Gavin has not been pining for Jordan this whole time.  Or has he?  When she returns to their hometown, he finds he has never stopped loving her.

 

Jordan has had so much happen to her in life.  Now, she must protect her children from harm.  Going home is all she knows to do.  Only home is where a fire bug is getting more excited.

 

Great start to the McGuire Brothers series.  There is a ton going on, great humor, and a sincere love story woven through it all.  I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!  I give this book a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

Brave The Heat by Sara Humphreys is a well written book, smooth reading.  The characters, my favorite thing about the book, are awesome, perfect for this book.  Gavin and Jordan's story is a fast paced read with plenty of drama, action, suspense and heat (of the sexy kind.)   I enjoyed this excellent book and look forward to reading more from Sara Humphreys in the future. Brave The Heat is book 1 of The McGuire Brothers Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

Do you like a man in uniform? Meet Gavin, the Fire Chief of Old Brookfield, a small town set on the coast in New England. How about second chance at love stories? Jordan is the girl who got away; and she just moved home, newly divorced, with her two young daughters. Or how about stories of redemption? Jordan has moved back because her father, whom she has been estranged from for years is dying and she wants to confront the past. And let's not forget a dash of mystery - the fires that are being set around town. Who is setting them and why now? Quite a bit going on in this book, yes?

There was lot to enjoy in this first story of the Maguire brothers series. The town and it's occupants definitely have a back seat to the rekindling of Jordan and Gavin's love story, however we get enough set up for follow up books. The clues to who the Firebug was weren't hidden very deep, and the red herrings weren't bad, though I did figure it out before the big reveal. I really liked how smart Jordan was and how she handled herself during the dark turn that had Gavin second guessing their relationship. I really appreciate when a female character isn't just reactive, but is sensible and thinks about what is really going on.

It's funny that I always think of myself as being more into paranormal romances. So although the author's other series in that genre, Dead in the City, is on my list to one day read, it was this contemporary romance that grabbed my attention more. I couldn't help it, I do have a thing for firefighters... and second chances. That being said, the other series has easily slid higher on that someday pile now that I have partaken of and enjoyed the author's talents. I finished this book with a smile on my face and gave it 3 glitter covered stars. (2 young daughters... remember.)

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review the book.

I'm already hating the heroine. She left town, leaving the hero (and everyone else) without a word 15 years ago. She's back now and in their first encounter he had some underlying bitterness and anger. She acknowledges that it's her fault, but then thinks that she has her share of anger at him as she considers that what he did AFTER she left was a betrayal to her and something for which he should apologize. Turns out she did call back a few days after leaving and a "friend" told her that he had started screwing some other girl. She never contacted him. (Why would he not be the one she called if she "loved" him so much?) Never talked to him again. Took the story at face value and ran.

 

Like, even if that story were true (and I didn't even buy it and I don't know these people) she was gone. She broke his heart. Devastated him. How is that a betrayal of her? She says he must not have loved her as much as he said he did. Er, woman, you ran out of town without a word. You didn't trust him with what was going on. You didn't love him enough to even say goodbye. But he betrayed you and you think he should apologize to you? What? (Not to mention he's basically been alone and pining away for her this whole time and she married some rich dude five years after leaving.)

Maybe I could deal with it if she were thinking of her tumultuous thoughts when this was happening when she was 18, but no, even now she claims to have anger and thinks he "betrayed" her until she got the real story.

 

Of course, so far, she has not had to apologize to anyone for her actions or explain herself. Her BFF is one of those that will prop her up no matter what (she even had to go through herculean lengths to even FIND the heroine after she blew town and is perfectly fine with that). Everyone in town just kind of expects that the hero will forgive her and they'll be together and he'd be cast as the asshole if he didn't. A point that's moot now since once he found out she was divorced he was suddenly sunshine and roses asking her for a do-over. And he asked for it without asking her to at least explain herself. (He did ask afterward. She refused to explain. Still.)

 

How does he know she won't do something like that again? That he can trust her (I assume forthcoming) proclamations of love? We'll see how this resolves but I get the feeling she's going to be let off the hook completely which will annoy the bejesus out of me. I'm not sure if the author can pull out an explanation and apology that will get me to stop disliking her, but, again, we'll see. I'm just glad she ended up marrying a bastard. (Okay, maybe not the extent to which he was a bastard, but I'm just glad it wasn't a happy marriage at all.)

 

 

P.S. The audiobook narrator's voices are annoying.

Jordan returns back home with her two daughters when her marriage falls through, not knowing if she can make a go of it in her old hometown.
Old ghosts with her first boyfriend and first love, the one she left behind, and the failed relationship with her father stand in her way. Until she meets Gavin again, and old feelings return even stronger.
Gavin never could forget his first love or how she just left him behind, but when she returns he´s not one to pass on a second chance.
Contemporary romance, smutty fluff and fire fighting action in a great combo.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.