Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Conquer the Flames 
SERIES: Lang Downs #4
AUTHOR: Ariel Tachna
NARRATOR: William James
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2014
LENGTH: 8 hours, 46 minutes
BLURB:
Thorne Lachlan knows a thing or two about getting himself safely out of a blaze. For years he fought in the world’s hot spots, a Commando with the Australian Army. Now, retired, he fights flames for the Royal Fire Service. When a grassfire brings him to Lang Downs, the next sheep station in danger, Thorne meets Ian Duncan and sparks fly that neither man can put out. But both men have ghosts from the past that stand in the way of moving beyond mutual attraction.
While Thorne longs for the home he could share with Ian at Lang Downs, he fears his own instability might make him a danger to others. And Ian’s always believed that the foster care nightmare he escaped before coming to Lang Downs would make any relationship impossible. Trust doesn’t come easily to Thorne or Ian until the fire’s aftermath forces them to see past the scars keeping them both from healing.
REVIEW:
There is a new threat to Lang Downs. A wild fire. It’s roaming just outside the station limits, coming closer and closer for every hour that passes.
Thorne Lachlan has been fighting the fire for weeks in hopes of getting it under control. When his captain orders him to go to the nearest station, Lang Downs he is very reluctant to go, feeling he is more needed at the front lines. He does not want to argue with stations owners for help to fight the fire. Against all hopes he finds the people at Lang Downs not only doing what they can to protect the station, but also willing to lend all hands to actively help fighting the fire. They also offer him room and board for the duration. Well, more force than offer really.
At Lang Downs he’s instantly captivated by one of the jackaroos, Ian Duncan. There’s something about the man that draws him in. Two lost and wounded souls dancing around each other. Both wanting more, but obstacles keep them at arm’s length.
Thorne’s life changed irrevocably when he lost his family to a fire when he was 18. Since then he never had a true home, having spent the last 20 years as a Commando, fighting to make the world just a little bit safer. But fighting for that long has left him with battle scars, some more fresh than others. And only three months out he’s still having some trouble acclimating to normal life. But maybe he will have the chance if he stays on Lang Downs, accepting the help they are offering.
Ian has loved on Lang Downs since he was in his late teens. He too has a traumatic past still hanging over him, and making him wary of others. He never gets close to anyone, and when he’s drawn to Thorne his life turns upside down. Experiencing thigs for the first time, but afraid of what it could mean. Their relationship builds slowly, it’s patient, exploring and discovering and should be a beautiful one. That is if I could muster up some feelings or connection to them. Which sadly I couldn’t.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the others, it didn’t resonate. I can’t say that I disliked any of the characters, because they were likable and I felt for what they’d lost, what they’d been through. Still though I didn’t connect, to them or to the story as a whole. It felt like Tachna was telling the reader/listener what to feel and when to feel it and I just couldn’t. I want to be shown why I should love characters, be invested in their story, I want to be there for the journey – not be told about it afterwards. Sure I felt for the characters, I wanted them to find happiness, to move on from all the horrible things that happened in the past, but that’s more of a general feeling rather than a deep rooted need that I wanted to have.
You know, the problem with listening, or rather reviewing, the same narrator book after book in a short period of time, is that you run out of words. That is unless you want to repeat yourself over and over, which frankly gets a bit tedious. So I’m going to keep this short and just tell you that William James once again delivered a great narration of this book. I loved the accent (which I wanted more of) and I love that he has different voices for the characters and adds feelings to his words. So while the story didn’t work for me this time, the narration did.
RATING: 
Story: 3 hearts
Narration: 4,5 hearts
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