3.5 stars--BURNING UP is the first instalment in Jennifer Blackwood’s contemporary, adult FLIRTING WITH FIRE romance series. This is middle-school teacher Erin Jenkins, and fire fighter/ single dad Jake Bennett’s story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Jake and Erin) BURNING UP follows the building relationship between middle-school teacher Erin Jenkins, and fire fighter/ single dad Jake Bennett. Erin Jenkins is home for the summer holidays having lost her teaching position in California to attrition and a lack of school board funding. Hoping to find something quick, Erin heads home to Portland in an effort to reconnect with family and friends, never thinking about the potential of falling in love. Enter her brother’s best friend and fellow fire fighter Jake Bennett. An offer of Jake’s plus-one for his sister’s wedding slowly begins to blur the lines between friendship and more. What ensues is the building romance and love between Jake and Erin, and the potential fall-out as Erin’s time in Portland comes to an end.

Erin Jenkins has no plans to stay in her hometown of Portland Oregon. Her life and friends are back in California but her heart will soon belong to a man whose just as lost as our story line heroine. Jake Bennett has been a single father for close to thirteen years, and has never crossed the line by bringing home a woman or fallen in love. Reconnecting with his best friend’s sister found our hero losing his heart to a reluctant Erin Jenkins.

Erin has lusted after Jake Bennett for most of her life but Jake was off limits in more ways than one. With her time in Portland coming to an end Erin hopes to find a new teaching position far from her family and the man with whom she has fallen in love. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text although the palpable sexual energy is more or less absent between our leading couple.

We are introduced to Jake’s fellow fire fighters: Erin’s brother Reese Jenkins, and rookie Cole ‘Hollywood’ Gibson; Erin’s sister Andie and their eccentric mother; as well as Jake’s daughter Bailey, and Erin’s best friends Madison and Sloan.

BURNING UP is a sweet story that introduces the players in the author’s FLIRTING WITH FIRE series. The best friend’s little sister conflict was limited-more of a worry than anything else. There are some funny moments in the hotel at Jake’s sister’s wedding including a family of raccoons who have taken up residence in our heroine’s room. The premise is fun and spicy but predictable; the romance is captivating and emotional; the characters are sassy and energetic.

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Burning Up is the start to a new series, and what a start it is!

I loved Jake and Erin's story. She's had a crush on him forever--he was her brother's best friend growing up--but he shut her down years ago. As soon as she had the chance, Erin left town and has barely looked back since...until her mother's health takes a turn for the worse. Newly out of a job, she plans to spend the summer finding a new one as far away from her hometown as she can and avoiding her mother's meddling at all costs.

For years Jake's life has revolved around two things--his daughter Bailey and his job as a firefighter. He doesn't need the complications that dating would bring, but still jumps at the chance to take Erin as his plus one to a family wedding, if only to prevent a maternal set-up with her neighbor the cat lady. It's not like a relationship with Erin could go anywhere--her brother Reece is his coworker now, and anyway, she's leaving before the summer's over. It's just a friendly date, right?

Riiiight. ;)

I loved the two of them together, even if they took turns making me crazy. Jake's hesitancy to get involved with his friend's sister and to start something with someone who's got one foot out of town already was understandable--mixed with his undeniable attraction to Erin, though, it made him go hot and cold constantly. Erin spent the summer wishing she were somewhere else (literally, at one point--I loved the scenes at the town wishing fountain!), except when she was with Jake...and with her friends, and her family, and...gah! couldn't she just see how right her hometown was for her? (Not living with her mom, though. That's never the right choice when you're almost 30.) Watching Jake and Erin grow closer and let go of their fears was a lot of fun, and I'm anxious to get glimpses of where their relationship is going in future books.

Burning Up is only my second book my Ms. Blackwood but definitely not my last--I can't wait to find out what's going on with Sloan (Erin's BFF) and Reece. Fingers crossed that book 2 is theirs!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

A good story overall. On the one hand there is sexy firefighter Jake, and his buddy's sister Erin, an out of work school teacher. A lot of sparks, but her whining about Portland and family got old after awhile. After awhile I couldn't see what Jake saw in her, but perhaps that is just me. Would recommend though, as would be an easy and quick read for summer.

