TITLE: Up In Flames
AUTHOR: Nicole Williams
RATING: 5 Flaming Stars
PAGES: eBook
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
SERIES: --
SOURCE: Personal Library
One small town girl with a bright future.
One smokejumper with a dark past.
One summer that will forever change them both.
They’re going . . .
Up In Flames.
Elle’s life couldn’t possibly get any more small town than
it already is. She was raised in the same home as the two generations before
her were, her family owns the iconic downtown cafe, and she’s been dating the
pastor’s son since she was allowed to go on her first date at sixteen.
Cole’s life couldn’t possibly get any larger. He’s tried.
Roaming from town to town for the past three summers as a smokejumper, Cole
dreads the thought of putting down roots. The only thing he avoids more than
that is settling down with one woman, especially when there are as many willing
women as there are trees in the forest he jumps out of planes to save.
Elle Montgomery’s life is going one way. And Cole Carson’s
is going the opposite. There’s no reason their paths should ever intersect,
even in a small town in central Washington.
But summer in the Methow Valley has other plans for Elle and
Cole. After an awkward run-in at the local swimming hole, Elle tries to keep
away from the guy who looks at her like she’s already lying beneath him in bed.
She fails. Cole is about as successful at staying away from the girl who seems
immune to his charms.
As the summer heats up, and tensions between Elle and Cole
run high, he begins to realize there’s more he’s attracted to than Elle’s body,
and she discovers there’s a lot more to the man that jumps out of planes into
raging forest fires than meets the eye.
UP IN FLAMES is a New Adult Romance intended for mature
readers due to steamy content and saucy language.
(synopsis taken from Goodreads)
This book held a lot of relevance for me, and for that, I
adored it from the very first page. As the girlfriend of a wild land fire
fighter, the story was amazingly relatable (something all of us readers love!).
I love the fact that Nicole Williams has chosen to write a novel with a smoke
jumper in that. Not only have I never read a book that has one, it’s just
pretty awesome that those hard working men are getting some attention too!
Ella Montgomery seemingly has it all. A steady, loyal, and
attractive boyfriend. She has a wild-child best friend, a devoted dad, and a
grandmother who tells it like it is. But, sometimes the heart wants what the
heart wants. And in the case of newly high school graduated Ella, she wants
freedom. I absolutely loved Ella, I’m pretty sure this girl and I could be bff’s.
She’s not so much naïve as just young, but daring. Seeing her come into her
full potential, and seeing her realize that she does indeed have choices, is
amazing. I’m all for a strong female character who isn’t an idiot and Ella is
the perfect fit! Her mistakes are reasonable, ones I’ve made myself. And to top
it all off, she’s a genuinely good person.
“We live our lives afraid of change and if we were to just
embrace it instead, it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal when it hits us.”
I found myself wanting some more Grandma M in this book. It’s
rare that one of my favorite side characters is the Grandma, but it this case,
this lady totally rocked! All of her lines were the cold honest truth,
something I adore! It’s exactly what all of us need to hear sometimes, and
Grandma M certainly dishes it out like a champ!
“Like sex, seduction, and sin had decided to get it on and
Cole Carson was the result.”
Oh hot smoke-jumpers everywhere. Cole Carson is one of my
book-boyfriends, and a male character that I loved aside from his jaw-dropping
good looks. He gets it. Cole Carson gets that nothing is forever, and that
sometimes those chances you’re afraid to take, are totally worth it because in
the end it’s your choice to make. You decide your fate, future, and all the fun
stuff in between. Plus, it didn’t hurt that he saves Bambi’s and bunnies ;).
“I needed fire.”
Up In Flames is a remarkable story that I would (and will)
read over and over again just too fully grasp all the meaning behind the words.
Nicole Williams blew me out of the water with this one, and left me wanting
more. Way more. First she gave us William, and then she gave us Patrick and
Jude. Now, she’s given us a man who is a perfect combination of all those
leading men we love. She gives us a story unlike others that will leave you
desperate to re-visit their story over and over again. We get heat, love,
desperation, and the meaning of life. Up In Flames is my new, must-read recommendation
for the year!
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