The fire fizzled for me.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

The cover and the blurb on this story grabbed me right away, but unfortunately, the story just did not grab me. The premise was intriguing but I found the actual story to be more of a fantasy. The way Lexa and Jules met was somewhat believable, but from there on the events that took place were, in my opinion, very unlikely to happen, especially as quickly as they happened in the story. The story was almost too fast paced. It flowed well from scene to scene but I just could not relate to the characters. I think a little more backstory on them would’ve made them more believable.

I think the author tried to cram too much into a novella. There is a mystery, there is Jules and his BDSM, there is Lexa and her ex-boyfriend, Lexa’s brother and his wife, Jules’ lesbian cousin, Janie and her attraction to Lexa, and finally the romance between Jules and Lexa. There was just too much going on to be fully explored in a novella.

This book is categorized as contemporary romance but It does have snippets of BDSM in it. Both Lexa and Jules are interested in the lifestyle, supposedly Jules has been living as a Dom and Lexa is basically just curious and thinks she would like her boyfriend to dominate her a little. I would rather that part of the story not even be there, it was barely touched on and the scenes where it did come up were in no way erotic. They consisted mainly of Jules spanking Lexa for doing something he didn’t approve of and never dealt with her feelings about it or any kind of aftercare from Jules. If he loved her, it did not come through in those scenes.

The narration may also have had something to do with my inability to connect. I know the story is set in New York but the narrator’s accent was too much for me. It did not bring romance to mind in any way, very flat and unemotional.

This story had a lot of potential but, for me, it fell flat.

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Not for me

I'm sorry I just cant with this book. There is basically nothing I liked about it. This was a short read and I am usually ok with instalove in a short book but nothing about this couple worked for me. They were together for literally like a hour and the hero is talking about the heroine being his girlfriend. She doesn't even live in the same city. The whole romance was just too much. The BDSM elements did not work for me. Jules being a dominant didn't work for me. I think this book tried to put too much in a short story. There was nothing I liked about Jules. I couldn't tell if he wanted a girlfriend or a pet because all he did was basically boss Lexa around and get mad when she didn't do what he thought she should do. I feel like this story could have been better because it had the bones to it. The writing wasn't bad, just the elements of the story were. I would be willing to read another book from this author but I would not recommend this book to anyone. 1 star for the story.

I listened to the audio book and the narrator was ok. I really didn't really like any of the male characters but she did really well with the females. I would be also willing to listen to another book from the narrator as long as they characters don't have a NY accent. 2.5 stars for that narration.

*I was gifted a copy in exchange for review.

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Didn't light a spark

I think the author has a "voice" worth being heard and would read/listen to another of her books. However I think this book would have been better with fewer subplots, there were just too many. The story would have been improved if she had concentrated more on Jules and Lexa's relationship and made the arsonist story more compelling. I also thought the narrator detracted from the book because I did not like how she portrayed Jules.

I received this audio in exchange for an honest review.

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A Good Four Stars Story!

Any additional comments?

This is the first time listening to this author. This is a short romance story of Jules and Lexa that had mystery, action, and hot sex. I loved Jules dominant side and the D/s relationship.

This audiobook was provided to me by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchanged for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast

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Meh

I felt the story had promise. I enjoy D/S relationships. But this didn't quite hit the mark for me. The story felt rushed and I didn't particularly like the characters. In the end it was just ok.

The narrator was decent. Not my favorite but she did ok.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Very good story

I enjoyed the storyline and will listen to more by this author.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

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Can't help but love firemen!

There is nothing not to love in this book...firemen...right there you know you can't go wrong, add dominant to that and you know it's going to be an incredible book. Lexa has gone off to New York to get away from her small town life. She has just broken off her relationship and needs some away time. As she is showering in her hotel room, she hears a gun shot, then a fireman storms in her room, telling her she has to evacuate! She throws on a dress and runs out the door. There is an immediate connection with Jules. He takes her back to the fire station, and their relationship begins. He is a dominant and she is a natural submissive. Taking his punishment from the first night they are together, their chemistry is unbeatable (no pun intended). There are several obstacles in their way. Lexa decides she want to move to NYC, but she needs a job. Jules's cousin works for a paper, and he tries to get Lexa a job through her. I find his cousin to be a troublemaker, and though she is a lesbian, she just seems to like to stir the pot. Lexa does seem to get herself into trouble pretty often, and gets her punishment. Will it be too much for her to handle? Read it and find out!

Marie Smith is the narrator of this audiobook. I love her New York accent for Jules and the other firefighters. Hoping she does more narrating, she was very pleasing to the ear and made the time go quickly.

--I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

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