Cleansing Flame

Rekindled Flame, Book 2

By: Andrew Grey

Narrated by: Michael Pauley

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Sequel to Rekindled Flame

Rekindled Flame: Book Two

Life has been grinding Dayne Mills down for almost as long as he can remember. First, he lost the love of his life in an accident that also left him with a permanent injury, and then his mother passed away a year later. When his house burns to the ground, it's the last straw. He can't take any more, and if it wasn't for kind and handsome firefighter Lawson Martin offering him a hand up and a place to stay, he doesn't know what he'd do. Dayne would love for his relationship with Lawson to evolve into something beyond charity, but he knows going after a man so far out of his league will only lead to yet more heartache. It's best to just keep his mind on his research.

It's that research that leads Dayne to an old student journal that not only provides clues to the Native American heritage Lawson has been searching for, but chronicles a century-old love story. The tale that unfolds might be just what Dayne and Lawson need to remind them that no matter how dark life becomes, love can find a way to shine through.

©2017 Andrew Grey (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Cleansing Flame

Cleansing Flame is Book 2 in Andrew Grey's Rekindled Flame series. This book could be read on its own, even though there are some appearances from the couple in the previous book, but why not get the full enjoyment of the series and start with Book 1. :)

Firefighter Lawson finds himself comforting Dayne, whose house just burned to the ground. Lawson had noticed Dayne earlier in the day when they were both at the Historical Society. Dayne had noticed the hot guy at the Historical Society but never gave consideration that someone who looked like Lawson could ever be interested in him. The complete loss of his house is just another hit in Dayne's life. He lost his boyfriend in a car wreck that caused him damage to his own legs, then a year later his mother died, and now he lost his mother's house and almost everything he had left of her and everything he had. He can't stop his tears when he realizes everything's gone and to his embarrassment, he finds himself in Lawson's arms. Dayne isn't sure what he's going to do, but Lawson invites him to stay a couple of days at his house. Dayne is unsure, but Morgan and Richard vouch for him, so he agrees to stay the night but Lawson works to keep him there longer. Dayne struggles to get his life back in order, deal with issues with his legs, and to accept Lawson's interest.

Lawson is an adrenaline junkie, but once he has someone he's interested in, he doesn't have that same need. Like with Morgan in the first book, Lawson seems to be too good to be true. He's willing to open his home to someone in need and provide assistance where he can. He's interested in Dayne and encourages him in all aspects of his life. He's thoughtful, caring, and a firefighter! I liked Dayne, but his constant negative self-thoughts continued through 80% of the book, and it was a little difficult to reread the same negative thoughts throughout all of it. But, he did get better and slowly developed more positive thoughts. He'd had a rough life and instead of enjoying when things were going well, he was instead waiting for the other shoe to drop.

This book was really a great story of two men meeting, getting to know each other, and a relationship developing from that before love entered the picture. This story had a special storyline that added another layer to this book, and that was Dayne's research into Native American information, and what happened once white men decided to educate natives on the proper way to live and brought them to a school to teach them. I loved this plotline and thought the author did a great job!

The narrator of this story is Michael Pauley and he does a great job! I've listened to several books narrated by Pauley and I'm becoming a huge fan! He brings the characters and story to life and does a great job of bringing the emotions of the story out. The narrator has an easy to listen to voice, he keeps a great pace with no weird pausing, and for the most part, gives the characters unique voices. The narrator is a fantastic storyteller and just allows the listener to be immersed in the story!

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Performance: 5 Stars

Story: 4 Stars

this is a hurt/comfort story

Any additional comments?

There is a slow burn from friends to lovers and at the same time our contemporary lovers fall for one another they also learn, through a diary, about a pair of Native American lovers from 1909 who fall in love.
all there.. hot firefighter, lonely guy down on his luck, hot & sweat man sex... but there is so much more. Love, passion, depth of feeling and sold story with flawed characters. I was pulled in from the start and almost sad to come to the end.

Enjoyed the narration!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the narration for this romance as well as its nice hurt/comfort elements.

Told from both Dayne Mills and Lawson Martin's points of view this story is really sweet and focuses on starting over and not letting new opportunities, especially for love, pass you by.

There's also a really lovely side story that comes from Dayne's research and ties in nicely with the main story.

Dayne has suffered quite a bit of loss in his life as he falls in love with Lawson he also has to contend with his fear of losing him because Lawson has a dangerous job and also enjoys potentially dangerous hobbies (skydiving, cliff jumping, etc.) in his free time.

Lawson isn't so much a thrill seeker as looking for the things that make him feel alive, but he's also willing to do whatever it takes to keep Dayne and take care of him.

Michael Pauley really does a fantastic job with this narration, bringing the characters to life and giving emotional nuance to the story itself.

Cleansing Flame is a sweet, low angst romance, with some nice comfort elements and great narration.

Sweet HEA

4 stars

Narration: Michael Pauley has an amazing voice. This was the same as book 1 for me. I thought he read a bit too fast and emphasized things a bit too much where it wasn’t called for, so I marked this down by 1 star for that. However, it didn’t ruin any of the listening for me. He brought the heat to the sex scenes and kept me pulled into the story. He also gave Angus a very good Scottish brogue (my favorite being married to a Scot! lol). I can’t wait for the rest!

Story: In this book, we meet firefighter, Lawson, and mature student, Dayne. The book was a love story for these two, but also a past love story running in the background that has such a history for Lawson’s family. (My grandfather was placed in one of these schools, so I get the significance of it all.)

We first meet Dayne. He’s an older student working his way through college with a disability from a crash that had cost him the love of his life. He lost his mother just after, and he’s struggling to keep everything together. He meets a handsome guy in the library, but it doesn’t come to anything. Then his house catches fire. Thank goodness he was at college, so he has his books, computer, and research material. But seeing his mother’s house burn, he loses it right there.

Lawson’s bought the house of his dreams thinking that and his job was all he needed in life, only to figure out that the house really isn’t a home. At work, Lawson sees the man he met earlier that day fall as he watched the house fire destroy a home and runs over to make sure he’s okay. When he realizes that Dayne is losing his home, he offers to take him in while he figures things out. Dayne accepts, but he’s determined to stand on his own feet again.

This was another home run for Grey. It’s a great build-up love story. The secondary love story building in the background gave it more depth for me. There’s a jerk of an insurance guy, but Angus, the Scottish fire inspector, fixes that issue. Then, Lawson ends up in the hospital with some bad injuries. Other than that, it’s about the two love stories.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Two stories in one

What did you love best about Cleansing Flame?

How the diary played such a role in both men's lives

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cleansing Flame?

Towards the end when Richard calls Dayne with news about Lawson

What does Michael Pauley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think His narration really brings the story to life. As all Andrew Grey fans know the story is always good but Michael gives it the frosting to the cake.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, Not really. The story was fabulous though and kept me engrossed from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

I am a huge Andrew Grey fan and I think this series is one of my favorites. I loved in this book how Dayne's studies bring him and Lawson together. The Indian story was both sweet and heartbreaking and I think really made this book special.
If you love stories of flawed men, firefighters, daredevils, scholars, students, and Native American lore you will love this book!

Great read!

Love Andrew Grey. This read was great. I was a blubbering mess by the end. Will read again

Too repetitive

The premise is fine as are the main characters potentially, but the story fails to get beyond a couple of basic motifs: a wants b, b also wants a but is afraid he’s not good enough for a. And so it goes on...and on. Cue accident and hospital bed scenes. Disappointing.