Review: An Engaging, Witty, Steamy Novel!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 20, 2012
"Cole was everything I needed to forget, and every thought I couldn't seem to."Nicole Williams, author of the Crash series, has scored another hit with Up in Flames. Elle Montgomery is the sweetheart of small town Winthrop, Washington; she's sheltered, plays it safe and lives by everyone else's rules. Recently having graduated from high school, she helps her father with the family diner and wears the promise ring of the  town's prince of minor league baseball.  Logan is the son of Winthrop's pastor; he's nothing if not reliable, predictable, boring.  Enter Cole Carson, a smokejumper who sweats testosterone; an adrenaline junkie, whose lack of family ties underscores this bad boy's abilities to attract all things female. From their first explosive meeting Elle and Cole are drawn to each other like two sides of a magnet; she tries to repel, he pulls her in. How do you turn your back on the familiar to surrender to the unknown? When is it time to live your life for you?"I'd become a backseat driver to my life years ago and I'd had enough."This tangled triangle somehow manages to provide just the right amount of angst with a healthy dose of steam.  Cole and Elle ooze masses of sexual chemistry and their interludes will leave readers a little flushed and breathless. In spite of his past escapades, Cole is sweet and protective and sees the potential that Elle has but chooses to submerge as she complies with everyone else's expectations. Misunderstandings and doubts plague these two as choices must be made. Can one swim against the current and still manage to keep their head above water? Williams has written engaging characters whose witty banter will charm and endear them to readers. Up in Flames is both engaging and entertaining and a delight to read.