Welcome back to yet another Blog Tour from Carina Press, the first of two this week in as many days. Both feature excellent though very divergent tales, and we’re gonna see my own reviews of each, a couple of pages from when the characters first see each other in each, and all of the relevant details to make it really easy for you to jump over to your eBook market of choice and buy the dang books. đ
First up, we have the most recent entry (and possibly last, if it is a trilogy?) in Annabeth Albert‘s High Heat series, Feel the Fire.
Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:
Feel-Good Finale. This second-chance romance tale, seemingly the last book of this year’s Hotshots series, was a solid way to go out. It is *very* loosely coupled with the previous two books – both prior couples make cameos – but can largely be read as a standalone. Fans of the MM genre will like this one, as it contains pretty well all of the standard elements of the genre. But that actually gets to one of my quibbles with the book. One of the guys here is alternatively described as both demisexual and asexual – which are both elements of the spectrum that don’t get mentioned as much, and thus it is always awesome to see. Yet in playing too much into genre expectations, to me it felt like Albert did the asexual aspect a disservice in almost making it seem that an asexual may just turn out to be a horn dog… with the right person. Similar to a character described as being comfortably childfree winding up with a kid at the end of the tale. (Note, that is just an example – in this particular tale one of the two is actually already a father.) The other quibble? Not enough actual firefighting in this book, particularly relative to the other two books in the series. Though the jobs here are actively away from the front lines, and for what they are, the jobs seem well represented in and of themselves. Still, a solid tale and a satisfying conclusion. Very much recommended.
And after the jump, a 2 page-ish excerpt from near the beginning of the book, when one of our leads learns he is about to run into the other for the first time in many years:
âIâm sorry, weâre getting who?â Tucker was usually all about getting through the morning meeting as quickly as possible, and heâd learned through years of working with Fred that too many questions would slow the boss down, lead to tangents and rambles and a lost morning he could have been working. And a lost morning meant being late getting out of here in the afternoon, meant another hasty dinner for him and the twins and grumbles all around. So he made a point of paying attention to the announcements and getting information right the first time, but this time he had to have heard Fred wrong.
âNew fire behavior specialist out of CaliforniaâAngeles National Forest is sending him since weâre still under a hiring freeze and now down to a bare-bones operation. You know all that. You were complaining about overtime last week.â
âI get that we need some more boots on the ground. But Iâve been working as burn boss the last several fires, and Garrickâs coming along too. Would be nice if theyâd send us some more admin support and not someone whoâs going to expect a leadership role.â
âDonât get your feathers ruffled. Youâre both an asset to incident command, sure, but we need this guyâs fire behavior experience, especially as it pertains to arson. Heâs got the analytical skills we can use and the experience to back it up.â
âGlad theyâre finally taking the arson suspicions seriously. And what did you say the name was?â That last part was what he really wanted to know. He could deal with the problem of too many chefs in the kitchen, but he could have sworn Fred had saidâ
âLuis Rivera. Comes to us with great experience.â
âSounds good.â He managed a nod, even as his head swam. Fuck. Maybe there were a lot of guys with that name in the LA area. Maybe it was some stodgy near-retiree and not the darkest, deepest pair of eyes Tucker had ever known. The voice husky and earnest. The smile heâd never forget.
âApparently he knows the area at least a little is what his boss told me on the phone.â
And with that, Tuckerâs cornflakes and coffee turned to bricks in his stomach, a heavy weight he hadnât felt in eons. There might be plenty of guys with that name in California but there had only been one Luis Rivera in central Oregon, the one whoâd left with Tuckerâs heart all those years ago.
âTheyâre making me go.â Luisâs voice had wavered, first time Tucker had seen him cry since heâd broken his arm back on a fourth grade dare, and even then, heâd been more mad than sad, all sputtering bravado. This was a level of devastation Tucker had never seen from his friend.
His chest hurt, like he was some hapless cartoon character and his heart really had been cleaved in half by this news. Scooting closer, he wrapped an arm around Luisâs slim shoulders, trying to be brave for both of them.
âYou could stay with us to finish school. Share my room andââ
âIâm hardly your parentsâ favorite person.â Luisâs weighty sigh hit Tucker like that time a swing had slammed into his gut, because he was right. Tuckerâs parents werenât going to come charging in to save the day.
âIâll wait for you,â he promised.
