AotM: After the Fire & Embrace the Fire by Felice Stevens (Reviews + Giveaway)

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About the Book

A single bullet destroyed the dreams of Dr. Jordan Peterson. With his lover dead, Jordan descends into an endless spiral of self-destruction that nearly costs him his friends, his career, and his life. When Jordan finds himself working closely with the aloof Lucas Conover, the investment banker’s mysterious past and unexpected kindness shocks him back into a life and emotions he’d thought lost forever.

The betrayal by the foster brother he’d worshiped taught Lucas Conover never to trust or believe in anyone. Living a solitary life couldn’t free him of the nightmare of his former life; it reinforced his belief that he would never fall in love. When the death of one of his clients forces him to work closely with Dr. Jordan Peterson, he meets a person whose suffering exceeds his own. Though Jordan rejects his effort to help, something within Luke pushes him discover more about the first man to ever get under his skin.

As Luke lets down his guard and Jordan lets go of his pain, desire takes control. Each man must come to terms with past struggles if they are to create a future together. And learning to trust in themselves and love again after tragedy and a lifetime of pain may be the only thing that saves them in the end.

5 Stars

I am so glad Felice wrote this story. I was so heartbroken for Jordan at the end of "A Walk Through Fire".

After 4 years of being in a loving relationship Jordan's Fiancé Keith is taken from him by a bullet. Even after 9 months Jordan is still so heartbroken, lost, barely existing or functioning. The only thing that holds Jordan on this earth and stops him from ending it all, is the guilt of putting his parents through facing his own death.

Lucas has pulled himself up from nothing to become a successful financial advisor. He was abandoned by his foster brother and left to try to protect himself and another younger foster brother from their abusive foster father. When he is left alone and abandoned by everyone in Georgia, he makes his way to NYC, finds a shelter and works hard to make himself the man he is today.

Jordan and Lucas are forced to work together to get the community center up and running. When Lucas sees Jordan for the first time he can't help but feel sympathy for the broken man who stands before him.

Jordan is attracted to Lucas, but is he ready to move on? Can he get past the guilt he feels for wanting another man?

Jordan and Lucas want each other, but first they have to face their demons. Will they do it together or apart?

I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. I loved both Lucas and Jordan and together, they were electric!! When they came together sparks flew and the pages of my iPad lit up like a The Fourth of July! They had an amazing chemistry from their very first meeting. This book takes you through so many emotions.

It was heartbreaking to see Jordan so grief stricken over the loss of Keith, to spiral so far out of control and hit rock bottom. And later confused and a little guilty about his feelings for Lucas.

It was also heartbreaking to hear of Lucas' past. To relive the horrific things he suffered through, alone and abandoned. Lucas has resigned himself to living a life alone and no one is more shocked than him at how strong his feelings for Jordan are.

It was heartwarming to watch these two men fall in love, and face their demons together. To see Lucas get the things he never thought he would, and for Jordan to get the things he never though he would have again, love and a home.

I have read everyone of Felice's books and I haven't been disappointed yet. I can't wait for more in the future from her!

4.5 Stars!!!

After the Fire is book 2 in the Through Hell & Back Series and while technically it could be read as a standalone, I don't recommend it. Not only is A Walk Through Fire sooo good, that you'll be missing out if you don't read it, but there are events that happen in it that will be directly referred to in After the Fire, plus the characters we met there, especially Ash and Drew are heavily featured in this story.

I have to make a confession, I didn't like Jordan in A Walk Through Fire; actually, I hated him with the fire of a thousand suns until the death of his partner at the end of that book. I can say I don't hate him any longer, but I don't particularly like him, either. I could empathize with his suffering and what he'd gone through and I thought he was very strong to finally acknowledge he had a problem and seek the help he needed. I liked Luke, but I thought he was really immature in how he handled things with both Jordan and Ash. Still, I have to admit that Luke and Jordan were good together. They had great chemistry and it was lovely seeing their relationship develop and grow in such a realistic manner.

I love Ash, my heart broke all over again when he was forced to rehash all he went through with his foster dad and it was awesome to see he finally got the second chance with Luke that he'd been wishing for so long. 

