After the slow read that Burn Zone ended up being I hesitated to pick up the second book in Annabeth Albert’s Hotshots series. I didn’t want another “easy” MM Romance dragged out over weeks when on average I can get through one in a day or two. It wasn’t down to that one-to-two day read time but I did read it slightly faster than the first novel (five days compared to seven).
The good part is I already know why this was an easier read and I’ll get to that later. High Heat is the story of Garrick, a smoke jumper on Linc and Jacob’s crew from book one who suffered an injury that left him with a lot of work to do if he wants to get back in the field, and Rain, the free-spirited adult grandchild of his tie-dying hippy neighbor who helps him out when he rescues and ultimately adopts a stray dog.
For the most part, this story follows your standard May-December romance with a whole bunch of guilt about the older man taking advantage of the younger man, the younger man convinced he’s taking advantage of the older man, too much stubbornness between the two of them and nowhere near enough talking and communication.
‘Had him up on a horse before he could walk.’ Kenny came up behind him carrying an impressive platter of vegetables.
‘And I’m just saying this once. Y’all can raise a pack of socialist vegetarians. But they’re gonna learn to ride. Some things are nonnegotiable.’ (Chapter 22)
Garrick suffered some pretty severe injuries including damage to his spinal cord in the accident from Burn Zone and as I started the novel, I was wary it could end up being some sort of inspiration porn, but I really should’ve known better. Albert is one of the most thorough researchers and handles issues with honesty and frankness and even explains them in author’s notes before or after the story. It was heartbreaking to go through the novel with Garrick finally realizing and accepting that his injuries were career ending and life changing in a way that he was going to have to make so many changes, but Albert handled it in such a way that was empathetic and empowering without being voyeuristic.
Overall, the story seemed to have a very small foot print compared to most Albert stories and I think that might be my biggest critique of this one. Garrick and Rain are fully formed characters, as were Linc and Jacob, but all the minor characters feel like we barely scratch the surface of their personalities and histories. So many of her other novels have minor characters that you can start guessing who might receive their own story or who you hear big chunks of their story in the novel, but this one and the last one didn’t.
Reading this one Albert explained the breadcrumb trail in that Garrick tried to force Linc’s hand with Jacob by saying he might try and get with Jacob and I vaguely recall that. And if I had to guess Garrick’s coworker he rides with and at some point says that coworker avoids talking about his personal life at all makes me think he’ll be the next protagonist even if I want it to be Zeb, Rain’s small-town religious straight-presenting engaged coworker.
And the final thing I’ll note about the novel is that Albert, as always, did a great job with the sex scenes. There were some frank discussions between Garrick and Rain (and Garrick’s doctor) and I appreciated that Albert continued to expand the representation of sexual activities and aides that many authors either shy away from or aren’t so prevalent that they’re run-of-the-mill scenarios.
I still can’t put my finger on why I haven’t vibed with these as well as her other works. I’m wondering if I should go back and re-read her Out of Uniform series to see if it is as good as I think it was. The Out of Uniform series was published (or picked up) by HarperCollins and the Hotshots series is published by Carina Adores, a Harlequin imprint, and maybe that’s impacting the stories? Like what she is able to write or the stories she’s able to tell? I’m not sure as I’ve read other books by Carina that I’ve enjoyed a lot more. And it could easily just be Albert changing as an author or just a slight miss for me this time.
Recommendation: If you like Albert, it’s worth the read. I don’t think it’s one of her best novels, but it’s a solid middle-of-the-pack work that has strong characters, but could use some more rounding out with minor characters that stand out. I appreciated it seemed to have less “drama” (non-romance) than the previous novel, but the lack of communication between the protagonists definitely left me annoyed for some parts of it. As I finish out the series I’ll definitely need to space them out with books in between.
Opening Line: “‘Come on, honey. You gotta let me help you.’ Garrick liked to think he was good at sweet-talking, but his track record of success was in serious jeopardy here.”
Closing Line: “This was his forever person, whatever the future brought, and he was going to keep on loving Rain through all of it.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)
Additional Quotes from High Heat
“”What the heck is that and why do I think you’re about to stab me with it?’
Out of all the unusual things Rain had produced, the spiky object with skinny needles sticking out from a mass of thin yarn had to be right up there on the list of surprises. Shortly after they’d arrived at the doctor’s office, Rain had dug a small pouch out of his half-sized messenger bag, which Garrick had assumed was mainly a water bottle and wallet-toting device since Rain didn’t always have pockets.
‘It’s my knitting.’ Rain’s tone was almost bored as his fingers flew around the needles. It was almost hypnotic, the way his hands kept moving even as he looked up at Garrick.
‘Told you. I like to have something to do with my hands. Sock knitting is great because it’s so portable. I keep meaning to bring it over to your place, but someone keeps distracting me . . .'” (Chapter 9)
“‘No, you said your hands were too big. I heard your complaints and raided Grandma’s craft room for some bigger needles and chunky yarn. You’ll be fine,’ Rain said airily, as if Garrick had a burning desire to craft and he was doing him a favor, making that happen.” (Chapter 11)
