Synopsis:
Never hook-up with a woman from Landmere, and under no circumstances do you sleep with your best friend’s little sister.
Firefighter Elijah Barnett had easy rules when it came to women. Then Dr. Georgia Cross came home.
She’s sunshine wrapped in scrubs and managed to get under Elijah’s skin within five minutes of meeting him. She laughed at him. Called him out on his bad flirting. And somehow made the notoriously grumpy firefighter forget he didn’t smile.
Georgia has spent her entire life doing the responsible thing. From academics and residency, to becoming a doctor and building her dream career. Now she was ready to stop overthinking and start dating. Unfortunately, the infuriatingly sexy firefighter with navy blue eyes kept showing up everywhere she turned.
One heated argument turned into one unforgettable kiss.
One kiss turned into a whole lot of pretending they didn’t want each other. Until they couldn’t deny the spark.
The only problem?
Elijah knew exactly how this story should end. He has to walk away because he didn’t do love.
Too bad his heart didn’t get the memo.
Filled with crackling chemistry, laugh-out-loud banter, delicious tension, protective firefighter energy, found family, and a hero who falls so hard he never sees it coming. This spicy, contemporary romance is perfect for readers who love Lucy Score, Elsie Silver, and Meghan Quinn.
Favorite Lines:
“Who hurt you? Give me his name, and we ride at dawn.”
“Of course he would carry her fireman style…”
“Whenever he thought about her, which was a fuck ton, he sent her a text if they weren’t together. And if they were together, he would find a way to touch her, whether just holding her hand or kissing her. Like he turned over a new leaf. He loved talking to her and making her smile. It was an addiction he had, to make Georgia happy.”
“I always say one more chapter, and the next thing I know, I’ve finished the book and it’s three a.m.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
There is something about a firefighter romance that just works, and Slow Burn definitely knows what kind of book it wants to be. Lynne gives us Georgia, a doctor who has finally returned home after spending years away working toward her career, and Elijah, her brother’s firefighter friend who has built his dating life around a pretty foolproof rule: keep things casual and, preferably, keep them out of town. Obviously, Georgia is about to make that rule a lot harder to follow.
I liked that Georgia comes back home with a life and career she has already built for herself. She isn’t returning because everything fell apart or because she needs someone to rescue her. She worked hard to become a doctor and there is a confidence to her that makes the attraction between her and Elijah feel pretty evenly matched. Their initial connection also happens before they fully put together who the other person is, which makes the whole brother’s best friend situation more fun once that realization hits.
Elijah was probably the more interesting half of the relationship for me because he is so determined to keep his life uncomplicated. He has created these very specific boundaries around dating, including his rather ridiculous zip code rule, and Georgia immediately becomes the exception he wasn’t planning for. A lot of the fun comes from watching him realize that his usual approach isn’t going to work here. The attraction is definitely physical from the beginning, but underneath that, you can see him becoming genuinely interested in her in a way he normally tries to avoid.
Despite the title, I wouldn’t go into this expecting an extremely drawn out slow burn where you’re waiting most of the book for something to happen. This is a quicker, steamier contemporary romance where the chemistry is established early and the real tension comes from what Georgia and Elijah are going to do about it. The firefighter setting, Georgia’s medical career, the hometown connections, and the fact that Elijah is close to her brother give the romance enough going on around it that it doesn’t feel like two attractive people existing in a vacuum.
Summary:.
Overall, Slow Burn is the kind of romance that is easy to settle into when you’re looking for something fun, flirty, and spicy without a huge emotional commitment. This would be a good pick for readers who enjoy firefighter romances, brother’s best friend, hometown romance, strong career-focused heroines, commitment-averse heroes, lots of chemistry, and a fairly spicy contemporary romance that doesn’t take forever to get moving. Happy reading!