Burn Zone upholds everything I expect from Albert: emotionally vulnerable men with badass jobs who have very passionate sex. What’s great about Albert’s writing is that even though her stories generally follow a standard plot, how the ending is achieved remains unique in each book. The characters share similar traits across the books and series, but they are distinct enough that they don’t feel too archetypal.

Albert’s new romance series takes us away from her usual military heroes and introduces us to the world of smoke jumping.

My concentration level for reading is next to zero, but I did devour this in one sitting. I just really love this authors writing and the way she paces her stories.

Jacob has always had a thing for his brother’s best friend and fellow smoke jumper, Linc. The timing was never right. Jacob was 19 when he first made a play for Linc who was then 29. Then after Jacob came out to his family, his big brother Wyatt warned Linc off and made him promise not to pursue Jacob.

Years alter, Jacob joins Linc’s smoke jumping team as a new recruit and Wyatt is no longer in the picture yet he still looms large over their relationship.

I’ll start with the positives. The training scenes were fun. It’s always great to read about new professions and smoke jumping has great potential for adrenaline rushes and danger.

Jacob. Dear sweet Jacob. I adored him so much. He’s a little brash and confident. Completely secure in himself and what he wants out of life. He’s brave without being cocky and is stubbornly loyal and dedicated to those he cares about.

Which leads me to what I didn’t like so much. Linc. He’s a good man with a good heart but oh man…the way he strings Jacob along and hurts him over and over again out of some misguided loyalty to his best friend Wyatt got on my last nerve after a while.

I think some of the problem is in the brief time we meet Wyatt, he’s a homophobic ass. And we just keep learning more about what a jerk Wyatt was until we finally learn why Linc feels so loyal to him. Wyatt saved Linc in a lot of ways from an abusive father so I get it. It was a complicated issue and Linc was trying to do the right thing for Jacob and to honor Wyatt.

But the way Linc caved and carried on a sexual relationship with Jacob while still putting his promise to Wyatt first was so passive aggressive and hurtful to Jacob and it pissed me off. Jacob had such a good, patient heart with everyone – Linc and his family - but they all always let him down and put Wyatt (who was no longer there) first.

Every relationship needs a little drama and this was theirs and, of course, it’s resolved but Linc’s martyr complex got old.

So yeah…a lot of frustration but the smoke jumper setting and the friend group, plus Jacob made this a compelling read anyway and I did enjoy how they were rock solid once Linc got his head out of his ass.

Sigh.
I was really looking forward to reading this book and I feel it just somewhat fell short of the mark.
I did DNF this book so my review is not of the complete book.

I am big on connection and I just didnt get it with these 2 and that made me sort of sad.

Also I just felt like 1 MC was just not true to himself and that brought me into angry feelings and I just had to give it up

I received an earc of Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert for review from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

I started reading Annabeth Alberts books last year and have since then been more intrigued by what she has written. I haven't loved any of her books, but I've enjoyed them that I want to read more from her. They are great M/M romances that I can just sit back and read and not worry about too much. 

Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert follows Jacob Hartman as he begins his first day as a recruit of Lincoln Reids elite smoke jumping team. There has always been heat between Jacob and Linc. But Linc has tried to stay away from the temptation, he promised Jacobs late brother and Linc's best friend that he would. But now being this close together, it's not as easy. And Jacob doesn't get the warm welcome and support that he wanted and expected. He knows everyone's concern, but he wants to do this. 

I loved the heat between Jacob and Linc. It is intense and is always going. This made the novel quite fast-paced and that made the novel more enjoyable. Jacob and Linc have a past, and while it's not all romantic or full of tension, Linc and Jacobs brother were best friends and it's not something that they can hide. Because of this Linc has a hard time being able to accept these feelings for Jacob and that does cause a lot of tension throughout the book. While also the fact that Linc also feels guilt about his best friends death. 

Overall, Burn Zone by Annabeth Albert is an okay read. Like her other books, they aren't my favourite. But they are great books to just sit and read and not worry too much about anything else. The romance was hot and adorable at the same. Plus the tension of them fighting fires leaves the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next. I will continue this series just to see what happens next with everyone.

4.5 Stars

Annabeth Albert's Burn Zone is the start of what looks to be a thrilling Hotshots series.

