-9 unit, but when he's offered a promotion that is the culmination of all his hard work, he's torn as to what he should do. This story went from cold to hot super fast for me, but I was happy with the progression of the last half of the book. It was an enjoyable book, just took me a few tries to get into the story.

Blind Date Bet is the first book in a new romance series by Nicole Flockton. It is currently scheduled for release on January 22 2019.

Never say never… After loving and losing a soldier once, Isabella Knowles made a vow: No more military men. She’s rebuilt her life and has a classroom full of fifth graders to love, which is more than enough even though her father doesn’t agree. When he sets her up on a blind date, she only goes to humor him — never dreaming that the man she meets will tempt her to break her one rule. In theory, Ethan Masters is not opposed to the wife, kids and house with a white picket fence. But he loves his career as a K-9 handler in the Air Force, and a dream promotion dangles before him like dog tags. While contemplating his future, he accepts a drunken bet for a blind date, never dreaming that the captivating woman fits perfectly into his ideal, all-American dream. Only one problem. She’s gun-shy about all things military. Can Ethan prove to Isabella love is worth the risk?

Blind Date Bet started off strong, I liked the initial set up and thought I was really going to love the story and the characters. I did like Isabella, but I never really felt like I got into her head. As things were revealed I could understand her reservations, but I just never connected with her. Unfortunately the same holds true for Ethan and most of the secondary characters. Oddly enough the one character I want to know more about and the one scene I would have like to have seen never really has a presence in the story. As for the relationship between Ethan and Izzy, moments of it fit and worked, and others felt either too easy or that one or both of them gave up too easy. Adding in the surprise at the end just felt unnecessary and a little cheap. Maybe I was just not in the mood for this writing style or story, but it fell flat for me and too close to telling me rather than showing me the depths of the story. There was just so much promise here and some really good moment,but I was disappointed that it did not like up to the expectations I had for it.

Blind Date Bet is a book I really wanted to like, and had many of the element that I adore. However, I never really connected with the characters or their story. It just did not work for me.

In ‘Blind Date Bet’ we meet Isabella. Isabella was married once to a military guy, but she lost him after being married only for a very short time. After that heartbreak Isabella decided never to date another military man again. But when she goes on a blind date she meets Ethan. And Ethan is everything she could ever want in a guy. Unfortunately he is in the military and has no desire to quit anytime soon.

This book was nice enough to read, but unfortunately not as great as I would have liked. The first thing that I didn’t really like about this book was the main character Isabella. I really didn’t like her character, and I don’t even have a really good reason for it other than I just didn’t like how she acted. For starters she was definitely very unkind to Ethan for a lot of the time, secondly she was just a little to hot one moment and cold the next. I couldn’t really get her.

Ethan’s character on the other hand was one I liked. I enjoyed how kind he was and how focused on his job. Sure he fell in love with Isabella rather quickly, but he wasn’t about to end his career for her and I loved him for it. He also didn’t just take Isabella’s crap which made me love him even more.

The romance between Isabella and Ethan was one I didn’t really feel. In my opinion there just wasn’t any real chemistry between them. And that whole military thing, with the wives taking care of each other.. I didn’t get that. And I think one reason for that was the way this book just felt a little rushed. It lacked details and time to really get the characters.

Overall this book was okay, but not really for me. I was also a little disappointed the whole dog a.k.a. Man’s best friend had such a little role in this book.

A military widow gets set up on a blind date by her father with another military man, and she likes him, but she can't let herself be involved with anyone serving in the military. What ensues is a book full of back and forths as she sends him mixed signals by going on dates with him and then putting him off. It's not particularly fun to read.

Fantastic book that I thoroughly enjoyed. My only complaint is that I would have liked Sam, Ethan's K=9 companion, to have more of a role in the story but his lack of mention doesn't take away from the story so that's no biggie. Ethan and Isabella are terrific together and I wanted this to work out for them right from the start. The have obstacles to overcome. Major ones! Yet you can't help but hope they find their way. The book is wonderfully written with a nice easy pace and characters that will win your heart. I definitely recommend this one.

