Review: Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert

Burn Zone
(Hotshots #1)
by Annabeth Albert
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication date: April 27, 2020
Genre: M/M Romance
Rating:

Smoke jumper Lincoln Reid is speechless to see Jacob Hartman among his squad’s new recruits. Linc had promised his late best friend he’d stay away from his little brother. And yet here Jacob is…and almost instantly, the same temptation Linc has always felt around him is causing way too many problems.

Jacob gets everyone’s concerns, but he’s waited years for his shot at joining the elite smoke jumping team, hoping to honor his brother’s memory. He’s ready to tackle any challenge Linc throws his way, and senses the chemistry between them—chemistry Linc insists on ignoring—is still alive and kicking. This time, Jacob’s determined to get what he wants.

Close quarters and high stakes make it difficult for Linc to keep his resolve, never mind do so while also making sure the rookie’s safe. But the closer they get, the more Linc’s plan to leave at the end of the season risks him breaking another promise: the one his heart wants to make to Jacob.

What’s better than a firefighter romance? How about a firefighter romance where the firefighters parachute into the fire zone. I didn’t even know that was a thing. So not only are these guys putting their lives at risk by fighting fires, but things could go wrong with their jumps. Add onto that the fact that Jocob is Linc’s best friend’s little brother. Oh yeah, and Linc isn’t out as being gay. It’s safe to say that there was a lot of tension in this romance.

The book starts off with Linc’s best friend warning him against pursuing his younger brother. Linc promises to stay away from Jacob, and that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book. Six years later, Jacob is joining Linc’s jumper team and Linc is faced with the attraction he feels for Jacob as well as that promise he made all those years ago.

This romance is a bit of a stubborn one. Because of the promise Linc made to his friend, he tries to fight his attraction for Jacob. Not only does he try to uphold his promise, but he also hasn’t come out yet. So, he is dealing with a lot when it comes to his relationship with Jacob. On one hand I couldn’t help but feel for him. On the other, I wanted him to just grow a pair and either man up for Jacob, or move on so that Jacob could heal. The back and forth between Linc’s emotions made me was to shake the man.

One thing that I liked about this story was that we got some behind the scenes when the guys are training and working. Between the parajumping and fighting fires, it was really cool to experience something that they are passionate about. We also got to be witness to Jacob’s training while he tried to earn his spot on the team. Not only were these scenes great to get a more in-depth look at the characters, but we also got the chance to get to know some of the other members on the team.

Burn Zone was a pretty good read. Linc was supposed to be older and wiser, but he had a lot of growing to do. He needed to be comfortable with his sexuality and not let it be the elephant in the room. I get that his fears weren’t unfounded since the people he called family kind of turned they backs on him, but he still needed to own up to who he was for himself. Watching his journey might not have always been easy, but I’m glad that these two got their happily ever after. I can’t wait to see who the next book features.