Linc made a promise to his smoke jumping partner (and best friend) Wyatt that he would stay away from Wyatt’s younger brother Jacob. Then Wyatt was killed and the promise haunts him years later when Jacob joins his jump team. He knows Jacob has a crush on him but his promise weighs heavily on his mind because he’s interested in Jacob. They have a lot of baggage to get through if they are going to make a future together.

I had a big issue with Linc’s giving so much credence to a promise made to a man who made no secret about how he felt about gay men, his brother included. His back and forth with wanting Jacob then pushing him away got old fairly quickly.

I like the author but this book didn’t have the resonance her other books have had for me. I like angsty stories so that wasn’t the issue. Not sure why this book just didn’t work for me.

Burn Zone is a steamy romance, a slow burn that once it ignites it is brilliant.

Lincoln Reid made a promise to his best friend, hands off his little brother. Despite the pull he feels towards Jacob, Linc assures his friend he has zero interest.
Jacob, about ten years Linc's junior, has a poorly concealed crush, wanting nothing more than Linc to return his feelings.
However, Linc never breaks a promise.

Six years later and things have changed, both Jacob and Linc have lived through pain, both older and still attracted to each other and they can no longer avoid the sparks between them. Jacob and Linc were a cute couple, I loved how Linc slowly came out of his shell with Jacob, the character development was wonderful and the writing flowed smoothly. While the plot was somewhat predictable it was still a lovely read and I would definitely read more from this author.

Seductive, tender, and timely!

Burn Zone is a steamy, engrossing firefighter romance that features the lonely, closeted Linc, and the fun-loving, younger Jacob as they engage in a love affair strife with issues of insecurities, hidden sexuality, promises made, and workplace fraternization.

The prose is passionate and sincere. The characters are well-drawn, rugged, and sexy. And the plot sweeps you away into a fervent storyline filled with friendship, family, light drama, danger, smouldering chemistry, explosive heat, romance, as well as an inside look into the expectations, pressures, and challenges of being a smokejumper.

Overall, Burn Zone is a sweet, provocative, heartwarming tale about teamwork, love, communication, and taking chances. It is a fabulous start to the new Hotshots series by Albert that has solidified once again why she’s one of my all-time favourite authors.

I’m a big fan of Annabeth Albert’s and a new book from her is always a red letter day on my calendar!  Burn Zone is book one in her new Hotshots series which features a group of guys who work as Smoke Jumpers in the fictional Painter’s Ridge in central Oregon – and I admit I had to look up Smoke Jumping as I’d never heard of it before! There are undoubtedly shades of the author’s popular Out Of Uniform series here in terms of the camaraderie and close-knit relationships between team members, as well as the obvious fact that the characters from both series work in dangerous – potentially life-threatening – professions, but I enjoy the character types and sorts of through-thick-and-thin friendships Ms. Albert is skilled at creating, so those similarities worked for me.

Lincoln Reid has always been something of a loner.  After the death of his mother when he was young, he was either ignored or knocked around by his drunken, abusive father, the one good thing in his life his best friend Wyatt Hartman and Wyatt’s family, who pretty much adopted Linc as one of their own.  Linc and Wyatt always intended to become Smoke Jumpers together, and years later, have achieved that ambition and are still friends, even though Wyatt’s obvious bigotry when he found out Linc was gay made some dents in their friendship, and his tendency to make unpleasant comments about it mean they’re not as close as they once were.   When the book opens, Wyatt is pissed because his nineteen-year-old brother Jacob has just come out, and he warns Linc to stay away from him.  Linc tells Wyatt there’s no need to worry and tells him to mind his own business… although he can’t deny that he does enjoy Jacob’s company and finds his youthful confidence, his outgoing nature and most of all, the warmth of his smile, very appealing. But Jacob is ten years his junior and his best friend’s little brother.  Firmly off limits.