I always freak out about fires, so I knew there would be some tough moments in this story. A story of two men, both fire jumpers, falling in love, the reader has to anticipate some danger and action.

As for the fire jumping aspect, everything is well explored. The training, the action, the danger, all of it is extremely well written, fully bringing the reader into these situations along with the characters.

Jacob and Linc. Oh how I love these men together! Their history is great, as Jacob and Linc are connected through the years. Jacob's a rookie for the team, back home after years away, and butting heads with Linc, who was his brother's best friend. Linc is too lost to his fears, unable to take a chance on love. He's weighed down by his past promises and can't fully let Jacob into his life. As well, he's still grieving the loss of his best friend.

This is a story that includes best friend's brothers' romance and years of resentment. Their story includes stubbornness and obligations. It's a story of old promises and an age gap. These are two men struggling to make things work, and every moment is riveting. It's a story about grabbing onto happiness in life, instead of just living. And I love it all.

The writing is fantastic, and the plot is fascinating. The characters are great, both individually and together. And damn, they know how to bring the heat.

Burn Zone is another great read by Annabeth Albert. This story is beautiful and tender. It's a long, hard fought journey towards self-acceptance and self-worth and it's well worth a read. I look forward to seeing what happens next in this series.

I've only started reading Annabeth Albert here and there and I really enjoyed this first book in the Hotshots series. Who doesn't love firefighters? And make them smoke jumpers and I love them even more. Add in a bit of age gap, best friends little brother, and M/M and you have a story that is worth reading from beginning to end. Linc and Jacob have their work cut out for them. Linc made a promise years ago that he aims to keep. Jacob has felt "something" for Linc and aims to get what he wants. Some tough moments on the work front keep you riveted and hoping for resolutions at work, with these two men and with family and friends.

I liked the premise of the book. Who doesn’t like firefighters?! The relationship between Lincoln and Jacob felt real and sweet. I liked both of them. I guessed early on what drama would happen and I wasn’t wrong. A huge part of the book was Lincoln keeping a promise. A promise that was wrong in the first place. I wanted more for the ending. Not that it was rushed, but it was lacking something. I would recommend this book and Im looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this. I thought I would, but ended up a little disappointed.

I'm into firefighter stories. They typically have a found family feel to them which I personally like reading. This had that. Or at least had the potential for it. Honestly, that was a lot of this book: lots of potential, not a lot of execution.

Let's talk characters. I don't have too much to say. They are perfectly fine and average guys. I did struggle to tell them apart though. I was bothered by something Jacob did. He basically guilted Linc into coming out. That kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. And I feel like a lot of the Annabeth Albert books I've read have this plot point. I don't like it, but that's personal preference.

While I was disappointed, I wouldn't tell someone else not to read this.

I highly enjoyed this look at the men and women who jump from planes into the heart of a forest fire, risking their lives to bring the flames under control. This is especially apt after the Australian fires when we saw real-time views of just how dangerous and powerful a forest fire can be. As this story opens, Linc Reid is mourning the loss of his best friend and fellow jumper, Wayne Hartman, and is shocked to learn that his replacement is none other than Wayne’s younger brother, Jacob, the guy who Linc has been avoiding for years.

Jacob is now in his midtwenties but he’s longed to get close to Linc since he was a teen. Unfortunately, the kiss they shared when he was nineteen scared Linc away. That, and the promise Linc made to homophobic Wayne who warned Linc that Jacob was not for him. And Linc never breaks a promise.

There’s a lot of angst in this story, mostly Linc’s self-recrimination over how Wayne died (Could he have saved him?) and over his sexual attraction to Jacob, an attraction that continues even though it’s been six years since the kiss. The attraction is so strong, in fact, that Linc considers leaving the forest service, a job he lives for. To be honest, Linc isn’t very likeable for quite some time in this story, and yet the author slowly reveals more and more about his past, a past that helped me see why he did and thought some of the things that made me initially dislike him. He lived by a strict self-imposed moral code that made him seem cold, but by the second half, I was sold on him, ready to root for a firm commitment between him and Jacob.

