Veena’s review of Full Blaze (Firehawks, Book 2) by M.L.Buchman
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 02 Dec 14
Cal Johnson has grown up to prize two things – fighting fires and taking one-of-a-kind photographs around fires and firefighters. The last time he barely survived and he moved from actively fighting fires to taking pictures. This time around when Jeannie Clark airlifts him out of a near-certain death situation and he takes stock of his options, he’s forced into considering a possible relationship as a part of his life’s priorities. Of course, his path is aided and abetted by the good Samaritans around them. This is a great story that takes the reader into the heart of the blaze in more ways than one, as two people face their past to forge a beautiful future together.
Living in Southern California, the fire season and wild fires are something we have to deal with from time to time. I have in the past packed my trunk full of family pictures and a few family heirlooms and taken my children to head away from the path of a fire that came too close. I have had the good fortune of providing meals, water, and coffee to fire fighters who were stationed in our neighborhood, helping to keep the flames away from our homes and businesses.
My own history with California wildfires sucked me right into this story from the get-go. Cal and Jeannie and the rest of the crew with Mount Hood Aviation have their own history with fire, which is revealed as they fight fires first in California and then all the way over in Alice Springs, Australia and then on to a small island in the Pacific where the action includes a lot more than just fire.
I absolutely love Cal’s ingenuity in rescuing the family who did not hear the orders to evacuate and the police officer who risked his own life to get them to safety by airlifting the entire police car and its occupants. I definitely appreciate the same keen mind when he punishes the golfers who hit Jeannie’s plane with golf balls while she’s in the midst of fighting the wild fire that is threatening the city of Alice Springs. Jeanie is a great heroine. I like her slow approach to taming Cal like a skittish horse as she skillfully and lovingly draws his past out of him and concludes that he really should have started his life at sixteen when he took control of it and left his past behind.
Ever since Emily Beale and Mark Henderson quit the military and joined Mount Hood Aviation, they’ve been involved in covert activity that is masked under firefighting, the first accidentally and now deliberately, as they’re used as a secret weapon to penetrate areas that the military can’t infiltrate without sending the wrong signals. Cal’s talent for reading patterns and strategy make him a natural addition to the team except he’s a loner who carries all his possessions on his back as he moves from fire to fire. His journey to self-realization and the commitment to love and friendship is skillfully written into the developing story line.
Mark Henderson is such a kick-ass hero and he captured my imagination from the very first time we met him. I have enjoyed glimpses of both him and Emily in their new roles at Mount Hood Aviation. For the first time the author takes us deeper into Mark’s psyche as he struggles with his need to contribute to the defense of his country, along with the men and women whom he once led on active missions. Perhaps we’ll see what seethes under Emily’s perfect exterior in a future book as well. These cameos just make the characters come alive in a very meaningful way.
The only thing that bothers me is that the story seems to be in three distinct parts. Each of them, while promoting the development of the romantic relationship and giving us insights into both Jeanie and Cal, have very specific story lines. The first third is devoted to fighting the Santa Barbara fire and bringing Cal and Jeanie together, where they succumb to their chemistry. Then off they are on a military transport to fight a fire in Australia. Not really sure of the relevance of the military transport to the overall story, other than giving Cal and Jeanie an opportunity to join the mile-high club. Then we’re in Alice Springs and fighting a fire here where Jeanie’s past haunts her, but Cal comes up with an ingenious solution to fight the fire that other experts don’t think about… A bit improbable, but it’s a story and he’s showing his love and devotion. And then off they are to play spies under the guise of fighting fires on a small island, which seems to be the main course of the story, at least from a build-up perspective, but gets so little air time in the end. Perhaps I am being too critical and making too much of this, since, really, this is Cal’s and Jeanie’s romance and that develops extremely well in the forefront while all these events are playing out in the background.
I thoroughly enjoyed these two characters and look forward to seeing them in future stories in this series.
Grade: B
Summary:
These wilderness firefighters battle more than flames
The elite fire experts of Mount Hood Aviation fly into places even the CIA can’t penetrate.She’s just jumped square into the heart of the blaze
When Australian helicopter pilot Jeannie Clark rescues wildfire photographer Cal Jackson from a raging burnover, she doesn’t know she’s bringing aboard a firebrand. Cal is quickly recruited for MHA’s covert operations that reach far beyond the flames. Together Jeannie and Cal are assigned to an overseas operation with a lot more at risk than burning trees. And they’ll need all the skill, love, and trust they can muster if they’re going to survive the heat of this jungle battle.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
