Reviewed by Lesley
TITLE: Burn It Down
AUTHOR: Nicole Dykes
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 251 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2025
BLURB:
Kade
I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter, and I never thought I would become a father, but it turns out—I’m both.
And while being a firefighter was the only career I ever wanted—being a father has become my greatest destiny in this world.
Now I need to do everything I can to protect my son, even if that means going back to my hometown. I won’t let my son down, no matter what, and I will do my duty as a fireman.
Hopefully, I can do it without everything else burning down around me.
Spencer
I never expected to see Kade again—my high school crush and my biggest heartache in adolescence.
I’m not the same person I once was. I’m stronger now. I won’t allow myself to be invisible.
I love being a teacher, and nothing will stop me from being the best one I can be. But Kade coming back into town with his adorable young son in tow—makes it a challenge.
All I can hope is to get through this school year without going back to that unsure, terrified kid.
I have to remember who I am—and when that fear comes back, threatening my newfound confidence—I hope I’ll find the courage to burn it down to the ground and come back stronger than ever.
REVIEW:
This is a small-town romance story between a fire fighter and a first-grade teacher.
Kade Mitchell wasn’t planning on moving back to the town of Garnett from Kansas. It’s a town that doesn’t hold good memories of growing for him. But after an accident at work, he needs the less intense job of being a firefighter in a small town versus being a firefighter in a major city. He needs make sure his son does not lose another parent. Only his brother and sister know what they all went through as kids with an absent father and drunk mother.
Spencer Bell was not expecting to have to face Kade again. Kade was the boy who seemed to have it all, sadly that included friends who bullied Spencer and Kade never stopped them. So, when Kade arrives to meet his son Elijah’s teacher for the first time all Spencer’s trauma returns and he lashes out. But can a teacher who is not out at work and a single father fighter overcome their history and learn how to get along and enjoy their mutual attraction.
I like Nicole Dykes books, and I really enjoyed the writing in this one. I felt invested in the characters, their back stories, and the friends and family we meet throughout this book. I wanted to know more about them, and I wanted them to communicate better with each other early on so they understood each other. But that was the point of the story. I was really pleased to read that this book is hopefully the start of a new series. Kade’s brother needs his own book (Definitely something there with his best friend Will even though they are both “straight”), and Levi a new friend of Spencer will hopefully be getting his own story and finding love.
I am really not ready to leave Garnett and need them all to have HEA’s and to see Kade, Spencer and Elijahs future together as a family.
RATING: 
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