Controlled Burn (Boston Fire, #2) in Audiobook Junkies

Nov 24, 2015 Sunny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

ARC Review:

Heat Exchange, the latest book in the Boston Fire series, is a nice contemporary romance featuring a Boston fire fighter and a smart, savvy business woman from California.

Jessica Broussard did not know she had grandparents. Her father has been alienated from his parents for many years and has refused to speak of them. By accident, Jessica picks up a phone call and it changes her life. Rick Gullotti is a seasoned fire fighter and confirmed bachelor. Recently, he has been wondering wh ARC Review:

Heat Exchange, the latest book in the Boston Fire series, is a nice contemporary romance featuring a Boston fire fighter and a smart, savvy business woman from California.

Jessica Broussard did not know she had grandparents. Her father has been alienated from his parents for many years and has refused to speak of them. By accident, Jessica picks up a phone call and it changes her life. Rick Gullotti is a seasoned fire fighter and confirmed bachelor. Recently, he has been wondering why women keep telling him that he is not marriage material. Never having cared before, as a more mature man, he begins to question if he is content to be single for the rest of his life.

The best part of the story are the characters. I like the maturity of Jessica and Rick. Both are established and successful in their fields. Neither are overly needy. The attraction is immediate, but it's not insta-love. The relationship develops as the couple gets to know each other within the context of her helping out her aging grandparents. It's becoming increasing difficult for Jessica's grandparents to maintain and live in the family home. Jessica is present to help offer options. Rick is a tenant and part-time handy man and full-time friend to the aging couple. Rick and Jessica both have her grandparent's best interest at heart, although they may not agree to the solution. There is mature dialogue and serious conversations. In fact, I would've like to have had a little more witty banter between the two, but that's just a personal preference.

My biggest critique is that this story is suppose to be about firefighters. Although it takes place around firefighters, but there is not enough fire fighting. And because much of this story takes place away from the station, fire fighting becomes not even secondary, but tertiary to the the story. I want to glean more insight into that profession.

In A Nutshell:

I did not experience anything earthshaking or eye-opening, but there is kindness and sweet in the story and that makes it a nice addition to the Boston Fire series.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

Originally posted at Love Affair with an e-Reader ...more

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Sep 02, 2015 Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, review-books, arc, contemporary, romance, 2015-releases, netgalley, read-in-2015

*I received a free ARC of Controlled Burn from Carina Press via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Both Jess and Rick were strong characters, with the odds stacked against them, thus making Controlled Burn both beautiful and a little melancholy.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews ...more

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Aug 20, 2015 Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, contemporary, boston-fire-series

As a lieutenant with the Boston Fire Department, Rick Gullotti is surrounded by his makeshift family of firefighters. Additionally, he has rented the third floor of Joe and Marie Broussard’s home for years, making him part of their family, especially since their only child, Davey, left in his early twenties and never returned, cutting Joe and Marie out of his life. So when Joe takes a fall, Rick rushes to the hospital to help out, knowing that the phone call to Davey will do no good.

Jessica Brou As a lieutenant with the Boston Fire Department, Rick Gullotti is surrounded by his makeshift family of firefighters. Additionally, he has rented the third floor of Joe and Marie Broussard’s home for years, making him part of their family, especially since their only child, Davey, left in his early twenties and never returned, cutting Joe and Marie out of his life. So when Joe takes a fall, Rick rushes to the hospital to help out, knowing that the phone call to Davey will do no good.

Jessica Broussard is the VP of her father’s financial services firm. While he is unavailable and out-of-touch, she takes a call that tells her the grandparents she’s never met may need help. On a whim, she decides to fly out to Boston to meet the people her father hates, to find out if they even know about her, and try to help them plan for their future as they age.

Once again, I found myself completely wrapped up in Ms. Stacey’s Boston Fire world, which focuses on family - both biological and those we make for ourselves. In Controlled Burn, the Broussard family takes center stage, as Joe and Marie meet and adjust to the granddaughter they never knew existed. Meanwhile, they struggle with the very real issues of growing older and living in a big home that requires a lot of upkeep. On its own, these issues make for an engrossing story; however they also play into the romantic storyline, putting Jessica and Rick together, for better or worse. Luckily it’s all very, very good!

