Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert

Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Often when there is a series set in the same place or around the same career there's a danger that the storylines become too similar, but that is far from the case with the Hotshots series. I think this is partially because the characters are all different with different circumstances. There is something a little bit more to it than that. Although all of these stories are set within the world of wildfire fire fighting, the roles that the various characters have are very different. This time we are dealing with Tucker and Luis.
Tucker is involved in fire management and control. He has a past with Luis, but they haven't seen one another since they were teenagers. When Luis is called in to help out in her role of a fire investigator, they find that their attraction hasn't diminished over the years and that they need to address what happened between them before.
This story is as much about following your dreams and it never being too late to do so as it is a romance. Alongside Luis and Tuckers growing love, there are Tucker's twin boys Walker and Wade who are growing up and dealing with similar problems to those Luis and Tucker faced as teenagers.
This was a great read and just as enjoyable as the first two instalments on this firefighter romance series. I'd be more than happy to read any more that come along.


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Finding Mr Right Next Door - Sarah Ballance

Finding Mr. Right Next Door by Sarah Ballance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Friends to lovers is one of my favourite romance novel themes. In this story, not only are Lexi and Matt best friends, but they also happen to live next door to one another. They've been friends since they were small children and this is one of the reasons that they've never taken their relationship down a romantic path, they're already like a married couple and they seem to be the only ones that can't see that they really should be together. It isn't until Lexi starts to look elsewhere for a bit of romance in her life that they both realise what they stand to lose.
This is quite a sweet romance. There is quite a bit of heat between our hero and heroine, although they don't fully realise what it is straight away. There are some interesting secondary characters in this book, particularly Matt's grandmother who is growing old disgracefully and having a lot of fun in the process.
This is the second in a series and although I haven't read the first, that didn't really matter. I assume that there may be stories to come for the unattached firefighters in this book. I'd certainly be keen to read more about them.
Overall this was a good romance with a good dose of humour and fun. I really enjoyed it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Spark by Gillian Archer

Spark by Gillian Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just wanted to add a quick word of warning, this book does mention and in passing deal with miscarriage.
I haven't read a book for a little while with a broken hero. Logan and Sabrina were in the early stages of a relationship when he left to fight wildfires. After he was injured and lost one of his best friends in the fire, he decided that Sabrina was better off without her, not realising what she might be facing herself.
I liked Logan, he clearly had a lot of issues to work through. I wasn't so convinced about the way that he dealt with meeting Sabrina for the first time again. Other than that he was really nice, despite the issues that he was battling with. Sabrina is obviously a good match for him, although, as with many romance novels, a bit more communication would help. Much of this book is about not trying to protect the other person too much, to trust that they are able to deal with things, rather than trying to shield them. A number of characters face this in the course of the story, not just Logan and Sabrina.
This was a good read. It's a standalone story, although I am interested to go back and read the other books in the series and possibly future ones too.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Burn Zone - Annabeth Albert

Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A couple of years ago, I'd never heard of smokejumpers. This is the second or possibly third series to feature them that I've come across. What isn't to like? Firefighters, fit well-trained firefighters, fit well-trained firefighters who not only put themselves at risk to deal with fire but parachute into danger to do it.
This story deals with Jacob and Lincoln. They have had a thing for one another since Jacob was just nineteen years old and first came out to his family. Nothing can ever come of it, because Lincoln promised Jacobs older brother that he would steer clear. Now that said older brother is dead, there's no way that he can go back on that promise. Especially when hardly anyone even knows that he is gay himself.
This was quite a cute story and although it had much of the things that you expect; life-threatening situations, which make them question what they want. It was well written and gripping. I couldn't help but like Lincoln and Jacob and love them together as a couple.
This is the first in the series and I'm sure that we're going to see more of these hotshots before long.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Rescue Me - N.J. Walters

