Review: The Firefighter meets the Grad Student
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 19, 2013
It seems that, too often, the plot of a romance novel exists primarily to tie provide opportunities for the characters to hop into bed.  It’s refreshing to find one that is a lot more than that!The Secret and the Flame has its fair share of sex, to be sure, but that is what Dylan wants from a woman, all he wants, at least until he meets Emma. Dylan is a Chicago firefighter and Emma is a graduate student, writing her dissertation on the work of a well-known poet of Irish ancestry. They meet when Dylan rescues her from a burning building. She is the first strong, confident woman who Dylan has ever known, and he does not know how to react to her.Both have their share of baggage. Emma’s parents died when she was a child, her grandparents when she was an adolescent. She is a quiet, serious person who has devoted her life to her studies, in part, to replace the relationships that she has lost.Dylan’s father died when he was young. His mother works as a secretary in the English Department at Northwestern, where Emma attends school. She received a large, palatial home when she divorced her first husband, and she rents rooms to female students at the University. Dylan rages against his mother’s first husband, who made her feel inferior to him. He, in turn, feels inferior to the students who live in his mother’s house, and  he makes it a point to have sex with each one of them, as if to prove that he is as good as they are.The book is a character study of Emma and Dylan. We learn of their goals, their strengths, and their weaknesses. I truly liked Emma and wanted the best for her. I know that I was supposed to like Dylan, too, but I would have told my daughter to turn and run from him! The story takes unexpected turns and, although, Emma and Dylan are strongly attracted to each other, you are never quite certain how their relationship will turn out.It is a good story. I really enjoyed reading it!David Burnett for The Kindle Book ReviewI received a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.