Jessica has always been there for her father, as he has been there for her. Being raised by a single dad, Jessica never really questioned her father’s intent and motives. Although she recognizes his faults and doesn’t necessarily make excuses, she tends to go along with his judgement because overall, he’s a good man. I don’t know how things were before this book, but I do like what I see in Jessica once she arrives in Boston. Needless to say, when her father discovers her trip to his parents home, he’s not happy. But Jessica handles herself well with her father. She recognizes when he’s trying to manipulate her and balances her wants and needs with his position as her boss. She plays him well and makes a small stand while keeping her job and putting him in his place. Witnessing Jessica’s growing relationship with her grandparents, and ultimately with her father provides for a heartwarming and entertaining tale.

Rick is the perfect match for Jessica. He’s patient and kind, and mostly gives her the benefit of the doubt with respect to her reasons for showing up out of the blue. But it’s not easy. They pair hit a few bumps because they each are leery of the other when it comes to motives surrounding Joe and Marie. I appreciate that the author doesn’t overwork that angle, allowing the pair to develop a warm and loving friendship while trying to deny their mutual attraction.

As for the romance, it was more of a slow burn than the spontaneous combustion of the first book. Jessica and Rick’s relationship starts as a tentative friendship that grows as their trust in one another strengthens. They both are conflicted, knowing they come from different worlds, and even close to the end, each continues to question the other’s motives. Although not super hot, their romance is sweet and fitting within the context of the storyline.

As much as I enjoyed Controlled Burn, I felt like the ending happened too quickly. I loved how the couple came together, but what happens next? They have some big decisions to make and matters to address in order to move forward, and I really wanted to see some of that process which would secure the relationship. I felt like I was left hanging a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Jessica and Rick in the next Boston Fire title.

In the end, I enjoyed the story and romance behind Controlled Burn. Shannon Stacey penned a sweet romance, complete with the small town, family-centric vibe she’s known for, and drops it into a big city environment, which allows for heightened action and tension. While the abruptness of the ending threw me off a bit, the overall story and relationship was well developed. I loved watching Jessica and Rick’s friendship grow over the course of the story, and finally blossom into a passionate love.

My Rating: B+ Liked It A Lot ...more

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Nov 24, 2015 Liza rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shannon Stacey is an auto-buy author for me. I fell in love with her stories with her Kowalski series and am just as hooked on her Boston Fire series 2 books in.

I really loved Rick from the moment he appeared on the page. He is super protective of all his friends and especially the Broussards, who are his landlords. He truly cares for and about them, which only made me love him more. Add in the fact that he has remained friends with so many of his ex-girlfriends, which shows what a nice guy he r Shannon Stacey is an auto-buy author for me. I fell in love with her stories with her Kowalski series and am just as hooked on her Boston Fire series 2 books in.

I really loved Rick from the moment he appeared on the page. He is super protective of all his friends and especially the Broussards, who are his landlords. He truly cares for and about them, which only made me love him more. Add in the fact that he has remained friends with so many of his ex-girlfriends, which shows what a nice guy he really is, and he is one of my favorite heroes.

While I didn't love Jessica the minute she appeared on the page, I kept an open mind about her from the beginning. I was so mad at her father for keeping her away from her grandparents all those years and loved seeing her become more open the more time she spent in Boston. I think she was always pretty strong, but really felt like until she came to Boston, she didn't have the gumption to stand up to her father and really make him talk about her grandparents and even why her mother left her when she was so young. Honestly Jessica ended up being one of my favorite characters from the series so far.

I really loved Jessica’s relationship with her grandparents. While it built slowly at first, I loved that she kept coming up with reasons to stay in Boston to be with them. Since I was raised down the street from my grandparents, I can’t imagine not meeting mine until I was an adult. I loved how close they all grew so quickly.

I adored Rick and Jessica as a couple. I loved that they kept kissing and saying they weren't going to do it again. Totally cracked me up. They had such amazing chemistry both in and out of bed. Yes things were bumpy in the beginning since Rick was so protective of Jessica's grandparents, but I think that only made Jessica fall for him a little bit faster. I worried for a bit when they tried the long distance relationship, because being on different coast is pretty hard, but I knew in my heart their love was strong enough to make the relationship work.

Controlled Burn hooked me from the first page. All I wanted to do was read until I could finish the book. Now I'm ready for my next fix in the Boston Fire series.
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