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helen's review
3.5
Heroine is grieving for her dead husband and numbing herself by having casual hot sex with a firefighter. The firefighter wants more from their relationship and very patiently gets her to acknowledge that she has feelings for him.
Some of the language and attitudes felt a bit dated, e.g. reference to marriage meaning that a woman "belongs" to a man. Also, the m/f/m sex scene was a bit of a let-down. But otherwise it was a well written, angsty, holiday read that made me cry.
CW: past death of spouse, 9/11, grief
Some of the language and attitudes felt a bit dated, e.g. reference to marriage meaning that a woman "belongs" to a man. Also, the m/f/m sex scene was a bit of a let-down. But otherwise it was a well written, angsty, holiday read that made me cry.
CW: past death of spouse, 9/11, grief
bookphenomena_micky's review
4.0
This was a dream read. A full and developed story in 100 pages. There wasn’t a smattering of insta-anything. The characters felt very realistic and boy, it got rather hot under the collar. A perfect read for right now.
laura_sorensen's review
4.0
I give this one an extra star for the character of New York City. One can tell that Calhoun knows and loves NYC. Book is very well written and I admired the heroine for her ability to walk into a room and pick out any guy.
thepassionatereader's review
5.0
this review was originally published at DearAuthor.com
As I said, I’m not a big holiday tale fan. If you asked me to pick holiday stories I loved, it would be a short list: Courtney Milan’s This Wicked Gift, Ruthie Knox’s Room at the Inn, and Susan Wojciechowski’s incredible children’s book The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey immediately come to mind. I’d now add Breath on Embers to that list. I plan to put it on my “Best of 2012″ list as well. It’s just that good.
Many novels explore the grief engendered by losing someone we love; many romances tell the story of finding love again after such a loss. I’ve read lots of tales of “a second chance at love” and few of them have felt as powerful as did this novella by Anne Calhoun.
Her heroine, Thea Moretti, lost her husband Jesse two years ago during the Christmas season. When Jesse died, so did much of Thea.
Thea left the Ohio town where she and Jesse and their families lived and moved to Manhattan. There, alone and empty, she works at a big investment firm as a systems architect. Last April, on Saint Patrick’s Day, after her therapist told her she needed to meet someone new, Thea saw firefighter Ronan O’Rourke drinking with his buddies in a bar on Second Avenue. His friend Tim tried to pick her up; Thea said no then asked Ronan to walk her home. He took her to the nearest fire station, dragged her into a bathroom, put on a condom, and the two fucked silently. It was the first time Thea had been with a man since Jesse died. When they finished, Thea would have walked away but Ronan, intrigued, asked her for her number.
Now, nine months later, it’s the Christmas season and Thea is still fucking Ronan. That’s all she wants their relationship to be; all she says she can do. Ronan, however, wants more; he knows there’s more.
Ronan’s a god of hero. He’s incredibly hot–I’ve never read a hotter hero–and determined to force Thea back to life. He’s a great guy: funny, smart, compassionate, and wise. He’s so charming, in fact, I’d root for him even if the main reason he wants a feeling Thea is so she will feel something for him. But Ronan, and oh how I love him for this, wants Thea to feel again for her. As he tells Tim,
Over and over again Ronan challenges Thea and over and over again she shoves him away. It’s painful and beautiful to watch in part because Thea is so sure she can’t care about anyone or anything again. One of the very best scenes in this very good novella takes place in a private dressing room in the most erotic lingerie store ever imagined. There, as Thea models lingerie for Ronan, he makes love to her in a way that forces their connection. As soon as they’re done, she begins pulling on her clothes and pulling back into herself. He tells her he knows they just shared something profound, that this time, she’s got to acknowledge she felt.
Finally, a few days before Christmas, Ronan does something so lovely for Thea she does the only thing she can; she tells him to invite Tim over for a threesome. Thea’s sure sex with Ronan and another man will prove to her and Ronan the extraordinary passion they share isn’t anything more than fabulous fucking. Ronan’s response surprises her.
