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A review by laurenbrennan
Fire Line by Maggie C. Gates
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As always, big thanks to Maggie and Grey’s for choosing me to read and share my thoughts with others as a part of the ARC team! It is always a treat as I love Maggie’s work.
I HATE putting my least-favorite part first on a book that I really did enjoy, but I feel like Maggie’s works are usually so great for me that she set her own bar really high! I had to round this one up just a touch to be honest (maybe half a star or more?), only because the enemies-to-lovers pipeline didn’t QUITE feel 100% natural to me. It felt a little unfair the way that CJ was specifically targeting Lennon for his “my ranch, my land, no forward progress” aggression when he never really acted that way towards Brooke or Cass.
However, I still really liked this one for a different reason than I usually love the Griffith Brothers’ books. Usually I’m pretty obsessed with the couples and their relationships, but this one definitely got me and still kept me engaged, more for the plot than the relationship (for the reason I mentioned above). I liked how it focused a lot on Lennon’s background, and the plot twists for her storyline caught me off guard, which you know if you read my other reviews is a big high point for me! I also LOVED how it intertwined the other Maggieverse stories and the other Griffith couples seamlessly into the story instead of “oh look, a cameo!” but we knew Maggie has also always been good at that!
Now for one of my FAVORITE parts; I LOVED the ‘fire line’ narrative and how that fit. Maggie always has the most striking concepts for her titles and how they relate within the story, PARTICULARLY with the Griffith Brothers’ books. This one was particularly meaningful to me. Maggie knows what TRUE LOVE is, and I love that people get to read the powerful analogies that she comes up with to talk about it.
Anyway, Maggie continues her masterclass on dynamic FMCs and female-driven storylines. 🔥 Any chance there’s another Griffith brother hiding around somewhere that we didn’t know about? Sad to have this set of stories ending!
I HATE putting my least-favorite part first on a book that I really did enjoy, but I feel like Maggie’s works are usually so great for me that she set her own bar really high! I had to round this one up just a touch to be honest (maybe half a star or more?), only because the enemies-to-lovers pipeline didn’t QUITE feel 100% natural to me. It felt a little unfair the way that CJ was specifically targeting Lennon for his “my ranch, my land, no forward progress” aggression when he never really acted that way towards Brooke or Cass.
However, I still really liked this one for a different reason than I usually love the Griffith Brothers’ books. Usually I’m pretty obsessed with the couples and their relationships, but this one definitely got me and still kept me engaged, more for the plot than the relationship (for the reason I mentioned above). I liked how it focused a lot on Lennon’s background, and the plot twists for her storyline caught me off guard, which you know if you read my other reviews is a big high point for me! I also LOVED how it intertwined the other Maggieverse stories and the other Griffith couples seamlessly into the story instead of “oh look, a cameo!” but we knew Maggie has also always been good at that!
Now for one of my FAVORITE parts; I LOVED the ‘fire line’ narrative and how that fit. Maggie always has the most striking concepts for her titles and how they relate within the story, PARTICULARLY with the Griffith Brothers’ books. This one was particularly meaningful to me. Maggie knows what TRUE LOVE is, and I love that people get to read the powerful analogies that she comes up with to talk about it.
Anyway, Maggie continues her masterclass on dynamic FMCs and female-driven storylines. 🔥 Any chance there’s another Griffith brother hiding around somewhere that we didn’t know about? Sad to have this set of stories ending!
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment