this was a nice wrap up to the series and it was good to see updates on the other cast of characters. i had a hard time connecting to the heroine and i could relate a lot to the hero and how frustrated he was with her. i felt like she just moved through everything too quick. from running scared to telling everyone everything. plus the ending felt pretty anticlimatic.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review**#FlareUp #NetGalley

This was a 3 star for me!! A second chance tale! Although firefighters are always fun to read about and it was a sexy read there was smth missing! Overall it was an sweet romance read!

Flare Up is a fabulous romantic suspense by Shannon Stacey. Ms. Stacey has delivered a well-written book and loaded it with outstanding characters. Wren disappeared after her boyfriend beat her brother until he had to be hospitalized. She felt safe enough to begin a new life and a new romance. A phone call was all it took to leave her boyfriend and go into hiding again. Grant was angry and hurt when Wren left him, but when he found her as her apartment burned he wanted answers. Wren and Grant's story is packed with drama, humor, action, sizzle, suspense and just a tiny bit of angst. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and look forward to reading more from Shannon Stacey in the future. Flare Up is book 6 of the Boston Fire Series but it can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow this one takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride with everything that happens throughout this book. A breathtaking, breath holding, fast paced, action romance story full of twists and turns and scary adventures that these characters have to go through to get their HEA. Loved it! Definitely recommend

At the risk of sounding like an echo, I'm joining the reviewers here who are moaning about the weak ending to this series. But then the past two books haven't exactly thrilled me either so I can't say I'm surprised - very disappointed, yes, but not surprised - at how it's all being wrapped up.

Like others, I was anticipating Grant and Wren's story. Why was she so mysterious and then why did she ghost him? Well, suffice it to say the reality and reasonings of the book left me underwhelmed. Then the ending. Hmmm, not so great.

{{My review will be posted to my blog on Friday January 18th}}

[I received an arc for an honest review]

Flare Up by Shannon Stacey is the 6th book in her Boston Fire series. I wasn't aware of this before I went into it and without having read the first five books I was able to get into the story fairly easily. Yet I wish I had read them because the main couple in this had a relationship during the previous books.

Five months ago Wren walked away from Grant, the man who loved her, abruptly and without explanation. Grant was left hurt and confused. Now Wren is back, and he can't wrap is mind around it. He is still hurt and confused but won't let her walk away from him again. The threat that caused Wren to run is still present, but she realizes she may have acted in haste. Now she has to try to start over with her life, her friends and her relationship with Grant. But it isn't long before her threat becomes a problem again.

I felt for Grants character and what's not to love about a loving, caring fire fighter. Wren was harder for me to care for and I think that's because I didn't read the previous books in the series so all I know her as is the one who broke Grants heart. The whole group of friends in the novel were wonderful and fun, and I was left once again wishing I had read the other books' haha Bonus points go to the novel for making me feel at home with the setting. I live in Boston and could picture the different locations easily and have experienced many local pizza places where the food outshines the wait staff. Overall, I felt the story progressed nicely and kept me entertained but it kind of just ended, there was no big confrontation to solve the situation. It was just over with, and they got their happily ever after.

Flare Up by Shannon Stacey was a good second chance romance filled with family, friendship and love. I would definitely by interested in reading more books by Shannon Stacey in the future.

I do enjoy this series but this story felt a little rushed.
I wanted a little more danger and intrigue to the stalker ex storyline. When confrontation did happen, it really livened up the book.
Having said that, I found the central love story between Grant and Wren to be very sweet.
I loved how their friends rallied around the couple, trying to keep them safe and together.
Unfortunately, I found the conclusion an anticlimax too.
Overall, not my favorite of this series but still a decent read.

2.5 Stars

What a bummer. I was actually intrigued how the author would spin Wren’s ghosting on Gavin and the circumstances that brought them together. Yet when it finally arrive, I was left dissatisfied as the delivery wasn’t quite what I expected them to be.

The glaring stumbling block was the question why Wren had done what she did to Gavin. The logic she came up with just flabbergasted me. Her violent ex trying to make contact weirded her out into disappearing, but she didn’t want to completely lost touch with Gavin so she was still staying around - just not around - hoping that when things back to normal she could just popped back into Gavin’s life. How could she expect (hope, wish?) the problem resolved when she did NOTHING about it except hiding?? Perhaps I don’t have to try to understand the logic of abused mind to sympathize with them, but it was really hard for me to cheer for Wren on this one. If it were up to me, I’d rather Gavin found a totally different character for their HEA! I mean, I’m all for second chance and everything, provided the turnabout and redemption act were acceptable enough.

