A creative reimagining of K9 duty with a fantastical edge.
K9 Mine by Shannon MacLeod turns the conventions of romance and fantasy upside down with a premise as outrageous as it is charming: what if a police K9 wasn’t a dog at all, but a velociraptor? Corporal Travis McLean, raised in a family of K9 officers, has built his life around the dream of following their path. But his orderly routine is shattered when a runaway faery takes refuge in his kitchen, setting into motion a chain of events far stranger than anything in his police training. The faery’s pursuer, Ansgar—a druid exiled from sixth-century Ireland and steeped in dark magic—has crossed centuries to reclaim what slipped from his grasp, dragging Travis into a conflict that stretches far beyond his own world. Between keeping peace in a rowdy tourist town, dodging complications with an ex-girlfriend, and navigating his stalled search for a four-legged partner, Travis is woefully unprepared for the clash of myth, magic, and danger that now surrounds him. As threats close in, he must find within himself the resourcefulness and heart to defend the woman who has upended his life and to imagine a future neither of them thought possible. Blending humor, peril, and a delightfully absurd twist on love and loyalty, MacLeod delivers a time-spanning adventure that shows how courage and connection can change everything.
Shannon MacLeod has a wild imagination and demonstrates great balance between reining things in and completely letting loose. Fantasy can be a fantastic playground to experiment in, and with faery mythology adding a fresh twist to the time-travel genre, MacLeod knows how to get the best out of every fiction category. The dialogue and situational humor are stellar as poor Travis is thrown into a superbly entertaining situation that readers won’t be able to get enough of. Throughout the novel, the author creates wonderfully visual images in the minds of the readers to seamlessly balance the laughs, romance, and danger. Character development lies at the heart of the emotional investments audiences make, and Travis is an endearing hero with a perfect mix of grit and vulnerability. On the other side of the coin is Ansgar, a villain readers will love to hate. The pacing of the storytelling is confidently done, with appropriately high tension that never sacrifices character depth, and offers a creative reimagining of K9 duty with a fantastical edge. For a genre-bending ride that’s as heartfelt as it is creative, K9 Mine is a highly engrossing read where romance and adventure are entwined in ways that are both funny and touching, a perfect pick for readers craving originality and new ideas in their next fun read.
