Reviewed by Danielle
TITLE: Fire of the Heart
SERIES: Hearts of Parkerburg #3
AUTHOR: Havan Fellows & Lee Brazil
PUBLISHER: Appleton Publishing Avenue
LENGTH: 175 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2016
BLURB:
Craig Gilchrist is the oldest of five siblings, the captain of the Parkerburg Fire Department, and all around buddy his friends run to when they have a problem. Unfortunately, he’s keeping a secret not only from the whole town, but his family as well. Living in the shadows works for him until one fateful night when a hot stranger walks across a smoky barroom, forcing Craig to make a move that could rock the foundation of his existence…and fill the void in his heart he doesn’t realize he has.
Melrose escaped the end of a bad relationship to start over in Parkerburg. With the support of his cousin and a job waiting tables at a great restaurant, he thinks his life is finally going pretty smoothly. That’s when his path crosses that of Craig Gilchrist, local fire captain. The big, beefy firefighter is definitely not his type. So why does he suddenly star in all of Melrose’s fantasies?
With Melrose at his side, Craig finally has the motivation to step out of the shadows and let Parkerburg see the real him…until trouble arises and the truth comes to light that perhaps he doesn’t know the real Melrose.
Lies and fears play havoc with their newly acquired relationship. Luckily, once ignited, the hearts of Parkerburg don’t burn out so easily.
The Hearts of Parkerburg stories can be read as standalones, each with a HEA…but trust me, you’ll want to read about all the sweet happenings in this quaint little town.
Christmas in His Heart – Dermot & Xander’s story
Heart on the Run – Chaz & Sprocket’s story
Fire of the Heart – Craig & Melrose’s story
REVIEW:
I like the simplicity of this series. I bought and read the first two books and decided to just do a review for the third one. I am saying simplicity in the most positive way. I like that it is low angst and a nice, easy read.
I really like this little town and its inhabitants and although the stories can be read as a standalone it would benefit a new reader to start with the first book so you at least get familiar with the names of the different characters.
This third edition isn’t my favorite I need to be honest about that. There were some times when I felt it was a bit boring, not much happening and although I liked the attraction between Graig and Melrose the story kind of dragged on in places.
What I most regretted in the story was the fading of scenes as there were some times that I really would like to have read how the scene would have evolved.
The love story between Graig and Mel is unexpected for both of them. Neither Graig, who never acted on any feelings for a another male before, or Melrose, who came from an abuse relationship, are looking for a relationship. Still, the mutual attraction is definitely there despite the reasons named above and Graig so not being the type that Melrose goes for normally.
The built up is slow and it takes quite some time until we see some real one-on-one interaction but getting to know both guys and them getting to know each other is sweet and kind.
When they finally get there, you feel the strong base of their relationship and you know that whatever drama that will happen they can deal with. The slight drama that comes is easily overcome and not completely unexpected.
The loving family and the way both men deal with their secrets is portrayed in a very clear and understandable way and the writing of these authors is very easy and clean which makes reading enjoyable.
I would love to read about Graig’s friends at the fire station, Blake and Dimitri, They are so much fun! *hint, hint*
Summing it all up, the authors of this series brought the reader a nice addition to this series and I still want to read the next story to come!
RATING: 
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