Greg Lademar is an ordinary and average Army veteran who has settled down with his job as an accountant and his lingering PTSD. He lives a quiet life as a single man, alone on the former blueberry farm he bought from his parents after they retired to Orlando. When a friend who works with animal control asks him to foster Parker, a severely injured dog who has just been rescued from an abusive home, the last thing Greg expects is to be dragged into the mysterious world of the Guardsmen – the bonded pairs of humans and their weredogs, known as Protectors, who are literally the stuff of myths and legends.

Greg’s life is turned upside down by unexpected events involving Parker and the strange Guardsmen pair Marcus and Alex Stephanek, but far more dangerous to him is the man who used to own Parker and holds a grudge for having “his” dog taken from him. A game of cat and mouse ensues, with more on the line than even Greg ever thought possible: his life, and the life of Parker, who has become more important to him than Greg ever imagined a rescue dog could be.

Rescued (Guardsmen #1.5)/Parker’s Sanctuary (Guardsmen #2), by Cooper West

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

This is what I was hoping for! I’m fascinated by the world of Guardsmen, Handlers, and Protectors that West has created, and while the first book (The Protector) didn’t live up to my expectations, this book did and then some!

I’m reviewing the free short story (“Rescued,” which serves as a prequel) together with the book (Parker’s Sanctuary) because in my opinion they really do need to be read together. While the short story is told by Parker, the book is told from Greg’s point of view and I think is a better book because of it.

There’s so many things here to like here. The world-building is great, of course. The characters are sympathetic and interesting. Greg has no idea what he’s getting into, though adapts well as he goes. Parker is shocked to find he’s a Protector (weredog) at an age far older than any Protector has ever manifested and struggles to adapt to new senses, feelings, and a rigid tradition where Protectors are second-class citizens whose lives are controlled by their Handlers. The latter aspect is something I found particularly interesting, and I love how West has built this into the book’s popular culture. I’m very impressed how the author has set up a world with a lot of possible narrative threads to follow. The occasional sex scenes are pretty damn hot, too!

The pacing of the story keeps things moving along at a brisk clip. The suspense builds nicely – the tension and wanting to see how it all worked out kept me up entirely too late reading! My only complaint is a small detail that was thrown in at the last minute that could have used more explanation, but the story did not suffer for it.

It would probably be best to read these in order (The Protector, “Rescued”, Parker’s Sanctuary), even if the first book drags a bit. The payoff in the second book is well worth it. I would recommend this series highly!

The Protector (Guardsmen #1), by Cooper West

Guardsmen are always matched in a bonded pair. The Protector can shift into a weredog, and the human partner is his Handler. They are incredibly rare and highly valued, but people also fear them for their mystical abilities. No Protector in living memory has outlived his Handler-until Alex Taylor.

Now a widower, Alex lives a lonely half-life and faces day after day of grief with no hope for happiness in the future. When he unexpectedly bonds with the young and vibrant Handler Marcus Stephanek, Alex is angry and unwilling to leave the memory of his former Handler behind. He pushes Marcus away and tries to distance himself from their bond. But then a mysterious villain who has been secretly shadowing Alex for years sets his plan in motion. Alex and Marcus must learn to trust their bond and love each other, or risk not only their own lives but the lives of those closest to them.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

This review pains me because I wanted to like this book SO MUCH. I loved the world-building and the characters were initially interesting. Unfortunately, as the book went on the main characters each came to be identified by a single trait: Marcus trained to be a Search-and-Rescue handler all his life and is disappointed that may not come to pass, and Alex is mourning his late husband. There is not much character development beyond this.

I come to this book with a unique perspective, having lost my husband of 18 years suddenly in the spring of 2017. I know and understand grieving. I also know that everyone grieves at their own pace in their own way. That said, there is something deeply wrong here. If Alex is under such close scrutiny by the Guardsmen organization, they are going to see that isolating himself and mourning for three years is not healthy and would hopefully do something about it. I’ll at least accept the change in attitude toward Marcus due to the bond between Handler and Protector.

That concern aside, the other problem I had with this book was its awkward pacing. 70% of the book was very little going on, mainly watching Alex and Marcus wallowing in their respective misery. Suddenly at that point there’s a huge plot development momentous enough to merit its own book, but that is swept aside. Stupid decisions and actions follow, making the ending rather frustrating even though all of the plotlines are wrapped up neatly. I even liked how everything ended, but I just wasn’t satisfied with how we got there.

Would I say this is worth the read? I think so because there is a framework of a great series here. Just be prepared to be occasionally frustrated by the characters.