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mommasaystoread's review against another edition
4.0
A second chance romance with 2 sexy firefighters who are not only all grown up, but they actually communicate as well. I'm not a big fan of miscommunication as the catalyst for angst in a romance, and second chances rely on it a little too often. Needless to say, this one was refreshing. It was actually surprisingly low on the angst scale while still maintaining the excitement and danger that goes along with the theme of this series. I really liked Luis and Tucker, and they work so well together. Family is another important part of this one with Tucker's twin teenage boys and his comfortable relationship with his ex-wife, which was one of my favorite elements in this story. Of course, we get plenty of heat and chemistry with Luis and Tucker, and they're so easy to root for. What it comes down to is the story has a good pace, the couple is likable, the romance is sweet and steamy. It's entertaining and engaging and leaves you with a smile. I've enjoyed each couple in this series, this one included, and it's one more reason Annabeth Albert has become an auto-read for me.
enemies2lover's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
triplebriiii's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
love a good second chance romance.
reading_rainbows's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Cute book, nice to see demi-sexual representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
mads0527's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ccgwalt's review
4.0
3.5 stars for the story (B-)
4,5 stars for the narration by Iggy Toma (A-)
The basic plot of Feel the Fire is simple. Firefighter Luis is loaned from his California department to help a smaller Oregon department that is shorthanded, plus is dealing with possible arson spot fires, which is Luis's field of expertise. Luis is reluctant to go because his first love, and first real heartbreak, lives there. Luis is hoping there will be no reason to run into Tucker. But this is a romance, so he soon finds out Tucker is part of the department he's been assigned to, and in fact he'll have to deal with him almost daily. From there the story is about them getting to know each other again after the many years of separation.
Tucker and Luis were childhood best friends and almost lovers, who, when Luis's family moved to California, made plans get back together as soon as they graduated high school. But when circumstances intervene, and Tucker stays in Oregon and ends up getting married right out of high school, Luis never really forgave him. Present day Tucker is the father to twin 16 year old sons, and amicably divorced from his wife. Most of the book is spent with Tucker and Luis finally discussing what happened all those years ago, and letting it go, while also realizing the strong connection is still there. Tucker's sons, Wade and Walker figure prominently in the story, especially Wade's decisions about his future which mirrors some of the same issues Tucker and Luis dealt with, and in fact are still dealing with. I'm not a fan of kids in my romances, and although Albert handles this subplot very well, it still felt like a distraction, or filler.
I liked both main characters and applaud Albert for including a demisexual MC. It was handled with the same sensitivity and deftness she showed with Garrick's disability in the second book.
As always I enjoyed Iggy Toma's narration.
4,5 stars for the narration by Iggy Toma (A-)
The basic plot of Feel the Fire is simple. Firefighter Luis is loaned from his California department to help a smaller Oregon department that is shorthanded, plus is dealing with possible arson spot fires, which is Luis's field of expertise. Luis is reluctant to go because his first love, and first real heartbreak, lives there. Luis is hoping there will be no reason to run into Tucker. But this is a romance, so he soon finds out Tucker is part of the department he's been assigned to, and in fact he'll have to deal with him almost daily. From there the story is about them getting to know each other again after the many years of separation.
Tucker and Luis were childhood best friends and almost lovers, who, when Luis's family moved to California, made plans get back together as soon as they graduated high school. But when circumstances intervene, and Tucker stays in Oregon and ends up getting married right out of high school, Luis never really forgave him. Present day Tucker is the father to twin 16 year old sons, and amicably divorced from his wife. Most of the book is spent with Tucker and Luis finally discussing what happened all those years ago, and letting it go, while also realizing the strong connection is still there. Tucker's sons, Wade and Walker figure prominently in the story, especially Wade's decisions about his future which mirrors some of the same issues Tucker and Luis dealt with, and in fact are still dealing with. I'm not a fan of kids in my romances, and although Albert handles this subplot very well, it still felt like a distraction, or filler.
I liked both main characters and applaud Albert for including a demisexual MC. It was handled with the same sensitivity and deftness she showed with Garrick's disability in the second book.
