Cover Design: Wicked by Design

Cover Model: Joshua Saari

Cover Photographer: Josh Norris

One embittered, injured soldier + a feisty wounded warrior volunteer = Fireworks!

We met Knox in Ignite as he is Jace's friend. He has a a bit of an attitude especially about women and love. The story opens where Knox and Jace are injured and in the hospital.  Knox does not like being dependent on help and it just increases his agitation. His personality is not exactly sunny. But he really does not have a choice and his brother enlists volunteer help for him once he returns home. His past has scarred him. He has major trust issues, family issues, and a negative attitude. He feels weak and helpless and it really pisses him off. 

Enter Charlie. She is a sassy, tough, tomboy who volunteers to help wounded warriors. She has also been hurt by love in the past and has trust issues. She is caring and sweet, but will also say what she thinks and stand up for herself. Knox has met his match!

"Knox and I go together like oil and water. Ice cream and anchovies. Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter..."

Their interactions started out as rude and head into angry, resentful, uncontrolled, snarky, bitchy, and assholery. But the more time they spend together, the more they also begin to tease, taunt, and flirt. There is a little lusting longing on both sides and Knox is shocked to realize he is beginning to see that having someone in his life can be a good thing. He sees Jace and Lexi continuing their relationship and realizes that he might need to rethink his anti-love and relationship stance. Charlie gets under his skin like no other. and he drives her absolutely crazy. They fuss, fight and flirt. And the sexual tension keeps building and building. 

Yeah, it's official. The girl of my dreams. You know, if I intended on actually settling down. It figures the universe would send the perfect girl to my doorstep, only to make sure that we can't stand each other half the time.

I loved Knox aka "Rugged"! We see him go from a complete asshole who's never going to entertain the idea of love or trust, to a really confused man afraid to go after what he wants, and finally to a man that is opening himself up and realizing what love really is. But it's not an easy journey for Knox. He has serious trust issues and his feelings frustrate him. He fights, he denies, but evntually he can't stop striving for a connection.  I don't think he really believed it was truly possible at first, but the more time he was around Charlie, the more he needed to continue to be around Charlie. And having that connection and support makes him realize that he needs to face the past that he's been avoiding for 11 years to allow him to start to mend the shattered pieces of his heart so that he can try to move forward. I fell so hard for Knox. Underneath his gruff alpha exterior is just a vulnerable broken man who is afraid to put himself out there again. But we see such change in him through the book. And I loved seeing his true personality really start to shine. He is funny, sarcastic, flirty, smart, passionate, protective, and caring. Previously we have seen that part of him with his friends, but showing it to a woman is completely new for him. And he just melted my heart so many times. 

The cage my heart's been locked up in feels like it's being infiltrated, and it no longer seems so indestructible. 

Charlie has her own reasons not to trust men. She learned her lesson and now is not going to be a door mat or trust easily. She's a daddy's girl, likes to box, and is a bit of a tomboy, but she's all woman in the right ways as well. They say she has balls of steel and she really needs that in order to take on Knox. She can be j just as sweet, loving, and protective is he is, but she also isn't afraid to tell it like it is and put him in his place. 

I'm completely confused at my reaction to him. I want to gouge his eyes out in one moment and then rip his clothes off in the next. He's sweet, he's an ass, he's warm, he's cold,. He flirts, he scowls, he drives me absolutely crazy, but dammit if my heart doesn't melt when he smiles. 

They are really two people who have been shattered in the past, and needed someone to help put them back together. In the beginning it was hard because they both had such walls up around their hearts and were terrified of getting hurt again. But it built so naturally and realistically, and we saw them through various stages. It was a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs. But once those walls came crumbling down they were so beautiful together. They had such an easy rapport, passion, shared interests, and good chemistry. I really loved them together. But with both of them it all boils down to trust. They have to deal with their own demons before they can fully be what the other needs. And there is a lot of family and ex drama to deal with. And they also have to figure out if they really want the same things out of life. 

Can they conquer their fears and truly trust again or will they both left broken again?

This second installment did not disappoint. It was a full, rich story with interesting, complicated characters and an engaging plot line that was very different from the first book. They had many issues to face including fear, mistrust, commitment issues, past pain, miscommunication and insecurities. They really did show growth both individually and as a couple throughout the course of the story. Their interactions ranged from antagonistic, fearful, passionate, romantic, sweet, protective, sad, disappointed, angry, and loving. They had me laughing one minute, then frustrated, and then swooning the next. I grew really attached to them. And I also enjoyed their relationships with Jace and Lexi from the first book and also with their friend Kale and her roommate Lucy who will be the subject of the next book Inflame. 

Tessa Teevan writes in depth character and plot driven stories that are interesting and engaging. She really pulls you in to their hearts and minds in both points of views and makes you feel their emotions, fear, insecurities, sadness, and happiness. It had humor, romance, steam, and emotion and it kept me flipping pages. I really enjoyed it and cannot wait for more from this author.

After the brief hints about Knox from Ignite as Jace’s best friend, I was excited to dig into Incinerate and get to know him better. 

Knox hasn’t let anyone except Jace in during the 11 years he has been in the Army. Family or girlfriends? He doesn’t talk about the former, and doesn’t keep the latter. When he is healing from injuries received on deployment, he finds walls coming down all around him as his caretaker, Charlie, challenges all his personal demons. 

Charlie is a liaison between the VA and the local college, while volunteering to help wounded soldiers get back on their feet. When she takes Knox on, she has no idea what she is in store for, other than that the man is grumpy, moody, and hot as hell. She is such a strong character on her her, I couldn’t help but love her. She is independent and driven even when faced with surprise and life changes.

I loved this. Knox had a lot to figure out. His fumbling through learning how to be a boyfriend after 11 years of celebrating bachelorhood, avoiding relationships and connections of any kind caused or contributed to most of the conflict in the story. But as Jace's words from Ignite predicted, he would eat his words by the time it was done.

It was so funny to watch these two butt heads initially. Knox's pride and Charlie's stubbornness is an explosive combination. With as strong as each character is separately, you know when they get together it's going to be a crazy ride. As the story progressed, the changes in the characters, particularly Knox, were great to watch. 

My only complaint? Based on how many times Knox is described as going shirtless, I would think the cover model should have been shirtless too! So if that’s all I had to pick at, this definitely was an excellent read. I was actually so engrossed in the story that I didn’t even take time to jot down notes or highlight passages. I may has well been living in Clarksville Knox and Charlie.

Inflame (Explosive #3)

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Kale Montgomery & Lucy Dawson. Coming Spring 2014.