Playing With Fire

All Fired Up #1

by Taylor Lee

OVERVIEW

• A rookie firefighter accused of setting the fire that kills her husband and his mistress.

• “A bad-assed cop falls for the beautiful firefighter only to discover she is his #1 suspect in a double murder.

• Can Nate find the real murderer before the murderer finds her?

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Erotica, Mystery

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2012

About the author

Taylor Lee is a Best-Selling Author of sexy, romantic suspense stories.

From steamy to sizzling to scorching, Taylor's books introduce hot gals and even hotter guys taking on the evils of the world. As the dangers rage, their passions flare!

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wavered between one and two stars for this book. I almost liked it. I'll be generous and give it two stars, but there are so many things wrong with this story.

The minor issue that bugged me through the whole thing is, where does a police detective get the money for an $80,000 car, and all the other things he spends money on?

There were some continuity errors that a beta reader or editor should have caught. Among them, that if the woman has no food and no furniture, she certainly won't have a computer. Also, when Nate is trying to figure out what's going on, he already knows she's spending a ridiculous amount on rent and that she's paying out $1,500 a month to someone (that's not a spoiler; we learn this at the beginning of the book). She's a rookie firefighter, and he can't figure out why she has no money left after paying out almost $3,000 a month in rent, utilities, and extortion payments. And he's a police detective? I suppose it's a good thing he's not an accountant.

But the big, big issue I have with this book is that Nate is an abusive jerk. No, he's not a "bad boy". His behavior goes way beyond that. Why do authors - female authors - continue to write stories in which men keep going even after the woman says no? That's called rape, folks, and it's not sexy. And going through her house and pawing her underwear? Ew. And this is a woman who has been a sexual assault victim. Nate doesn't know that at the beginning, but he does know she's been a victim of abuse, and what's worse - the AUTHOR knew about the sexual abuse, and still wrote the scenes the way she did. I'm all for an alpha male, but he needs to have respect for women. Nate has NO respect for women at all.

[Mimi Barbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This heroine is a firefighter…yep that's what I said. That's so cool! And she's pretty cool also. Turns out she's had to fight her way free from a horrible past, has made a new life for herself, (not great but at least she's safe) and BANG! It all comes back to haunt her. There's a handsome, devil cop who needs a good swift kick sometimes, but he's a bad boy you gotta love. Then there are her friends that never let her down no matter how guilty she looks. Add in murder and intrigue and you get the idea. It's a book you shouldn't miss. A blockbuster that's so well written the pages just seem to turn magically.

[Merle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just to be clear, I'd probably give this higher ratings if it had been edited more tightly. The misspellings, incorrect word choices and grammatical errors make the book (and the rest of the series, too) annoying to read. There is also the matter of the editorial speech - many of the characters speak as though they are only there to give exposition, not real dialogue. That's too bad, because at the heart of this, there's a moderately interesting group of stories. It's too bad that the forest is so dense, because the trees might be entertaining.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This belongs in the "not for me" pile. I did finish it, but had problems with the main characters and how the plot unfolded (and more typos than seemed reasonable). Having the heroine go from an abusive husband into a relationship with a man who makes important decisions for her just felt icky to me.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel that is quite intriguing and well-written captures the reader's attention right from the start. I thought the suspense/mystery portion of the story was pretty good (even though I figured who the bad person was very early on). As for the romance, I found it to be lacking and all one-sided - that it was just Nate projecting his feelings and emotions onto Erin, but not vice-versa. The heroine, Erin, is a strong, tough character, but when it comes to Nate, she loses all her grit and succumbs to his charms more than once. This brings me to Nate, the alpha-male who is so arrogant, so cocky, and so full of himself. I'm no fan of these alpha-males. Sure, a little take-charge is great; but this guy went over the top. Hells, bells, I wouldn't ever date, let alone kiss, a guy like this. Ordering furniture without any input from Erin; changing her locks and keeping a set of keys so that he can come and go as he pleases, filling her refrigerator with food, leaving notes, feeling her bras and panties; demanding she do everything he orders - all of which takes place after a day of meeting. Seriously? Is this supposed to be a turn-on? No thank you. What a narcissistic ass! But like I've mentioned before, to each her own. There was one character I absolutely adored and that's Connor. He is just terrific. A woman can only dream of having such an amazing best friend like him.

So regardless of the lack of sizzle between Nate and Erin, it's still a well-written story that holds your attention right up until the last page.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erin is an abused and damaged women running for her life and past. She moves to small town to start a new life as a rookie firefighter. Her past quickly catches up with her when things start to go wrong and she is accused of setting a fire that killed her husband and his lover.

