Release Day Launch, Reviews, and Giveaway: Melt For Him: Lauren Blakely
Melt For Him (Fighting Fire#2)
Lauren Blakely
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He knows exactly how to make her burn…
Fire captain and bar owner Becker Thomas usually spends his nights alone, trying to escape painful memories from his past. When he meets a sexy, free-spirited brunette outside his bar, he knows he’s found the perfect way to forget for one night. But when he later discovers the woman he’s itching for another night with is his best friend’s sister, everything comes to a halt.
Just out of a toxic relationship, Megan Jansen is only in Hidden Oaks to visit her brother, photograph the firemen’s calendar, and then slip off to another adventure. The brooding man who gave her the best sex ever is an unexpected surprise. The problem is, he’s her brother’s friend and a fellow fireman, and Megan’s rule is no firemen. She knows she’s going to get burned …but keeping their hands off each other is easier said than done.
I want to let you all in on a little secret about me. I love hot firemen. I stare at hot fireman. I slow down when driving past the fire station to try to get a better look at the men inside. Which might explain why I wrote a sexy firefighter series! But all ogling and firemen lust aside, not only are firefighters sexy, they are also brave, courageous and active in their communities. As I wrote MELT FOR HIM, I learned more about the work that volunteer fire departments around the country do -- both in responding to emergencies and in helping their communities. And because firefighters have given me so much inspiration, I wanted to be able to give back with this book.
Just out of a toxic relationship, Megan Jansen is only in Hidden Oaks to visit her brother, photograph the firemen’s calendar, and then slip off to another adventure. The brooding man who gave her the best sex ever is an unexpected surprise. The problem is, he’s her brother’s friend and a fellow fireman, and Megan’s rule is no firemen. She knows she’s going to get burned …but keeping their hands off each other is easier said than done.
Message from Lauren:
That's why I will be donating half of all my proceeds from the preorders and release week sales for MELT FOR HIM to the NVFC Firefighter Support Fund that supports the nation's volunteer fire and EMS departments. Together, I believe we can all make a difference and help support the men and women who serve our local communities and come through for us when we need them most!
xoxo
Lauren
She furrowed her brow. “What?”
“I had no idea you were Travis’s sister,” he said, and he sounded pissed.
“And I had no idea you were a fireman,” she said, parking her hands on her hips.
He shoved a hand roughly through his hair, shook his head. “And I had no idea you were the photographer. You said you were an artist.”
“I am!” she said, her voice rising. What the hell? “I can draw, and I do tattoos. I also happen to be good at shooting pictures. Besides, you said you were a bar owner,” she pointed out, as if they could both redo this colossal mistake by rehashing the moments they both could have been more honest. “Why didn’t you tell me more about yourself?” she countered.
He didn’t answer. He moved closer, maybe a foot away now. The anger felt like a pulsating life force, but there was something else between them, too. Heat. And want. The nearness was intoxicating. She could reach out and touch his chest. That broad, sturdy chest that she’d loved having her hands all over.
She was edgy now, nervous, as they stood like two sparring partners, tucked away in the back hallway of the coffee shop near the restrooms. She wanted him to touch her again, and she hated that she was still thinking of last night, and how they’d connected so deeply in bed. But also in their conversations all through the night and up to a few minutes ago when they were texting. She was torn between needing to leave and wanting him to pin her against the wall and bury her in kisses that made her weak in the knees.
Too bad she could never do any of those things with him again.
I have been anxiously awaiting more with Becker and Megan since we were introduced to them in Burn for Me. I was drawn to Becker from the beginning and wanted to see what was really going on underneath that brooding exterior. There was something hidden, something dark in the past, and that lured her in like a magnet. Because it was familiar.
Becker is a transplant to Hidden Oaks and owner of the Panting Dog Micro-Brewery and also the Fire Captain. He is a bit of a loner, guarded, broody, and hot as hell. This man exudes intensity and passion. But he changed his life, moved from the city to the small town to get away from a painful event that haunts him. He is closed off and not looking for attachments.
It wasn't that he was averse to commitment. He just knew it wasn't in any woman's best interest to be committed to him.
Becker...Oh my...I LOVED him! All of him--the intense, damaged, caring, funny, kind, smart-ass of a man. He's rough around the edges, but mature. Stoic, but vulnerable. Strong, but broken. Smokin' hot with definite panty-melting skills. But he suffered loss and guilt and can't seem to move on. He guards his heart from entanglement to avoid letting anyone in or getting hurt.
Becker had tall, dark, and brooding down pat, but then he chased it with a touch of smart ass, and full dose of kindness.
Megan is returning home after being in a failed relationship. Her brother, Travis and her friend, Jamie are glad she is home. But this is just one stop in her plans for change and a new future. She does not intend on staying. She is a wanderer and always looking for something new and exciting. She has been burned, has a past that hurt her, and built in fears that she cannot let go of. She is feisty, sexy, funny, but also has fears, demons, and emotional scars. And Becker conflicts with all of her plans and breaks the rules she sets for herself.
