Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake

Crave the Heat by Marnee Blake

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Blurb

Fan the flames of desire . . .            
Smokejumper Dak Parrish has come home to Oregon to fight fires—and to mend fences with his family. He left the Warm Springs Tribal Reservation after feuding with his father. Now, with tribal lands threatened by an arsonist, Dak gets a chance to make amends by acting as a liaison between the reservation and the forest service criminal investigator—a woman who sparks a surprising and hungry flame in him.
 
After a trauma on the east coast, Heidi Sinclair left DC to start fresh as a criminal investigator in Oregon. But her first serious investigation provides one stubborn obstacle after another—including an arrogant firefighter she suspects knows more than he’s saying. Though she tries to battle her attraction to Dak, it’s too late. As they track down the arsonist, someone will do whatever it takes to keep old secrets buried, even if it turns everything Heidi and Dak have fought for to ashes . . .
 
“Excellent for readers who enjoy plot-driven mysteries with well-developed, sympathetic characters and slow-burn romance.”
—Library Journal, starred review on Tempt the Flames

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Review

Crave the Heat is the second in a trilogy by Marnee Blake. I know I read, and reviewed, the first book, but apparently I didn’t post or save that review because I cannot find it for the life of me. The trilogy is about smoke jumpers, as in fire fighters who jump out of airplanes to fight wildfires.

This is a real-life career choice. These people are very brave. They may also lack certain survival instincts, such as the one that tells you not to jump out of planes into burning forests, but they seem to do okay. I’m just saying. I have a hard time even thinking about this stuff, and I really love fire.

Ahem. Anyway.

This is the second book in the trilogy, and while I liked the first well enough to buy the rest of them I definitely liked this one better. The hero, Dak, is a sympathetic kind of guy who genuinely respects women. He doesn’t go around in a fedora telling people he’s a Nice Guy, he’s just… good. He’s helpful, he’s respectful, and he treats people well.

His family life is also absolute crap. I have no idea how he turned out so well when his family is as screwed up as it is. There’s an older woman side character who appears to have taken him under her wing, so I’ll give her all the credit. It sure doesn’t go to his father.

The heroine has also gone through some serious issues, mostly related to a prior relationship and her old job. I’m curious about where her family was through that whole mess, but it leaves her available to go to Oregon and kick butt so I’m not going to poke too deeply at it.

Something that often bothers me when I read m/f books is the power dynamics between the couples depicted. They don’t show a couple on equal footing. The woman is always wrong, the man is always right, the woman usually needs the man to rescue her from some kind of incompetence… you know.

There isn’t any of that between Dak and Heidi. Dak is physically more powerful than she is, but he’s also the kind of guy who jumps out of airplanes and fights fires from inside the fire so I’m thinking he’s got to be pretty strong. Heidi is no fainting violet. She can hold her own. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and she’s awesome.

I was a little uncomfortable with the way the other firefighters, especially the people in charge, treated Dak. These are people who he needs to trust to have his back. When they learn the truth about his family dynamics instead of rallying around him and showing him the love and support he’s been missing his whole life they actually punish him, while giving him a lecture about how the fire crew is supposed to be a family. Okay there, Mitch, I think he got the message. I’m not sure it’s the one you meant to send, but whatever.

Also, Dak is a much better person than I am, because I would never have set foot in that place again. I might have even burned it down, but some might call that overkill.

Anyway, this is a great book and Dak is a fantastic hero. It’s easy to cheer for the happy ending and I was overjoyed when it finally happened.