And another thing is Wren’s ex; for a lone villain he seemed to be so good in outwitting everyone. To have said ex to practically stalking them without them get ANY hunch, even when say Gavin felt someone staring too long at him while among his crew??

I think the saving grace of the story for me is the firehouse brethren and camaraderie between them; the back and forth jibes were still entertaining just as much as candid and open conversation between the men. But even those could act so much as buffer when the main plot failed to amuse me. The sad thing is, “Flare Up” being the final installment of the series that I was hoping it could end with positive bang. Alas, it just didn’t work that way...


Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for a second chance romance? Shannon Stacey has a wonderful one for you. Grant and Wren meet up again when he saves her during a building fire. Grant is shocked she is still in Boston after dumping him months earlier. He gets her a place to stay with friends and they tentatively start to date again and work through their feelings and issues.

For Wren, her abusive ex finding her is terrifying after what's he's previously done, actions that cost her only remaining family to disown her. She is scared that Grant will turn on her once he learns the truth, as the only person she trusted did before. Grant, on the other hand, can't understand why she found him so easy to walk away from when he and his friends would've helped her. Nothing is solved easily but the love and attraction are still there so they rebuild and work their way to trusting each other. The time apart felt like a fresh take because it wasn't too long and too often the reason for the separation is hidden too long in the book, which is not the case here.

The breakup means that some of Grant's friends and family are a bit weary of Wren pulling another runner so it's a relief when she temporarily moves into a room in Cait's mom's house (Cait is the heroine of the previous book, Hot Response). In the review copy I received, her mom's name was not the same as it is in Hot Response, which may be corrected in the final copy and is the reason why I omit it here. It helps Wren as she has support from a mother figure, as well as her employers and co-workers at her two jobs. It makes all the difference as she moves on from her past.

This is one of the best second chance romances I have had the pleasure of reading. The character development, pacing, and storyline make it stand out. Highly recommended!

I love a second chance romance and after seeing how broken hearted Grant was following his break up from Wren and her subsequent disappearance in the previous book in Shannon Stacey’s Boston Fire series, I was looking forward to seeing how their reacquaintance played out.

“I’m not sure excited is the word I’d use.”

Sadly, Flare Up was an uninspiring end to what has been a great series. The opportunity was there to give Grant and Wren the story deserved and the guys a decent send-off but with an underdeveloped weak storyline, everything fizzled out. Nice epilogue to end on though.

***I received this book via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

I was so excited about this book and was pumped when NetGalley approved me for an e-ARC.

Shannon Stacy is a fantastic writer. I love the world she has built in the Boston Fire series. Not enough people talk about world building in romance. So I was already invested in these characters. But this is also a reunited-lovers story. That is my favorite trope.

Grant was a great hero. He's justifiably a little standoffish when he first reconnects with Wren, but he isn't the jaded hero who shows up all the time in romance novels. I love reading about male characters who are open to being in a relationship.

Wren is actually the more withdrawn character. I really liked reading her journey and growth.

They were a fun couple. And I like the push and pull of their interactions as they reconnect. It is a different dynamic than you see in a lot of romance. That's probably why I love this trope so much.

I have a really tiny issue wiht this book. And it's probably a personal issue. Grant's best friend's name is Gavin. These names are just too similar for me. I kept confusing who was who. Like even when writing this I had to look up the hero's name to make sure I got it right. I haven't read Gavin's book (it's the only one I haven't read in this series) so maybe reading that will help.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The ending had a feeling of being a series ending which would make me sad. I really like these characters. At least Ms. Stacey has other books I can read to get me by.

I love this series by Shannon Stacey. This wasn't my favorite of the Boston Fire books, but that didn't keep me from devouring it - much like I do with all of Shannon Stacey's books.

Grant and Wren are ex's and not for a great reason. She called it off one day and that was that. They are reunited during a rescue and while she is still trying to keep her distance, he's not hearing it. He's a little more determined to figure out what went wrong and make things work between the two of them.

I didn't love Wren's character, but I still enjoyed the overall story. I loved reading about Grant's family connections and I liked that there was a little more suspense than usual in this book. Even though this wasn't my favorite of all of the Boston Fire books, I'd still buy it and recommend it to friends!

