Tuesday, May 28, 2019

HOT TO THE TOUCH (BROTHERHOOD BY FIRE #1)

Love burns white-hot in this first scorching romance in an all-new trilogy about a family of firefighters from the New York Times bestselling author of the Play-by-Play novels and the Hope series.

Firefighter Jackson Donovan doesn't look back—as a rule. So when his past comes roaring back to life in the form of not-so-damsel-in-distress Becks Benning, the last thing he wants to do is relive old times. No matter how tempting she makes it seem...

Now thanks to his two interfering brothers, Becks is living with them while she looks for a new place and tries to pick up the pieces of her tattoo business that went up in flames. Which means a grown up, smokin' hot Becks is in his house, sharing meals, and digging up old wounds. And despite his better judgment, the more time he spends with this smart, artistic, incredible woman the more he wants her in his bed—and his future.

Becks always had it bad for Jackson. Unfortunately for her, not much has changed—he's still honorable, hard-working, sexy as sin—and closed off. But there's more than one way to get to a man's heart and if Jackson doesn't want to recall old memories, she'll just have to help him make new ones. Because now that she's found Jackson again, she's not letting him go.

Release Date: May 7, 2019
Berkley Romance
Brotherhood by Fire #1
Contemporary Romance
Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

Jaci Burton starts off her newest series of books with a bang! Hot to the Touch opens when Jackson and his 2 brothers Kal and Rafe were homeless kids who are rescued from a fire in an abandoned beach house. All 2 boys were lucky enough to be adopted by Laurel and Josh Donavan and all 3 follow in their father's footsteps and become firefighters.  As the story opens to present day, Jackson and his crew are sent to a fire where he rescues Becks Benning, who happened to be another homeless kid that ran with their group all those years ago. I love a reunion story, even though Jackson didn't originally remember Becks when he rescued her from a fire. Luckily for Becks, Kal and Rafe do remember her and jump in right away to offer her a place to stay.

I loved that Becks had a crush on Jackson when they were kids, and she was totally still attracted to him as an adult. I have to say Jackson wasn't really my favorite character when the book started. He was such a jerk to Becks in the beginning I really didn't know if he could redeem himself. I loved when his brothers gave him hell about how he was acting and the fact that Becks didn't cower to him and called him out on his actions.

I loved Becks and how she continued to give back to the homeless community after she was lucky enough to find a family, a job, and a home. Even though Jackson wasn't comfortable going back around that community from his past, I loved that for Becks he not only did, but connected her with his mom who was a social worker and eager to help out. 

Jackson stepping up to really help Becks because he wanted to went a long way to making him a much more likable character. I got that Becks was part of the past he really didn't want to think about, as it wasn't really that great. Honestly I even understood him blocking out parts of his past as surviving a house fire is a very traumatic experience. I did like the more time Jackson spent with Becks, the more I liked them as a couple. They had a bit of an instant attraction going on and I was so glad when they finally got together as their chemistry was HOT! Even though they both promised to keep their relationship casual, I questioned either could as Becks had real feelings for Jackson, and he just didn't seem to be a casual sort of guy. Yes they had a few dark moments along the way thanks to Jackson's failure to talk about the past, I ended up really liking them as a couple.

Hot to the Touch was a great start to a new series from Jaci Burton. I love a story that centers around a family and the Donavan brothers each stole my heart. I can't wait to see where Ms. Burton takes us with this series. I'm super glad we will get both Kal and Rafe's books, and hope we get to spend more time with the various firefighters on their crew as well.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (B+)


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