Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade | Book Review

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“Reading Unleased Holiday was sheer joy. I chewed up the pages.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

When an old rival reappears right before the holidays, a professional dog trainer must decide if the melting frost between them can make up for their ruff past, from the USA Today bestselling author of Dog Friendly.

Chelsea Higgins is doing just fine. She’s heading into the holidays at the helm of a thriving dog training business, and she’s got a mellow senior dog at home to keep her warm at the end of the day. What more could she need? Enter certified gym bro Andrew Gibson: Chelsea’s former nemesis, and now the newest neighbor in her business complex, who also wants to expand into the vacant space Chelsea’s been eyeing for months. Who cares if it’s the season of joy? Let the turf war begin.

When an unfortunate (and literal) run-in with Andrew’s lawless dog leaves Chelsea with a bum wrist, the two strike a deal: Andrew will help Chelsea rehab the injury if she’ll work with him to train his adorably uncivilized boxer.

Their typical bickering soon turns to bantering, and Chelsea finds herself inexplicably drawn to the man she thought she had nothing in common with. As she gets to know Andrew and his parents, she realizes she needs to refocus on her own family, especially with a milestone Christmas speeding toward them. But Chelsea can't help wondering if she and Andrew are training for keeps, or if this unexpected Christmas gift is just too good to be true.

Who doesn’t love a combination of dogs and the holidays? Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade excels in this combination. I found this book to be a cute, quick read and enjoyed how it took me from fall through the winter holidays. This was such a fun story with one of my favorite tropes. 

Victoria Schade’s Unleashed Holiday follows Chelsea Higgins who is a dog trainer. She has a thriving business. The classes she runs are going great. Except, there’s a new personal training business moving in to the building. Naturally, this annoys Chelsea. Even more annoying — the dog owned by the personal training business owner – knocks her over in the parking lot. As she’s figuring out whose dog it is — out comes Andrew Gibson. Andrew is someone Chelsea knew from college and she can’t stand him. It also turns out that a space is vacating in the building the two lease from and Chelsea is considering expanding her business. Andrew is also considering expanding his business. The two come to a truce — Chelsea will help Andrew train his unruly dog and Andrew will help Chelsea with her own personal training lessons. I should also mention there is a touch of pathos as prior to the events of the book, Chelsea’s father passed away, and this is having quite the impact upon her.

I quite enjoyed the enemies to lovers storyline of Unleashed Holiday. I also enjoyed the parts featuring the dog that Chelsea ended up stuck with — a mischievous Boston terrier. Actually the parts featuring the animal training were awesome. It was interesting that Andrew and Chelsea had preconceived notions about each other dating back to college and that they were able to eventually get past all that. There were a few spicy scenes as well — which moved the story forward and highlighted the chemistry between the two main characters. I also liked the side characters – Chelsea and Andrew’s families. 

On A Scale Of One To Buddy The Elf, How Much Christmas Spirit Does Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade Have?

Well, there’s a corn maze and fall festival near the beginning of the book. There’s also competing holiday parties between the two businesses. Other than that, I honestly don’t remember a whole lot about the holiday piece of the story as it’s been a long time since I read it. I do, however, remember enjoying Chelsea’s character so much. So, I guess if you love corn mazes, check this book out!

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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