3.5 stars

Burning Up by Jennifer Blackwood is a fun and entertaining read.
I enjoyed the storyline, it was well written and while a little slow at times it held my interest until the end.
Erin and Jake were likable characters, it took me a little longer to connect with Erin but by the end I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold.

Burning Up is the first book in the Flirting with Fire series and I'm looking forward to what author Jennifer Blackwood has for us next.

*Burning Up is now live*
https://amzn.to/2K5TenP

* An advance copy was provided by Montlake Romance via NetGalley for an honest review.*

Erin Jenkins returns home to Portland for the summer after being laid off for the upcoming year of her teaching job in San Francisco. Now home helping her sister take care of their mother who is recovering from surgery, she is still working out all of the family dynamics and why she has this need to leave. She also runs into firefighter and her brother’s friend, Jake Bennett. When they meet at the bakery over her taking his bagel, Jake cannot get over that this is the same person who chased him and her brother around years ago. Now she is a beautiful women and he is working on still trying to figure out his twelve year old daughter. Not wanting to start anything he ends up asking her to a wedding to stop his mother and sisters’ from setting him up. This begins an on again off again meeting and stopping while either one tries to figure out the other one. He finally gets over his idea of her being his best friend’s sister and she decides to tell him that she always had a crush on him in high school and so for a while things are good until she gets a job offer at her old school. Now wanting to leave, but also thinking she may have found the right person Erin must decide what to do and who to do it with. This story has funny moments that make up for a few times that it drags, and the characters are all very good. Overall a very good book.

3.5 stars.

We have Erin and Jake. They’ve known each other for many years, but since Erin left town ten years ago, they lost touch. Now that Erin is temporarily back in town to help her Mom, they get a chance to reconnect… in more ways than one, lol.

Overall this was a fun read. We see Erin struggle with who she really is and what she really wants. She thought being away was what she wanted, but was it? Could she build a life here in Portland? And when things get serious with Jake, that only adds more questions.

Like I said, it was a fun read, although I was frustrated at Erin at times, for not making up her mind, but I get her doubts. Because of this, the romance builds slowly and is filled with doubts on both ends. And that could be frustrating to some.

Still, an entertaining start of a new series and I’ll check the next books.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*

I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning with this amazing book. The storyline was interesting and well written that it was very easy to enjoy the flow of the story while reading. The characters were original and endearing throughout the story and the chemistry between them was electric whether they were trying to fight how they feel for each other and when they were loving. They had to come to terms with how they where feeling and what they where willing to do to get their HEA. I’ve read many books by this author and she is one of my favourite authors out there and this book is definitely one of those books that doesn’t disappoint at all in my opinion. Thanks for another excellent book Jennifer Blackwood.

This book was really slow to start. I enjoyed it, but parts seemed to drone on. I enjoy her other books a lot better. I will still continue to read this author though.

2.5 stars

Synopsis: Erin is a teacher whose job was downsized, so she returns to her hometown of Portland for the summer to help with the family business. She left 10 years ago for college in California and never looked back, so she is very unhappy to be back for a longer length of time than she ever planned on. Erin is trying desperately to find another job in San Diego, but keeps getting rejected. Meanwhile, she has to deal with a brother who doesn't seem to like her that much, a younger sister who dropped out of college for some unknown reason, a smothering mother, and her brother's best friend, aka her high school crush.
Jake only has time for one woman in his life, and that is his daughter. She is twelve years old, and Jake hasn't dated seriously since she was about 6. When her mother left them when she was a baby, Jake vowed to always put his daughter first. But then Erin returns to town, and she has grown up to become exactly the type of woman that Jake would like to date. Unfortunately, Erin is only in town for the summer, and her brother warned Jake off her when they were younger.
Then Jake needs a date for his sister's wedding to stop his interfering mother from setting him up with someone completely off the wall, and he asks Erin to do him a favour. Although things take off from there, Erin is still determined to leave a town she doesn't have fond memories of, and Jake is still leery about letting anyone near his daughter.