If all ménages were written like the one in Breath on Embers, I’d read more erotica. If more erotica was written like Breath on Embers, I’d read a lot more erotica. Everything about this novella is stellar. The characters, the depiction of Manhattan, the gorgeous writing, the palpable and incendiary passion, the pain of loss and the power of healing, and the joy to be found in the holiday season are wonderfully rendered. Ms. Calhoun’s novella made me weep. It made me call up my husband and tell him we should go lingerie shopping…immediately. It made me feel damn lucky to be able to watch “The Grinch” (the original, not the awful movie) and get a little choked up when all the Whos sing. I give Breath on Embers an unqualified and grateful A.
As I said, I’m not a big holiday tale fan. If you asked me to pick holiday stories I loved, it would be a short list: Courtney Milan’s This Wicked Gift, Ruthie Knox’s Room at the Inn, and Susan Wojciechowski’s incredible children’s book The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey immediately come to mind. I’d now add Breath on Embers to that list. I plan to put it on my “Best of 2012″ list as well. It’s just that good.
Many novels explore the grief engendered by losing someone we love; many romances tell the story of finding love again after such a loss. I’ve read lots of tales of “a second chance at love” and few of them have felt as powerful as did this novella by Anne Calhoun.
Her heroine, Thea Moretti, lost her husband Jesse two years ago during the Christmas season. When Jesse died, so did much of Thea.
If Thea heard coming to terms with your loss one more time she would go stark raving mad. She didn’t deny Jesse’s death. She made no bargains, felt no pain or guilt. She felt nothing at all. He was two years dead, the victim of an Ohio snowstorm and an arrogant moron in a Tahoe who thought four-wheel drive meant he could speed on ice.
Thea left the Ohio town where she and Jesse and their families lived and moved to Manhattan. There, alone and empty, she works at a big investment firm as a systems architect. Last April, on Saint Patrick’s Day, after her therapist told her she needed to meet someone new, Thea saw firefighter Ronan O’Rourke drinking with his buddies in a bar on Second Avenue. His friend Tim tried to pick her up; Thea said no then asked Ronan to walk her home. He took her to the nearest fire station, dragged her into a bathroom, put on a condom, and the two fucked silently. It was the first time Thea had been with a man since Jesse died. When they finished, Thea would have walked away but Ronan, intrigued, asked her for her number.
Now, nine months later, it’s the Christmas season and Thea is still fucking Ronan. That’s all she wants their relationship to be; all she says she can do. Ronan, however, wants more; he knows there’s more.
…she didn’t feel numb to him. Bodies don’t lie. Her body spoke of a soul-deep pain. Every time he saw her, she used something to drown out the world, until his patient assault on her senses was rewarded with her full, undivided attention.
Thea’s full attention felt like standing on the platform when an express train came screaming by, the noise trapped in the tunnel, reverberating against century-old tile and iron pillars. Ka-thunk-a-thunk-ka-thunk-a-thunk-ka-thunk-a-thunk vibrating against his heart, spiking adrenalin, until she blinked and shut it down.
Ronan’s a god of hero. He’s incredibly hot–I’ve never read a hotter hero–and determined to force Thea back to life. He’s a great guy: funny, smart, compassionate, and wise. He’s so charming, in fact, I’d root for him even if the main reason he wants a feeling Thea is so she will feel something for him. But Ronan, and oh how I love him for this, wants Thea to feel again for her. As he tells Tim,
“There is no fix for this. She has to endure it, and somewhere along the line she has to learn to live again. Surviving isn’t the goal. Living is. This is a battle between me and her grief, and I’m going to be the last man standing.”