When Isabella has words with a man at a mall, she thinks that she will never see him again. When she is set up on a blind date, she realizes that it is Ethan from the mall. He is tall, dark and handsome, but looks military. He is a K-9 handler in the Air Force. After losing the man she loved when he was in the military, she swore never to get involved with another. The chemistry is there, Ethan wants more than Isabella can offer. Will he be able to convince her that love is worth the risk? I loved Ethan and Isabella. It's a great story. I received this book from Net Galley and Tule Publishing for a honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Hard to get engaged

Regretfully I had a really hard time getting into Nicole Flockton’s Blind Date Bet.
While Ethan seemed like a nice guy, Isabella’s character just rubbed me the wrong way. Her back and forth emotions had me finally skim reading the book to get to the end.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

A promising start to the Man's Best Friend series. Blind Date Bet had me hooked from the first page to the last, it’s heart-warming, emotional story, the fabulous characters this was an all round great read.

Blind Date Bet is about a military man, Ethan, who agrees to go on a blind date with a teacher, Isabella. I really loved the description and I was excited to see how Ethan and his furry best friend made this blind date into something ever lasting. However, I couldn't get into this story. I absolutely hated Izzy's character. I wanted Ethan to run fast and far away from the very beginning. The back and forth, hot and cold was boring and off-putting. I would not recommend this story.

I could not for the life me enjoy this book. There was so much back and forth and mixed signal that I didn’t even want her to end up with Ethan. The dog was supposed to be a big part and he was only in the background. I thought this was going to be so good and I was very disappointed.

A perfect balance of romance, action and happy ever after. This book gave me all the feels and had me swiping the pages and losing track of time. A must read and I definitely be looking for more books by this author. If their anything like this one then I will be in for such a treat. Totally recommend

The blurb was promising, Nicole Flockton was a new author so why not give a chance? With a title like this and the series called “man’s best friend” and how it would play a huge part of the story was pretty intriguing. I expected more actually.

Isabella and Ethan started on the wrong foot and from their first encounter, it was already explosive. Two hot-tempered people who couldn’t help to argue about anything, and also seemed to find some perks about pushing each other’s buttons… just saying.

Now they were involved into blind dates, and guess what? It was even worse. Challenged by their friends to give a chance, and also being less defensive, these two started to finally found some common features.

I appreciated their banter, so entertaining. Ethan was protective due to his job and Isabella was trying to run far away from all he represented but the heart wants what it’s wants, right? That would the big issue between them and she had to overcome her fear and not letting it consume her.

It was a sweet and endearing, it was trusting another and trusting yourself. She might be slow to trust and the road for their HEA was pretty rough but the adorable ending made it so much better.

I just wanted to have more parts with Ethan’s dog, as the series’ title suggested it.

This had a woman who had serious trust issues. They started when she was a child with a mother leaving and compounded when a young love died from the Military. With this happening, she drew a line in the sand... No Military Again.

Our guy is everything a woman could love. He is strong, giving and capable. He happens to be a K9 Handler in the Military and is up for a promotion, furthering his career he loves.

Due to both somehow getting put together through a blind date...they connect... and there are sparks.
He is seriously interested and would be there for this woman...yet she is having issues and is running hot and cold.

He puts it all out on the line... and She needs to step up and decide what is important.

This book is all about “trusting one another and trusting oneself to admit they were falling in love”. Isabella is slow to trust, her mothers leaving and her high school sweethearts death have left her with fear of the military.
Ethan was a K9 handler and the safety of others was his biggest concern. Could The blind date bet be the beginning of a forever love?

Blind Date Bet is the first book in Nicole Flockton’s Man’s Best Friend series and Isabella and Ethan’s story. If you enjoy a book that has your emotions reeling from laughter to tears, delight to frustration, and heartbreak to joy, then this one will definitely satisfy all your needs.

