Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Too Hot 
AUTHOR: Avery Giles
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 215 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2018
BLURB:
Sparks aren’t just flying . . . they’re catching.
Eli Johnson is not a hero. He’s just a guy who’s doing his best. His mother was a hero, though, and when she died, he dropped out of college to become a firefighter—a vocation she would have been proud of. He might not be able to save everyone, but he can do what she taught him: put more good out than bad.
Charlie Kinnear is definitely not a hero. When he ran into a burning building to save a trapped child, he was acting on instinct. He’s not expecting a medal, or for a handsome firefighter with a stunning smile to give him his oxygen mask. Charlie’s light-headed, and not from smoke inhalation.
Right as their romance begins, a serial arsonist terrorizes the city. As if that weren’t bad enough, Charlie appears at the scene of every fire.
Eli hates to think it, but if someone wanted to get a firefighter’s attention—say, a certain sexy someone who coincidentally wandered into Eli’s life—what better way than by starting fires? Sparks are flying all right, and things may get too hot for Eli and Charlie to handle.
REVIEW:
A fire at a local school brings the fates of firefighter Eli and passing hero Charlie together. Emotional and literal sparks fly, but why is it that Charlie appears at the scene of more than the first fire? What makes Eli even more suspicious is how evasive Charlie is at revealing anything about himself. Is he an arsonist?
Who can pass up a firefighter story? Not me.
Told in the third person from Charlie and Eli’s pov. Technically speaking, it is sound. Eyes tend to do a lot of things, but they are one of those prospective autonomous parts that I’m inclined to let slide, especially when spoken of in the third person.
The cast is small and well used. Eli doesn’t consider himself a hero and is delightfully self-deprecating. While contemplating his single status along with his job, he comes up with my favourite line of the story – ‘Maybe you should propose to the Xbox and call it a day.’
Charlie is a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand, he’s the enigmatic man keeping secrets and one isn’t sure which side of the law he lives on. On the other, he’s emotionally free and passionate.
Eli has to decide whether he trusts his heart or his head.
I found Too Hot to be a story that follows two men’s search for amour with the backdrop of fire. The basics principle could be applied to more than one profession – lonely men married to a job, in search of love. I adore tales involving virtually any man in uniform so had high hopes for this. As firefighting was the backdrop, with an arsonist on the loose, somehow, I expected a little bit more than what I got. The storytelling was entertaining, competent and interesting, but to rachet up the adrenaline, I feel a little more could have been made of some situations. More investigation, more risk, more insight into the close-up intensity and dangers of going into a smoke-filled building. or getting a car fire put out before it blows up. My heart rate picked up when the chaps were called out. But, fire can be an unpredictable thing and a trick was missed in this area. Another 5k would have given the story that extra edge that transformed it from being good to great.
For me, Too Hot refers more to the intensity of the relationship between Eli and Charlie. It was a well-written story, parts of which I thought were brilliant. However, we are talking firefighters here, so anything involving these get down and dirty heroes is bound to be well read.
RATING: 
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