Rekindled Flame

Okay I actually didn’t finish this book, it could have gotten better but by 25% I just didn’t have it in me anymore. I find this surprising considering I normally love this author but everyone has a bad day, right? Do I recommend this book? No but I do recommend their other works. Sorry.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Rekindled Flame is Book 1 in Andrew Grey's Rekindled Flame series. Morgan works as a firefighter and on a call, rescues a man in a wheelchair who was unconscious. When he goes to the hospital to check on the rescued man, he's surprised to find that it's the most important person from childhood, his best friend Richard. Morgan and Richard lost touch as teens when Morgan's father moved him away. The men took different paths in life with Richard joining the military, where he lost the use of his legs. Morgan is happy to find Richard and invites him to live with him until he gets things figured out with his living situation. Richard, though, doesn't understand why Morgan, or anyone, would want him around. Richard is in depression and suffering PTSD, and it's going to take him and Morgan to pull him out of it. And further investigation reveals the fire was not accidental.

Morgan was a too good to be true type of guy. He was was happy to find Richard, who he always felt was his soul mate. He was happy to have Richard in his home, and was a really positive person. He didn't have a great childhood, but he really appreciated his life. And, he just seemed to know how to deal with Richard. He didn't coddle him, he pushed him to make the needed changes, while his actions continued to show his love. Richard was a very broken character, that was struggling with guilt and his place in life. His depression and PTSD were well done, but definitely did not make this a light-hearted read. He fought Morgan's love and assistance through most of the book, and kudos to Morgan for not giving up on him. The arson/mystery element was always on the fringe of this story, reminding you that not everything was ok.

I enjoyed this story and all the characters in the book; it was a great second chance romance story with a HEA. Though feelings were involved early between Morgan and Richard, not that they were voiced, they definitely had to work for their HEA. And, this was a book full of firefighters! If you haven't had the chance to read this book, take the time to do it now!

Rating: 4 stars

Great plot and characters! The plot was suspenseful and the relationship had history and newness. My only concern was inconsistent details that slightly detracted from the mystery.

Andrew Grey, once again, doesn’t disappoint! In Rekindled Flame, you meet a motivated firefighter hero, willing to go to any length to rescue anyone in need - not knowing that his most recent rescue was an old childhood friend who had experienced great obstacles during his time in the military. Despite their time apart, the spark (pun intended), is still there… but watching them find a way to move beyond each of their own pasts to reconnect, was a heartwarming journey.

One of my favorite things about this book is the depth of both characters - they are flawed, they have struggles, and working together they’re able to move forward. While never perfect, together they were able to bring each other strength and acceptance - all while rekindling their connection and building their happily ever after.

Firefighter Morgan Ayers is just doing his job when he rescues a paralyzed man from a house fire, yet when he goes to visit the hospital the next day to check on the man he’s shocked to learn the man is his first best friend Richard “Richie” Smalley.
Richie never expected to see his childhood friend again let alone be rescued from a house fire by him! Richie is a former marine who has been medically discharged because his last mission went bad and now he’s in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Since the house Richie was living in has been burnt to the ground he is virtually homeless until Morgan decides Richie will live with him. Morgan can’t believe fate has bought Richie back into his life. After almost twenty years apart he’s not going to let another minute go by without doing all he can for Richie.
Morgan’s good friend Angus is the fire inspector looking into the fire that almost killed Richie and discovers that it was deliberately set but they don’t know who was the target. As the weeks go by Richie has started having flashback nightmares and his PTSD returns with a vengeance and Morgan has his hands full trying to get Richie to either talk to him, a therapist or anyone to help him with his nightmares.
While Morgan views meeting up with Richie again as fate, Richie can’t understand why someone as good-looking as Morgan would want to have anything to do with a “half-man” like him. Both Morgan and Richie have their hands full trying to juggle a new/old relationship, Richie’s PTSD, the arson investigation and falling in love with the adult version of each other.
Forming a relationship is hard in the best of circumstances, starting and maintaining one whilst trying to find an arsonist and working on your PTSD? Near impossible! And yet, Rekindled Flame shows you that with a lot of dedication you can achieve anything! I definitely recommend Rekindled Flame as you get an in-depth look into what a person with PTSD goes through and what the people who love and support them do as well.