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A review by cadiva
Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert
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