In this steamy firefighter romance, arson investigator Maya goes to Lake Tahoe to investigate the fire that killed her brother and has a brief fling with a guy she meets in a bar. Months later, she realizes her fling is Logan, a wilderness firefighter, and the prime suspect in her arson investigation. Logan, being a dedicated firefighter, is royally pissed to be a suspect at all, and especially frustrated when she benches him just when there are fires all over the place to be put out. This had great romance, great pacing, and a good mystery that kept me guessing. Will definitely be reading more by this author. Recommended for romance fans!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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This book was okay. It suffers from having nothing special about it that stands out. There was mystery, suspense, romance, and sexual encounters, but none of it reaches out and grabs the reader. It is the beginning of a series of books about Hotshot firefighters. ( )

I love me some hot firefigter... especially the hero type like Logan *heavy sigh* ( )

Logan is a firefighter Hotshot, Maya is a fire investigator that suspects he's an arsonist. The loss of a brother to fire and firefighting related complications make it hard for Maya to let herself love this firefighter. Six month previously they had an anonymous sexual encounter while she was grieving the death of her brother. When Maya realizes Logan was that man, she struggles to believe he's guilty. They are thrown together as he strives to protect his foster father and she tries to determine his guilt or find the person who is really starting the fires. This is truly an instant fall in love romance, while I liked these two as a couple I felt they needed more time to get to the I love you part.
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Wild Heat
3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
Shattered by grief following the death of her brother, Maya Jackson has a close sexual encounter with a complete stranger. Six months later she finds herself investigating a series of arson fires and discovers that her biggest mistake is also her prime suspect – dedicated Hotshot firefighter, Logan Cain. Soon Maya and Logan are on a collision course not only with each other but with a crazed killer with a passion for setting fires.

Review:
The arson premise makes for a good plot and reminds me of Nora Roberts’ recent release Chasing Fire, but without the excessive firefighting descriptions.

The characters are likeable even though too much space is dedicated to describing how gorgeous, honorable and self-sacrificing the hero is. He definitely suffers from the “overly perfect hero” syndrome. I was expecting much more anger and angst at his being accused of being an arsonist but he just takes it in stride. Maya is a strong and intelligent character. She has a good backstory and her emotions and reactions are to be expected. Nevertheless, there is something missing from her relationship with Logan – their connection feels forced despite their chemistry.

The writing is iffy with one or two discrepancies such as the hero starting out with brown eyes and ending up with blue. Also, there are too many unrealistic scenes. For example, neither protagonist thinks of calling the police/fire department after Logan’s truck explodes in his driveway. Instead, sex seems to be the only thing on their minds.

The arson investigation develops well even though it could have been more detailed and interesting. There are some good suspects but not enough clues for readers to really work it out for themselves. The villain is unexpected but logical, which is a pleasant surprise and garners the book an extra half star.

In sum, a promising start to the series and I will read the next one. ( )