What I liked: the secondary characters. I found Reece (the best friend/brother) intriguing, and am really interested in finding out the sister's story. Jake put his daughter first, which was admirable. There was so much love, and so much confusion/horror at his little girl becoming a not-so-little-girl. It was also easy to see the familiarity that Jake and Erin had, which could only come from years of knowing each other.

What I didn't like: well...Erin. She seemed very immature. I mean, how hard is it when you are presumably 27/28 to have a civil conversation with your mother to say "Please back off and let me have a life."? They supposedly loved each other, so sit down and have an honest conversation where you tell your parent that you're an adult now, and arranging your life doesn't work for you and is only driving you away. It might hurt a little, but the relationship will be better for it. Instead, Erin cries and pouts that her mother never lets her do anything and arranges her life for her, and keeps whining about how this is why she needs to go back to California. Maybe if she stopped acting like a child, her mother would stop treating her as one. I also didn't like how quickly the relationship between Jake and Erin progressed. Yes, I get that they knew each other when they were children, but 10 years is a long time, and people change. But they only went on three dates, four if you count the wedding, before they were all in love and changing their lives forever. (Just because I thought that the changes in their lives were for the greater good doesn't mean that I don't want a little more getting to know each other time before it happens. I'm complicated that way.)

Overall impression: Told in alternating third person POV between Jake and Erin. I was actually leaning toward a DNF on this one, because I REALLY didn't like Erin or connect with the style of writing to begin with. They both grew on me, though, to the point that I was actually interested in seeing Erin and Jake get their happy ending. I'm still not sure that Erin was the one for Jake, because I think that she has a lot of growing up to do, but they are both happy with her final decision, so...I guess that's that. Both Jake and Erin had boundary issues with their families, in that they didn't have any and let their mothers be completely overstep their bounds. Seriously, you are supposedly adults, so act like it.

*I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brother's best friend/high school crush. Erin and Jake have known each other forever. Jake was warned about not messing with Erin long ago. He never betrayed her brother Reece. Erin has always had a huge crush on Jake, but obviously just admiring from afar. Fast forward 10 years later, they see each other. They want each other, but Jake pushes her away. Its a sweet book, a little frustrating, but thats due to the circumstances of not wanting to betray your best friend, not wanting love because you want to solely focus on your daughter. I liked it. Jake and Erin have sizzling chemistry. I am curious to see if Reece will get his own book. I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

bookstagrammer-tweezyreads

After unexpectedly losing her teaching job, Erin is back home in Portland and not all happy about it. Her mom is overbearing and controlling, her brother is not at all happy to have her back and is cool toward her and her little sister has put their relationship in the deep freeze. Erin is completely at loose ends and feels like she is rudderless and without a place to call home; even the firefighter she has had a crush on since forever was her brother's best friend and he moved on and had a relationship ( failed) while she was gone that produced a child. What does Erin have to show for her 10 years away? Erin runs into her crush one morning and realizes she still has a major crush on him that hasn’t gone away in 10 years. Jake gets a good look at Erin and realizes she grew up into a beauty then realizes this is his best friend’s sister. Soon they are running into each other more often than naught. The temptation becomes harder and harder to resist. Can this couple resist temptation or will they give in and see where things could go between them? And will Erin try to work things out with her family or will the fear and confusion over her family send her running again?
This was a low angst, sweet romance that didn’t have a lot of drama to it. I wish there was more about why Erin felt the way she did about her family and why her family felt the way they did about her. That was my issue with this story. It was explained but not explained. I think that could have been handled better. Other than that, I loved the chemistry between Erin and Jake. I do wish the ending wasn’t as rushed , otherwise a good romance read.

My Rating: 4.1 stars *****
“I received an advanced copy of this book from the author at no cost to me."

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book (given by Netgalley)...