Nate is a jaded obnoxious, surly damaged cop. Nate has no respect for women and especially those trying to do a "mans" job. He immediately feels attraction to Erin but thinks she slept her way into the job. Sparks fly between the two until she becomes a suspect in the murders.

This was a free book and my first by this author. The book had good character development and suspense. The chemistry between and Erin and Nate was very believable and very suspenseful. This was the first in the series and I am curious to see where the author will take it with the additional characters.

I would recommend reading and will be looking forward to book two.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the writing style. This book could also use an editor. Also, I think the author could have done some more research regarding police procedure and other things. These factors did not contribute to my 3 star rating.

I did not like Nate. He was an ass...and not a lovable one. And although he did redeem himself, I still did not like him. As for Erin, well I really wasn't a fan of hers either. The story got interesting around the 30% mark. I figured out the bad guy pretty early, but there was one little twist I didn't see coming. While the story was good, I didn't like any of the characters. I will not be continuing this series.

2015 Popsugar challenge - a book at the bottom of your to read list (this was one of my earliest freebie downloads)
http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

[Nancy Robinson fiske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg! Love it! Can't wait to read more of Taylor lee!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book. The characters are very likeable and human. I love the various relationships. The weaving of the story is good. An enjoyable book.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/9/2021)! 🎁

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nate’s chauvinistic attitude and inconsistency in the story interfered with my enjoyment so I stopped reading this book.

[♡ Sassy ~ Amy ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover does not do this book justice!

A broken girl from California, Erin, runs from years of abuse to small town Minnesota, changes her name & becomes a firefighter! She's a teeny thing who runs & works out religiously to stay in top shape.

On a fire call at a warehouse where dead bodies are found, her rookie self throws up. In the middle of her throwing up & gagging, a hot detective (Nate) verbally bashes her for being a woman FF & not being able to not toss her cookies/lunch. Her boss, Connor, Nate's cousin, adores her & scolds his cousin... Things flare from there.

Erin is accused of murder, by Nate, of her husband & his girlfriend who happen to be the victims of the above fire. This becomes very intense for a while & I couldn't put it down until I absolutely had to at almost 4am... Lucky it was Saturday.

In all seriousness, I did guess right away who the bad guy was & if you have even half a brain you will too. It absolutely did not take away from the story at all. He had these flaming red flags going the whole time.

The romance was great. Poor broken girl. It surprises me when authors put in the intensity of abuse suffered by their characters in detail, but it definitely added to how broken she was & why she was so scared.

Adding to the list of great characters, you have an uptight attorney (not a good one), a fatherly Fire captain, a fatherly police chief, several sweet detectives & firemen, a poor uneducated neighbor woman who watches out for her neighbors in a bad neighborhood she can't escape, a brotherly boss and his whole family...

There were some typos, but nothing major. I was extremely surprised given the cover, how intense & serious this book was. I would definitely read this author again!!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rookie firefighter Erin McFadden worked hard to get where she is today. Top of her class, physically fit, and have to take all the crap from a usually dominated field. She's loved and trusted by her fellow fighters, but there are still some out there that think a woman doesn't belong there.

Nate Stryker is a detective, the best of the best, with a very successful rate. Every case that crosses his desk, he's solved. Arrogant, a little bossy, he wasn't prepared to meet the feisty, FEMALE fighter on his cousin's team.

When two bodies are found a few blocks from Erin's place, he starts his investigation. All the while he tries to determine why he has this need to protect Erin. With a little meddling from family the two start one those I don't want to want you relationships. Well, at least Erin does.

When the bodies are identified, linking Erin to the murder, Nate works hard to find the killer. Looks can be deceiving, and while he puts two and two together, he has to do anything to find the truth.

Erin is this tough as nails woman that makes me fist pump when she doesn't take Nate's crap. But that little bit of fragility shines through, allowing a reader to want to wrap her up and hold her. Nate, though an ass a lot, he has a soft spot for this woman, despite his investigation. He can't seem to help it.

I loved the characters, even the secondary ones. The mystery behind Erin and her past was good. Worth the read. There seems to be another book after this, saying we'll get a little more Nate and Erin, can't wait to read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.the-book-diaries.blogspot.com

What can I say about Taylor Lee’s books? Well, that they are awesome. When I finished reading Big Girls Don’t Cry, I was so excited to read more of Taylor’s stories. I moved on to Playing with Fire I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to put it down. Not too smart on my part to start it at night because yes, I didn’t stop reading until it was over. That’s the thing I love about Taylor’s books. They are so dramatic that you can’t wait to turn the page to see what’s next. In this story it’s a woman firefighter (love it!) and a police detective. Now I so did not like Nate in this story but his character worked. Sorry, he was a jerk, but I loved Erin. I have got to say it must be hard to write about someone with such a traumatic past but turn out to be a strong character. I love that about Taylor’s female characters. I can usually pick out who the villain is in the story but not so much with this one. There were so many different angles to this mystery that anyone could have been “the one”. Taylor’s story has action, romance, drama and suspense, which in my book are the essence to a great read. Taylor has made me a loyal reader, I can’t wait for more. Enjoy.