Six years later, and nine months after Wyatt’s death in an accident, Linc is surprised – and not in a good way – when Jacob turns out to be one of their squad’s newest recruits.  It’s bad enough that the Hartmans lost one son to the job, and Jacob must surely be aware what signing up for this could mean for his family – but worse, all the feelings of attraction Linc has steadfastly buried over the past six years come rushing back… and he’s not sure how long he’ll be able to keep them at bay.

At nineteen, Jacob had a massive crush on Linc, but has come to accept that nothing is ever going to happen between them  - or had, until the day of Wyatt’s funeral when, devastated with grief and unable to hold back any more, Linc kissed him and all Jacob’s buried – but never abandoned – hopes and wants came roaring back.  He knows he’s the last person Linc expects to see at the start of training, but he’s worked hard for his shot and isn’t going to let Linc’s obvious disapproval or his mother’s fears get in the way of fulfilling his dream.  And now that he knows that there is more than one-sided attraction between them, he’s also determined to show Linc that they deserve a shot at something more than friendship.

Even though Linc and Jacob embark on a sexual relationship early in the book – and yes, Ms. Albert trots out the old ‘one time to get it out of our systems’ trope but she tempers the corniness of it by having both guys realise it’ll never work even before they jump into bed – their romance is (befittingly) a slow burn as they go from secret booty calls to overnight stays to simply hanging out and enjoying each other’s company out of bed as much as in it. The relationship is lovely – for the first time in a very long time Linc realises he’s happy, and so is Jacob, who at long last has the man he’s wanted for so long by his side, both personally and professionally.  But the conflict in the romance – supplied by Linc’s doubts, his secrecy, his attempts to keep Jacob at arm’s length and his blow-hot-blow-cold attitude – go on for a little too long, and I started to dislike the way Jacob kept making allowances and accepting the crumbs of affection that were all Linc was prepared to offer.  Jacob’s a wonderful guy and at times I almost began to agree with Linc’s assessment that he deserved better!   I admired the understanding and patience Jacob displayed, but I wish he’d called Linc on his crap earlier.

Linc has a lot of baggage to work through, and his loneliness and sadness, the longing he feels for Jacob are so superbly rendered that they leap off the page.  I’ve never been a big fan of the best-friend’s-sibling trope with its invariable ‘stay away’ order from the bestie, but Annabeth Albert makes it work here because of the way she’s characterised Linc as a man so bound up in his perception of honour, of himself and what he owes to others that he feels he’s not entitled to put his own wants and needs before anyone else’s.  He has to learn to choose himself before he can choose to be with Jacob.

Ms. Albert has obviously done her research as regards the work of the Smoke Jumpers and all the other work they do throughout the season to try to prevent fires as well as the work they do when fighting them, which is interesting and adds a sense of authenticity to the story. She also creates a strong sense of camaraderie between the crew members, men and women who do an incredibly dangerous, highly skilled job they obviously love, but who work for a living to provide for their families and sometimes struggle to make ends meet.  There’s an extraordinary ordinariness (if you will) about these guys and their family lives and relationships, and I really liked the way that those two things balanced each other throughout the story.

Linc and Jacob are engaging, three-dimensional principals, plus there’s a strong secondary cast I’m sure we’re going to see more of in future books. The well-established setting, well-written relationships and a sexy, slow-burn romance combine to make Burn Zone a solid start to the Hotshots series and an enjoyable read overall.

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

Some stories need an adrenaline shot. Or some stimulant. A sugar rush to imbue some life into the pages. No matter if it wears off fast and leaves you tired. At least it would be a hill in the road after a looooong straight journey. An event that wakes you up and makes you focus again in the road. For a reader, a journey without any variation of altitude is simple and comfortable, but ultimately forgettable. That is more or less my feelings about this book. It was nice, but next week I will barely remember it. Let’s hit the road to see what we have ahead of us!

