Up in Smoke: A Gay Firefighter Romance

Audiobook review: Overall – 5 Performance – 5 Story – 5 A perfect blend of music and fire! Treble Maker, book one in the Perfect Harmony series, was one of the first Annabeth Albert books I read; that was the beginning of my love for her writing. Up in Smoke, the fourth book in the Hotshots series of standalone books, is the perfect blend of themes from these two series and I loved it. The excellent blurb gives you the scoop on what the story is about so I’m not going to rehash it here. I’ll tell you instead that I was totally captivated by the story and the characters. I got all kinds of feels while listening to Iggy Toma’s most excellent performance of this story. Brandt and Shane struggled a bit to come to terms with caring for a baby that Brandt knew nothing about until Shane showed up on his doorstep with baby Jewel. I loved how both of these guys adapted to taking care of her and rearranging their lives and schedules. I got so into the story that I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning listening to it. Epilogues are often one of my favorite parts of a book. While Up in Smoke doesn’t have a titled epilogue, the final chapter takes place two years later so to me that’s an epilogue. 😊 I loved getting to know how Brandt and Shane are doing after this amount of time and how their relationship has progressed. I don’t usually comment on covers but the cover for this book has a new look as compared to the first three in the series. While I really like the look of the new cover, I have to say that I don’t really think it fits the story all that well. This is a great book about two guys stepping up and taking care of a baby and building a relationship together. BUT it is also hot as fire with lots of sexy time and I don’t think the cover conveys that aspect of the story at all. I have really enjoyed all of the books in this series and Annabeth Albert continues to be one of my favorite MM authors. I’m looking forward to whatever she writes next. A review copy of the ebook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book. A copy of the audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author or narrator. ***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Up In Smoke by Annabeth Albert Hot Shots #4 This book left a smile on my face. It was a steamy-sweet romance between two men that so deserved to find happiness. No major drama for the couple though taking on the care of an infant baby girl was definitely not easy…but so much easier together than it would have been for either to do alone. It almost had a fairytale feel to it and was perfect reading for me the day I read it! What I liked: * That the backstories of the two men had commonalities * That I felt both men were “equal” and brought qualities that would support the relationship * That the two men communicated openly and maturely * Shane: good brother, musician, loving uncle, has goals and dreams, a good person * Brandt: firefighter, a bit of a rambler, professional, caring, team player, a good person * The growth in both main characters * How the two dealt with the situation they found themselves in * That they were there for Jewel, the baby, and for one another * That there was no major drama between the two men * That it felt believable – mostly * The fairytale feel of the story that might have been less believable but that was very nice indeed * The happy ending * Seeing/hearing about some of the characters from previous books in the series * Wondering if there will be more books in the series * That there was no “bad guy” * All of it really except… What I didn’t like: * Being reminded that firefighters have a tough life and that they sometimes die as a result of the job(s) they do. Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I read more in this series? Yes Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4-5 Stars

3.75⭐ Up In Smoke is the third book I've read in Annabeth Albert's Hotshots series, and what I really like about this series is how different each book is; and this one is probably the most different of them all. But that certainly didn't make it any less readable. Although it was a lot more low angst. And for me, the characters of Brandt and Shane weren't always the most personable, but they were likable, and I liked how after a rocky start they really came together to care for their little diva Jewel. Furthermore, their romance was cute and in the end rather 🔥🔥. Would recommend, especially if you enjoy low angst surprise baby/single dad M/M romances. **I was kindly provided with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**