Jay Weatherford was nicknamed "the Phoenix" after walking out of a burning building unscathed. He's Ranger Security's newest recruit, and assigned to locate the heir to the Betterworth Chocolate fortune, Truffles the Yorkie, who has been dog-napped.
Unfortunately, he's not the only one looking for little Truffles. Working for the competition is Charlie Martin, hacker extraordinaire, who has a grudge against Ranger Security. Definitely a complication, which only gets worse when things quickly heat up between the two of them!
I really enjoyed reading Up In Flames. Charlie is strong but soft and didn't start off with a hea. Jay appears to be southern gentleman being a Ranger means he's got skills. I liked the humor, suspense and multiple love stories. I didn't care much for the description of the sexual tension between Charlie and Jay. I felt it was repetitive and didn't really add to the story. I skimmed over most of those scenes and still enjoyed the story.
I don't find too many romance novels that warrant a 5 star rating. but this one got to me in a really good way. I was sure the sub-plot would be silly and unrealistic and detract from the main characters. Boy, was I wrong! Russel knows how to write sexual tension and take what would seem like a child's story and turn it into pure sizzling adulthood. Looking forward to the rest in this series.
No helpless heroines in this book lying in wait to be rescued! Both leads are strong, self-sufficient, and take zero flak from anyone. And now? They're both assigned to save a tiny dog.
As with the other books in this series, the sex is hot and the plot semi-plausible. There's a strong Insta-lust thing going on that turns to respect, then love. I'll continue to read more from this author.
An example of the writing:
"He was truly extraordinary.
Not the best-looking man she’d ever seen, but definitely the most appealing. At least, to her. Unbidden, an insidious vine of desire snaked through her, curled around her nipples and tightened deep in her womb. The sensation was so intense it stopped just short of being painful, left her shaken but hyper-sensitized, as though something long dormant had suddenly awakened.
With dawning horror Charlie realized it was her libido."