Otterly Scorched

Tara Sivec

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Release Date May 21, 2020

It’s been a lot of years and another lifetime since Dax Trevino was a playboy detective for the Franklin Police Department. He’s been through hell and back, and now he just wants to be left alone, so he can cuddle his otters.

When two of his babies are kidnapped in the middle of the night, and Claws and Effect Pet Detectives are called to the rescue, quiet, broody Dax never expects to be tackled and handcuffed by the only woman he ever regretted being a douchebag to all those years ago.

Harley Blake has spent her entire life taking care of her accident-prone father with a fondness for dead animals, and her forty-year-old brother who refuses to grow up. The last thing she needs is another complication in her life, and Detective Douchebag is at the top of the list.

Dax might not be a cop anymore, and he might have outgrown his one-and-done player status, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to get burned a second time and fall for his charms. The infuriating man already branded a mark on her heart years ago, making sure she’d never forget him. Besides, she has a case to solve for the guy, and this is just business.

But the sarcasm starts flying, there are a gaggle of adorable otters who need to be cuddled, a Bandit Von Trash Panda who just wants to play poker, pot brownies, and squirrels dressed for a wedding... at a funeral. Things are heating up—and not just from the small tree fire after the grenade went off—and this man is suddenly simplifying her life instead of making it worse.Harley knows she won’t escape this time without being Otterly Scorched.

Sometimes you just need an escape that takes you into ridiculous situations, with crazy humor, quirky characters, and a lot of heart. And Otterly Scorched is just what I needed after some heavier reads.

We have met Dax Trevino before. He loves working with otters and now owns an animal sanctuary. But apparently the tatted, bearded,  gruff, bitter, mean loner he is today is not at all who he used to be. In his past, he was a charming, flirty, cocky, playboy police officer and eventually military man. But he is finally settling into the life he wants. So when two of his precious otter babies go missing, he goes a bit berserk.

Harley Blake also used to be a cop. In fact as a rookie, she shared a meaningful encounter with Dax followed by an antagonistic work relationship. She has also moved onto new work as a pet detective in her family business. She is tough, sarcastic, focused on work, and a caretaker for her family. She does not seem to have the time or interest in relationships.

Coming together for his missing otter case is going to shake up their lives. Both have changed in many ways, but their witty banter, teasing, and chemistry are still there. And she still challenges him.  And as these two spend time together, they both start to grow and change even more.

I absolutely loved Dax. There are several versions of Dax in this story until we are bared down to the real one. I loved his true self and softer side. The ways he starts to care for her and gradually domesticate her are so sweet. Under that gruff exterior is a totally different man. And she tends to calm him and let him be himself. They are the most unlikely of couples, but complement each other so well. 

Their friends and family add more drama and ridiculousness. Her dad and brother are hilarious and the things coming out of their mouth and minds are really out there. The colorful, unfiltered language adds to the whole over-the-top fun of the book. There are also some cameos that Tara Sivec fans will recognize as well. 

Once again Tara Sivec had me laughing, grinning and thoroughly entertained by her characters. This hit me at the perfect time, providing humor, lightness, and a chance to forget everything else going on for a little while.

Dax Trevino, one-time police detective and playboy, is distraught over the kidnapping of his babies. His babies are his world, and it doesn’t matter that they are otter rather than human, he wants them back.

Harley Blake has spent her life taking care of her brother and father while running Claws and Effect Pet Detectives. She takes her job very seriously and even though she doesn’t really want to deal with Dax, with whom she has a bit of history, she does want to help find his otters.

I loved Dax’s enthusiasm for his otters, and his acceptance of the quirks that made him who he was. He had so many seriously funny moments. But for every uproariously funny moment, there is also a sweet or heartfelt one to keep the story rolling. I loved him from the very beginning, even as it was difficult to pinpoint which version of Dax was the real one.

These two may have met before, but they were not prepared for the way their lives would turn upside down when they met again. Between the search for the otters, Dax’s attempts to soften Harley’s edges, and Harley’s stubborn streak, there are plenty of opportunities for sparks of all kinds to fly.

The side characters were at times even more ridiculous than the main characters themselves. Harley and Dax’s families had me alternatively shaking my head and laughing out loud. Her dad and brother are a pair of man-children, who alternately bumble their way through “helping” Harley with cases and generally fail at taking care of themselves. There were times I loved members of each family and times they were exasperating as all get out.

This was the perfect escape from a crazy week, and I loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t have imagined otters as the center of a missing animal case, but who can resist a cute little otter (or 8)!

Brooklyn Manning thought her life was perfect in every way, until it crumbled down around her and turned into a dumpster fire. With her pride wounded and her tail tucked between her legs, she leaves New York and goes back to her tiny hometown of White Timber, Montana. 

No more twenty-four-hour taco trucks, no more shopping at the best designer stores within walking distance, no more giving taxi drivers the finger when they angrily honk at her. She didn’t think it could get any worse. But then Clint Hastings walked into the room and insulted her. 

Her arch nemesis from high school is no longer a nerdy computer whiz, masturbating to pictures in PC World magazine in his free time (allegedly). He’s grown up to be a hot-as-hell cowboy, and she has no other choice but to be a smart ass right back to him. After all, it’s what they do. It’s what they’ve always done, and twelve years apart hasn’t changed anything. 

Only this time, getting under each other’s skin is a hell of a lot more fun than it used to be.