Series: Jackson: Girls' Night Out #0.5
Published by Harlequin HQN on 1 July 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 61
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Burning for you
Some men are off-limits. Close friends of your ex-husband, for instance. Or firefighters who work in the same building as you. Yet despite her best judgment, librarian Lauren Foster can't help noticing fire captain Jake Davis whenever he jogs by…shirtless. They've always been friends, but all it takes is one not-so-chance meeting at a local bar and one not-quite-innocent walk home to ignite a fierce, uncontrollable desire between them.
Widower Jake Davis has tried to ignore the spark he feels whenever Lauren's around, but once he sees her curves in a little black dress, there's no turning back. No matter how often she says she's all wrong for him, the sexy, outspoken divorcée is driving him wild in the best possible way. Maybe she's just blowing off steam. Or maybe he can convince her to fan these flames into something deeper, hotter and truer than they ever expected….
*I received a free ARC of Fanning the Flames from Harlequin HQN via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
Short, hot and well written, Fanning the Flames appealed to me on all levels, from the mature couple to their playful ways.
My Fanning the Flames review:
It is actually really refreshing to read a hot romance in which the couple is more mature! Fanning the Flames features Lauren, the forty-three year-old librarian who has the hots for the firemen chief Jake who is forty-six. Their chemistry and attraction is evident from the beginning, and I really loved how self-confident Lauren was, even if she did kind of think Jake was out of her league. Happy in her own skin, she had no qualms about wanting Jake, or fantasizing about what she’d do with him if she ever got him on a naked date.
Fanning the Flames is the prequel to the new Jackson: Girls’ Night Out series, and it really whetted my appetite for much, much more. I loved the playfulness between Lauren and her colleague and friend, as well as the interactions with Jake. This more mature couple had other things to worry about than younger couples do when they fall in love – what would neighbors think? What would their more or less grown children think?And Lauren felt like she was much more bitchy than Jake’s late wife, so she was unsure if he would ever look twice at her.
Once they got together, they had sizzling chemistry, and I wouldn’t mind reading more about this particular couple.
Some of my favorite Fanning the Flames quotes:
God, she loved a hairy male chest. If she wanted to feel soft and smooth, she had free dibs on her own chest. no one else was using it.
Lauren just shrugged, but she knew it wasn’t okay. That was probably why Jake had never asked her out. That or the fact that even forty-six-year-old men didn’t typically date forty-three-year-old women. Stupid youth culture.
But the sun was barely setting and the world still moved outside. The world still moved. It always did. No matter who died or how lives were changed, life moved on. For the first time, Jake honestly wanted to move on, too.
Wow! I’ve never read a romance novel wherein the couples are already 40 and beyond. I don’t know but I have this naive belief that people who are already on that age are either married or are already sworn to a life of being single. This seems like a very refreshing read.
Lovely review, Lexxie!
I have read a couple in the past too, and they really appeal to me! Sadly, not all couples stay married, and in Jake’s case, he’s a widower. I loved everything about Fanning the Flames, Charlotte, and I wouldn’t mind reading more about Jake and Lauren 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
I really liked this one as well. One of my favorite parts was the fact that Lauren and Jake are more mature than the typical romance couple. Their age definitely didn’t matter when it came to the steam of their romance and their compatibility. I read the sequel and enjoyed it as well. Great review!
I’ve read the sequel, too, Jennifer, and thought it was awesome 🙂 It was really nice to read about a more mature couple, and to see that they still wanted something more out of life.
Thanks for stopping by.
Ysy for mature characters. that is a nice change, but if you aren’t coming of age, then that might take away a lot of character growth unless the author rocks it.
I hope there is still time and opportunity for me to grow, even if I’m in my forties… And that is definitely the case for Jake and Lauren, so yes Victoria Dahl definitely did rock it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Brandi.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
I like that they are older Lexxie and it sounds like such a good story.
Well, you know I’m a fan of ‘mature’ MCs too, Lexxie! 😉 And I’m a huge fan of Dahl! So I will have to pick up this one. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for a great review. 🙂
Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re having a great week! *BIG HUGS*