Crave the Heat

Marnee Blake

Jan 2019 · Lyrical Press

About this ebook

Fan the flames of desire . . .
Smokejumper Dak Parrish has come home to Oregon to fight fires—and to mend fences with his family. He left the Warm Springs Tribal Reservation after feuding with his father. Now, with tribal lands threatened by an arsonist, Dak gets a chance to make amends by acting as a liaison between the reservation and the forest service criminal investigator—a woman who sparks a surprising and hungry flame in him.

After a trauma on the east coast, Heidi Sinclair left DC to start fresh as a criminal investigator in Oregon. But her first serious investigation provides one stubborn obstacle after another—including an arrogant firefighter she suspects knows more than he's saying. Though she tries to battle her attraction to Dak, it’s too late. As they track down the arsonist, someone will do whatever it takes to keep old secrets buried, even if it turns everything Heidi and Dak have fought for to ashes . . .

“Excellent for readers who enjoy plot-driven mysteries with well-developed, sympathetic characters and slow-burn romance.”
—Library Journal, starred review on Tempt the Flames

Ratings and reviews

Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake Smokejumpers #2 The blurb for the book pretty well sums up the story. Dak is home after being sent away over a decade ago and hopes to reconnect with his family. There is a lot that comes out about his family through the book. So, his father who is a big deal on the reservation wants him to work with Heidi as she tries to uncover who is starting fires on and around the reservation. It is being kept hushed up by some but why? Heidi has issues of her own. There is the issue of finding out who the arsonist is and the one about Dak and Heidi having a bit of romance and another to do with Dak and his family and a bit about fires. I never really felt the “click” between Dak and Heidi and also didn’t see much about firefighting mentioned in the story. This was a somewhat predictable story as I guessed who the arsonist was early on. Inevitability was iffy for me at times but know some will really like it. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Liaison for the ARC – This is my honest review. 3-4 Stars

Dak Parrish has come home to Oregon to fight fires and hopefully mend his relationship with his family. Criminal investigator, Heidi Sinclair wants a fresh start but her first investigation in Oregon provides one stubborn obstacle in the form of an arrogant firefighter. Heidi and Dak are strong, bold characters that are easily identified with and readers easily become caught up in their story. The chemistry between Heidi and Dak sizzles with lots of fiery heat and the romance burns at a slow pace that builds to combustible proportions as Heidi does her best to fight their attraction. Lots of emotional turmoil peppers this story throughout and keeps readers and characters on tender hooks as Heidi tries to overcome the trauma of her past and Dak tries to mend the broken family fences. The plot is suspenseful and fast paced with lots of intriguing mystery that keeps readers glued to the pages with surprising twists and old secrets that add to the tension building suspense. The characters and their situation is what really makes this story and grabs readers’ by their imagination with those old secrets adding tension to the relationship and in the investigation. Once again, the author provides well written words that paints vivid imagery that captures the imagination and brings the story and the wonderful characters to life.

About the author

Award-winning author and RITA® finalist Marnee Blake used to teach high school students but these days she only has to wrangle her own children. Originally from a small town in Western Pennsylvania, she now battles traffic in southern New Jersey where she lives with her hero husband and their happily-ever-after: two very energetic boys. When she isn't writing, she can be found refereeing disputes between her children, cooking up something sweet, or hiding from encroaching dust bunnies with a book. Stay connected with Marnee by signing up for her newsletter at: http://www.subscribepage.com/marneeblake. Find Marnee on the web at www.marneeblake.com, on Twitter @marneeblake, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorMarneeBlake/.