⇒ [PDF] Free Taking Heart Healing Harts T J Kline 9780062396556 Books

Taking Heart Healing Harts T J Kline 9780062396556 Books

Download As PDF : Taking Heart Healing Harts T J Kline 9780062396556 Books

Taking Heart Healing Harts T J Kline 9780062396556 Books

Dylan is a broken man because of what happened to him in Afghanistan; he suffers from PTSD; animal therapy is the last resort. He sees no hope for his future, and even though he is attracted to Julia, he is convinced no one will ever want him. Julia feels for the first time in four years but Dylan is not exactly easy to know, and she is afraid to get close to anyone because of a horrific experience.

How wonderful it was to see Dylan and Julia get closer to each other while he is training his dog, it feels seamless and natural, and we get to know them as well. Ms. Kline knows how to set the mood and describe settings in such a way that they become real to the reader, and the characters are even more compelling than in the first book, Heart’s Desire. Details of how animal therapy works are woven in the narrative and the dogs are secondary characters, but realistically so; they’re not there for the “cute” factor.

PTSD and animal therapy are the basis for this romance, and they are what make TAKING HEART such a powerful book and extraordinary book, as well as watching Dylan and Julia interact, with each other and their families. And when Julia’s stalker re-enters her life, be prepared to read uninterrupted: the suspense is almost crushing.

TAKING HEART is a frightening, beautiful, difficult, wonderful, romantic and emotional book that will fill your heart with hope. T. J. Kline demonstrates again what an extraordinary writer she is.


Tags : Taking Heart (Healing Harts) [T. J. Kline] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <em>T. J. Kline's Healing Harts series continues as a soldier suffering from PTSD and a therapy dog trainer find that some scars can only be healed by love</em> Julia Hart knows how much good she does training therapy dogs—it's what helped her overcome her own trials after a relationship turned unexpectedly violent. But moving beyond her mistakes meant trusting only her family with her heart. Dylan,T. J. Kline,Taking Heart (Healing Harts),Avon Impulse,0062396552,Adult & contemporary romance,American Light Romantic Fiction,FICTION Romance Contemporary,FICTION Romance Suspense,FICTION Romance Western,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,FictionRomance - Suspense,FictionRomance - Western,Romance - Contemporary,Romance - Suspense,Romance - Western,Romance: Modern

Taking Heart Healing Harts T J Kline 9780062396556 Books Reviews

4.5 / 5 stars
Received a review copy in exchange for an honest review -- original tour posting can be found at
http//mnonmklreviews.blogspot.com/2015/06/review-interview-taking-heart-blog-tour.html

I love military romances and I love working dogs. Put 'em together, and I had a feeling that this book was going to do it for me.

It did.

We start out in a scene that makes you appreciate the man Dylan is... Or rather, was. As a special forces medic, he put his brothers in arms before himself and fought to keep them on their feet and their minds intact. Just that brief prologue and you knew without a doubt that this man was going to suffer survivor's guilt. In his seven years on the forces, not once had he lost a man -- and the day that he does, somehow he's the only one who walks away.

Since a young age, Dylan has been the care taker, and now that he suffers PTSD and is living with his younger brother, Gage, he feels that he has failed. He suffers from headaches, PTSD, can only sleep with sleeping pills, has medications up the wazoo, and sleeps with a gun under his mattress just in case he can't deal with it all anymore. The two men he lost in Afghanistan had families to come home to and all he has is his room with four walls. Gage tries to help his brother, but when Dylan's medication routine is no longer helping, he decides to look into therapy dogs --

--to which Dylan puts a firm foot down with a resounding 'No'. While he states he doesn't even like animals, a lingering reason is that he fears that if a therapy dog doesn't work, he will lose all hope in getting better.

Just days after telling Gage 'no' though, he finds himself stepping out of a car with his brother on a ranch with a pretty blonde waiting for them, with a beast of a dog beside her.

What I appreciated most about Julia was that she truly understood what Dylan was going through. No, not the war aspect, but the PTSD and the fears that come with it. When Dylan calls her out on her inability to understand what he experiences, she gives him bits and pieces of her story, not wanting to give the full deal. However, her past shows up and she has no choice but to tell Dylan the whole morbid tale. Part of her was afraid that by her telling, he'd feel guilt-ed into telling his own story, but she assures him that he can keep his secrets to himself for as long as he needed.

When it came time to working with a few dogs to find out his match, I just loved when (after Julia pulled out three dogs already) Dylan crouched by the kennels and quietly whispered that he wanted Roscoe to come out. It was as if while he didn't necessarily trust the process, some part of him wanted to and another part was simply drawn to the dog. Roscoe was an amazing fit for Dylan and picked up on his cues immediately.

Speaking of amazing therapy dogs -- Julia's beast. Her Great Dane, Tango, had such a personality. I absolutely loved him. Beyond that, though, I loved how he accepted Dylan right away. Tango was trained to alert Julia of oncoming people, but after just days of being there, Dylan was able to come up behind Julia without Tango alerting her. On one hand, you may think that Tango was slacking, but truthfully, Tango recognized Dylan as another soul to help out Julia.