4 1/2 stars.
I love this series so much!! This group of firefighters is such a great bunch od people and a wonderful family. They all have each others backs in and out of work. I am so happy to finally get Grant Cutter's HEA. I have been waiting for it, and to find out what the heck was up with Wren. Poor Grant! She absolutely gutted him when she left. I had a hard time with Wren sometimes, but Grant is amazing!! They are able to rekindle the flame they once had but this time it burns brighter and hotter with total trust and honesty!!

I have read all of Shannon Stacey’s work and I’ve enjoyed them all, this fell a little flat for me. I didn’t really care for Wren. She seemed to me a little whiney. Just not my favorite book of hers but I will continue reading for sure!

Sexy firefighters are always fun to read about, and this book was no exception! Shannon Stacey definitely knows how to turn up the heat (pun intended!) and get readers excited about the buff, alpha men in this series. The relationship between our hero and heroine was well developed but largely off screen, so to speak. I felt like a prologue was needed in order to help the reader understand the couple's past sooner. It took me a while to understand what exactly had happened between them and why they were in love. Since the love was already there at the start of the book, I didn't get to see the romance bloom, which is half the fun.

The last person Grant Cutter expects to carry out of a burning building is his ex-girlfriend, Wren Everett, but that is exactly who he finds in his arms. Thinking Wren had left Boston five months ago when she abruptly ended their relationship, Grant is stunned, confused, and hurt. As she recovers with mutual friends, it soon comes to light the real reason why she left him, and Grant must reconcile his heartbreak with his protective instincts when it comes to Wren. Their relationship may have ended, but his feelings for her never died. Now he must decide if their love is worth a second chance.

Both characters were engaging and unique, and I loved seeing their interactions with each other. However, as mentioned above, having the romance develop prior to the book's first page made it hard to really connect with them as a couple. Instead of showing their love develop, we were told about it, and that takes some of the enjoyment out of the romance. Wren's reasoning in leaving Grant was also confusing - here you have this strong firefighter surrounded by other strong men, but you don't trust that he can protect both himself and you from your ex? It was eventually explained, and the reader starts to understand where Wren's fear is coming from, but it was a little too late for me. I enjoyed seeing them fall in love again at Grant's parents' house, which was probably my favorite part of the book. That's where the emotions really flowed from the pages, and I could feel their love. I wish the rest of the book had more of that. The book seems like it could be enjoyed as a standalone, but I suspect it may have been better had I read the previous books. Maybe I would have felt more connected to the characters had I done so.

I have read Shannon Stacey before, and she is consistently a solid read. While this book wasn't my favorite, it is still one I would definitely recommend. It certainly sparks my interest in reading the other books in the series!

Wren moved from Virginia to Boston to get away from her controlling ex. He went to prison after beating up her brother. She meets Grant, a firefighter, and slowly lets him in. She gets a phone call and believes it her ex. She breaks up with Grant and goes into hiding. Five months later, the crew gets called out to an apartment fire and Grant finds Wren in one of the apartments. He is shocked and angry for her breaking up over the phone. They never stopped loving each other but Wren was just terrified of what would happen to Grant if her ex ever found her. After explaining all this to Grant he understands her mindset but thinks she should have talked to him about it. But when things start to happen and Grant is hit in the head, will Wren take off again or will she stay and fight for the man and family she loves?
Hunky firemen, crazy ex, and an scared woman. Steamy and some action.
Great story and you’ll love the characters.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

Oh, man. I felt for Grant when Wren walked out on him in the previous book. Buuuuut, running like she did made me think something was up and I'm glad to see I was right. (because I like being right!)

Stumbling over Wren throws Grant's world into a tailspin. He's nowhere near over her and that makes him willing to listen to see what sent her running from their relationship in the first place. Which is awesome. Finding out about the fear she's been living with eases some of his hurt, but it's not all puppies and roses.

On her end, Wren knows she hurt Grant with her actions. She knows her secrecy with him the first time around made things worse. So she's determined to be more honest. Because hurting him ultimately hurt her and that's not a good way to rekindle a relationship.

The rekindling part was pretty awesome, btw.

We got to see familiar faces, spend some quality time at Kincaid's, and watch a romance bloom again. Perfect!

Boston Fire series seems to trade off between on story being more mystery\suspense and the other more romance with a small tiny little bite of a mystery\suspense.

