Rating: 4 stars
Thank you to Janine Amesta for the ARC of this book. It is on sale now.
Firefighter Logan "Sonny" Sonelli is a Sierra Hotshot, working hard both to prevent and fight disastrous forest fires. During "fire season", he knows that he can't really make any plans; he and his team could be called away at any moment. It's an unreliable life, and difficult to combine with family life. His marriage dissolved because of it, and he is neither looking for nor expecting to find another relationship. He wants to save as much money as possible to build himself a remote cabin in the woods, where he can live in isolation.
River Alfaro has dreams and ambitions, and none of those involves children or being a housewife, which her former fiancée seemed to expect from her. So, shocking both him and her entire family, she broke up with him and moved to South Lake Tahoe to start a new job and a new life.
River moves in next door to Logan and uses her positivity and cheery disposition to disarm his pessimism and grumpiness until he comes to accept her friendship. One of River's dreams is to spot an endangered red fox species in the wild, and Logan insists on accompanying her on hikes so she doesn't get lost in the woods. Neither of them is looking for a relationship, but they fall in love despite themselves.
This is my fourth ARC from Janine Amesta, and I have come to really appreciate her writing. She writes realistic, multi-faceted adult characters with believable flaws, who do the best they can in this world. I liked a lot of the supporting characters, especially several of the other Sierra Hotshots who work with Logan (and some will hopefully have their own books later in the series).
Not wanting children is a major factor in why both River and Logan's previous relationships ended. Logan's ex-wife now has a new man and the baby she always wanted, and it was nice that she could appear in the story without being the heartless shrew who did him wrong. They just wanted different things from life, and Logan's job took him away from home for too much of the time - so they got a divorce. While a lot of River's family members are upset that River dumped her ex and moved away, she also has family who support and understand her, like her sister.
I know next to nothing about wildlife conservation or firefighting, especially massive forest fires, so it was interesting to learn new things while reading this book. I'm already looking forward to more stories about the Sierra Hotshots.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read.
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