An interesting book. It took time to get into the book, but once in I thoroghly enjoyed it. ( )

This book is beautiful. Grady has a incredible gift for story telling. His writing style is so beautiful, I'd read his books only for that, regardless of whether I liked the story or not. There were times I just had to stop and reread a sentence because it was so beautiful and profound. Masterfully done!

I was prepared to give this a lowish rating at first, but the more I read, the more my rating climbed! I got so connected to the characters, particularly Aiden and Ben. I knew right away I DID NOT like Christine, and his uncle. Although I didn't think HE was the bad guy! Whew! Plot twist!! Aiden was a very well-rounded character with a ton of depth and emotion packed in. His story arc was very well thought out, and not at all cliché. My heart hurt for him as he went through his rough times. Like that time in the bar, and when he was in Mexico. And I rejoiced with him in the happy times (which were mostly only in the end. :P) Ben was a great fatherlygrandfatherly character. I loved his gentle heart and kindness and wisdom. Also, after Christine left the picture, the romance was so sweet and beautiful! Nailed it! It was interesting to read a romance sub-plot written by a male author. And frankly, he did it a lot better than many female authors!

The plot was fast-moving, and unexpected, which I loved. It kept me on my toes, that's for sure! I really enjoyed the story! I finished it in less than 24 hours, because I was so hooked! And that one scene at the cemetery had me sobbing. Ugh! So good! This was a fantastic novel, especially for a debut author. I would never have known it was the author's first book. I definitely want to check out more books by this amazing author! Highly recommended!

CONTENT NOTE: There is some violence and medical emergencies, although nothing terribly graphic is portrayed. The MC's fiancée does cheat and he finds out she's been going out with who he thought was his best friend, and she ends up breaking their engagement. There is no scene that portrays this, you only know it happened. The MC does get drink to the point of intoxication a few times, although it isn't condoned, and there are two bar scenes, I believe. Otherwise, no language or violence, and minimal bloodgore. Recommended for ages 15 . ( )

I really enjoyed this book, mostly because of the descriptions of the firefighting scenes. Really, it has the best description of how step by step the firefighters coordinate and fight a fire. This was the author's first book, so I'll be looking for future writing to see how he's progressed. ( )

NCLA Review - Shawn Gray, firefighter and paramedic from Reno, NV, does a terrific job in his debut novel. Aidan O’Neill is a third generation firefighter whose father died suspiciously in a fire. A-O, as he’s called, has a gift for reading fires, but recently he’s lost that gift and it seems as if the fires are out to get him. He had become cocky and overconfident, which put other firefighters in danger. He is suspended and goes to Mexico to visit his uncle, but is called back to work because an arsonist is setting many hard to understand fires. A-O has been looking for answers for his father’s death, which has caused problems in his personal and work life. Drawn into the action, you feel as though you are fighting the fires right along with A-O. With the help of a beautiful fire investigator, Julianne, Aidan figures out who the arsonist is and learns how to let go of the past and look forward to the future. Rating: 4 —VJ ( )

Following an injury to a rookie firefighter caused by his misjudgment, Aidan O'Neill is suspended by his commander only to be quickly called back when the city is struck by a rash of intentionally set fires. Along with battling the constant fires and helping search for the arsonist, he must struggle to regain his confidence, deal with the abrupt departure of his girlfriend all while still hunted by the death of his father in a fire-fight several years earlier. Although the book offers an interesting glimpse into the world of fire-fighting, the multi-directional angst bombarding the main character is a little much for a short novel of only 191 pages. The story line has just enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested in staying around long enough to learn the final outcome. As for character development, Grady does a fair job with the major players, but some of the minor ones were dwelt upon just long enough to make them seen important yet not fleshed out enough to remain readily distinguishable from one another. All in all, I regard this as a decent, but not out-standing book. Written by a veteran fire-fighter the scenes describing the actions and behaviors of a fire are quite poetic in nature. This unfortunately leaves other scenes in the book bland in comparison. ( )