Tuesday, November 20, 2018

BOOK REVIEW for "Burning Heart (Fire Protection Specialists, #5)" by Jen Talty

***(3) out of 5 stars!


SUMMARY:

Air Force Fire Protection Specialist, Declan Rivers, gave his heart once, and it got charred beyond recognition. While deep down he still wants it all, the career, the wife, the family, he can’t put himself out there. That is until his best friend’s wedding where he finds comfort in the arms of Becca Knowles, a sexy senior firefighter and co-worker. He’s had eyes for Becca since she first stepped onto the base, but after one hot night, they decide it’s best if they remain friends. 

Well, he decides thanks to that aforementioned reluctance. 

Becca Knowles understands a broken heart and after a one-night stand with Declan, she vows to give up on men for a while and focus only on her career. Only that declaration lasts just one measly month when she first finds out she’s pregnant, and then that her younger sister is missing. Not knowing where to turn, she asks Declan for his help, to which he readily agrees, not knowing about the baby. 

While searching for her sister, they find themselves dealing with betrayal, lies, and a love so deep it burns the heart.

REVIEW:

After reading this book and then seeing all of the positive reviews -- I really wondered if I had read the same book!  I was just so not impressed by it.  It wasn't awful, just not very good.  

Basically, the entire gist of the story is Declan being all over the board on how he feels about Becca.  Okay, sure, the guy suffered a big blow from his last girlfriend.  But GET OVER IT ALREADY!!  My goodness!  He just whined like a toddler, incessantly, forever.  And, of course, in typical male fashion, he apparently wanted to have his cake and eat it too with Becca, not committing to her because of how badly damaged her was, but still screwing her, and getting her pregnant no less.  

And Becca doesn't do much more than vascillate between whether or not she can live with not getting anything more from Declan out of their relationship than solid friendship and occasional interest.  Not that she has much of a choice in the matter!  The one time they are together even, he sneaks out of her house before she's even had a chance to change her shirt.  

There are some subplots and sidetrips that don't coalesce into much of a coherent plot, but which do give the various players a chance to interact.  But there were just so many things that didn't jive, such as Becca's Mennonite parents' are way too chill about her not only bringing home a non-believer apparent boyfriend, but certainly about her being pregnant out of wedlock with his child.  And the whole human trafficking thing leaves a lot to be desired as far as addressing the seriousness of the issue, let alone the ease they had in thwarting this obviously well-funded and organized criminal group.  

There were a lot of inconsistencies in items both big and small within the story.  And I really hope that the copy I read was an early version, because the editing was horrible.  Being the fifth in a series of books, I would definitely expect this one to be more polished at whatever stage it was in.  

I received a free eBook copy of this title from Xpresso Book Tours, 
and have willingly provided an honest review.

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