Cate Culpepper

Fireside is an absolute charmer! It is sweet and romantic without being sappy and it has such genuine heart to it that you can't help but grow to adore the characters, both main and secondary. Another hugely appealing factor (which is often hard to find in romance novels) is how tastefully mannered the physical relationship is throughout the story. Here, the love scenes are actual love scenes and they are neither rampant nor rabid...just special and nice.

As one of the main characters, Abby, show more says in a very emotionally raw and tender scene: "First, I need you to know this about me. At this stage in my life, I couldn't possibly be sexual...I couldn't possibly make love to someone, Mac, unless I was in a committed relationship. It simply isn't in me. Perhaps it's some kind of odd British prudery. I don't know, but there you have it."

Cate Culpepper writes about women who deeply value relationships and take their time getting to know each other.

Mac is a restless spirit who has never stayed at one job for more than two years, while Abby has sealed herself off from love out of self-doubt of her own worthiness. Her strong work ethic comes from a good place but also because she "found a kind of insidious safety in her solitary life. Devoting all her energies to her work carried certain advantages."

The author captures scenes and people in a way that makes the fact you reach for a tissue while you happily cry seem perfectly natural. She reminds you that love really is special and that it's something worth waiting for. It makes me smile to think about reading more of her novels! :) show less

A sensitive love story between a spirited, nurturing social worker with a traumatic past and a cold, socially-challenged scientist she hires to help her decipher a 'ghostly' message from her late mother.

There is so much more to it than meets the eye, however, as their quest digs deeper and gets more dangerous as the mystery intensifies.

I love the perfect juxtaposition of romance developing alongside the mystery. The characters also develop nicely as they interact with one another. The show more author treats the scientist Jo's 'disability' with respect and nuance. I find it quite endearing how she tries to interpret people's facial expressions scientifically. And she's forever watching out for Becca and learning how to socially interact along the way.

I'm not a Xena fan, but the references to the show, its themes and props and how the characters bond over them are an excellent use of pop culture to further the story.

My only gripe has to do with the ending. The romantic in me wishes for an extra chapter of Becca 101. Also I didn't quite appreciate the villain's motives--they seem too contrived. I know truth is often stranger than fiction, but this is supposed to be fiction. show less

Cate Culpepper is an automatic read for me. I don't even need to check the synopsis. :) I love the way she does paranormal romances. And her fantasy series Tristaine is my all-time favorite.

This book features two couples from her past books (both are favorites of mine) and introduces a third couple. If you have not read [b:River Walker|7908231|River Walker|Cate Culpepper|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328743829s/7908231.jpg|11177946] and [b:A Question of Ghosts|12921353|A show more Question of Ghosts|Cate Culpepper|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328743885s/12921353.jpg|18076601], read those first, to better appreciate the peculiar quirks of the two couples here. Both are excellent introductions to the author's style.

Ms. Culpepper has always dabbled in the paranormal in all her books. But in this one, she goes all-out horror. The book is very well written. And I like the author's dry wit. But I'm not a big fan of horror stories. I also thought the romance could have been better developed. The two new ladies could have been such fascinating characters with their colorful back stories. They deserved their own book, with the other couples as extras rather than equals. Not that I'm complaining about Jo/Becca and Elena/Grady. I loved their encores here. What's another hundred pages in length? I'd have loved for the chance to fall in love with the new couple too. It also didn't help that for long stretches of the book, they're all cooped up in a cabin with not much to do but wait for things to happen. The author managed to sustain the tension and suspense and had me turning pages over fast, but horror just works better in a visual/aural medium.

Still and all, I love the theme of women's kinship that run in all of Culpepper's books, and will eagerly await her next one.

P.S. I think BSB dropped the ball on the cover this time. :) show less

I enjoyed it. It was more predictable than I had hoped it would be but it was still very enjoyable. I'm moving on to the third in the series now.