Jacob, on the other hand, was likeable from the start. Strong and determined in character, word, and action, Jacob has wanted to be a smoke jumper since he first learned about them years before. He’s worked his way up to this promotion through hard work on the ground crews, and he won’t be deterred by Linc’s attitude toward “the rookie.” It turns out Linc’s teammates requested Jacob on their team so they could “keep an eye on the rook,” much to Linc’s chagrin. How can he possibly give in to his attraction when it would be fraternizing? This poor character had so many high-ground moral stances it was difficult for him to function. But the two did ultimately get together, so yay for that.

The author walked a delicate path here by providing an outwardly hard-shell character who had a sweet interior. Granted, that interior was riddled with the ghosts of his past, and he found it difficult to juggle his desire for Jacob with his desire to keep his promise to Wayne and to Wayne’s family who had always embraced him as one of their own.

The story plays out beautifully, with angst, sexual tension, drama, emotional healing, and outright positivity. I’m looking forward to book two, for sure.

This book definitely lived up to its title. I wasn't really buying Lincoln's reason for not being with Jacob, but the way they clashed together so magnificently had me sold. The book was high on chemistry, packed with extreme firefighting action, some family and if that's your thing, a decent amount of angst. Now let's see how the rest of the series goes.

Annabeth Albert’s #gaymers series was my first introduction to MM romance and her books are some of my favorites in the genre so I have been looking forward to this book and this new series for a while. I am super intrigued by the life of smoke jumpers and wildfire fighters and Annabeth didn’t disappoint in her obvious research into this dangerous occupation and in-depth details about the lives of these men and women.

Jacob and Linc were both well rounded characters and I felt like I got to know both of them and was invested in their relationship.

However, this book did feel a lot like At Attention with a lot of the same tropes and similar storyline (best friend’s younger brother, dead loved one, limited time hookup). Maybe I wouldn’t have been so bothered by this if I hadn’t reread At Attention so many times (it’s one of my favorite books of her’s) but I definitely found the similarities to be distracting for me. It was a lot harder to lose myself in the story and I just kept waiting for things to go wrong.

The ending was at least unique and didn’t go down quite as I expected so I’m bumping up my rating a bit for that. Overall it was a really enjoyable book and a great introduction to the new series. And after reading the tease at the end for the next book I am dying for Garrick’s story!

4.25 stars - Review will also be posted on Goodreads

Burn Zone is the first book in Annabeth Albert’s newest series, Hotshots. It’s a series about smoke jumpers in central Oregon. Lincoln Reid is a hard, very stoic character who, as a result of a difficult childhood, feels undeserving of love. He can’t help but notice his best friend’s younger brother, but that’s a line he refused to cross for several reasons, no matter now much Jacob Hartman throws himself at Linc. Jacob eventually gives up, until 5 years later when they begin serving on the same smoke jumping team. Now Jacob is older and wiser, but he still can’t stay away from Linc.

This story has a great premise and an interesting storyline. Linc can be hard to like at times, but he has his reasons for his actions and beliefs. It’s understandable that he would be hesitant to get involved with Jacob, especially when he knows Jacob would be hard to lose if things go sideways between them.

This is an angst ridden romance that builds slowly and methodically. There is good storyline development, but it did take me some time to really get into it and relate to the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the story.

Oh my gosh, Annabeth Albert has written another scorcher with the apt title of Burn Zone. This book is about Linc, a seasoned smoke jumper, and Jacob, the younger brother of Lincoln's now deceased best friend, Wyatt. Linc and Wyatt grew up together and Linc feels indebted to him and his family for all they've done for him over the years. After a botched smoke jump where Wyatt ends up saving Linc's life, Linc asks what he can do to repay him. Wyatt's answer is simple..."Stay away from my little brother!" After Wyatt's passing, that promise becomes harder and harder to keep. Jacob has earned the right to be a smoke jumper right along side Linc, but that closeness is chipping away at Linc's resolve. Is keeping a promise to a dead best friend worth losing a possible amazing future with his living brother?? Read this book to see what it takes for Linc to trust in himself and live the life that he deserves! Brilliant characters and smoking hot sex keep this book a page turner!

