This one took me a bit longer to finish than usual, but once I was in, I was in. Loren and Callahan’s story was addicting — watching how they’ve evolved over the years made this story even better. Their history, tension, and growth felt so raw and real.

The plot is emotional and layered, with a few twists I didn’t see coming. It builds slowly but purposefully, and once it hits its stride, it really doesn’t let go.

I’m already eager for Alice’s POV — I just know there’s more to her story that we haven’t seen yet.

Thank you to the author for the ARC and for sharing this with early readers. I’m excited to see where this series goes.

🐰

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, it was also my first indie author read, and 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 has set the bar HIGH!! 🙌🏻

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 and 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧 were childhood sweethearts, but parted ways after 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧 broke 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐬 heart and betrayed her trust. After over a decade of no contact 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 needs 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧’𝐬 help! 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐬 little brother, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, is believed to be missing in 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧’𝐬 territory and 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧 needs his and his families help to find her brother. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐧 agrees to help 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧...but only if she marries him first! 😬

This book had EVERYTHING!! 👏🏻 It had the romance, it had the spice, and it had the plot! The twists and turns the story took 🤯 I was hooked from the moment I started reading, this book had me up until the early hours of the morning because I just couldn’t put it down!! 🥲

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
▪️second chance romance
▪️forced proximity
▪️fake marriage of convenience
▪️enemies to lovers
▪️rival families

This will be available on Amazon (paperback + hardcover) and Kindle Unlimited on the 28th of July 2025 - mark your calendars!!! 🗓️

I haven’t giggled like a little girl cheesing over a book in a while and this one right here… it gave me all the feels. Through Any Fire is (in my opinion) a mafia Romeo & JulietxBonnie & Clyde without the bad ending. And it gave you all the feels.

Our FMC is Loren Catrone, who is a bad ass in her own right. She’s looking for her little brother who crossed over into enemy territory and hasn’t been heard from since. So she has to do what any big sister would do… anything to get him home safe and sound. So she has to talk to the leader of the rival family who also happens to be her childhood love that broke her heart. Enter Callahan Keane, head of the Keane family drug dynasty. He’s trouble with a capital T. And he only has one condition in order to help Loren… “I need a wife.”

After that, there’s so much going on. There’s drama, mafia business, action, passion (oh yeah it gets spicy 🥵), and under it all… love. When I tell you I was hanging on every chapter because it was so good… this book got devoured! You have minor characters who are amazeballs (and probably going to lead in the next book within the same universe) that you get attached to and bad guys you just wanna jump through the page and fight. Katherine Carter put her foot in this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Carter for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

#netgalley #throughanyfire

Quick Summary: A dark mafia, second chance romance

My Review: Through Any Fire by Katherine Carter is book #1 in the Any X series. It is categorized as "A Second Chance Marriage of Convenience" romance. The book is scheduled for release on 7/28/25.

About the Book: "Life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to.

I would’ve fallen arms wide open and headfirst into his raging storm. It didn’t matter that we were teenagers, that he was the heir to the rival Keane family, or that I was arguably too young to know he was the love of my life.

. . . until that fateful night."

In My Own Words: A morally gray anti-hero falls deeply in love with a woman from a rival family. She, too, loses her heart to him. Years after a seeming betrayal, a cruel twist of fate brings the two star-crossed lovers back together.

About the Characters:

- The Keane clan was intriguing. I wanted to unravel all of the brothers, as well as some of the staff.

- Loren, Mason, and their whole backstory got my attention. I want to know more.

- Rosy and her family ties - I want to understand how that all plays out. When she decided to take action, as well as when she chose to remain silent, it all came across bigger than what was obvious.

- The Thorns...hmm... There is more to that story, for sure!

- Who is Loren's best friend, really?

- Tinley????????????? Her relationship with the Keane's, her relationship with Mason, and her link to all of the above has me baffled.

- Jude and Jenna were adorable. I liked the opposites vibe they gave off. Jude is one to watch, though. Is there more to him than meets the eye?

About the Second Chance Love: Cal and Ren's love story was tragic and beautiful. It was brutal to watch at times, especially when looking from the past to the present. They had both loved, lost, and sacrificed so much. The intensity of their feelings and the soul-deep emotion was next level.

What Left Me Curious: One particular flashback kept nagging at me. The crashed car and the identified accident victims were peculiar. Theirs was an interesting placement in the story.

What I Loved:

- I loved the strength of both leads. They were so different, yet they were also so similar in a lot of ways. Their lightness matched, but their darkness did as well.

- I loved the dangling threads that were left for the readers to find. While this story resolved, there was obviously more that could come. In fact, there were so many different directions that could be taken for the next installment in the series.

- I loved the wordplay associated with the up and coming, unknown rival group. The monikers were telling. The darkness hidden in the light gave off the evil disguised as good vibe.