Only Tucker hadnât. And if it was that same Luis, well, there wasnât going to be any avoiding him. As shorthanded as they were, it wasnât like Tucker could claim some of his mountain of unused vacation days. Fred would want him working closely with this person. But maybe he could figure a way aroundâ
âShould be here any minute.â
Or not. Damn it. He needed time to sort himself out, time he apparently wasnât going to get because here came Fredâs assistant, Christine, knocking at the conference room door, ushering inâŚ
A stranger.
Not the boy Tucker had known. A man. One with a couple of flecks of gray in his dark hair, which was neatly styled, not all choppy and goth, and he had a lean, muscular build, taller than him by a couple of inches, not some scrawny kid. His shoulders were solid, a man who had known his share of heavy labor, and the biceps peeking out of his forest service polo said he kept that work up. The edge of a tattoo played peekaboo with his sleeve. Tuckerâs memory had miles of smooth tawny skin, no tattoos or scars like the one this guy had on his other arm. But right when Tuckerâs shoulders were about to relax, the pit in his stomach starting to ease, the guy frowned, and Tucker would recognize that hard, defiant look anywhere. Luisâs head tilted, revealing the familiar curve of his neck to his shoulder that Tucker remembered all too well.
âTucker?â The Californian accent drew out the vowels in his name, an effect that could make him feel special and singled out when whispered on a starless night. But add a little disdain and a deeper timbre than Tucker recalled, and it made him feel like an unwanted extra in a surfing movie.
âYeah.â He nodded, head feeling untethered, like a helium balloon about to escape.
âWhat theââ Luis blinked, then drew his shoulders back, professional distance taking over, smoothing his facial features and softening his next few words. âSorry. Wasnât expectingâŚâ
âYâall know each other?â Fred stood to greet the newcomer with a hearty handshake. âNow, thatâs just great. Small world, right?â
âRight,â Tucker echoed weakly, unable to take his eyes off Luis. âSmall world.â
Too small. Especially considering that heâd once seen the miles between them as an uncrossable sea, a distance so great it made his brain hurt almost as much as his heart. Once upon a time, he would have given anything to end up in the same room again, weeks of working together looming, and now heâd trade an awful lot to avoid it.
And here’s the “official details” of the book, so go buy it already!
Title: Feel the Fire
Author: Annabeth Albert
Series: Hotshots, #3
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Imprint: Carina Press
eBook On-Sale: October 26, 2020
eBook ISBN & Price: $4.99 U.S.
MMP On-Sale: October 27, 2020
MMP ISBN & Price: $8.99 U.S.
Book Description:
The third installment of Annabeth Albertâs Hotshots seriesâthe emotions and intensity of Chicago Fire with the raw, natural elements of Man vs. Wild.
When their career paths bring two high school sweethearts together again, the forest isnât the only thing ablazeâŚ
Fire behavior specialist Luis Riviera goes where his job takes him. But when heâs assigned to an arson investigation in Central Oregonâthe place he left his broken heart twenty years agoâheâs afraid of being burned all over again.
Tucker Ryland had planned to join his first love, Luis, in LA after high school graduation, but life got in the way. Now a fire management expert and a divorced father of teen twins, Tuckerâs thrown for a loop when he finds himself working side by side with his Luis, now all grown up and more intriguing than ever.
Though consumed by a grueling fire season and family responsibilities, the two men discover their bond has never truly broken. Tentative kisses turn to passionate nights. But smoking sheets aside, old hurts and new truths stand in the way of this time being the start of forever.
Danger lurks everywhere for Central Oregonâs fire crews, but the biggest risk of all might be losing their hearts. Donât miss the Hotshots series from Annabeth Albert: Burn Zone, High Heat and Feel the Fire.
Pre-Order Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Fire-Hotshots-Book-3-ebook/dp/B086WL2DJM
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/feel-the-fire-annabeth-albert/1136821826
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/feel-the-fire/id1506928358
Google:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Annabeth_Albert_Feel_the_Fire?id=9PLbDwAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/feel-the-fire-3
About Annabeth Albert
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all
subgenres of romance out in the openâno flashlights required! When sheâs not adding to her
keeper shelf, sheâs a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write.
Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights
supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job
and wrangles two children.
Connect with Annabeth Albert
Website: http://annabethalbert.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annabeth_albert/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477494.Annabeth_Albert
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Annabeth-Albert/e/B00LYFFAZK