[Ginny Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a book is well written there is nothing else to do but appreciate the story.

Erin McFadden is a fire fighter with a heart wrecking past. She is set with starting her life over. She battles her inner demons, her past, trust and her heart. Nate Stryker is an arrogant, over confident detective who has decided to pursue Erin and get her to tell him why she is running. Things interesting when Erin becomes the number one suspect in Stryker's case. Besides finding out the murder, they need to find out if they truly trust one another.

Due to Erin's past, this book suitable for someone who has/is recovering from an abusive past. However, the love scene between Nate and Erin was so endearing, so appropriate that anyone recovering from a similar past will fall in love again.

This is without a doubt a very good series to follow.

[Lisa Cummings · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Taylor Lee book I have read. Although I am not impressed, I bought the entire series as a bundle, so I'm hoping they get better. As for this book, the story was okay, but not great. In fact, it was rather predictable, so not much suspense involved. I knew who the bad guy was very early into the book which made reading the book superfluous. I did however, want to know about the reveal, so I persevered. Unfortunately, the reveal was anticlimactic. Add all that to stiff and unnatural dialogue and horrific editing (typos and grammatical errors out the wazoo), and you have a completely forgettable book that just filled some time while I read it. I hope the series gets better!

[Teena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. This was a Kindle freebie that was emailed to me by BookBub. Normally the free downloads are just ok. Nice filler books. Every once in awhile, I download a really good one. This one was just that. I liked the main characters and the side characters. I also liked the story line. The story moved at a really good pace and it was a fun read. I didn't give it 5 stars because, 1)the editing needed work. Misspelled words and grammatical errors. 2) I figured out who the killer was approximately halfway through the book. It's more fun for me when the writer throws a twist in and surprises me. Other than that, a really good read. Will definitely read more from the series.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deleted 2% in. It's full of mistakes and life's way too short to be wading through a mess. I paused before starting it when I saw the author seems to churn them out every 5 minutes and that doesn't usually promise a great story. I didn't understand this line-something was clearly missed out..."....a great guy like Connor, so kind yet by far the competent Lieutenant in the house". I came across 2 misused apostrophe mistakes and by page 9 I'd seen more than enough.
It's full of acronyms I had to keep looking up, too, which is annoying. I found it more than farfetched that a guy would need to mention to his cousin (who surely would have known already) that he saw his first dead body aged 6 AND in front of a complete stranger !!
A prime example of quality being lost for quantity's sake.

[Kellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a well written book had a few typos that were missed. Only thing that bothered me was sometimes I wondered about Erin and the way she just followed Nate's orderes. She did everything to hide from an abusive husband and to show others that she could take care of herself to just blindly do everything Nate told her.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character really is an arrogant, cocky bastard, but don't most of us girls love a bad boy? However, we do see him go through changes in his actions and in his thinking. The suspense was good, I didn't suspect the murderer until a few pages before the reveal. Liked this free book so much I bought the sequel right away!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough one to rate. I enjoyed the overall story line but couldn't stand how arrogant and sleazy Nate seemed to be. Erin was both pathetic and strong at the same time so it was hard to form an opinion about her as well. Although the mystery was rather predictable, I did appreciate the chemistry between Erin and Nate and LOVED Connor so that inched it up to 3 stars for me.

[Kim Vasbinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book Playing with Fire was great. It was exciting, dangerous, sexy, and of course love. I cried, and I laughed. It took me one day to read this book. I could not put it down. I went on to read book 2 called Trial by Fire. I encourage you to read Playing with Fire.

[Pam H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to like Nate but Im having a hard time. He does some sweet things for Erin but his rough edges are quite rough. Erin is a contradiction. Connor is pretty emotional for someone in his position....jury is still out on this story line and characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Was hooked from page one and read it straight through. This is how I like my romantic suspense heroes , a total alpha bastard, love the guy. Will definitely read more by Taylor Lee, a new to me author.

[JigsawGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Taylor Lee's heroines. They are tough, strong, and sexy while still having an air of vulnerability in those quiet moments. Nate and Erin had a strong chemistry. This book had mystery, suspense, and romance. I actually bought the omnibus after reading it.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really good, will definitely read more by this author.

[Connie Bussey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very HOT read with firefighter, cop and murder, all the ingredients to an exploding climax. Looking forward to the next book coming out this December with the same characters.

[Cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firefighters, Cops and a damsel in distress.