Cover Image: Firecracker

Firecracker

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Member Reviews

There is a lot to like about this book. It introduces us to a an utterly charming group of friends and family living in Chicago. The leads of this story are Arden and Tyler.

Arden has been through a traumatic experience. She lost her husband and with his loss came the revelation of their overall financial insecurity. She's returned to Chicago to live in an apartment owned by her brother while she gets back on her feet. As part of that Arden is determined to make her own way and not depend on anyone for anything. She feels a tremendous amount of guilt and self-doubt in the aftermath of her husband's death.

Tyler has been through more than his fair share of trauma in his life, but has emerged out of it as the consummate hero who is always working to save-the-day. He had a massive crush on Arden as a teenager - but when they meet back up again in Chicago, it quickly turns in to a whole lot more.

Overall - I really enjoyed the realness of the characters and the honesty in portraying them, faults and all. I think both Arden and Tyler are all the more likeable because of their faults. I think the overall theme of this book - and I am guessing the series - is being honest with yourself and coming to terms with that.

The only thing that kept this from being a four star read for me was the final final conflict between Arden and Tyler. <spoiler> I thought the initial breakup-breakthrough between Arden and Tyler was really enough. We did not need to have Tyler's weird reaction to Arden (that seemed mostly fueled by pain medication). Tyler kept telling Arden he was out of it - and she just pretty much ignored him. I'm not saying she didn't need to apologize and say she loved him, but she maybe needed to save some of the deep stuff for when he wasn't in the hospital. As a result, his response was indeed decidedly underwhelming, but I honestly think he didn't understand what was going on well enough. Then when Arden starts talking about his seeing other people, I can totally see why this confirmed his belief that she didn't really care about him. Ugh. It was just frustrating.
Overall - I think this whole portion of the book could have been removed for a much more satisfying ending. I don't think we needed to see Tyler grovel or say he was wrong. He had already been working on controlling his desire to come in and "save the day" where Arden was concerned. That could have been acknowledged in a different way. This really spoiled the book for me a little. </spoiler>

I am really looking forward to reading books about the other characters in the series! Particularly Liam and (I hope) Danny!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but my opinions are my own!

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This is an entertaining and sexy story that has Arden, a widow, struggling to rebuild her life after her husband's suicide. She feels as though she failed him and failed at life, so she moves across the country to live in her brother's building and try to rebuild her life. Across the hall, Tyler has an apartment and is still nursing the crush he's had on Arden since high school. They begin a non-relationship relationship as they struggle through life with its ups and downs.

While I like the characters, I didn't fall in love with them or feel invested in their story. At times their weaknesses and insecurities were too much a bit over the top.

I enjoyed this novel, but didn't love it. I'd give it 3.5 stars, but will round up to four stars. I am a fan of the author and love her other books so much that it makes me sad to give this a 4 star review.

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