This is a painful review for me to write because I'm a big fan of Annabeth Albert. Her, "Out of Uniform," series is one of my favorites. So when I heard she was doing a new series with smokejumpers, I jumped to request it on Netgalley. Unfortunately, this didn't quite work for me. I do want to note this is not a totally negative review. There were some things I enjoyed. Basically, overall, I liked it but didn't love it. And I am used to loving the majority of the books I've read by Albert. So I was a bit disappointed.

What worked:

It was sweet and sexy with likable main characters. I see potential in future books.

What didn't work:

For me, first of all, it was too long and dragged in places. There was a LOT of time spent on the smokejumper parts. Yes, I realize that might seem like a no brainer so why am I complaining? It was too much and I found myself skimming. I think her, "Out of Uniform," books had a better mix of subject/plot/romance. The steamy parts were sexy but I found they were a little over abundant and I started skimming those too. This book would have been better if it was trimmed down. I also found the, "obstacles," to the relationship to not be that big of a deal but they were over dramatized and I grew tired of them. The conflicts felt forced.

All that being said, I don't regret reading this. And I will absolutely try the second book. It might be one of those series that gets better as it goes. I hope so.

Burn Zone is the first book in the Hotshots series by Annabeth Albert. It is currently scheduled for release on April 27 2020.

Smoke jumper Lincoln Reid is speechless to see Jacob Hartman among his squad’s new recruits. Linc had promised his late best friend he’d stay away from his little brother. And yet here Jacob is…and almost instantly, the same temptation Linc has always felt around him is causing way too many problems. Jacob gets everyone’s concerns, but he’s waited years for his shot at joining the elite smoke jumping team, and is hoping to honor his brother’s memory. He’s ready to tackle any challenge Linc throws his way, and senses the chemistry between them—chemistry Linc insists on ignoring—is still alive and kicking. This time, Jacob’s determined to get what he wants. Close quarters and high stakes make it difficult for Linc to keep his resolve, never mind do so while also making sure the rookie is safe. But the closer they get, the more Linc’s plan to leave at the end of the season risks him breaking another promise: the one his heart wants to make to Jacob.

Burn Zone is a story that grabbed me from the start, and there is a lot to unpack. Guilt, family ties, and honorable intent are the biggest challenges this couple face, and it is all more than enough. Linc's friendship with Wyatt was not perfect, and had its issues, but Linc wants to keep his promises to him, especially after his death. Having a relationship with Jacob goes against everything Wyatt wanted, but something Jacob and Linc both crave. I really enjoyed getting to know both the characters, and seeing them really get to know each other and trust each other despite the distance they try to keep between them. I also liked the building of the secondary characters, and how varied and multifaceted they all were. I am already looking forward to continuing this series to see more of them. I also enjoyed that the reactions of Linc, Jcob, and the secondary characters were not always what I would have hoped, they were always in line with the personality of the character, I might not agree but I could always understand how they come to it. I also really appreciated that once they came to the decision to be together and fight for their HEA the work was not done and things did not magically fall into place. Family still needed to be dealt with, the possibilities of mistakes and missteps between them were still there, but they were committed to putting in the time and effort that is necessary for a real relationship rather than the world suddenly aligning and being all glitter and rainbows. The realism of the characters, their personalities, and their struggles just grabbed me and I want more. I am so ready for the next book in the series, and am now going to check out the author's previous books.

Burn Zone is a romance that gave me all the feels, with a nearly perfect blend of heart and heat.

A story is best when the emotional and physical stakes are high, and Annabeth Albert knows how to bring both. Smokejumpers Lincoln Reid and Wyatt Hartman have been friends their entire lives, but it's Wyatt's little brother, Jacob, that Linc can't live without. Watching Linc struggle with what it means to be an honorable man is heartbreaking because it not only challenges his sense of himself but also his place in his found family. As the younger of the two men, Jacob is confident about what he wants and what he needs to do to go after it but isn't just the brashness of youth. Rather, the author shows that she knows how to weave the psychological influence of their respective families into who they are as people and the roadblocks she sets in front of them. Although I did find myself connecting with Linc more, Jacob was exactly what he needed and I felt like they balanced each other well. The physical dangers of their chosen profession provided an exciting backdrop but were woven into the story in a way that made them an integral part of how it played out rather than just set dressing. Definitely a strong start to the new series!

I'm always a fan of Annabeth Albert and here was another sweet story about Linc and Jacob.

