August 21, 2013

Review: Seeing Red by Jill Shalvis

Author: Jill Shalvis
Publication Date: Aug 6, 2013 (re-release, original published 2005)
Publisher: Forever Yours
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

IT ONLY TAKES A SPARK

Summer Abrams left everything behind-the warehouse fire that took her father’s life, the town where her world fell apart, and her best friend in the world, Joe Walker. All she carried with her was guilt. Now, twelve years later, another fire has devastated the same warehouse, and Summer returns to Ocean Beach to search for answers. But what she finds first is an old flame that never went out . . .

Joe Walker has become the town fire marshal-sexy, strong, and an expert at keeping people at bay. The only person he ever let into his heart broke it and left town without a word. Now that she’s back, Joe swears he won’t fall for Summer again . . . but the heat between them is irresistible. As he tries to help her heal the past, can he take a risk on building a future with Summer?

I am a fan of Jill Shalvis’s Lucky Harbor series and, when I saw that her publisher was re-releasing one of her older and unavailable books as an eBook, I jumped at the chance to read it.

Summer Abrams and Joe Walker have been best friends since childhood. Until one day a terrible warehouse fire changes everything for the both of them. After high school, Summer leaves town and doesn’t look back. Years later a similar fire bring Summer back to town and she finds that Joe is no longer the chubby, awkward teen that he once was and is now a fire marshall. As Joe investigates the fire, it’s clear that the connection between he and Summer hasn’t died and they both want more this time.

I know a lot of people who have a thing for firemen. And after reading this, I can see why. Joe is kind, sensitive, has killer abs and is doing a job that saves lives. I don’t know how much hotter he can get.

Summer, unfortunately, was not the best heroine. I understood why she left town all those years ago and kept her distance. I didn’t agree with it but I could see where she was coming from. What I didn’t like what how she treated Joe when she came back. She was extremely selfish in their relationship, using Joe as a way to relieve her stress when she knew her actions would hurt him in the end. Even when he tells her that he can’t do casual with her, that he’ll get hurt, she persists in pursuing a purely physical relationship because it makes her feel better. She doesn’t think about how her actions will affect others, which has led to her current strained relationships. I just had a really hard time liking her and thought that Joe deserved better.

Seeing Red isn’t Shalvis’s best, though it definitely shows promise. If you are in the mood for a quick beach read or have a thing for firemen, this might be a good pick. Otherwise I would recommend picking up one of Shalvis’s more current books.

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.