Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Up in Flames
SERIES: Carlisle Fire #2
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 223 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2025
BLURB:
Newly minted firefighter Chase van Casten has always seen things others miss—except when it comes to love—so when a string of fires pops up at his new job, he knows right away that something isn’t right. Unfortunately, the only person who believes him is the owner of one of the burned properties.
Jerrod Whipkey lost everything he owned when his home burned. Investigators determine the fire’s cause to be faulty wiring, but as an electrician, Jerrod checked it over thoroughly. Now he’s in danger of losing his reputation along with everything else.
While Chase and Jerrod try to untangle the truth behind the fires, the heat between them builds to white-hot. But while Chase keeps Jerrod at arm’s length, the arsonist seems to have both of them in their sights. Can they forge a way forward with their hearts intact and uncover the arsonist before they get burned?
REVIEW:
I enjoy my trips to Carlisle and visit the hunky firemen that protect the city.
Chase is finally where he wants to be. He has been assigned to the Carlisle fire station as a new member on his first official assignment. He’s only a couple days in and has been taken under the wing of the more seasoned firefighter Hayden, who just happens to be the other gay firefighter at the station. When out on a house fire call he spots someone up in the second floor window of the burning building. Chase saves a young boy moments before the home started collapsing. And that should be the end of that story but something is bugging at Chase, not only about how the fire started, but how this boy and his daddy have now lost everything. But is this “ infatuation” due to real emotions or a residual feeling from his first big fire/life saving experience?
I enjoyed the slow burn of this firefighter romance. Chase and Jerrod both wanted to get at the truth of the sudden rise in suspicious fires. Getting the Captain and Hayden to see what he saw in the aftermath of the fire was terrifying but showed his keen eye. The arson of Jerrod’s home could have cost the life of Peter, who he is raising as his son when his brother died and left him sole guardianship. And now it appears if he is a prime target for an arsonist who appears to have a grudge against him.
I loved that Chase and Jerrod took their time. So much was being thrown at Jerrod with him being a target, his home burning, the reappearance of Gizelle (Peter’s biological mom that the courts severed her parental rights because of neglect), his career at risk…the list kept adding up. Getting into a relationship with the hottie firefighter that saved your young son’s life might have been a bad idea. But they thought through all of it to make sure that it was real and Peter was a part of it.
I look forward to more visits to Carlisle and it’s hunky heroes!
RATING: 
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