I liked Linc and Jacob together, but Linc being a martyr and stubbornness got a bit tiresome at times. He had a lot of baggage and guilt, and was working his way through it, but it got over done at times for me.

I adored Jacob from the beginning. He knew what he wanted and tried to go for it, but had to wait for Linc to finally give in and tackle his ghosts.

I liked that story. I also liked that it evolved around the Elite Forest Fire fighting team (smoke jumpers) as that is a world I don't know much about, so it was nice to have those details as part of the story.

After meeting Garrick and having a sneak peak into his story, I can't wait for Garrick's story.

Annabeth Albert has been one of my favorite M/M Romance writers for a number of years now. She always rewards her readers with a solid story and steamy romantic entanglement. Albert is always so well researched in whatever circumstances her characters are involved.

In this new series, Lincoln and Jacob have a history. A history that in itself, creates challenges for them and their families. Firefighters with a deep passion for the job, and each other. Full of juicy plot development, Burn Zone explores age gap romance, hunky fighters coming out, dangerous work situations and an unavoidable broken promise.

Looking forward to where this series goes in future installments.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the 14th Annabeth Albert book I've read. I've always been a fan, so I jumped at the chance to read the start of her newest series. The last 3 books in the Out of Uniform series were just meh, so I was really hoping this book would redeem things. Unfortunately, I really struggled to get into this book. It took me over a week to read and I usually read a book in just a day or two, maybe longer if I'm busy. But I'd put it down and then only come back to it when I was trying to relax before bed. I wasn't itching to get back to the book. So that's why I can only rate this 2 stars. Plus, it didn't help that I wasn't the biggest fan of Linc. The one positive was that this was another hotshot series. I always enjoy the details behind those fighting wildfires and although I didn't really learn anything new about the profession in this book, it was still a change of pace from the normal.

Linc is a smoke jumper and is mourning his since-childhood best friend and fellow smoke jumper, Wyatt, who died in the line of duty in the last year. Jacob is the little brother of Wyatt and also a rookie smoke jumper. Jacob has a huge crush on Linc, who is 10 years his senior. Linc made a promise to Wyatt to stay away from Jacob because Wyatt was a homophobe and really didn't want his best friend doing anything with his little brother (or any guy I guess).

So for most of the book, Linc keeps fighting his attraction to Jacob, yet he still gets intimate with him every chance they get. But he gives Jacob so little of himself that the 'relationship' feels shallow and I really didn't see how they could have anything more than sex based on the lack of depth we saw. Sure, they cook and build playhouses together, but I was missing that deeper connection. Jacob keeps putting up with Linc's crap until he finally doesn't. Then something bad happens and they both 'see the light' and decide to really give things a go. And they get their HFN.

Another thing going on at the end was that we really see how homophobic Jacob's entire family was. We never really get any resolution from that either. Jacob's mom only slightly comes around and starts acting nice, despite having known Linc most of his life. Mae, Wyatt's sweet and kind widow, is the only one who is genuinely supportive of Linc & Jacob and happy for them.

The one thing i did like was how Jacob stood up to his family. He wasn't willing to sacrifice love to make his family happy when they didn't agree with him dating Linc. And Linc was still incredibly kind to Jacob's family despite how they turned on him, so I have to give him props for being the bigger person.

After reading a preview of the next book, I have high hopes that it'll be better since it certainly had me intrigued right away. I've never rated an Annabeth Albert book below 3 stars, so it pains me to give this one 2, but it was sadly lacking.

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]
A nice and touching reading but a little irregular for me.
I liked the plot, especially the lusting of young Jacob and Linc's inner strugle but it took me a while to connect with this story.
Linc's thoughts were depressing and repetitive, so I couldn't connect with him most of the time. I really loved Jacob, he's the light of the story, so I was really angry reading how almost everyone of this book (Linc included) underestimated him.
The first part of the book sometimes was a little boring (without tension since they're having sex really soon) but I liked a lot the second part, when their circumstances and the real life affect their relationship. They behave like adults (well, at least Jacob, who is younger than Linc wiser than him the whole book), they discuss and then get angry, but don't give up and keep on fighting for their love.
It's my first book of Annabeth Albert and I enjoyed her writing style.