Through these pages we meet Linc, a smoke jumper (kind of a firefighter) who leads a simple life hiding himself from the world and holding the memory of his best friend as a shield. The youngest brother of that friend is not other than Jacob, an adventurous guy who wants to follow the steps of his brother and become a smoke jumper himself. As it was pretty obvious, the rookie ends in the same team as Linc and their sexual tension gets hotter than a fire during summer. Too bad the more experienced smoke jumper made a promise to never touch the guy. Will he be able to hold it? If you bet against it, you should read more Romance…

As i have mentioned in my weird introduction, this book is plain. Too plain. It doesn’t happen anything and it feels like an unending loop of the same scenes over and over again. I guess that could be the main reason why there are so many sex scenes in the story. They work as kind of a shortcut to avoid developing a dynamic between the two characters that didn’t have a lot of margin. Of all the books by Annabeth Albert I have read, I could bet this is the one with more naugthy scenes and possibly the most boring one due to that. It is not a short book, but, for some reason, the romantic part is already highly developed in the first pages. So, when we are in the 5% of the book we are almost at the 85% of the development. Before starting, the main characters already knew each other, already were attracted to each other and even they had had some kind of interaction to regard that attraction.

What else is to tell in the 300 pages or so that we have left? The drama, obviously. Is it good? Not at all. It’s repetitive, annoying and a perfect sleep inducer. All the drama spins around the promise that Linc made to Wyatt, Jacob’s deceased brother. All of it. It gets stale pretty fast and the book becomes just one monotone rutine that I couldn’t wait to get rid of. I kept going in the hopes of a change of direction, but nothing really happens. In this genre a lack of a exciting story can be compensated with a good romance. Something that makes us feel the sparks, the flames, the sweetness and the pain. It is important for the reader to connect emotionally with the characters to really enjoy the genre. This time I couldn’t feel more disconnected from them, which made the sex scenes feel like swimming through mud. A bit agonizing.

I won’t bother commenting anything about the characters as I usually like to do. I have nothing at all to say about them and that speaks volumes about the immense plainness I have found inside these pages. Annabeth Albert can do much, much better than this. The only comment I’ll make about them is a detail that has truly made me very angry: Wyatt. He is an homophobic bastard who can be barely called friend. I do not like at all the times where his hurtful behaviour is belittle and forigven. That guy practically ruined Linc’s life and he keeps defending him. Totally unhealthy and not really compatible with the character.

I was expecting much more after having read and loved the Out of Uniform books. Fingers crossed for something better in the following stories!

This was my first read from this author and it definitely won’t be my last.

Linc & Jacob’s Story was fantastic. Older brother’s best friend. It was a well thought out MM read with plenty of action and chemistry.. Smoke Jumpers who have grown up together and fought their feelings- eventually give in. I have to say I kind of hated Jacob’s family. Homophobic assholes who didn’t deserve the awesome son they had. Really enjoyed this one.

I'd give this 3 stars.

What I liked:
~ both Jacob and Linc, for the most part -- I enjoyed the dual POV, and it helped a bit when I got especially frustrated with Linc.
~ their jobs -- I don't know much about smoke jumpers, so that aspect was interesting.

What wasn't as strong:
~ Linc's attitude -- his continued loyalty to Wyatt's biases really irritated me. Even when we see why he's so grateful to Wyatt, it still didn't make sense to me that Linc would deny himself happiness -- and hurt Jacob -- simply because he knew Wyatt wouldn't approve.
~ the pacing -- this got really long, and I honestly felt like that tension between the two was drawn out to almost ridiculous lengths at time. It just took me a looooong time to finish, and I usually speed through.
~ Jacob's family -- they just irritated me, and possibly some of that came from Wyatt's homophobia (that they obviously didn't try to shutter much).

All in all, it was better than others I've read by Albert, but I don't know if I'd wade through it again.

Burn Zone is the first book in Annabeth Albert's new Hotshots series of books about m/m romances set against the backdrop of Oregon's fire fighting crews. Burn Zone features  a slow-burn, age-gap romance and was  really great read.

Lincoln Reid is surprised to see Jacob Hartman, his best friend's younger brother, amongst the new recruits for the season. Before his friend's death, Reid promised that he would stay away from his best friend's brother despite their chemistry and mutual attraction to one another. Now that Jacob's a recruit, Linc feels the pressure to keep him safe while maintaining a safe personal distance, but can he do that when their attraction is stronger than ever?

