Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert _ Book Review *3 Stars

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Introducing Annabeth Albert’s Hotshots series—the emotions and intensity of Chicago Fire with the raw, natural elements of Man vs. Wild.

Danger lurks everywhere for Central Oregon’s fire crews, but the biggest risk of all might be losing their hearts…

Smoke jumper Lincoln Reid is speechless to see Jacob Hartman among his squad’s new recruits. Linc had promised his late best friend he’d stay away from his little brother. And yet here Jacob is…and almost instantly, the same temptation Linc has always felt around him is causing way too many problems.

Jacob gets everyone’s concerns, but he’s waited years for his shot at joining the elite smoke jumping team, hoping to honor his brother’s memory. He’s ready to tackle any challenge Linc throws his way, and senses the chemistry between them—chemistry Linc insists on ignoring—is still alive and kicking. This time, Jacob’s determined to get what he wants.

Close quarters and high stakes make it difficult for Linc to keep his resolve, never mind do so while also making sure the rookie’s safe. But the closer they get, the more Linc’s plan to leave at the end of the season risks him breaking another promise: the one his heart wants to make to Jacob.

This book is approximately 90,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

[ I received a digital arc for an honest review]

Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert is the first in her new Hotshots series. Lincoln Reid is an experienced smoke jumper who is reeling from the loss of his childhood best friend and work partner. When his best friend’s younger brother Jacob shows up for training he knows he needs to keep his distance and encourage Jacob to quit before he gets hurt. What he doesn’t expect is that Jacob is not only completely dedicated to smoke jumping but also to getting to know Linc in every possible way. Linc does his best to keep control over his emotions when it comes to Jacob but as they continue to get closer keeping things just physical starts to take their toll. The job is dangerous enough as is but will Linc and Jacob be able to work out when things between them heat up.

Lincoln has been working as a smoke jumper helping to control wildfires for years. He is cool under pressure and this icy exterior also extends to how he treats Jacob even after they start their physical relationship. It’s so tough to like Linc because his actions express how much he cares about Jacob, but then he just says all the wrong things. It’s like every chance he gets he just completely disregards Jacob’s feelings and says he’s too young (he’s 25!). When he is finally able to express his feelings to Jacob I don’t blame Jacob at all for taking a while to believe in this change of heart.

“Truth was that Jacob was his kryptonite, always had been, and he was but a mortal man.”

Jacob was a likable character with his easy jokes and caring personality. In some ways I think he gave too much of himself away in attempts to win Linc’s affection. He was willing to let himself be spoken down to and that was really unfortunate. I’m glad he was able to show just how strong he was when it came to work as well as Linc. When he finally stood up for himself and his feelings I was inwardly cheering. I am also glad that he didn’t just take Linc’s words after the work accident and needed action to show they were really together and all in.

“Kiss me,” Jacob demanded as if Linc would deny him that. As if he could ever deny him more kisses.

It’s a weird book when you aren’t sure if you want the main characters to end up together at the end of the book. Quite a few times during the book I didn’t think Linc really deserved Jacob after everything he’s putting him through. It’s funny because that was the question that Linc kept asking himself too but in the end I am glad that they ended up together. I also couldn’t stand Jacob’s family. They were so important to Linc but they regarded 25 year old Jacob as a kid that couldn’t make adult decisions and were bigoted even though they “accepted” him. On top of those things, I discovered that I am not the least bit interested in the ins and outs of smoke jumping. These factual type of scenes dragged the overall story for me.

I definitely see this new series by Annabeth Albert having potential based on the other smoke jumpers we were introduced to. Sadly my favorite parts of the book were the intimate scenes and Jacobs characters, the others and story line missed the mark for me.

3 stars