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The Ways We Ignite
A combustible, boundary-breaking sapphic Indigenous love story about the courage to claim your desires—and the life waiting on the other side of fear.
Wren Banks has spent the last decade raising her son alone after an unexpected pregnancy upended her dreams of becoming an artist. With his tenth birthday approaching and her creative spark growing harder to ignore, Wren finally allows herself to want more. So when a new Tribal documentary project puts her in close collaboration with Tribal Councilwoman Beckett Lightfoot, Wren finds herself on the verge of a very different kind of awakening.
Beckett Lightfoot, the first Native woman Blackhawk helicopter pilot, returned home after years of service and sacrifice, trading military duty for a leadership role in Tribal government. A decorated veteran with an ironclad reputation, she’s learned to survive by keeping people at arm’s length—especially when it comes to matters of the heart. But Wren’s warmth, wit, and disarming tenderness slip past her defenses.
Their connection is instant, combustible, and completely unexpected. What starts as a moment of impulsive desire becomes a fire neither of them can extinguish. But just as they dare to believe in the possibility of more, two letters arrive—forcing a choice neither of them is ready to make.
Suddenly, Wren fears she must choose between a future she’s longed for and the love she never saw coming. Beckett, who has mastered the art of control and invisibility, must decide if she’s willing to risk exposing the most intimate parts of herself and finally be seen.
As their community watches, as old fears resurface, and as longing turns into love, Wren and Beckett must ask Are the things that set you on fire worth the burn?
Tropes you can expect in this
- Age gap
- Grumpy x sunshine
- A bi awakening
- A veteran who knows what she’s doing—and a quick learner who wants to be taught.
Wren Banks has spent the last decade raising her son alone after an unexpected pregnancy upended her dreams of becoming an artist. With his tenth birthday approaching and her creative spark growing harder to ignore, Wren finally allows herself to want more. So when a new Tribal documentary project puts her in close collaboration with Tribal Councilwoman Beckett Lightfoot, Wren finds herself on the verge of a very different kind of awakening.
Beckett Lightfoot, the first Native woman Blackhawk helicopter pilot, returned home after years of service and sacrifice, trading military duty for a leadership role in Tribal government. A decorated veteran with an ironclad reputation, she’s learned to survive by keeping people at arm’s length—especially when it comes to matters of the heart. But Wren’s warmth, wit, and disarming tenderness slip past her defenses.
Their connection is instant, combustible, and completely unexpected. What starts as a moment of impulsive desire becomes a fire neither of them can extinguish. But just as they dare to believe in the possibility of more, two letters arrive—forcing a choice neither of them is ready to make.
Suddenly, Wren fears she must choose between a future she’s longed for and the love she never saw coming. Beckett, who has mastered the art of control and invisibility, must decide if she’s willing to risk exposing the most intimate parts of herself and finally be seen.
As their community watches, as old fears resurface, and as longing turns into love, Wren and Beckett must ask Are the things that set you on fire worth the burn?
Tropes you can expect in this
- Age gap
- Grumpy x sunshine
- A bi awakening
- A veteran who knows what she’s doing—and a quick learner who wants to be taught.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 29, 2026
5 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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January 17, 2026sapphic indigenous romance coming soon 👀🌈
February 5, 2026
3 sentence synopsis: Retired Blackhawk Army pilot and tribal councilwoman Beckett Lightfoot knows that hooking up with her friend's friend is a bad idea, but is drawn to Wren's sunshine. Single mom Wren has never wanted a woman before, so succumbing to the intense Beckett happens in secret. The women must navigate an age gap, past traumas, and their own relational expectations as they find love together.
I think I’ve found a new favorite sapphic romance author, y’all. Don’t sleep on Collins Fox! In their second novel, Fox shares the story of Beckett and the sweet single mom Wren. The Ways We Ignite continues the wonderful Indigenous representation from the first book in the series. Standout moments include a sexy pottery scene (hello Ghost), a fly-you-in-a-helicopter scene (reminiscent of Pearl Harbor), and a handholding in a vehicle scene (I see you Pride and Prejudice).
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy rating: 3.5 chili peppers
I think I’ve found a new favorite sapphic romance author, y’all. Don’t sleep on Collins Fox! In their second novel, Fox shares the story of Beckett and the sweet single mom Wren. The Ways We Ignite continues the wonderful Indigenous representation from the first book in the series. Standout moments include a sexy pottery scene (hello Ghost), a fly-you-in-a-helicopter scene (reminiscent of Pearl Harbor), and a handholding in a vehicle scene (I see you Pride and Prejudice).
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy rating: 3.5 chili peppers
February 8, 2026
And they do it again!! Collins Fox is becoming one of my favorite authors! Like I said in my review of their other book, we need more sapphic Indigenous stories.
The Ways We Ignite was such a beautiful love story about letting your walls down and letting someone in. Both Beckett and Wren are guarded for different reasons. I loved that we got to see that and see how they both navigated that.
Of course seeing Rowan and Juniper again was a bonus. I adored that we got to see a little glimpse in where they were at too.
Wren and Beckett are f*cking gorgeous. Can you fall in love with fictional characters? Because when I saw the cover, I literally messaged the author about how hot the MCs were. Not only are they hot, they are wonderful human beings. The way they take care of each other and communicate was refreshing. Yes, they had to work on some things, but throughout the book, you could really tell how emotionally mature they both were. Seeing Beckett interact with Wanchese was so cute and I wish we could’ve seen when Wren told him that her and Beckett were dating.
Honestly the only thing I wanted more of was maybe exploring Beckett’s PTSD. I would’ve loved to see more of how it affected her and how Wren would handle it/ what she would do to help.
I’m seriously so happy that these two stories and Collins Fox exist. I hope the author writes more!
The Ways We Ignite was such a beautiful love story about letting your walls down and letting someone in. Both Beckett and Wren are guarded for different reasons. I loved that we got to see that and see how they both navigated that.
Of course seeing Rowan and Juniper again was a bonus. I adored that we got to see a little glimpse in where they were at too.
Wren and Beckett are f*cking gorgeous. Can you fall in love with fictional characters? Because when I saw the cover, I literally messaged the author about how hot the MCs were. Not only are they hot, they are wonderful human beings. The way they take care of each other and communicate was refreshing. Yes, they had to work on some things, but throughout the book, you could really tell how emotionally mature they both were. Seeing Beckett interact with Wanchese was so cute and I wish we could’ve seen when Wren told him that her and Beckett were dating.
Honestly the only thing I wanted more of was maybe exploring Beckett’s PTSD. I would’ve loved to see more of how it affected her and how Wren would handle it/ what she would do to help.
I’m seriously so happy that these two stories and Collins Fox exist. I hope the author writes more!
February 9, 2026
This was great. These characters felt real (flaws included) and earnest. I love a bi awakening story for a character who has lived a lot of life - in this case, a single mom. The author's depiction of community and respect for elders in the context of reservation life was rich and lovely. The sex scenes were fire. The exploration of PTSD felt nuanced. While some of the writing and character work did feel like a new, early career writer, I suspect that Collins could really level up with an excellent editor and I'm excited to read more of their work!
February 18, 2026
So good
Even better than her first in the series 💙 I would gladly read it again and again. Highly recommend…the intimate scenes are spicy, and there’s a lot of laugh out loud humor throughout too.
Even better than her first in the series 💙 I would gladly read it again and again. Highly recommend…the intimate scenes are spicy, and there’s a lot of laugh out loud humor throughout too.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews