RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
WILDFIRE AND ROSES by Hope Malory is a sweet contemporary romance. This romance is about a hero and heroine who you know are perfect for each other, but they are established in their careers on opposite sides of the country.
Beasley McLemore is driven to make her landscaping business in the foothills of the Tennessee Smoky Mountains the best. She wants her family and the community to be proud of her. She has always fantasized about her best-friend’s brother because she believes she is too busy to deal with a real relationship. On a rare break from her business, she is in Yosemite to climb El Cap and volunteers when needed for a search and rescue mission.
Will Gregor is a hot-shot smoke jumper and firefighter from California in Yosemite to climb. He volunteers for the search and rescue, too. He is ready and eager to help the park ranger, but is not impressed by Beasley. When Beasley easily assists Will after he falls, his irritation turns into intrigue. Will has just broken up with his long-term girlfriend and even though Beasley is everything he wants in a girlfriend, he is not ready to commit.
Beasley and Will cannot forget each other, but neither is willing to give up their current life situations and locations. Is it best just to forget and move on or can they find a way to be together?
Besides the sweet romance that does not have any sex until the last chapters, the author has included a mystery in Beasley’s family to be solved. The descriptions of the locations on both sides of the country is inspiring. The family and friends in this story are as interesting and entertaining as the H/h. This is an easy to read book, but at times I felt it should have had an increase in pace in the romance and less secondary characters. There were also a few times I was exasperated by how hard-headed Beasley was during some scenes which I felt slowed the pace, too. Overall though, it was an enjoyable romance read with interesting main characters and family dynamics.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