As always I enjoyed Iggy Toma's narration.
xanthe87's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good second chance romance for childhood friends Tucker and Luis. From when they first meet again when Luis comes back to Oregon, to work with the fire crews and investigate possible arson, you can feel the underlying attraction and connection that they had as teenagers and it has the chance to build and develop into something a lot deeper. Things that happened and feelings they had when they were kids were amplified and were the most important things in their lives at that time.
Tucker is now divorced with twin sons soon to go to college whilst working for the fire service. Luis has worked his way up to fire behaviour specialist and lost someone a few years ago.
I was surprised with how quickly they moved on once they are reacquainted but it makes for a lovely story as the two men rebuild their friendship and dive into a physical relationship. I love Tucker and how open he is to everything, despite having an idea of how it might end. He's a brilliant dad with some very emotive teenage boys. There's a real family feel with him, his sons and ex-wife, even all having weekly dinners along with her new husband and daughter but you can sense that Tucker wants that for himself. Luis is eager to dive into the case of possible arson and is really great at what he does. It's clear he misses his family but also a little that he's missing out when it comes to a significant other and children. His cat, however, his highly entertaining in it's complete disregard for those around it.
While this isn't my favourite of the series, I still really enjoyed reading it. We're introduced to a new side of the fire service and get occasional interactions with previous couples.
I received an ARC via NetGalley and am happily giving a review.
Tucker is now divorced with twin sons soon to go to college whilst working for the fire service. Luis has worked his way up to fire behaviour specialist and lost someone a few years ago.
I was surprised with how quickly they moved on once they are reacquainted but it makes for a lovely story as the two men rebuild their friendship and dive into a physical relationship. I love Tucker and how open he is to everything, despite having an idea of how it might end. He's a brilliant dad with some very emotive teenage boys. There's a real family feel with him, his sons and ex-wife, even all having weekly dinners along with her new husband and daughter but you can sense that Tucker wants that for himself. Luis is eager to dive into the case of possible arson and is really great at what he does. It's clear he misses his family but also a little that he's missing out when it comes to a significant other and children. His cat, however, his highly entertaining in it's complete disregard for those around it.
While this isn't my favourite of the series, I still really enjoyed reading it. We're introduced to a new side of the fire service and get occasional interactions with previous couples.
I received an ARC via NetGalley and am happily giving a review.
cadiva's review against another edition
5.0
I've loved each one of these books from Annabeth but I think this one was my favourite because, not only were the protagonists older (approaching their late 30s), but because they communicated so well.
On the face of it, it sounds like it would be a default second chance romance, with recriminations to be overcome and long-felt guilt and hurt to deal with right?
But it's so much more than that. It's a clever exploration of how sometimes the person you were in love with at 16 is the right person, but the timing just wasn't and no-one is ultimately to blame for why you didn't stay together.
It's clear from the moment Luis is told he's being sent back to Oregon - because of his specialist experience in investigating forest fires and arson attacks - that he's dreading returning to the place where he and Tucker fell in love.
A California boy, his family's brief eight-year stay in Painter's Ridge before they moved back to the warmer climes, holds only painful memories for him now but he's also dealing with loss at home too.
When he bumps into Tucker on his first day at work, he's thrown for a loop. He'd expected his teenage love would be married and working his family's ranch, not running the teams dealing with forest fires but you can see instantly the sparks are still there.
What I loved that there was no big blow out here when Tucker and Luis met again. They didn't sulk and mooch about passing sly comments or fighting some angry sex demons (not that that would have been a problem either because they were both fine #justsaying).
Instead, there's a totally mature conversation about long distances, about one time mistakes having life-long consequences (and twin boys
On the face of it, it sounds like it would be a default second chance romance, with recriminations to be overcome and long-felt guilt and hurt to deal with right?
But it's so much more than that. It's a clever exploration of how sometimes the person you were in love with at 16 is the right person, but the timing just wasn't and no-one is ultimately to blame for why you didn't stay together.
It's clear from the moment Luis is told he's being sent back to Oregon - because of his specialist experience in investigating forest fires and arson attacks - that he's dreading returning to the place where he and Tucker fell in love.
A California boy, his family's brief eight-year stay in Painter's Ridge before they moved back to the warmer climes, holds only painful memories for him now but he's also dealing with loss at home too.