Rescue Me by N. J. Walters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good quick read. It really is quite a short little novella, so I managed to read it almost in one sitting. The only real problem with it, is that as it's so short, it leaves you wanting a bit more.
The main characters were lovers when they were teenagers, but after Frank discovered that he was not who he thought he was, he ran away. Worrying that he might be a danger to Martha and his family, he has not seen them in 18 years. By chance, he rescues her from a burning building and it soon becomes clear that their love has not diminished over the years.
I liked the romance between the two main characters and I'm always a fan of second time around romances. There wasn't a great deal of room for much exploration of the other parts of the story and I felt that there was quite a lot left unanswered by the end of it.
Ideally, I would have liked to have seen Frank get some answers about who and what he was and what the implications for the future. I'd also have liked some explanation as to why the initial fire was started. (We learn who, but not why.)
For a quick read, this was enjoyable and it wouldn't put me off reading other books by the same author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Review of Risk the Burn - Marnee Blake

Risk the Burn by Marnee Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the third book in The Smokejumpers series and I think my favourite to date. I've given this 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoy the setting of these books, with the smokejumpers and what they do as an overall background. That said, there was a little less of that in this instalment. I think that it adds an extra and interesting dimension to the firefighters or first responders that often appear in similar books.
I liked both Charlotte and Hunter and I liked the way that their relationship played out. They seemed to have good chemistry and I enjoyed reading about the interaction between the two of them. There were the odd occasions where I just wanted to give them a shake and get them to actually talk, but that can be par for the course in this kind of romance book, to be honest. Perhaps that's part of the joy of them? Knowing that we'd deal with it better?
I am enjoying this series and I think that it is getting better with each one. I'll be interested to see where it goes next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Flash Point - Shelli Stevens

Flash Point by Shelli Stevens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read the other books in this series, but fortunately, that didn't matter. This is quite a sweet little romance and I really enjoyed reading it. It is quite a quick read and was exactly what I was in the mood for.
The main characters, Todd and Kate are the kind of couple, or rather couple to be, that you often meet in this kind of romance books. Todd is a player, jumping from bed to bed while Kate, who has had a crush on him for years, has no sexual experience whatsoever. Although I enjoyed this story and the characters in it, I am beginning to struggle a bit with all of these virgins that need a man with heaps of experience to awaken them to the world of sex. It's not that that I mind so much, although I'd rather a few less innocent women in romance novels personally, it's the way people treat them. Lots of I'd have done things differently if I'd known. It might just be me, but I just find it quite patronising and annoying. I'd also like to see more couples with a similar level of experience, I know that this is probably down to society and the way that we view men and women, but do we always need the super experienced man and the pure as the driven snow woman?
This was an enjoyable read and I did like both of the main characters and was hoping that they would get their HEA. It was just the kind quick read that I was in the mood for right now.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Still Burning - Leora Gonzales

Still Burning by Leora Gonzales
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this is the third book in the Braving the Heat series, it is only the second that I have read. This book focuses on a second chance romance. Jack and Sasha were once very much in love and living together, but when Max, Sasha's brother and Jacks best friend was killed in a fire, Sasha ran away from her life, her future and Jack. Unable to face the idea that she may one day lose him in the same way, as both Max and Jack are firefighters, she decides to leave him there and then. Fast forward four years and they suddenly find themselves in each other's lives once again.
I do enjoy second chance romances, depending upon the reasons that they had split up in the first place that is. In this case, I think that it works for the most part. Apart from Sasha running away, there is no real betrayal or thing that can't be worked around. Sasha and Jack work well as a couple and the chemistry on the page between them is good.
There was again, a small mention of 'pole bunnies' and the way that Jack's ex-girlfriend that he was seeing while he and Sasha were apart was a little uncomfortable. Yes, psychos do exist, but there is a habit in these type of books to paint all women that are not the 'chosen' woman but have been in a man's life as disposable. There is also a tendency to keep the women 'pure' while they are single, while the men can do what (and who) they like. A small gripe and one common to much of this genre, not just this book.
Overall this was a really good read and I'd be keen to read the next in the series, which we were given a small taste of at the end of this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake

Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book in Marnee Blake's Smokejumpers series. I have to admit that I am a bit of a firefighter fan and stories about the elite smokejumpers that parachute into out of the way locations to deal with wildfires are always going to be something that I'm interested in.
In this second book, we learn more about Dak, who appeared as Lance's friend in the first book. Lance and Meg, who were the main characters in book one do make a small appearance in this book, although most of the story focuses around Dak and Heidi, who has just arrived in the area to investigate who has been setting fires around the area. There is a bit of a mystery/thriller dimension to this story, although I will admit that I had worked out who was setting the fires long before they did. I didn't really get to the bottom of why they were doing it, however, but then neither did any of the characters in the book.
Overall I liked both Dak and Heidi, they seemed to work well together and there was certainly chemistry between them. I'm not sure that I'm that into the dysfunctional family idea, especially seeing as that played a major part of the plot in book one and then here we are with another in book two.
This was an enjoyable read and I'd be keen to continue with more in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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Taming Fire - Leora Gonzales

Taming Fire by Leora Gonzales
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fun, hot read and for the most part, I enjoyed it. Louise (which apparently in the US is an old person's name, which amused me, seeing as there's a huge amount of Louises around my age in the UK) is her families dogs body. She runs around after them getting very little in return. Nix, a local firefighter comes around to her house after her nephew called the fire brigade thinking that the firepit at the back of the house was a house fire. Things soon get pretty hot between them.
I liked the characters in the book. I liked the more relaxed attitude toward alcohol, no clutching of pearls because she was drinking while looking after her four-year-old nephew. We all know most four-year-olds lead to the odd bottle of wine after all. I also liked the way that she didn't completely bow down to Nix, who, to be honest, could be a bit of an arse.
What I wasn't so keen on, was the dismissive way he spoke about women who had been his conquests in the past. 'Pole bunnies' who were only after a good time. They were continually talked about as though they were nothing and that they didn't have any feelings. Fine, if they're all on board for just a good time, but throw away comments by the likes of her sister Maggie/Rose that she thought she might have been in the right place and the right time for more commitment combined with how jealous these women seemed to be, would suggest that they didn't just see it as fun and games. It's a minor point in what was otherwise an enjoyable story, but I don't like it when male characters are so disparaging of female characters who are just like they were until recently.
Overall, this was a good read. I hadn't read the previous books and while these characters were mentioned, it didn't detract from the book to have not read the rest of the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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Up in Flames - Jennifer Blackwood

Up in Flames by Jennifer Blackwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I'm glad I don't live in America. The book opens with the hero attending a fire call and getting shot in the shoulder when he bangs on the door and doesn't stand far enough to one side. His boss, the chief, holds him responsible for this, he should have known better and has only got himself to blame for being injured. What an awful way to live, to have the threat of being shot is so commonplace as to need to have the police attend a call out to keep everyone safe!

Reece Jenkins is the firefighter in question. A modern-day Cassanova, he's slept his way through the local nurse population. All apart from Nurse Practitioner Sloane, who also happens to be his younger sister's best friend. Slone and Reece have a difficult relationship. They have known each other for years and while Reece used to have feelings for Sloane, the animosity between them seems to have killed them off. One drunken night Sloane asked Reece to take her to bed, he rejected her, not wanting to take advantage of her drunken state, but didn't do it in a particularly chivalrous way. She now hates him and is out for revenge.

When Sloane gets the opportunity to extract four favours from Reece, she sets out to get all she can. Of course, the more time that they spend together the hotter things become.

I really liked both Sloane and Reece. There was obvious chemistry between them from the beginning. I did wish that they'd both just talked though. It's one of those catch 22 problems with many romance novels. If the hero and heroine actually just talked, then there would be a lot smoother ride, but of course, there would then be no story.

There is something that almost keeps them apart at the end of the book. I would like to think that he would come around without her fixing things, because it was a mistake, not being malicious that caused it. Everything works out in the end though and we get our happily ever after.

I really enjoyed this book and would be keen to read more in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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