Flash Point (Kilgore Fire) Paperback – May 26, 2016

“I’ve loved you for so long that I don’t even know how to love someone else.”Just as surely as the calendar flips forward to start anew each month, the first week of each month fans of Lani Lynn Vale get her next book. This month Vale takes us back to Kilgore to see the next member of the Kilgore Fire Department get his happily ever after. This book is already causing a bit of a stir as there is concern because the hero is (was??) married. With unwavering conviction, I can unequivocally state that Lani Lynn Vale will NEVER, EVER give her readers a hero who cheats. So, go ahead and read this book, but do it knowing that there are lots of different reasons people marry, and some of those reasons have nothing to do with love or attraction but everything to do with compassion and empathy.“My heart was literally breaking into a million tiny pieces.”As I started reading this book, I knew before the prologue was over that I was hooked in deep with Booth and Masen. Masen was in high school when they met, Booth is the only man she’s ever loved, and Masen is it for Booth. Their relationship came to a head at a point where everything was crashing down on a young Masen who, overwhelmed by her feelings and her fears, lashed out in a damaging and irreparable way at Booth while he was overseas in the military. The relationship may have ended, but the love sure didn’t.“I had what I wanted in my mind and no one else would do.”Fast forward ten years, and Masen is lonely, she thinks she’s ready to try to move on, and she’s started seeing Bowe, a fireman who works with her best friend Mia’s husband, Tai. He’s a great guy, the whole package, but she’s just not feeling anything more than friendship. She gets the surprise of a lifetime one day, when she arrives at the firehouse to find Booth there. Immediately drawn to each other, their moment is cut painfully short.“The cries tore out of my body… as the last ten years of torment poured out of my body in huge, shuddering, pain-filled sobs.”These two put each other through the wringer before finding their way back to each other. My heart broke right along with Masen’s in that living room when Booth pushed her away. I felt her pain, I felt her sadness and I felt just how tentatively she was going through the motions of living her life in the wake of that night. All of the pain that Masen was feeling leads up to an epic moment, though. Gah! I just loved how that scene played out! It was fraught with raw and angry emotion, it was painful and real but oh-so-necessary for these two heal from their past mistakes, to forgive each other and then take a step forward together.“I’d prayed for this day. Prayed that one day he’d come home, safe and sound, and he’d listen to my apology.”As they rebuild their relationship and restart their lives together, there’s danger on the horizon. Curious things are happening to Masen and her family. Not everyone is who they seem to be, and the danger to Masen is closer than she realizes. Will Booth figure out who poses the threat to her?“Thank you for coming home.”He chuckled, “You were here. How could I not?”I adored this book! The Kilgore world that Vale has built is one of my favorite fictional places to go, and this series is very reminiscent of her other series that are rooted here. Favorite characters from those books make appearances, and it’s always great to check in with the SWAT guys. This book had all the things I love most about Lani’s work – the emotion, the longing, the love between the characters and that sizzling, smoking chemistry and blistering heat that makes an LLV book so uniquely hers. It’s all here, and it was fantastic!Lani Lynn Vale never fails to make my heart hurt and send my pulse racing. Her writing always draws me right in, it’s like talking with a group of old friends. But what makes her work special is her sense of humor. Dry and smart, her quick wit is often unexpected but always well executed, and it’s one of my favorite things about her books. I loved every minute of this book, and as always, Lani left me wanting more. Flash Point gets 5 smooches from me!~ Danielle on behalf of Red Cheeks Reads

I love second chance romance, throw in firefighters and I am a happy gal. I was so excited to start this book once I finished book 1.There were things I loved about this book and a couple that bothered me. I loved the fact that these two weren't with other people even though they were apart for 10 years. For me, I don't see this enough in romance stories and I wished it would happen more often. These two were very young when they got together and when Booth was already deployed, Masen's sister passed away (which they knew she would). Masen really needed Booth there to hold her up and help her get through this awful situation, but he wasn't able to just up and leave his mission he was on. This caused Masen to lash out, which is what she does when she's upset. She speaks before she truly thinks things through. This broke them up and while Masen didn't mean what she said, Booth didn't know that. They were both heartbroken and not sure how to move on without the other.Fast forward 10 years and Booth has come back home because his brother was seriously hurt (Fatbaby in book 1) and his brother needed him. Booth also knew that Masen was still there as he kept up with her life through updates from his family. With how much Booth still loved Masen, I didn't understand his need to continue to re-enlist. He could have stayed gone half the time and then made his way home to patch things up with her.I honestly didn't like the entire situation with his ex-wife. I thought it was just weird that when she showed up at the firehouse, she called him hubby when apparently they had been divorced for a while. I also didn't really agree with his reasons for marrying her to begin with. I get that this is just a book and it was done for dramatic purposes, it's just my opinion. Booth continued to hurt Masen just for the sake of hurting her, I guess since she hurt him 10 years prior. Luckily, we didn't have to deal with that for long when he finally realized he truly wanted to make a life with Masen.I really didn't like the whole situation where the ex was staying at Booth's house, sleeping naked in Booth's bed because she was getting married the next day. Booth should have never agreed to that knowing that he wanted Masen there with him. I also thought Masen was way too weak when it came to Booth. She would just instantly forgive him and get over something way too fast. For instance, she said she would never go back to that house or sleep in that bed because the ex was naked in it and yet it's never brought up again because Booth just had this pull over her and she instantly let it go. I just wish she had been a bit stronger in her feelings for things that bothered her instead of just letting it go because he just kissed her or smiled at her or whatever.Overall it was a good second chance story and I will be continuing on with the next one in the series.