A review by bribreez
Wildfire by Hannah Grace

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

5.0

5⭐️/ 3-4🌶️

First off, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ATRIA FOR SENDING ME THIS ARC COPY! OMG! YOU’RE THE BEST! 

We all know and love Hannah Grace! With her magnificent debut book, “Icebreaker”, it took us all by storm, and it was such a fun filled ride for me! Now with the second book in her series, this was a summer romance following Russ and Aurora as they explored their feelings and more over the course of their summer while being camp counselors. With Hannah’s signature humor, heartfelt characters, unique storylines, and a mix of shenanigans and spice all combined, it was without a doubt another story I fell in love with! 

Within the first few chapters, I immediately fell in love with Russ! (don’t worry I also loved Aurora too). Although I was definitely head over heels over Russ with his shyness, quiet demeanor, and his overall personality. In the first book, when Russ was introduced, I just saw him as the sweet, quiet guy who was pretty much always alone, until Stassie and the rest of the hockey team befriended him. Seeing Russ in his own book, I got to see more of his endearing personality and OMG I JUST WANTED TO HUG HIM AND GIVE HIM A MILLION KISSES! If you love the “quiet and shy guy” type of trope, I feel like you’ll also enjoy reading about Russ. Russ wasn’t completely shy though, it was more of him just keeping to himself and letting others around him take the attention. Oh, and also the fact that Russ was studying engineering and had lots of books he read in his room, THAT WAS SO HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE! A MAN OF INTELLIGENCE AND FOCUS! I was constantly swooning over Russ! I LOVE HIM! I loved seeing the different sides to Russ especially when he was with Aurora, Russ was unveiling sides of himself that had my jaw dropping especially with the things he said! HAVE MERCY! (Sigh) basically Russ was and always will be the man for him so, Hannah I will gladly take Russ as my man thank you very much. 

Now, I’ve never been to summer camp before, but reading this story, I got the feeling like I was in the thick of everything at Honey Acres. For Russ and Aurora, they each thought their summer’s were going to be completely different, until they came face to face with each other during the counselor’s meeting. From the one night stand to now having to spend the whole summer together, ESPECIALLY with the no fraternizing rule, it created an intriguing storyline. Russ and Aurora were also ironic out into the same counselor group so, there was a bit of forced proximity that I was glad to see teehee. The summer at Honey Acres meant different things for each Russ and Aurora. For Aurora, being a counselor at the same camp she attended over the years as a kid was not only nostalgic, but she was determined to turn over a new leaf, and focus on herself. For Russ, it was about focusing on this job opportunity and making the most of it before the summer ended. Different priorities for each of these amazing characters, but along the way they found themselves growing closer and frequently reminiscing about their hot one night stand.  

Throughout the story, not only was it fun, lighthearted, and just an absolute joy to read, it also tackled the things that both Aurora and Russ struggled with. For both Russ and Aurora, they had difficulties when it came to their families, specifically their parents. For Aurora, it was the fact that even with her parents being divorced, she felt like she wasn’t of importance to her dad whereas she felt suffocated by her mom at times. For Russ, he dealt with his dad being toxic, mean, and downright harsh towards him, and his mom never really admitting the reality of Russ’s dad struggling with gambling and drinking. I found it interesting that despite the different ways Russ and Aurora grew up, they shared similarities in how they felt towards their parents, and especially having a complicated relationship with their respective dad’s. No, this isn’t the time to make “daddy issues” jokes, but Lowkey they did have issues with their dads, understandably. So, over the course of Aurora and Russ being at Honey Acres, they also found solace and support in each other as they opened up. 