3.5 stars

This was an enjoyable read with a few steamy moments (not many). Erin and Jake have a history considering they grew up together because he’s her older brother’s best friend and of course she had a crush on him. Now fast forward ten years later, Erin is no longer just the annoying little tag along but Jake is also no longer the reckless bad boy.

I really wanted to love this book, but Erin was a little selfish for my taste and instead of being an adult and talking her issues out, she consistently keep running away from them.

Also for supposedly loving siblings, there seems to be a lot tension between Erin, Andie (younger sister), and Reece (old brother), but once again nothing gets resolved.

I feel like there is a frenemies situation between Erin’s bestie, Sloane and her brother Reece; also I think something happen to Andie while at college.

With an insta-lust “don’t wanna keep my hands to myself” attraction, Erin and Jake, the main couple, are reunited after not seeing each other for ten years, despite their families remaining close. Since she was quite a bit younger than him in high school and his best bro’s sister, they never were an item in the past. In fact, he never knew about the huge crush she’s always had on him. Therefore, referring to this as a second chance is mostly stretching it, especially since Jake’s wild ways back then landed him as a baby daddy to someone else. Yeah, he doesn’t regret the gift of his 12 year old daughter but this fireman thinks his heart has been incinerated beyond repair after being left to do the daddy deal alone.

Well, that is until everytime he looks at Erin he feels his body go up in flames. Their chemistry and attraction are undeniable. When Erin agrees to be his plus one to an event to get his family off his back, things certainly begin to heat up between them. However, even I became somewhat confused on what they were really doing here due to the back and forth wanting each other but then ultimately pushing each other away at one time or another. Not surprisingly, the relationship angst leads to some pretty hurtful feelings, folks.

If you don’t mind knucklehead moments by a good guy hero followed by a major one by the heroine herself, you might want to check out this “will they or won’t they” romantic read. As usual this author gives us a sassy but quirky heroine along with some very steamy scenes with a movie star gorgeous type hero. You’ll have to wait for the ending for both of them to see what really matters the most is holding on to their future together, no matter where it leads them.

Title: Burning Up, Series: Flirting With Fire (Book 1), Jennifer Blackwood, Pages:253, stand-alone but part of a series, instant attraction, both been celibate awhile, infatuated with him since a teenager, sassy heroine, single dad firefighter hero, back and forth relationship angst, knucklehead moments, easily deterred/wishy-washy hero, no cheating, no love triangle, no OW/OM drama, unsure what she really wants heroine so chooses wrong.

Book 1 - Burning Up
Book 2 - Up in Flames

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance

Erin is out of work due to her school’s budget cuts. It comes at a time when her mom needs her back in Portland to help after surgery, so Erin reluctantly heads home to Portland for the summer. Despite loving teaching, she's worried that she will get stuck at home. Erin has been running from home for a while but doesn't truly know why or what she's running from.

Jake is a firefighter who loves his job. While he knows that this is what he was meant to be, he also has been struggling a little in his personal life. Being a single dad isn't easy, but his daughter always has and always will come first. Now that she is headed into the dreaded teen years, Jake will take all of the help he can get from his buddies.

Erin and Jake have a history simply because Jake and her brother are very good friends. She has had a crush on him since forever and even though they are now adults, she can't help but feel that pull.

These two dance around their attraction a lot and it was somewhat slow in getting to their actual relationship. Despite that, it was a story more about finding yourself and doing what makes you happy – being flexible enough to not walk away from a good thing. I can't wait to see who gets the next story.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
This is a sweet and simple romance between a teacher and a firefighter. Erin returns to Portland after losing her job in California and runs into Jake, a childhood family friend.

There isn’t a whole lot of plot holding this story together. Erin reestablishes herself with her family and childhood friends while job hunting. Erin’s story is so ordinary that I found my mind wandering at times.

I didn’t have a great deal of empathy for Erin. She feels young and whiney and I really didn’t get the resentment she feels towards her family. Jake could be a more likeable character, but he is really only sketched in and we don’t necessarily get to know much about his motivations.

There is some heat in this book but it is usually overshadowed by angst and guilt. There is a little bit of relationship and character development at the end of the story but most of the book is pretty slow.