There are a lot of things to like about Albert's new release:

She writes M/M romances with a lot of heart and gravitas. Linc and Jacob have been through a lot together over the years (and we get little flashbacks to the past interspersed with the current day narrative) and we see their history and family connection from the very first page. They've both got a lot to lose (and gain) from their relationship and as a reader, I could feel the personal stakes for both of them.

The slow-burn, age-gap romance felt really well done. As a I reader, I sympathised with Linc's position - he's the older, more experienced (work-wise) person, who cares deeply about Jacob's well-being. He's also not sure he's ready to announce his sexuality at large to the people he works with. Jacob, on the other hand, is more impulsive, more willing to push his own boundaries (and Linc's) to get what he wants both professionally and personally.

I haven't read many firefighter books (romance or otherwise), and this was a lot of fun to learn about things I'd never heard of, including the smokejumpers. Their work is such an integral part of Linc and Jacob's lives that it's almost a character on its own and it was great. You can really feel the danger of their chosen career throughout the book as they work through various jobs, and the reality that it could cost them everything if they make a mistake. 

It was a pleasure, as always, to read another Annabeth Albert book, and I look forward to continuing the series upon its release.

2.5 Stars!

I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by Annabeth, especially her "Out of Uniform series" so I'm super excited to start another series written by her.

This book was good. The writing was excellent as usual and bonus points for it exposing me to the world of smoke jumping (which I had zero prior knowledge of). Those individuals who do this as an actual profession are all badasses and no one can tell me otherwise. WILLINGLY jumping into burning areas? Those people deserve all the accolades.Reading about their training and eventual deployment into the fires made for a fascinating read.

However, this was ultimately a romance novel and this is where I had my issues with the book. Look, I don’t expect any romance to be straightforward. Actually, I prefer if a couple struggles a bit before getting their HEA but what happened here was one person hijacking the happiness of the couple all because of his incessant internal struggles.

I was sympathetic to Linc’s internal war, I really was initially, but as it continued to drag on and on, I got more and more frustrated and finally gave up on him. I believe there’s a difference between loyalty and blind loyalty. There’s also a difference between sticking to your principles for valid reasons and hiding behind these same principles rather than grabbing the happiness that is right in front of you.

Linc’s constant self-recrimination made this a more tedious reading experience than it had to be. Also, this would’ve been a 5-star book if it hadn’t been for him. Jacob tried his best and went above and beyond what he could for Linc which I really appreciated but it got to a point I honestly thought is was wasted effort the way Linc was behaving. Jacob stuck to it though, which went a long way to reinforce how good of a person he was. Lord knows I do not possess that kind of infinite patience for such behaviour.

Nonetheless, as I said earlier, this wasn't all bad. The writing was great and it had good secondary characters I'd be more than interested in reading more about in the series' subsequent books. So Annabeth, bring on the other books! I'm ready! (just no more Lincolns okay? Okay. Thanks! Lol!)

Annabeth Albert writes consistently good romance. I've found I can depend on her for character depth, interesting settings that are more than just window dressing and hot physical chemistry, and most importantly to me, I can always feel the emotional connection between her MCs. I need to see past the steam, and she always delivers. And in that regard, this was no exception.

The connection between these two is palpable, even in the earliest, prologue scene. Jacob lights Linc up with his mere presence, and Linc's intensity sucks Jacob right in. It's easy to see why they would continue to be drawn to each other over and over, even when one of them has intentionally kept them in the seemingly eternal friend zone for so many years.

BUT. ButButButButButButBut. The foundation of this story centers around a bundle of tropes that are my least favorite to read about, and I did not realize that going into it. I find these particular tropes frustrating no matter how well the author handles them, but I also thought there was room for improvement with the specifics here.