Flare Up is romance with a small bite of mystery\suspense that might disappoint readers if they are expecting the stalker part of the story to be the lead. Its not and it only gets a slight mention at the end.

The story is a second chance romance that readers of the series have been waiting for.

The story had me scratching my head trying to figure out why she ran away because it didn't make any since. The author wanted to create tension and build up but will leave most readers as confused as Grant was as to why Wren left. It almost feels as if the author didn't have a reason for her leaving and came up with something that could fill .25 % of the book to give a readers a reason for this second chance romance.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Carina Press for the advance copy Shannon Stacey Flare Up

Grant and Wren were in love with each other, when suddenly Wren broke up with him over the phone. That was 5 months back and Grant is still learning to live without Wren. When a fire call brings Wren back in his life, he needs to know why she broke off with him.
Wren was happy with Grant but the fear of her ex had her breaking off with Grant. What will she do now with Grant back in her life ?
One thing I really liked about this book is that the reunion is not dragged out and also the family like bond shared by firefighters. My only disappointment was the suspense ended pretty tamely.
I have voluntarily read and reviewed the arc from Netgalley.

3.25-3.5 stars [ARC REVIEW]

Bottom Line, Up Top. An unusual second-chance romance with a lot of potential, but the heroine, underdeveloped subplot (with the most anticlimactic ending ever), and lack of insight into the beginning of their relationship really brought it down for me. The hero and secondary cast of characters are what saved the book, but not enough to give it a higher rating. Grant really was a great hero though, and the book might be worth reading for him alone; Stacey does a great job of portraying how devastated he was by Wren's abandonment and how conflicted he feels about her return, PLUS he's dreamy—he's super in love with her and treats her with such tenderness and sensitivity (as well as some great sexy times). When it comes to Wren, we're told that she's a private person and is used to being a bit closed off with people, and I guess Stacey does a good job of depicting that, because in the end, Wren feels too closed off to and private from the reader as well.

Summary. Wren and Grant (who is oh so wonderful) were dating for several months (a little under a year, though it's never specified exactly how long) and Grant was on the brink of proposing when Wren pulled a disappearing act, breaking up with him over the phone and saying she never wanted him to contact her again, without giving any explanation as to why. It turns out, she has a really horrible, manipulative, violent ex who caught up with her, and out of fear of what he would do to Grant and the other people in her life, she decided to run (though she didn't leave the Boston area, where all of this takes place). Ben, the ex, was never violent with her, but he beat up her brother so badly he almost killed him, all because the brother kept on trying to tell her how bad Ben was and that she needed to get away from him. He was put in jail, but has since gotten out, and when she receives a phone call from him, it freaks her out and she "runs" (again, though doesn't actually leave).

Grant is a firefighter and Wren enters back into his life unexpectedly when he and his team (squad?) are called to a fire at an apartment building, where he is shocked to find a nearly-unconscious Wren. She loses everything in the fire and Gavin (one of Grant's fellow firefighters) and Cait (an EMT and Gavin's fiancée), who had previously been friends of hers through Grant, offer to put her up for a bit until she can get back on her feet. She ends up only staying a few days and then moves in with Cait's mom and rent's a room from her.

Meanwhile, she is back in Grant's life and he is back in hers. She relatively quickly explains why she disappeared, which was at least reassuring—I was afraid she was going to hold on to that one and it would be drawn out during the whole story. Grant tries to understand her fear, but doesn't completely get why she didn't confide in him, especially given he has connections in law enforcement and can protect her. He's hurt and figures that their love must not have been as strong as he thought it was if she could just run like that, and if she didn't feel she could trust him enough to confide in him. While they try to determine what their relationship status is and how it should progress, they also need to deal with the shadowy threat of Ben, who is kind of omnipresent but also a big question mark, since his status is unknown, apparently he's in Virginia as he should be when Grant looks into it, but then Wren starts getting weird phone calls again, etc.

Thoughts. There were some things I really loved about this book, namely the hero and his entourage, but there were other things I really had issues with. Flare Up is essentially a second-chance romance story, which are not my favorite—especially when what caused the issue is a Big Misunderstanding or Things Left Unsaid. This was an unusual second-chance story in that a lot of times, the hero and heroine have a young romance and then years go by before they meet up again, so we are able to see them fall in love all over again. Usually, we also get glimpses of the beginning of their relationship, either at the beginning of the book or with flashbacks throughout. This book was different in that we get no views of their previous relationship and only 5 months have gone by, not 5 years or something like that.