When he bumps into Tucker on his first day at work, he's thrown for a loop. He'd expected his teenage love would be married and working his family's ranch, not running the teams dealing with forest fires but you can see instantly the sparks are still there.
What I loved that there was no big blow out here when Tucker and Luis met again. They didn't sulk and mooch about passing sly comments or fighting some angry sex demons (not that that would have been a problem either because they were both fine #justsaying).
Instead, there's a totally mature conversation about long distances, about one time mistakes having life-long consequences (and twin boys
tag_gregory's review against another edition
5.0
Mature Queer Romance
I really like the wide range of characters Albert comes up within their books. I hadn’t previously read any romance novels with demisexual characters and I enjoyed this take on it. Also, it’s nice to have mature queer characters who are still smoking hot and ready for romance. Plus, the book/series is set in Oregon, so what’s not to love. This one is going on my Oregon M/M Romance Req list.
I really like the wide range of characters Albert comes up within their books. I hadn’t previously read any romance novels with demisexual characters and I enjoyed this take on it. Also, it’s nice to have mature queer characters who are still smoking hot and ready for romance. Plus, the book/series is set in Oregon, so what’s not to love. This one is going on my Oregon M/M Romance Req list.
bookarina's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Feel the fire was everything I wanted when going into this novel and more. One thing however is I am not a fan of one of the main character having kids, especially in a steamy novel. But since I knew that going into this it didn't bother me as much.
This book was Hot and Steamy, a romance between fire behaviour specialists. One a dad of two teen twins (Tucker). I love second chance romances, especially between characters who were together when they were teens themselves and when they have a palpable chemistry such as Tucker and Luis had. They cross path long after their old romance when they are now both adults and forced to work together investigating an arson. When Luis is asked by his agency to go back to his hometown where he discovered he was gay and his childhood love broke his heart.
They develop a mutual respect for one another and discover the chemistry and love they held for one another has not diminished in the least, together they make sparks. They begin a relationship, both seeing the unfortunate expiration date it has as their lives are in two different places, Luis in LA and Tucker in their hometown. They both want everything, they now have to work out and see if it is possible to have everything together.
This novel was well written as they always are with her books, I easily fell into the story but while I did find that their love felt real I did not enjoy their romance as much as some of her other books. I also went into this expecting some intrigue and suspense because of the arson and unfortunately I did not. Overall the novel was well thought out and the author wrote something believable though not as romantic as I desired. I loved that Tucker was demisexual (because representation) and that it felt similar to how my experience with demisexuality is. I also liked that the author did not take a long time to clear the air between our two main character and how open they were with each other, especially in regards to Tucker's old wife, which prevented a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
All in all I really enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait to read more of Annabeth Albert's books !
4.5/5 stars
Bookarina
Feel the fire was everything I wanted when going into this novel and more. One thing however is I am not a fan of one of the main character having kids, especially in a steamy novel. But since I knew that going into this it didn't bother me as much.
This book was Hot and Steamy, a romance between fire behaviour specialists. One a dad of two teen twins (Tucker). I love second chance romances, especially between characters who were together when they were teens themselves and when they have a palpable chemistry such as Tucker and Luis had. They cross path long after their old romance when they are now both adults and forced to work together investigating an arson. When Luis is asked by his agency to go back to his hometown where he discovered he was gay and his childhood love broke his heart.
They develop a mutual respect for one another and discover the chemistry and love they held for one another has not diminished in the least, together they make sparks. They begin a relationship, both seeing the unfortunate expiration date it has as their lives are in two different places, Luis in LA and Tucker in their hometown. They both want everything, they now have to work out and see if it is possible to have everything together.
This novel was well written as they always are with her books, I easily fell into the story but while I did find that their love felt real I did not enjoy their romance as much as some of her other books. I also went into this expecting some intrigue and suspense because of the arson and unfortunately I did not. Overall the novel was well thought out and the author wrote something believable though not as romantic as I desired. I loved that Tucker was demisexual (because representation) and that it felt similar to how my experience with demisexuality is. I also liked that the author did not take a long time to clear the air between our two main character and how open they were with each other, especially in regards to Tucker's old wife, which prevented a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
All in all I really enjoyed this novel and I cannot wait to read more of Annabeth Albert's books !
4.5/5 stars
Bookarina