The biggest issue is the underlying homophobia at play. Actually, no. The biggest issue was the MCs casual acceptance of the homophobia. Linc feels he owes best friend Wyatt for getting him though his childhood in one piece and seems to think keeping his sexuality out of sight, out of mind is a fair exchange for this since it bothers Wyatt so much.

I tried to address this without ranting, but it didn't work, and the rant gets a smidge SPOILER-Y GOING FORWARD. You've been warned.

So, Fact No. 1: Wyatt is a raging homophobe, and as such, when his little brother Jacob comes out to his family, Wyatt extracts a promise from his gay best friend Linc to keep away from Jacob, at least in part because Wyatt blames Linc's presence/gayness for turning Jacob gay in the first place. And Fact No. 2: Six years later, Linc still considers Wyatt his dearest friend, a man he remains blindly loyal to even after his death. HOW DO THESE TWO THINGS EXIST AT THE SAME TIME?????

In my opinion, once the book has established these two facts, it was required to answer that question. And it doesn't even attempt to. I kept thinking we were headed into an exploration of internalized homophobia, but no, that's not what this seems to be.

Then, even after Linc kinda accepts that Wyatt is dead now and he and Jacob are good together, he lets the fact that the rest of Jacob's family is also pretty homophobic become a barrier. Even though Jacob doesn't care what his family thinks, and Linc is already avoiding said family as much as he can get away with and is planning to move far away for a fresh start anyway. So how is that even logical??

And even if you attempt to ignore these frustrations and chalk it up to...I don't know, whatever rationalization gets you through this so you can let yourself enjoy the good stuff, THEN you also have to deal with Jacob -- who is completely, 100% self-assured in his sexuality and everything else ever, seriously, the man has no confidence or self-esteem issues AT ALL -- reacting to Linc's holdups being 100% due to the homophobic family members with basically, "Oh. Yeah. They'll be awful about it. You're right." So let's both be miserable forever??? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND

And if this is the story you want to tell, book, you have to make me understand. And the fact that it doesn't, makes it feel like this is supposed to be an acceptable mindset, and, just, NO. No, no, NO.

On top of all this, at some point we're told that under everything else is Linc's belief that he's just not worth all the trouble Jacob would go through if his family found out about them, but we never really get a clear understanding of where this basement level self-esteem is coming from.

So you have this four-star steamy romance between two smoke jumpers buried under all this angsty nonsense without any kind of psychological or emotional exploration for what's lying beneath this angst beyond straight up homophobia that the MCs don't actually share or buy into but are still letting run their lives, and I'm kinda wondering why I only took off one star at this point!!

But I really did like Linc and Jacob together, and the word count devoted to the problematic bits wasn't actually that large... It's just that it was the entire driving conflict for the whole book. There is nothing else keeping them apart, and the whole book is about them being kept apart. And I feel like this could have been accomplished just as easily with just the age gap and the original promise/subsequent grief followed by a need to keep things quiet from their co-workers. And now you've got the same story WITHOUT driving me crazy :)

So yeah. I finished this book feeling very grumpy, and I'm finishing this review feeling the same way, and as much as I loved Linc and Jacob together, it was not worth the illogical, homophobic, repetitive angst.

I will definitely read more Annabeth Albert in the future, but I would not recommend this one unless your tolerance level for illogical angst is much higher than mine. Which frankly, is quite possible, because mine's practically non-existent.

I was so excited to see a new series from Annabeth Albert and she did not disappoint. The storyline was engaging, heartfelt, believable, and well researched. Jacob calling Linc out when he is being a dumbass was great and the age difference was handled in the best way (ie not until everyone is an adult). I'm looking forward to the subsequent books and I'm super hoping for a McKenna/Kelley story.

Love the love between these two.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First time reading the author and I was in the mood for a little hottie heat and with a name like Burn Zone, you know these firefighters can give up a little heat.

The author did a nice job developing the story and moving it along. She employed a bit of anticipation with the backstory and provided us with that great push pull with a best friend's brother no-no situation.

And when they finally decided to hell with it, they deserve each other regardless of the consequences, all bets were off. We finally get that delicious heat and fire between these two.

