3 Reasons Why Dog Lovers, Hopeless Romantics and Adrenaline Junkies Should Read The Search

I missed writing reviews so I'm gonna smother you guys first with a side story.

I wasn't really planning on buying this book that I'm about to review for three reasons: (1) I'm not familiar with the author; (2) I learned my lesson about buying books by authors I'm not familiar with; and (3) that lesson is books whose authors I'm not familiar with often turn out to be either bad or boring and there is nothing I hate more in the world than starting to read a book and not finishing it. It feels like a reader's mortal sin to me or something. Anyway, I bought the book, all right and that's because of the synopsis. Here's a sneak peek. And also the cover.

As part of an elite K-9 search and rescue team, Sarah Patrick and her golden retriever, Monty, have a gift for finding what no one else can. But their latest assignment is not like the others. This time Sarah is being forced to take part in a deadly mission...by a man who knows enough about her past to ensure her cooperation. 

Billionaire John Logan's top-secret venture has been sabotaged, its facilities destroyed, and its handpicked staff massacred. The sole survivor is being held for ransom. Logan knows that the only way to save the man—and the secret he holds—is to find him as soon as possible. Sarah is furious when she is strong-armed into joining Logan on his search. And once she takes the perilous assignment, not even Logan's promises that she and Monty will be safe may be enough to protect them. Because a killer is devising a sadistic vengeance...and he may soon find use for Sarah.

And so, here are the 3 Reasons Why Dog Lovers, Hopeless Romantics and Adrenaline Junkies Should Read The Search.

1. (FOR DOG LOVERS) The protagonist is a dog lover herself. Okay. Maybe not the type of dog lover most Filipinos picture (i.e. living with almost 50 dogs in a house the size of a shoe box) but you get it. Sarah, the protagonist, is a member of a K-9 unit in-charge of search and rescue operations and she has a golden retriever named Monty. There were a lot of instances in the story proving Sarah's love for her dog. She even mentioned not only once in the whole novel that she'd choose Monty over any potential human companion. Any dog lover, I'm sure, would be able to relate to Sarah's sentiments when it comes to her best friend regardless of occupation. I'm not really much of a dog lover myself but during that chapter when Monty was almost killed (sorry, spoiler alert), I almost cried like a baby. You'll also learn a lot about how dogs operate in search and rescue missions. It's quite interesting.
2. (FOR HOPELESS ROMANTICS) It's kind of a love story. If you're the kind of hopeless romantic that I am (the one who never admits she's a hopeless romantic and likes guys who profess their love in an angry-but-will-make-you-feel-giddy kind of way), this book is definitely for you. The author, Iris Johansen, according to the little research I did, started out in the romance genre so the "love story" part of this novel was written effectively. Not many authors could write about romance without the painful mention of the obvious. I especially liked the wonder in the narrator's voice when explaining the "feelings" involved. It's not exhausting to read.
3. (FOR ADRENALINE JUNKIES) It has a lot of action. This is one of the novels that will make its readers feel like they're watching a movie while reading it. The author used small words to describe big scenes, helping the readers to paint mind pictures easily. And I also like the fact that the plot is unpredictable. If you love reading a book that makes you feel like you're gonna die of nervousness and fear, this one's for you.

Well, Iris Johansen just made it to my "Authors Whose Books I'm Gonna Collect, Read and Treasure for the Rest of my Life" list. Her novels have the most vital paradoxical quality I look for: grand yet simple.

That'd be all for now.

Later, bookworms!