Title: Ignite
Series: Sister Series Novel
Author: Holly Mortimer
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: September 15, 2015
Fiery artist, Frankie Cain, hopes that her latest move to the East Coast would be her last. She’s been on the run for over twelve months, but can’t fight the feeling she’s never getting away from her powerful, abusive ex.
Hot, Fire Chief, Hardy Hanson, can’t resist a woman in need of a rescue, but when he collides head on with Frankie, he discovers she’s not the only one of them needing to be saved.
They must decide if allowing themselves to love is worth the risk, or will they let their past destroy any chance they have at finding peace.
5 soul burning stars
France's Cain is a woman on the run. After escaping an abusive relationship the only thing Frankie is concerned with is evading her abusive ex and staying alive. She doesn't stay in one city for too long so making friends isn't a concern for her.
Hardy Hanson, local fire chief, attracts women like moths to a flame. But, Hardy doesn't have room for the women around town who throw themselves at him- he focuses all of his attention on working and keeping his crew safe. That is until a fiery redhead burns down his defenses.
I don't think I've read a story as angsty and tender as Hardy and Frankie's in a long time. For a minute I thought this story was going to be predictable and I was preparing myself for the heartache that comes from reading a story that's cliché. I am more than thrilled to report that this is NOT a cliché. This is the kind of story you ready if you love romance but you want it mirrored to real life. These characters aren't ones that are made from sugar and spice and everything nice. These are character who are made from fire, sweat, and tears.
My only complaint is that the ending felt too short, if not a little rushed. I literally checked the percentage and cringed because there wasn't enough left for all that I wanted to happen (or at least for me to get as many details as the earlier chapters of the story).
Apparently this is a standalone within a series....guess I'll be reading the entire series now.
Frankie
I stopped and faced the ocean bent over at the waist with my hands braced against my knees, feeling like a ton of bricks were pushing on my lungs. I decided to just walk back and take it easy. I took a few steps toward home and then heard him. He was barely speaking above a whisper, but I could hear him like he was yelling in my ear.
“Tell me your name.”
I inhaled and wasn’t sure exhaling was in my future. We had a good thing going, and now he had to go and ruin it by wanting to know my name. Everything would change from this point on. He was a man of honour. He couldn’t know who I was and not tell someone. It was the someones who could hurt me and I needed to do everything I could to avoid them finding me. My name wasn’t exactly a household name, but in certain circles, it was known and more so, the man I was avoiding was pretty much known everywhere.
“I can’t tell you that, Hardy.”
He stared at me with emotions running wild across his face. Like a slot machine they spun on until they landed on the winner. Pain. He slowly walked toward where I was rooted. I couldn’t move if another hurricane force wind came upon us there and then. I felt like if I broke our stare down, I would feel the pain of it for a really long time.
“Why?” he whispered. I could hear him clearly now that he was standing just a foot in front of me. “I need to hear it. I need to know your name.”
“Why?” I echoed his words back to him. “Why does it matter? What are we doing here, Hardy? We’re just running. That’s it. We don’t need to know anything about each other, we just need to run.”
“How long are you just going to run, Red? How long until you let me know you? I’ve been here. Every day for the past two weeks, running behind you, but I’m done with running behind you.” He began to close the space between us until he was breathing my air. “I’m done waiting for you to give me a piece of you. I want it now.” He lowered his voice and began to lean in. “Give. Me. Your. Name.”
I had huge personal space issues. He was pushing every limit I had and it terrified me. I felt a tear start to trickle down my face. We were frozen, at a standstill. One of us had to move first and I realized I was actually afraid his move would be to walk away. Something woke up inside of me at that realization. Being alone was beginning to be pretty damn lonely.
“Frances, but my friends call me Frankie.” I whispered the words he was looking for and then I promptly turned and ran like the track star I once was, all the way back to the safety of my house. Away from Hardy.
Holly Mortimer is a wife and mother of two daughters, residing in Stratford, ON. She started writing in high school in an Ancient Egyptian History class, penning her first piece on Cleopatra and her many loves. Her teacher immediately asked her if she had any interest in writing soap operas when she graduated and the rest is history.
She has just completed her second novel, Ignite and is currently working the third book in this series.She loves reading, watching movies and playing with her kids, dog and family, when she’s not daydreaming about her current book obsession.