The fact was, she had a dry sort of charm and a bit of an edge, like she was the kind of woman who didn't take shit from anyone. And there was something else, too. Almost a distance, as if she had walls up.
He understood walls. They made sense to him. They protected him from getting too close.
He understood walls. They made sense to him. They protected him from getting too close.
They share a flirty rapport and intense attraction, chemistry, and passion that ignites one night. But there are extenuating circumstances that make them all wrong for each other and threaten to end them before anything could really begin. They try to deny, resist, and avoid, but they are powerless against the magnetic pull.
I loved them together. They both were broken and had barriers up. They didn't want to let anyone in but kind of just sneaked in on each other. They had such a flirty, witty interactions and hot chemistry. But they both had such fears and demons from their pasts holding them back. I loved seeing little pieces of their walls fall gradually. It was more insta-lust and insta-lke than insta-love. They were both too scared of the idea of love at first to consider it. But they had a pull on each other that tended to drag secrets and fears out of their hiding places and expose them. But then also had a calming effect on the other.
It wasn't that he forgot his past with her; it was that he didn't feel imprisoned by it.
But will exploring it more only hurt themselves and those that they care about? Their lives and plans are in direct conflict to what they ever thought they wanted or needed. And they are fighting time due to a built in expiration date.
Although I enjoyed the fast-paced, steamy Burn For Me (book 1), I felt that this book is much richer, fuller, and has more depth. This one is funny, sexy, sweet, emotional, and just plain hot. I was sucked right in and had a hard time putting it down. They are combustible, but also have significant issues and ghosts impeding them. But they are two people that I could not help but like. I was totally invested in them and was racing to find out how it would all turn out.
I love her brother/his best friend, Travis. I enjoyed more with her bestie Jamie and her fireman boyfriend, Smith from Burn For Me. The friendship and family connections are strong and supportive. I like the small town setting and sense of community. I am hoping Lauren will continue the series with Travis. He is a firefighter, a gambler, and a bit of a wild card. And I think she needs to find him a woman now that his friends are falling. And true Lauren Blakely fans will spot a few shout outs from other books. I love finding the little connections she sneaks in.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from Beta copy and subject to change.
Their one night stand was perfect - physical chemistry, and the hint of an attraction deeper than the surface. The short term fling Becker and Megan were planning came to a screeching halt when their identities came to light -- him as a firefighter, and her as his best friend’s little sister. I loved the way they met and how their initial plans were created. Then when they learned who each other were, I loved the whole thing even more.
Becker has lived in Hidden Oaks for the last year, quickly advancing through the firefighter ranks in addition to owning a local brew pub. But he was in Hidden Oaks in an attempt to forget his past: a past that nearly had him leaving behind his career as a firefighter, his dream, his passion.
Megan doesn’t plan to spend much time back in Hidden Oaks before moving on again. Visiting her family, helping her mom out, and photographing the firefighter charity calendar are about all she plans to do in town before starting her next adventure.
The connection between them continues to build while they try to avoid each other, even with the specter of Megan’s brother between them and the warnings and threats he has issued. And good gracious - the heat sparking between them! This was full of smoking hot, firey, impossible to resist chemistry.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. When Lauren drops names from her other books, I love the little bit of connection that sparks. I love the idea that this is a cohesive world and that though it is fiction, it is a diverse and developed fictional world.
I found myself grinning much of the time. Between the pull Megan and Becker fought and the nosiness of Travis and Jamie, I was constantly entertained by the back and forth. Hints as to who Travis might some day step up for made me pay closer attention to his character than I would have if he was simply Megan’s brother, and I can’t wait to see where that might take him.
I think I liked Melt for Him more than I did Burn For Me. I can’t decide if it was that I already knew and loved the town of Hidden Oaks, including Smith and Jamie, and had met Becker and his buddy Travis before. Or if it was Becker and Megan themselves that I liked better. Their challenges weren’t related to worrying about their own relationship, it was about dealing with fears and the past in order to build a future. Either way, I loved this story and would say it’s a great read -- whether you’ve read Burn for Me or not.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About BURN FOR ME: A sexy category romance novella from Entangled's Brazen imprint...
She’s the one fire he can’t put out…
Jamie Lansing has had it bad for firefighter Smith Grayson for as long as they’ve been friends. Yes, he’s ridiculously charming and she might stare a little too long at his abs, but his dirty-talking, rough-around-the-edges ways aren’t for her. Plus, she knows that as a serial dater, Smith isn’t the type to settle down. But then a terrible, fantastic, mind-blowing mistake leaves her body craving more than one night.
Smith Grayson has only ever had eyes for one woman in town—his best friend Jamie. But convincing her a relationship between them will work is next to impossible with her refusing to see beyond his past. But when she asks for a week of no-strings-attached sex to get him out of her system, Smith knows this is his one chance to prove he’s not just the man she needs in her bed, but the man she needs in her life.
Lauren Blakely:
Lauren Blakely:
Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.
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