Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Sugarville, Washington
POV: 3rd Person
Sensuality: Hot
Violence: N/A
Format: Digital
Source: A digital ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley
Why I Read It: I saw it on the list at NetGalley and recognised Susan Andersen’s name as being one of those authors I’d always meant to read, but somehow never did.
My Grade: B
Although she left the small town of Sugarville straight after high school, Macy O’James lives on in infamy. When her cousin, Janna, is badly injured in a car accident, Macy returns to help look after her and her young son. Macy hopes the town has forgotten her past reputation, but naturally they have not.
Gabriel Donovan is the new fire chief in Sugarville. While he’s building his house, he’s one of the residents in Macy’s aunt’s boarding house. Sparks fly between him and Macy as soon as they meet, and not necessarily in a good way. Macy is everything Gabe despises in a woman: flamboyant and a practised flirt. Gabe is looking for a woman to settle down with, preferably someone like Grace, the timid school teacher he’s currently dating.
Naturally, Macy is not what she appears. She uses clothes and make-up to hide who she really is, especially in the town which hates her guts. Once she lets her guard down with Gabe, he realises she’s not the person he assumed her to be and might just be the woman of his dreams.
Meanwhile, someone is keeping Gabe and his fellow firefighters busy. An arsonist has been setting fires in and around Sugarville. Gabe suspects the arsonist is one of his own team, and faces the difficult task of unmasking the culprit before someone gets hurt.
Burning Up is a simple story well told. Macy is a bit over the top at the start of the book, but she calms down as the story progresses. I loved the subplot involving Macy’s rock star friend, Jack Savage, and the shy school teacher, Grace. Jack is Irish. I groaned when I saw this as I’m always ultra critical of the portrayal of Irish people in stories by non-Irish authors. However, Susan Andersen does a good job of making him credible.
Gabe and Macy take a while to realise that they’ve each made incorrect assumptions about the other. When they do get together, they make a strong couple. I liked how Gabe stood up for Macy when some of the townspeople were rude to her. I just wished Macy had stood up for herself sooner rather than letting them treat her badly.
I hope Susan Andersen writes Janna’s story. She deserves a happy ending. In the meantime, I want to check out some of the titles from Donovan’s impressive back list.
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Susan Donovan’s back lists are well worth reading. Started reading them many moons ago and although didn’t enjoy her later ones as much as her earlier stuff – she is still a fantastic contemporary rom author.
Do you mean Andersen or Donovan? I haven’t read or wanted to read Donovan’s latest books, but I’ve always enjoyed Susan Andersen’s. My very favourite is Exposure, although there are some that come close.
@infogenium: @KristieJ: Yikes! That was a bad mistake. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I meant Susan Andersen.
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