Review: A touching love story . . .
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
Love is a Fire is not a book which attempts to apologise for itself; it is an honest romance and it is proud! However, if you are not a fan of insta-love then perhaps this is not the book for you.Lyssa Layne's story does follow the formula of a NA contemporary romance, but she adds her own twists. Both protagonists have experienced grief and in particular we understand Katie's reluctance to enter into a relationship with Nick, but here we have a man who is tired of one night stands and firmly believes in 'the One', with his own dreams of a family and a settled future.Love is a Fire is also different in the way that the story concentrates on the emotional connection between these characters, rather than the physical one. Yes, they do have sex, buy Lyssa Layne does not use this as a chance to be unnecessarily explicit with her language just to conform to genre stereotypes.Whilst reading the story I felt that it was good, but perhaps only a book I would rate 3 hearts until I reached a certain point late on, where Lyssa Layne delivers a 'BAM' to her reader. Up to this plot twist we have dealt with many different emotions from the characters, but now we not only contend with a multitude of different ones from them, but also our own.Love is a Fire does not end with the fanfare of other NA contemporary romances I have read, but subtlety, leaving us and the characters with a tentative hope.Lyssa Layne's writing style is certainly different from that of many popular authors, but it works perfectly for the kind of story she tells, and I am anticipating the second book in the Burning Lovesick series.I received this as a complimentary review copy, but this has had no influence on my opinion.