Full of tension and anticipation, and finally a beautiful connection, the author really brings a heated m/m story that breaks the rules yet ends up with a steamy, sexy happily ever after and so much delicious fire in-between!

I'm writing this review as someone who loves Annabeth Albert's books. I love the diversity and the different set of characters she's managing to create. This book has no less diversity or lacks all that much in the characters. But it wasn't for me.

For someone who loves pining and internal angst, this is perfect. For me, who likes angst in the small dosage and only if it's done well, wasn't the hugest fan. Nothing much happens besides Jacob's struggles to be seen as an adult, his ever-present attraction to Linc and Linc's struggles with survivor's guilt, promises he's made and the steadily growing adoration/infatuation/attraction/love he has for Jacob. And sure, there's some training, steamy sex scenes (those are always up to task in an Albert book), family time and jumps out of airplanes, but generally it's a slow paced book with lots of time in Linc's and Jacob's heads.

While I liked Jacob quite much - even though he's younger by 10 years, he feels like the emotionally mature one. Growing up in a loving, but not quite accepting of his sexuality or choices in life, family, he's determined to step out of his dead brother's, Wyatt's, shadow and be seen as himself. This is understandable, since his brother seemed to be walking the fine line one does when being a likable jerk.

Linc... I didn't understand. He's supposed to have had a tough childhood and we get to hear some about it and how Wyatt saved his life multiple times. He's going around with constant guilt and some kind of hero worship for a guy who couldn't even accept his sexuality - which was something Linc kept on quiet about anyway. Maybe because his best friend and extra-family would never accept him? (spoiler: yes)

Anyway, it's not a bad book - I don't think Albert can write a book I distaste. It's still diverse, has good conversations, some cute dogs, mostly fleshed-out characters and hot, hot scens. But it was definitely one of the more lukewarm ones and I found myself not caring that much about what happens to the characters.

Thank you for letting me read an advance copy of this, Carina Press, Netgalley and Annabeth Albert - these thoughts are entirely my own. Looking forward to what comes next!

When it takes me more than 4 days to read an M/M romance, it usually means I'm not digging it. This book rehashes the same, forbidden love situation over and over for the entirety of the book. Not much really happened...not even that many love scenes.

I wouldn't call it unreadable, but Albert's "Gaymers" was definitely much better than this one. I finished it slightly out of obligation, but also to see if it got any better.

Linc Reid has always tried to stay in the closet and not make waves. When his best friend Wyatt tells him to stay away form his out and proud brother Jacob, Linc makes a promise. Left with survivor's guilt when Wyatt is killed in the line of duty, Linc promises to watch over Jacob as he trains to be a fire jumper. What happens when the two have more sparks than the fires they are trained to put out? Will Linc finally admit to his feelings for Jacob and come out in the relationship? In true Annabeth Albert style this series is going to be hot!! With wonderful primary characters and loads of others that the reader is dying to learn more about this is going to be another series her fans will not be able to put down. I cannot wait for more.

I love Annabeth Albert's novels. I love all of her series and I couldn't wait to see what she was going to offer us in this new universe. My favorite series of the author remains Out of Uniform so I was super happy to find virile men in uniform even if they are firefighters and not soldiers.

I really liked this first volume. I loved the characters and quickly got into the story. I got so attached to Linc. I found this character super interesting in his relationship with others. I liked that the author didn't dwell on his childhood. She slides enough details throughout the novel so that we can clearly understand what happened. It is something important, which makes in large part  the man Linc is today, it is not the subject of the novel and Annabeth Albert offers us an effective alternative.

We mainly focus on his relationship with Jacob and all the implications for his professional and personal life. Ireally liked the evolution of Linc throughout the novel. The way he will finally learn to think of himself before he thinks of others.

I also liked the character of Jacob.He is really interesting. I really liked the way he fights to get what he wants and that he is not held back by all the expectations hanging over him. I really liked the fact that his brother is not perfect and that he even appears as a bad guy although nothing is ever said openly because  he is dead.