The book was really well-written, very engaging and even if I didn't actually love Jordan and Luke, I liked them enough to want them to get their HEA. Highly recommendable!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

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Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Cover Design: Reece Dante

Photography: Varion Krylov of Strangeland Photography

Length: 90,000 words



Blurb

Brandon Gilbert has spent years in hiding, but he’s finally accomplished his dream of working as a public school teacher. When offered the chance to help bullied children, there was no way he could say no. Not to mention that meeting Dr. Tash Weber, the psychiatrist who helps them, a sad yet sexy older man, ignited a spark inside Brandon he’d never had before.

Though five years have passed since the death of his lover, Dr. Sebastian "Tash" Weber has no interest in relationships or love. But young, enigmatic Brandon awakens his heart and his desire. Despite Tash’s best efforts to push him away, Brandon unlocks the passion for life Tash thought he’d lost forever.

Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan for either Brandon or Tash, but neither family disapproval nor self-doubts can stop them from embracing the fire that burns between them. And when Brandon returns home to fight for a future he never imagined possible, he and Tash discover that the one thing worth fighting for has been with them all along.

NB This is a re-release and has been extensively re-edited and revised with almost 10k words of additional content added.

5 Fire-y Stars

Instalove. Big age difference. These are two things that I loathe in books, yet Felice made me not care about these things. It never once bothered me.

The chemistry, sexual tension and love between Brandon and Tash rolled off the pages of this book. Tash and Brandon's story takes us full circle and finally reunites all three brothers.

I loved this story. Felice writes so beautifully. She draws you in from the first page and holds you captivated with her story telling. This book did have instalove, but it wasn't a sickly sweet instalove, there were obstacles and struggles. Tash and Brandon had to fight hard to make this work, and it wasn't just their insecurities and fears they had to fight against. It was the doubts of their families/loved ones they had to fight against as well.

Felice wove a beautiful story, filled with doubts, fears, secrets, mystery, heartbreak, sadness but most of all family, togetherness, sweetness, healing, heat and love.

This was the perfect ending to this series. I've read every one of Felice's books, and I haven't read one yet that I haven't loved. I look forward to so much more from her in the future!

5 Stars!!!

Embrace the Fire is book three in the Through Hell and Back series and while they could technically be read as standalones, there’s an ongoing storyline, so please do yourself a favor and read the series in order. You won’t regret it.

I loved Brandon, he was such a sweet guy, very mature for his age. I loved Tash, too, but I really wanted to slap him a few times when he wouldn’t get over the age gap issue. Enough is enough, you know? Especially, when the younger man seems a whole lot more mature about the whole thing than the 39-year-old! Still, I loved them together, they complemented each other perfectly and were sweet and hot, with a great chemistry. I just couldn’t get enough of them.

I loved Ash from the first book and he remains my favorite character, right along with Esther. I adored Drew here, too and even liked Jordan a whole lot more. The one I wanted to strangle was Luke, though. Grrr!!!

I loved that Felice gave us that ending, those epilogues alone were everything and I loved that Ash, Luke and Brandon got some closure at the end.

The book was emotional and engaging, the writing was stellar, the characters were amazing and I’m truly sorry there won’t be any more books in this series. It’s been a lovely journey! Very recommendable!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

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I have always been a romantic at heart. I believe that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. I started reading traditional historical romances when I was a teenager, then life and law school got in the way. It wasn’t until I picked up a copy of Bertrice Small and became swept away to Queen Elizabeth’s court that my interest in romance novels became renewed.

But somewhere along the way, my tastes shifted. While I still enjoys a juicy Historical romance, I began experimenting with newer, more cutting edge genres and discovered the world of Male/Male romance. Once I picked up her first, I became so enamored of the authors, the character-driven stories and the overwhelming emotion of the books, I knew I wanted to write my own.

I live in New York City with my husband and two children and hopefully soon a cat of my own. My day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass or two of red wine. I practice law but daydream of a time when I can sit by a beach somewhere and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there is bound to be angst along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.

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