ony is a smoke jumper, Kayla is a photographer. Previously they used to date but it didn't work. None of their relationships do, but at least Kayla and Tony stayed friends. After Tony's latest break-up, they go on a road trip together to check out some burn scars, both literally and figuratively. Kayla wants to photograph sites of forest fire. They're reading a self help book that is supposed to help them stop sabotaging themselves. Their road trip is also a trip down the memory lane because they meet Tony's ex girlgfriends in a bid to figure out whether he's a commitment phobe or just a random jerk in relationships. After some revealing encounters with Tony's former girlfriends Kayla and Tony admit they've still got that sexual attraction thing going but they're calling it a friends with benefits arrangement. Kayla's wondering if life mirrors fire sites and things could start growing in the ashes, but he's got a lot of history that he doesn't talk about. He's wondering what if... but every time he's on the brink of saying certain important things out loud she changes the subject.

I wasn't hooked from the beginning because I thought their dialogues felt like a too obvious set up for kitchen table psychoanalysis instead of conversations that people might naturally have. But it gets better as the reader learns more about Tony's point of view, and the emotions start to feel more real. You struggle with him as he yearns for love but is scared of screwing things up.

The writing style is effortless and flows well. I noticed only a couple of minor typos, nothing glaring. Most people have a navel instead of a naval, and an adopted dog would be the adoptee, not the adopters.

I really liked the life after burns metaphor, it spoke to me.

I got an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for opinions, which works well for me as I've got extra.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Kayla was good friends with smokejumper Tony. The more time that Kayla spent with Tony she grew to love him more as a boyfriend than a friend. I enjoyed the chemistry between Kayla and Tony as their relationship grew.