I enjoyed the way Linc and Jacob will forge their relationship and find solace in eahc other.

Once again, Annabeth Albert offers us a very well conducted novel, with deep and engaging characters and a thrilling intrigue. A very interesting universe to discover and a series which I look forward to reading the next volumes.

*2.5 stars*

I'm a huge fan of Annabeth Albert's writing, going way back. In fact, I've read twenty five of her books, and my average rating is well above 4-stars. But her recent stuff? I've been less than impressed.

Linc was a very hard character for me to relate to in any way. He was self-flagellating and cold, and I felt like he was a huge downer. I didn't like how he dragged his feet the entire time in his relationship with Jacob and how Jacob had to force his way into Linc's heart. Linc didn't deserve him. In fact, the whole book had a mildly depressing air, and not in the way of a good, angsty read.

Part of my issue with this book was the homophobia from Wyatt and Jacob's families that wasn't really ever fully addressed. I felt like that was a loose end that needed more closure. Another part of my issues was the excessive sex, which didn't feel in balance with the relationship development. The book took me ages to finish, which is never a good sign for me.

The book got better for me near the end, (I love a good "predicament-forced relationship development" plot device), but I still wasn't in love with the story.

Not a bad book, but not at all what I was expecting. I'm hoping Annabeth Albert's future works aren't trending in this direction for me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I was really looking forward to this new series from an author I enjoy a lot. This was pretty good but overall did not meet my expectations. I struggled with Linc's character a lot. He was difficult for me to like. Jacob I really liked and I ran out of patience with both his family and Linc in how they treated him. There was also too much sex in this imo. I would have liked more relationship development outside the bedroom.

Overall though it was a sold start to the series and the excerpt for the next book was really good.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Annabeth Albert's "Frozen Hearts" was a great series (my average rating was 4.5 for the three books) so I am looking forward to diving into Albert's new Hotshots series, which centers around wildfire fighters in Central Oregon.

Veteran smoke jumper Lincoln Reid is still mourning the death of his best friend and fellow smoke jumper Wyatt Hartman, so when Wyatt's younger brother Jacob shows up among the new recruits, Linc has a million reasons why Jacob shouldn't pursue his dream of becoming a smoke jumper.

Top of that list is Linc's sizzling attraction to Jacob, and Jacob's long-term crush on Linc. The plot is very predictable in that Linc, who is still closeted at work, fights that attraction but the two men finally decide to give into their desires and hopefully get it out of their systems. "A sexual exorcism or something. Anything was better than all this pointless wanting and not having." The sex scenes are plentiful and very steamy, and pretty much proof that Linc and Jacob belong together.

But Linc is stubborn in his belief that he cannot come out, cannot be with Jacob, will lose the love and support of the Hartmans, his surrogate family, and will lose the respect of his fellow smoke jumpers. And when I say "stubborn," I mean STUBBORN as it not listening to reason, being completely closed off to any possibility of the relationship being accepted, just not gonna happen. Linc's continued and insistent attitude personally drove me crazy, but I realize that other readers may not feel the same.

Despite a formulatic plot, and Linc's excessively dogged determination to not listen to reason, Albert does a good job in plumbing the nuances of Linc and Jacob's relationship and giving us well-fleshed out characters. 3. 5 stars for "Burn Zone" and I'm looking forward to reading "High Heat" coming out in July, 2020

I love anything by Annabeth Albert, so I was SUPER excited for this one. Firefighters? SIGN ME UP! This book is about Lincoln, a seasoned “smoke jumper” and new recruit Jacob. Jacob is the brother of Lincoln’s best friend since childhood, and out to his family and friends. Lincoln is not, but their years-long attraction is tested now that Jacob is 25 and determined to explore these feelings.

If you are a fan of Annabeth’s, you will be delighted with this new series. The chemistry of the two main characters is apparent right from the start, and it was so fun reading about this new environment. The sexytimes are hot hot hot (as always). I am super excited to keep reading this series, and I hope that there are many, many more to come!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own