If there’s one thing (among many) that I really enjoy about Hannah’s stories, it’s the way she illustrates her characters communication. Sure, there was a bit of a miscommunication moment earlier in the story, but with open communication, Aurora and Russ were able to smooth things over, and clarify what they actually meant instead of the assumptions each of them made. Seeing Russ and Aurora communicate about their insecurities, fears, worries, and more not only opened them up to each other, but also allowed for us readers to dig deep into Russ and Aurora. I feel like between Russ and Aurora, Russ was  the one who struggled a bit to open up to Aurora. With Russ growing up with his family not being the best, and surrounded by a negative atmosphere, Russ always grew up with the idea that he didn’t deserve anything good. Thankfully, with Aurora’s help and support, Russ found himself reliving himself some of his burdens and was able to talk to Aurora about the things he struggled with. Bless Aurora and her talkative tendencies because it paid off with Russ!

Before this book, I didn’t remember much of Aurora from the first book, but seeing her in this one made me love her so much! First of all, I thought it was so cool that Aurora’s dad owned his own Formula one team (of course, Hannah would include a nod to her favorite sport *wink), and growing up in that environment it was a no brainer that Aurora loved Formula one as well. Plus, Aurora was bit of a troublemaker haha, finding herself giving into her impulses now and again. There was a lot more to Aurora than just her beauty and coming from a well known, rich family, Aurora was tenacious, sassy, hilarious, confident, and a joy to read. Aurora was usually an easygoing, happy person, but even she had her own issues she dealt with. Similar to Russ, Aurora also had a difficult relationship when it came to her family specifically her parents. Always feeling like she wasn’t of importance from her dad, Aurora usually sought out praise, acceptance, and attention anywhere she could get it. Not the best way to deal with her problems, but that was just the way that Aurora knew how to deal with. I could sympathize with some of the things that Aurora felt and while I obviously don’t come from a family like hers, I could still feel empathetic towards what she was going through.

Russ was all kinds of being the absolute best book boyfriend! Aurora was a lucky gal indeed with the way Russ showered her with affection and told her some of the most sweetest and sexiest things! A mixture of making me swoon and squeal from the things Russ said! Truly, I wasn’t expecting to feel this immediate sense of love and joy over Russ, but look what Hannah created, ANOTHER FICTIONAL MAN I FELL IN LOVE WITH! When reading the things coming out of Russ’s mouth, of course I’d fall head over heels for him. For instance, when Russ and Aurora were talking about time machines it went along the lines of,

"What effect do they have on my time machine?"

“Not butterflies, the butterfly effect. If I change one thing in my past, I'd cause a ripple effect and I wouldn't chance not meeting you" 

YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT’S SUCH A CUTE MOMENT! OMG! I stand by my comments, Russ was the best, and I’m probably going to keep thinking about all the ways he was perfect and forever wishing he was mine. 

Hannah absolutely nailed this book! With this book following, “Icebreaker”, I knew I was going to enjoy, but oh my goodness I freaking fell in love with both Aurora and Russ! This was the perfect book to read during the end of summer, and while I’ve never been to summer camp, I felt like I was also at Honey Acres with everyone. The characters in this book were a mix of new and familiar faces that were hilarious, lovable, and just perfect for this story. I truly loved Russ and Aurora together! The chemistry, the connection, and the communication was magnificent! Thankfully, there wasn’t any third act breakup, and even with some bumps in the road, Russ and Aurora were always there for each other, and the best support system for one another. This was a feel good story filled with lots of sweet, funny, swoon worthy moments, as well as some spicy scenes that were hot! Trust me when I say that Russ wasn’t as shy as he may have seemed at first glance, my man had a way that only made Aurora go crazy for him! Aurora and Russ were fantastic, I loved their personalities, the way they played off one another, and of course, their romance was so special. I feel like once you read this book, you’ll get so immersed in the story that you won’t want to stop, it’s addicting! (Sigh) I would very much like Russ Callaghan to be my real life boyfriend he was the perfect mix of shy, sweet, thoughtful, and strong, he had me swooning and sweating with the things he said to Aurora! Overall, such a wonderful story and I can happily say this story not only ended on a happy note, but the epilogue was the extra sprinkle of joy that made me happy, and feel the love emanating between Russ and Aurora! Antbird fantastic job by Hannah Grace, round of applause!