- I loved that Loren was a layered character with different facets to her personality. She was Loren, Bunny, and Ren all rolled up into one. Additionally, she was her father's daughter, her sibling's caregiver and guardian. She was also a wife, a partner, a friend, and... She was not weak by any means - on any level.

My Final Say: Through the Fire had my mind reeling. There were so many twists and turns. I was glued to the pages the entire time. I loved it! I look forward to continuing with this series.

Other: Readers who like the following tropes should enjoy this book.

Tropes - >

- Mafia

- Second chance at love

- Fake Relationship

- Marriage of Convenience

- Dark Romance

- Anti-hero Heroes


Other Author/Publisher Recognized Tropes - >

+ childhood rivals turned lovers turned strangers

+ forced proximity

+ "my wife"

+ reformed playboy

+ old betrayals

+ new secrets

+ lost letter

+ headstrong FMC

All potential readers should refer to the author/publisher notes, regarding triggering content. This book is intended for mature audiences only.

Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Status/Level:⭐️❤️🌶️
Triggers: Yes
Series: Yes
Note: I cannot wait to listen to this as an audiobook. I know it will be amazing!

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. The expressed words and opinions are my own; they have been voluntarily submitted. I am grateful for the opportunity. I genuinely look forward to becoming better acquainted with this series.

**ARC READER REVIEW**

⭐ Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
📅 Release Date: July 28, 2025

Before I even get into how I felt about this book, can we just take a moment to appreciate how stunning the cover is? Seriously, it might be one of my favorite book covers ever.

Now onto the story: I loved this book. It's an arranged marriage, second chance, lovers-to-strangers kind of romance. Basically my dream trope combination! Both main characters were well-developed, and the mystery throughout the plot added another layer that kept me hooked. I felt the author did a great job balancing drama and emotional dilemmas without it feeling repetitive or overdone. I was fully invested in their story.

That said, I did find myself losing a bit of interest toward the end due to a change in pacing. I think this is more of a personal preference than a flaw, though others might really enjoy the slower wrap-up after the climax.

Overall, this was an emotional, and beautifully written romance that fans of angst and second chances will absolutely devour. Definitely one i would recommend you add to your TBR!

3.75⭐️

Through Any Fire is about a marriage of convenience between two people who used to be in love a decade ago who are on opposite sides of drug lord families. Our FMC, Loren’s, baby brother goes missing and she needs the help of rival gang leader, Callahan Keane, and the Keane drug empire to try to find out exactly what happened.

And him? He needs a wife. Yes I did giggle and kick my feet when I read this. Does it make sense that he does at the time? Not really….? Do I care? NOPE I AM SIMPLY JUST A GIRL.
Cue the : “get your hands off my wife” x10 on crack over and over I was doing cartwheels around my house.

The book starts off in the club with tensions high and our girly Loren is flirting with some rando buying her red wine she hates and the MMC enters talking about “she drinks whiskey” sliding the cup in front of her….hello! I was barking. I was BARKINGGGGGGG. Hooked.

The MMC….Callahan…..is down BAD for this girl. She thought he forgot about her a decade ago? Guess again! Every single thing he’s ever done in his entire existence has been yearning for this girl. I mean I’m talking he had her childhood shampoo on tab, slept on the other side of the bed, worn out a copy of Romeo & Juliet etc etc. This man is DOWN HORRENDOUS. And he’s literally everything.

The action scenes and drama throughout the book was very fast paced and I was STRESSED.

When you realize why the book is named Through Any Fire? 10/10 I fear!

This will be an interconnected standalone series and I actualy cannot wait for the next book. Alice’s story is gonna be a tough read. I have a very strong inkling who the new MMC to be is going to be and if so…I am so seated.

Read the trigger warnings before reading if there are topics that upset you. There is also a few (hot!) open door spice scenes.

Thank you to Katherine Carter and NetGalley for the ARC!

Through Any Fire is a masterclass in emotional storytelling. Katherine Carter delivers a poignant tale of love, loss, and redemption that resonates deeply. The chemistry between the protagonists is palpable, and their journey from estranged spouses to rediscovered love is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming.

The narrative's strength lies in its raw portrayal of flawed characters striving for healing. The "marriage of convenience" trope is executed with authenticity, avoiding clichés and offering a fresh perspective. Carter's prose is lyrical, immersing readers in a world where love is both a sanctuary and a battlefield.

Highlights:

Emotional Depth: The characters' internal struggles are portrayed with nuance, making their growth compelling.

Authentic Dialogue: Conversations feel genuine, enhancing the story's realism.

Atmospheric Setting: The backdrop complements the narrative, adding layers to the characters' experiences.

Conclusion:

A must-read for fans of emotionally charged romances. Through Any Fire is a testament to the resilience of love and the power of second chances.