Love Burns

by Greenleigh Adams

Can a man’s broken heart be mended more than once?

Charlie’s best friend disappeared after high school. She thought she had made the right decision, but all she did was chase him away.
Louis always knew he and Charlie would part ways to go to college, but he hadn’t anticipated they would never speak again after that night senior year.
Following a minor accident 5 years later, Louis returns home and Charlie quickly realizes the boy that vanished resurfaces very much a man.
The two friends reconnect and begin to let go of the years of resentment and anger. But as they find themselves growing closer, Louis stumbles across a family secret.
The urge to run away from the emotional trauma tugs at Louis again.
Can Charlie restore his faith in love in order to get him to stay?

Author’s note: This is Book One in the Callahan Clan series. All books can be read as a stand-alone in any order. Each book has a guaranteed HEA and no cliffhangers.

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2021

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

the friendships were unrealistic and the conversations were stilted (and i’m sorry did he use his key to get into her apartment while they were broken up to smell her sheets?!!)

[Nancy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE BURNS is a Slow-Burn Romance of Best-Friends to Lovers. A good 2nd or 3rd chance romance, too! This book covers it all. Their were three friends that were the best of friends. A pair of twins: one boy (Cameron) & a girl (Charlene but call her Charlie). They both had a best-friend named Louis. They were the three musketeers! All inseparable until just before graduation from high school. Louis decided he could not keep his true feelings for Charlie to himself any longer. He confessed his love for her. Charlie over reacted and felt this would be the end of them and their friendship. Louis took the heart breaking rejection so badly, that he walked out the door and never came back for five years.

Fate brought them together in a grocery story five years later. Charlie noticed that her long lost friend was now very much a grown man. Louis could not help but notice the womanly changes in Charlie, too. An elderly man they see collapses right in front of them. As a team, her a nurse and him a paramedic, work to save his life. Soon the three musketeers are back together, but nothing in their future will be easy.

This is a debut novel by Greenleigh Adams. She shows much promise as a budding author. I enjoyed the story.

[Erika wickwire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright, nothing glaringly wrong with it but still just ok. I felt like Louis was a bit immature emotionally and also was quick to make judgements. There was a lot of back and forth, between the main characters and even the brother at times. One minute they are ok with things and then the next they are feeling the opposite and never at the same times. I guess when you think about what age they all were (23) their actions can make a bit of sense. I feel like Louis over reacted to his parents news, but I can understand why he was upset. Charlie didn’t really stand out to me in any way, she was just sort of there. I did like Travis’s character even though he mentioned Charlie not being his type twice (ok, we get it). I didn’t really like the resolution scene, I wanted Louis to work a little harder to win Charlie back. There were a couple side plots that added to the story and did influence the main plot at times.

[Ashley McCloney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great second chance romance which I’m a sucker for. It’s one of my fave book tropes. You can’t help but adore Charlie and Louis and root for them. Charlie, Cam (her twin brother) and Louis have been best friends since they were kids. Senior year he told Charlie how he felt about her but she said she didn’t feel the same & he leaves without saying goodbye. 5 years go by and he returns home the last thing he planned was to run into Charlie. This is about all the ups and downs that happen after that happens. It has that small town romance feel, second chance romance & characters that you can’t help but love. I give this one 4.5 stars.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this had the bones of a good story! It’s a second chance romance for two people who grew up together as best friends.

The dialogue felt stilted and that made it difficult for me to get into. The FMC was very “I don’t like other girls” and I can’t get on board with that in 2024. Other girls are great; girls can like makeup without being shallow. Also some of the nursing context also felt forced into the story. See my favorite: “I was stabbed through the heart by one of Cupid’s arrows just as an EpiPen is deployed forcefully into the thigh of an allergic reaction victim.”

[Sam Paxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Came close to DNFing a few times. The writing, to me, seemed to go in circles. Half a page would just repeat the same information already obtained that the book could have easily been half the size. And the author doesn’t seem to like women very much. The way she talked down about and seemed to dislike any woman that isn’t a tomboy personality was very off putting for me.

[Brian6533 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent first novel by a very talented, up and coming new author. Extremely well written and compelling Nurse/Firefighter love story. Charlie and Louis are well developed characters. Intriguing storyline with twist and turns. Can't wait to read more books from this series!

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super cute. Some of the dialogue or writing was a little cliche (I’m looking at you EpiPen line) but overall it was a really fun and really great read. I would love to read about Cal/Alexis or Travis/Claudette and would definitely pick ip another book by this author.

[Kayla Eisenhauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked this author and the flow of the writing.

[Donna Rorick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! I can’t wait to continue reading the entire series!

[Andrea Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t put it down.

This was a phenomenal debut. I was so drawn into this book from the first few pages. And then the real story starts. And I couldn’t put it down. Louis and Charlie’s story will have you flipping the pages. The angst and love written on these pages will fill your heart. I can’t wait for more from this author.

Highly recommended.