I loved that we had two broken people who only saw the best in the other. I'm not sure why, but this is one of my favorite themes to read about -- so long as it's written well (and TAKING HEART is written well). Until Dylan can live without meds and guilt, he will only see himself as broken. Heck, he has the scars to prove it. Julia fears her past and what it will do to Dylan; she feels that without her dogs, she would be nothing more than broken pieces on the ground -- but Dylan sees her as 'perfect and beautiful and flawless'. While Julia has worked hard on the broken pieces and scars on her inside, she wants to help Dylan overcome his inner scars -- but one that will be difficult for Dylan to overcome is his fear of not being able to protect Julia.

I enjoyed the suspense aspect that TAKING HEART has. I felt that some of the (err, most of the) 'surprise' parts were rather predictable -- like a corny horror movie, yelling, "Don't go in the store alone!" but that was ok -- because the parts leading up to the 'predictable part', and the parts following the 'predictable part', were really good. Beyond the predictability though, I suppose my only other issue with the story would be it's a quick-love. Seven days and "I love yous" are exchanged. Heck, one day and hot and heavy kissing happens (eh, but that happens in real life, so I'll let that slide).

However....

It was easy to forget that the time frame was so quick, with everything else going on.

Little brother Gage seeing that Dylan has fallen for Julia so quickly? Not sure how real-life that is -- guys tend to be immune to seeing other guys' feelings and... I don't know. While I liked it, and loved Gage pointing it out, the whole seven-days-you've-fallen-hard bit just doesn't quite jive for me.

Speaking of Gage... here was yet another book this week that had a supporting cast that I... well... supported. Again, like I stated in my review of SPARK, I don't typically care for side stories, but I loved reading about Gage, Bailey, Chase, and Justin (well, and Jessie and Nathan; I will have to go back and read their story). I'm so glad that after Justin's book is Bailey's (hmm, I wonder who cousin Bailey ends up with...? I have my hopes) and that T.J. Kline wants to write Gage's story too. I really liked Gage.
I'm already a big fan of T.J. Kline and TAKING HEART is just as amazing as her previous novels. You get so drawn in by the spark between Julia and Dylan, two wounded souls struggling with the enduring effects of PTSD. Though they both suffered very different traumas, they have a unique bond and an understanding of what it means to be pulled back into a pit of fear and anger at the drop of a hat. The attraction between Dylan and Julia seems to leap off the page from their very first encounter and is only strengthened as they work to heal each other with the help of some trusty canine companions.

I think TAKING HEART was even better than the first book in the series, HEART'S DESIRE. There's a suspenseful, psychological element to the story which was really intriguing, but I also really enjoyed learning more about the struggles of PTSD and how animals can help alleviate negative emotions and keep someone centered. It was so interesting to learn how service dogs are trained for different purposes and that fascination I felt made me much more invested in the characters and their story.

One of the amazing things about this series is the way in which T.J. Kline creates complex, developed personalities for the animals in the books, giving them the same attention most authors give human characters. Not only does this really allow you to connect with their emotions and the love and devotion they feel for their owners, but it gives you a greater understanding of the connection which Julia shares with the dogs she trains. Tango is almost an extension of Julia that helps her remain grounded and calm when fear and anxiety threaten to swallow her whole. Some of the strongest emotions I felt were caused by the actions of the dogs in the story. When Julia relives the moment in which Misty is killed protecting her from Evan's vicious attack, and later when Tango is shot in an attempt to protect her, I couldn't help but tear up. Those moments were just gut-wrenching.

Julia and Dylan's romance developed quickly but their love felt genuine. They shared a great balance of sweet and sultry moments, with some laughs thrown in along the way. I loved the running joke of Dylan's brother, Gage, constantly walking in at inopportune moments, catching them in a heated embrace. I also laughed out loud when Julia and Bailey had to orchestrate a covert operation just to get a condom. I really appreciated the addition of Chase as a secondary character and hope to see him finally get the girl in a future novel.

Go read this book. It's touching, funny, sexy and romantic, with a good dose of suspense thrown into the mix to keep you on your toes. The characters (both human and canine) are well-developed and really pull you in. Plus, who doesn't love watching two scarred, wonderful people find love despite thinking it would never happen for them? I know I do!

Disclaimer I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.
Dylan is a broken man because of what happened to him in Afghanistan; he suffers from PTSD; animal therapy is the last resort. He sees no hope for his future, and even though he is attracted to Julia, he is convinced no one will ever want him. Julia feels for the first time in four years but Dylan is not exactly easy to know, and she is afraid to get close to anyone because of a horrific experience.

How wonderful it was to see Dylan and Julia get closer to each other while he is training his dog, it feels seamless and natural, and we get to know them as well. Ms. Kline knows how to set the mood and describe settings in such a way that they become real to the reader, and the characters are even more compelling than in the first book, Heart’s Desire. Details of how animal therapy works are woven in the narrative and the dogs are secondary characters, but realistically so; they’re not there for the “cute” factor.

PTSD and animal therapy are the basis for this romance, and they are what make TAKING HEART such a powerful book and extraordinary book, as well as watching Dylan and Julia interact, with each other and their families. And when Julia’s stalker re-enters her life, be prepared to read uninterrupted the suspense is almost crushing.

TAKING HEART is a frightening, beautiful, difficult, wonderful, romantic and emotional book that will fill your heart with hope. T. J. Kline demonstrates again what an extraordinary writer she is.