The focus of the book is really on their relationship and them getting back together, though Ben is a huge driver of what has happened and the dynamic that continues between them. You would think, therefore, that Ben would have a greater presence, but the guy is honestly kind of a ghost in the book and (view spoiler). The whole way that subplot is resolved is SUPER anticlimactic, especially given that HE IS THE DRIVER OF EVERYTHING!!! Of why Wren was in Boston, of why she left Grant, of why she stayed away from Grant, of why she's nervous about getting close to him again, of why he's nervous she might run again, and on and on.

Also, like I said, we don't really get insight into Wren and Grant's earlier relationship. We get some memories when they think back or remember something and we hear their thoughts about it, but I really feel like we got cheated out of their original love story. Part of what I love about romances is watching the developing relationship go from whatever-it-was-or-wasn't to love, and by the time we meet them they're already there, have been for awhile, and that's been maintained steady ever since for both of them. It also made it a bit challenging for me to understand the dynamic and connection between the two of them though; yes, through each of their POV's we learn that he loves x about her and she loves y about him, but there felt like there were these huge pieces missing, because they're already in love—and I don't want just the final product, I want to know the ingredients and see the different steps that lead to creating that final product. And like I said at the beginning, when there's a big time gap between the first time a couple falls in love and the second, as we almost always have in second-chance romances, not only do we usually have flashbacks/POVs from that point, but the time apart means that even if the love was still felt, there is at least SOME process of falling in love that has to happen again, because so much time has passed and in many ways they are different people from who they once were.

In terms of the characters, I loved the full cast and as I did with the other Shannon Stacey book, I really appreciated the supporting characters—they add a lot to the story. I will say it was a bit tough jumping into the series at Book 6, because you see ALL the characters and couples from previous books and it gets to be a bit confusing at times about who is related to whom, who is with/married to whom, who works with whom, etc. (there's a variety of relational links among the characters).

Between Wren and Grant, Wren left something to be desired, whereas Grant really shone through. We get both of their POVs, but I could never really get a hold on Wren and she felt a bit flat and one-dimensional to me. I wanted to like her—one always wants to like the heroine, there was nothing objectionable about her, and I felt for what she's gone through—but I couldn't muster up the emotion to really feel one way or the other. It's a little challenging for me to understand why she ran at the beginning, and I can chalk this up to never having been in her position and felt that fear, but then isn't it the author's responsibility to make that experience accessible to us and make us understand what it's like to be in the character's shoes? Books are all about placing ourselves in the lives of others, which are vastly different than our own, and with a good author, we're able to make those connections and gain those understandings. I don't know if maybe this missing piece had been filled in for me I would have been able to connect with her more or not, but it's one thing I can point to that I know was lacking. Intellectually, I understand how this situation could happen and how her actions could unfold the way they did, but either I couldn't tap into her to begin with and so couldn't connect with this aspect of her story, vice versa, or those two issues just exist simultaneously and independently.

Now to be clear, I'm not saying Stacey is a sucky writer, because while I couldn't get a handle on Wren, I felt like I completely had a handle on Grant. I felt so much more connected to his POV and thought she did a really great job of portraying his love, confusion, and conflicting feelings of relief and anger. Grant fell for Wren and he fell for her HARD (and oh how I wish we could have seen it ... but okay, okay, I'll get off that soapbox now, I promise), and his residual devastation is very vividly depicted for us. He is so happy to find out she's okay and have her back in his life, but is also, of course and understandably, both angry and confused about why she left, even after she explains it to him. He thought they had this unbelievable bond full of love and trust—he was about to propose to her!!! Had the ring picked out and everything—and then she up and disappears. He wants her back in his life, but he's also wary, because he was really put through the ringer emotionally when she left. And how could he not be?! Not only did the love of his life break up with him, but without any explanation or indication as to why. In the morning she's saying have a good day and she loves him, and then a few hours later she's calling him and saying they have to break up and she never wants to hear from or see him again.

What probably also helped with Grant's rounding out as a character was that we got to see so many of the people in his life—we meet his parents, and all the supporting characters are friends of his, either because they're his firefighter brothers or they're related to, dating, or married to his firefighter brothers. Wren is alone; her parents are gone or dead, her brother stopped speaking to her after Ben almost killed him, and any friends she made in Boston were Grant's friends.

*This review is of an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Some changes and/or edits may be made to the final published version.