This was a great story, there's some heavy emotion couched into these pages; along with some of the best dialogue I've read in a while. Ben and Claire were great together. The banter was hilarious and while these two had their own issues they seemed to just go in tandem with each other.
Claire is the golden child in her family, the intelligent, successful and beautiful sister who is living in Seattle and return to Sweetheart for her sisters wedding. She's maid of honor paired up with Ben. Ben being the best friend of the groom, and all around non committal "I'm all for fun" man. Claire may be bright, but Ben's got some kind of crazy radar when it comes to Claire and he senses things are off with her right from the beginning. He tries to figure it out, but she's got so many pieces to the puzzle and he's lost. What he does though, what they do is become friends, then friends with a little on the side and through many a good laugh, out of that comes some answers to some of their problems. Except the big one Claire keeps tied so tight no one will find out. Until by accident Ben does. We see the whole family again in this book. I loved the characters and will go back and read the first two!
This book has it all, great plot, two great characters, some steam and chemistry and love. A family who loves hard and fully. Doesn't get much better than that.

**arc from NetGalley and Tule Publishing**
**I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book for review. The above is my honest review and the opinions therein are my own**

A sweet romance that grabs at your heart just a little. Claire you just want to hug and tell her its okay while reading this. Ben is hot. They sizzle together. They just feel natural together. Sometimes going home is what you didn't know you needed to heal. That is what Claire does and the added relationship between her and Ben is bonus. This was a first book of Paula Altenburg for me and I highly enjoyed it. I plan on going back and starting this series from the beginning because Branded by Firelight was such a good read. I couldn't put this one down.

Loved this book! It's a fast paced contemporary romance with depth. Claire's back story made for a much richer novel that hooked me from the very first page. Ben is the ultimate playboy who lives life for a good time, not a long time, so Claire is stunned when he is the one to help her during a bad time. Thus begun an uneasy friendship with lots of undertones and angst... The author made me feel invested in the characters and care about their lives.

If you enjoy the genre, you will love this book. I've only recently found this author and adore her books. This one is a must read, and if she's new to you (like me), join me in working my way through her back list.

Not having read anything by this author prior to this story, and not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly blown away by the humorous and extremely smart dialog...why she'd not been on my radar before now is a puzzle that won't carry forward. The personalities of her characters brought them from 2D on the page to 3D in my mind's eye...there was exceptional realism in each and every page of this story.

Ben and Claire had a natural way about them that made their story so enjoyable. Their interactions never stopped being entertaining, with their witty banter and Ben's hilarious one liners, there was page after of laughter, and even tears a time or two. Being able to swing the emotional pendulum so far each way just demonstrated to me the depth of this author's writing perfection. I look forward to reading more from Ms Altenburg in the future.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.