Over and over again Ronan challenges Thea and over and over again she shoves him away. It’s painful and beautiful to watch in part because Thea is so sure she can’t care about anyone or anything again. One of the very best scenes in this very good novella takes place in a private dressing room in the most erotic lingerie store ever imagined. There, as Thea models lingerie for Ronan, he makes love to her in a way that forces their connection. As soon as they’re done, she begins pulling on her clothes and pulling back into herself. He tells her he knows they just shared something profound, that this time, she’s got to acknowledge she felt.
“I don’t feel anything,” she said. “Why do you think I walk around with music blasting my eardrums? I can’t feel anything anymore. Something broke when Jesse died. I’m numb.”
He considered her as she wriggled into her pants. “You’re wrong.”
“And you’re such a man, telling me what I feel is wrong,” she retorted.
“I’m not telling you what you feel is wrong,” he said, far more calmly than her husband had handled arguments like this. “You said you don’t feel anything, and that’s a guy’s area of expertise. We’re the unemotional ones. You’re anything but unemotional.”
“It’s a mirage,” she said flatly. “It’s pain from a ghost limb.”
“You are not a mirage. It’s there,” he said, once again ruthlessly contradicting her personal experience. “Know how I know? You fight too hard to push it down. The music, the way you try to cram what’s happening between us into just a fuck. You don’t pour thirty thousand gallons of water into a stone cold building. You pour it into an inferno.”
Impatient, she swept her hair into a twist at the base of her neck. “Why do you keep doing this? Why can’t you just use me?”
Finally, a few days before Christmas, Ronan does something so lovely for Thea she does the only thing she can; she tells him to invite Tim over for a threesome. Thea’s sure sex with Ronan and another man will prove to her and Ronan the extraordinary passion they share isn’t anything more than fabulous fucking. Ronan’s response surprises her.
“I can handle a threesome,” he said, darkly amused. “But this may tell you something you don’t want to know about yourself. About us.”
If all ménages were written like the one in Breath on Embers, I’d read more erotica. If more erotica was written like Breath on Embers, I’d read a lot more erotica. Everything about this novella is stellar. The characters, the depiction of Manhattan, the gorgeous writing, the palpable and incendiary passion, the pain of loss and the power of healing, and the joy to be found in the holiday season are wonderfully rendered. Ms. Calhoun’s novella made me weep. It made me call up my husband and tell him we should go lingerie shopping…immediately. It made me feel damn lucky to be able to watch “The Grinch” (the original, not the awful movie) and get a little choked up when all the Whos sing. I give Breath on Embers an unqualified and grateful A.
darlenemarshall's review
4.0
Anne Calhoun continues to be one of my "go to" authors for quality erotic romance. Breath on Embers is a holiday tale set in NYC that will warm winter nights, as two people scarred by loss connect, first in a "it's only sex" manner, and then go deeper into their relationship.
bandherbooks's review
5.0
Oh holy night reading! Wow. Sweet holiday novellas are all well and good, but I prefer mine with heat.
Breath on Embers by Anne Xalhoun is scorching, poignant, and the best romance I've read exploring grief and falling in love again after loss.
A NYFD lieutenant and a widow have a hot hot hit hookup situation, but as the holidays approach Ronan knows he wants more. For Thea, she's convinced she has nothing to offer Ronan, but he'll do anything, including a threesome, to prove her wrong.
Expertly blended holiday, specifically Christmas activities, including some very sexy present shopping, this will keep you warm on a cold night.
Content warning for discussions of death, grief, and a MFM threesome.
Breath on Embers by Anne Xalhoun is scorching, poignant, and the best romance I've read exploring grief and falling in love again after loss.
A NYFD lieutenant and a widow have a hot hot hit hookup situation, but as the holidays approach Ronan knows he wants more. For Thea, she's convinced she has nothing to offer Ronan, but he'll do anything, including a threesome, to prove her wrong.
Expertly blended holiday, specifically Christmas activities, including some very sexy present shopping, this will keep you warm on a cold night.
Content warning for discussions of death, grief, and a MFM threesome.
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