Met zorgvuldig opgebouwde spanning en passie maakt de auteur een smeulend vuur tot een uitslaande brand.

Though the hero in this book is a fireman, there's very little of that world except how much our hero, Jake Rawlins, misses it after he's injured. (For those of you keeping track, this actually is much more along the lines of the whole cowboy/ranching subgenre than the firefighting one).

As usual, Jill Shalvis has delivered a solid, enjoyable, humorous read. What I liked about this book in particular was that Jake had some true weaknesses to overcome, both physical and emotional. I found this unusual - let's face it, romance heroes' "weaknesses" tend to be like the answer you give in a job interview when you're asked about areas in which you need to improve, i.e., not weaknesses at all but rather strengths in disguise - and refreshing. Especially when it gives our heroine, Callie Hayes, a chance to truly shine. I also loved the family aspect (yay, Tucker) and the secondary stories (yay, Tucker, again).

Downsides for me were that the resolution of the suspense thread felt a little too pat (minor issue) and I would have liked at least a mention of the characters from the first book in the series (even more minor). But overall, a solid 4. On to the next one... ( )

When I saw that Blue Flame was the second in an unconnected series, I thought I'd have to go buy the first one, White Heat, because I enjoyed Blue Flame so much. Found it on Amazon, and the cover didn't look familiar, though the title did, so I checked out the description. Sure enough, I had read it, though my copy was an ARC, so the cover art wasn't familiar. Here's the thread for White Heat: White Heat

Like White Heat, Blue Flame has a firefighter hero. And also like in White Heat, that hero is both heroic and wounded, and totally irresistable. There the similarities end. Well, except for the good writing and emotionally satisfying story.

Jake Rawlins is a wounded firefighter--both physically and emotionally. When he's injured rescuing a teenage boy from a burning house, unable to return to work, facing a lawsuit, and hounded by reporters, he has only one place to go--Blue Flame, the dude ranch left to him by the father he never knew.

Callie Hayes is the ranch manager with an unhappy past of her own, including a one-night-stand with Jake. However, Jake's the love-em and leave-em type, and, even worse, he's planning on selling the Blue Flame, threatening not just her livelihood but her home.

Rounding out the cast of characters are Jake's half brother Tucker, who believes Jake abandoned him, Amy, a young abused woman who's working as the cook, a pair of cowboy brothers, one with a drinking problem, and Callie's best friend Michael.

All the characters are realistic, with their problems, worries, hopes, and dreams. Jake's arrival at the ranch just before the spring season's first customers combines with perplexing and increasingly frightening sabotage to shake things up for everyone on the ranch.

The romance is emotionally satisfying, all the more so because, while I knew Jake and Callie would end up together (the book said "romance" on the spine, after all ), I didn't know how they'd manage it without one of them giving up the life they loved.

There are also some funny moments, when city slicker Jake helps out on the ranch, and many poignant moments between Jake and Tucker, and between Tucker and Amy. Best, of course, is watching Jake and Callie fall in love against their better judgment.

I've been recommending this one to my friends who like firefighters, and particularly to the ones who like wounded heroes--which is just about everyone. ( )

:) ( )