3.5 Stars Burning Up is a good start to the Flirting with Fire. Erin and Jake were enjoyable characters and with the humor and banter of the storyline I look forward to reading more.

Great book! I really enjoyed it! I can't wait to read about the rest of the guys.But I'm sad to see that according to
Amazon there's only one more book in the series. I hoped there'd be at least two!

This was a combination of single dad and brother best friend love story which was also funny. Jake was a single dad who was also best friend with Erin’s older brother Reece. They hadn’t seen each other in a decade until Erin moved back home for the summer. When they saw each other it was instant attraction especially since Erin has always had a crush on Jake. Jake always thought she was cute but never wanted to break the bro code. But she was no longer that kid she was now all woman and sexy and gorgeous.

Their reunion was the funniest and the chemistry was still there. She was his date to his sister wedding and things picked up from there. But Jake never let anyone in because of his daughter and Erin had a reputation of running. As their relationship progressed they deal with all sorts of issues. Throw in both families and you’re in for a ride.

When Jake finally wanted more Erin had other plans which caused a friction but then she got her act together. Both families were funny and can’t wait for more.

A new, steamy hot romance series that the first book features a firefighter who is a single dad is just my kind of series. Of course, there is history, there is family meddling, but the steamy hot romance is what won me over. While Jake’s heart is guarded due to his daughter’s mother running out on him when she was just a baby. Then he runs into his best friends little sister, who is so off limits but his heart has other plans.

The instant chemistry between Jake and Erin was perfect. The hints at the flirting that may have happen during high school was fun. I love that there was a history between them and they didn’t hide from it. If anything they embraced it, respected it, and pulled the good from it to make their current relationship ever better.


The secondary characters give the reader a glimpse of potential future storylines and there were a few hints of who may hook-up with whom. I am excited to read more of Jennifer Blackwood’s book and hopefully catch up with Erin and Jake while learning more about the rest of the Flirting with Fire Family.

Erin Jenkins is out of a teacher job and back in Portland, her hometown, for the summer. While her mom and friends attempt to get her to stay long term, Erin does what she can to find a new job out of the city.

Jake Bennett is Erin’s childhood crush and older brother’s best friend. Jake and Erin run into each other after years and he asks her to help him out...by being his date to his sister’s wedding. It really shouldn’t be a big deal as they all grew up together and both families know each other, but sparks definitely start flying between Erin and Jake over the course of that weekend.

However, Erin doesn’t plan on staying in town and Jake is busy as a firefighter and a single dad.

I really enjoy a brother’s best friend/childhood crush book and this was a great one! I loved that Erin and Jake seemed to pick up right where they left off and their chemistry was simply amazing.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters, from Jake’s co-workers, Erin’s friends and even Jake’s daughter. They all brought a good spark to the story and made it even more enjoyable!

I’ve only read Jennifer Blackwood one other time and I must say, I am pleasantly surprised. I’ve never read a firefighter romance before but the author most definitely has me looking forward to the next one

When I saw the cover on Burning Up on NetGalley I knew I had to review it. I hadn't before read her but I was willing to give her a try. I mean...the covers great!

Like I mentioned I hadn't yet read her before so I wasn't sure what to expect from her. Right from the start I knew I had a problem. I was lost in the first few pages. Let me explain. The authors writing is very choppy. It was like she wasn't writing in full sentences. I was like, wait...what?

For me that started the tone for the book. I will admit that the whole book wasn't written like this but enough was that it made it had to read.

There is a lot of humor in the book which was a plus for me but that didn't make up for how I felt about the writing. I did like Jake. He seemed to have grown up nicely and was a good guy. Plus I always love a single father. Men and kids get me every time. For the most part I liked Erin too but I think I got a little tired with her need to leave.

I'm going to be honest here and say that even though this is only a 2 star review for me I might read it again at another time. Hear me out...I think if I go into it knowing how she writes I will be able to read it better and not feel out of sync. I so badly want to like this one. When and if I read it again I will make note of it on my Facebook page and let you all know what I thought.