But make sure you have uninterrupted time set aside before you start, as once you turn that very first page, you will struggle to stop till the last word is read. Blind Date Bet is fast-paced, heart-warming, and emotional; basically it’s a damn good read. I loved the characters, the plot and the world building made everything flow together nicely.

I’m excited to read the next instalment in Man’s Best Friend.

I received an ARC through #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A new author for me, yay!! This is a typical romance story where dating turns to love they never saw coming, but that is why we keep reading them, right?

I love that both characters are strong. I love that one of the two characters has some baggage, but it differs in that only one of them is carrying this baggage, Izzy. Ethan is strong in his family beliefs, loving his career and knowing where he wants to be in life. With this stance he is a great male lead knowing that he wants something with Izzy, who starts out pretty prickly, then runs hot and cold before she tries to move forward with the relationship, but he won’t continue to let her actions toward him rule his life. He wants Izzy, but knows that he can’t be in a relationship constantly leaving him in limbo, which will make him distracted and take his focus away from his life and death military job. He lays it out there to her that he wants her, but only if she is going to be as invested as he is or he will walk away.

I love this change in dynamics. It seems so often that when there is one “damaged” character, it is the male with a strong female trying to fix him, especially in military men, because so many of them have seen things that give them the right to carry life struggles! There are plenty of great books with damaged females, lol, but most of those are instances of both lead characters being damaged. This change in roles was a breath of fresh air. The love scenes were hot, not rushed, not scorching, middle of the road and not in abundance due to conflicts in their early relationship, making it a nice moderate steamy factor for those who aren’t into the HOT books.

I look forward to reading more by this author and appreciate the opportunity to be an ARC reviewer!

Everything is very predictable in this romance. The heroine, Isabelle, lost her husband in a freak army training exercise. Ever since, she’s vowed not to get involved with anyone in the military. And then her father, retired military, matches her up with a great guy, Ethan Masters. He’s kind, charming, and great-looking. The only problem is that he’s in the Air Force as a K-9 handler. It’s all obvious where this is going. Isabelle goes back and forth on whether she can open herself up to another romance with a guy in the military. I found her a bit irritating and her behavior was unfair to Ethan. He really seemed to be too good for her..

The novel is very short and a quick read. Ethan and Isabella are attracted to each other and break up and get back together a couple of times too many as far as I was concerned. I would have liked more with the K-9 part of the plot. The dog just seemed to be thrown in there a couple of times for no real purpose.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

The premise of this book is one that interested me, with a military hero and his K9 partner. I especially love when there’s an animal as a secondary character. The writing is skilled and the editing flawless, which is becoming more scarce, especially in advanced copies, so I always appreciate an author who cares enough about her craft to put forth the best possible published work. That goes a long way with me.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t negate the issues I had with this book. First of all, there was very little of the dog, Sam, in the book, with several mentions but only one or two scenes in which Sam played only a minor part. My other issue was with the heroine, Isabella. I initially connected with her, and the fact that she had lost her military husband early in her marriage garnered sympathy. While I appreciate the author’s attempt to perpetuate feminist ideals, Isabella came off as petulant and whiny, devolving into several temper tantrums, and in my opinion did more harm than good with what should have been a strong, independent female. Fortunately, Isabella's friend, Meredith, was there to set her straight in time for a predictable, Hallmark ending. This one just got more and more difficult for me to get through. I usually read a book per day, but these sixteen chapters took me three days to finish.

On the other hand, I adored the hero, Ethan, and I appreciated the growth in the relationship between Isabella and her father. Because I’m impressed with the author's writing ability, I’ll check out some of her other work and hopefully find both a hero and heroine I can connect with who have me eager to take their journey to forever with them. And if you’re already a fan of this author, I imagine you'll enjoy this one.

*I reviewed an advance copy of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.