Title: Controlled Burn
Series: Boston Fire #2
Author: Shannon Stacey
Release Date: November 24, 2015
Rick Gullotti lives the good life. He fights fires, dates beautiful women—though none long enough so they cast wistful glances at jewelry stores—and has great friends. And thanks to helping out the elderly couple who own his building, his rent is low. But when concerns about their health lead him to contact their only son, his life starts getting away from him.
Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston, but her father—who happens to be her boss—dispatches her to deal with the grandparents she's never met. She's unprepared for the frigid winter, loving relatives who aren't the monsters she's been led to believe, and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.
At first, Jessica is determined to get back to her comfortable life as quickly as possible. All she has to do is talk her grandparents into selling their monstrosity of a house and moving to a retirement community. But she underestimates Rick's dedication—and his considerable charm. Nobody's taking advantage of his friends on his watch, even if that makes the tempting southern California girl with the long legs his adversary. Unfortunately for them both, the only thing more urgent than the matter at hand is their sizzling chemistry, and it's quickly becoming too strong to resist.
This was one of the most feel good romances I've read lately. I know that Shannon Stacey has a knack for giving me the warm fuzzies, but this was one of her sweetest. Our hero, Rick, is really one of the good guys. Besides being well built and a sexy-as-hell firefighter, he's also just such a darn nice man!
He rents a room on the top floor of a sweet little old couple's house, and while he's there he does the hard chores, watches out for them, and basically fills in as a surrogate son. They are all mighty surprised when Jessica, a long lost grandaughter, show up their door.
Of course they're suspicious, but Jessica is just delightful. No over the top drama, despite an emotionally difficult childhood. No overblown angst. Just a genuine desire to know her family. Her joy at being welcomed to the community was a pleasure to experience through her eyes, and the longing to remain a part of it, heartwarming.
The chemistry with Rick is palpable, and the mature way they approach their relationship is beautiful. Even when the difficulties of a long distance relationship, and past family grudges, Rick and Jessica remain positive and work together. This is not a book of angst and miscommunication, but a sweet, humorous story of love, with a repeating cast of small town characters thrown delightfully into the mix.
~ Review by George
Shannon Stacey, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and riding her four-wheeler. From May to November, the Stacey family spends their weekends on their ATVs, making loads of muddy laundry to keep Shannon busy when she's not at her computer. She prefers writing to laundry, however, and considers herself lucky she got to be an author when she grew up.
