Up in Flames

De: Nicole Williams

Narrado por: Allyson Ryan

Elle's life couldn't possibly get any more small town. She was raised in the same home as the two generations before her, her family owns the iconic downtown cafe, and she's been dating the pastor's son since she was allowed to go on her first date at sixteen.

Cole's life couldn't possibly get any larger. He's tried. Roaming from town to town for the past three summers as a smokejumper, Cole dreads the thought of putting down roots. The only thing he avoids more than that is settling down with one woman, especially when there are as many willing women as there are trees in the forest he jumps out of planes to save.

Elle Montgomery's life is going one way. And Cole Carson's is going the opposite. There's no reason their paths should ever intersect, even in a small town in central Washington. But summer in the Methow Valley has other plans for Elle and Cole.

After an awkward run-in at the local swimming hole, Elle tries to keep away from the guy who looks at her like she's already lying beneath him in bed. She fails. Cole is about as successful at staying away from the girl who seems immune to his charms. As the summer heats up, and tensions between Elle and Cole run high, Cole begins to realize there's more he's attracted to than Elle's body, and she discovers there's a lot more to the man that jumps out of planes into raging forest fires than meets the eye.

©2012 Nicole Williams (P)2013 Tantor

Amazing

Love the book! It was amazing. From start to finish. You feel like you are really there.

Embrace It

Didn't grab me as much as Nicole William's Crash series but still a sweet love story.

“We live our lives afraid of change and if we were to just embrace it instead, it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal when it hits us.”

Oh the follies of 18 year olds.

Well, I like this writer. The heroine of this story is 18, and she acts it. She is a nice girl and you like her, but she lets mountains become molehills and makes a habit of creating more problems by avoiding conflict. That's what eighteen year olds do, right? At least that's what I did. Drama was everything. So, bear all this in mind before buying. The 18-25 year old crowd might find more logic in Elle's behavior. I found little.

I like the writing, it's just that the characters were not what I'm looking for. I will look into some of Ms. Williams other work to see if something fits me better.

Good narrator.

OK Read/Listen

Would you try another book from Nicole Williams and/or Allyson Ryan?

Yes, I plan on trying more of Nicole Williams's books.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I thought the ending was a little far fetched if I'm being honest.

What about Allyson Ryan’s performance did you like?

I liked Allyson's voice a lot, she made for an easy listen.

Was Up in Flames worth the listening time?

I'd say yes since it isn't a long story.

I could not stand the heroine

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I have LOVED, loved Nicole Williams other books, but with this one the heroine was so indecisive and selfish. I wish she would have chosen the guy sooner. Honestly, I did not trust the heroine. When she made up her mind who she wanted, she would make a million excuses why it probably would not work. The heroine annoyed me. She was what I would term a "slutty virgin". She wanted to lose her virginity, but had no takers since both guys wanted a commitment before they had sex with her. Those heroines are the worst.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

By the time the story ended, I was done. I was done with the story 1 hour and 15 minutes before it ended. Elle should have made up her mind and taken care of things long before she did. I did not trust her feelings in the end. She was too wishy washy. I feel the heroine made her choices by how turned on she was the guy she was with. Why did these guys want her?

How did the narrator detract from the book?

If I was the publisher, I would change the narrator for this book. Allyson Ryan did a good job with the secondary female voices, but the male voices sounded like grunts, like it was hurting her voice. The male character voices sounded like a high school girl imitating a male voice. It sounded painful. I have listened to audio books for years and this narrator has to be one of the top 10 worst. I have seen she has done other books that I have loved. I am not sure how she did those voices because of the series she has narrated was my favorite and I would hate readers to be turned off by the series simply because of the narration. The narrator needs more practice with the male voices.

Any additional comments?

Even though I did not care for UP IN FLAMES, I know I will read other books by Nicole Williams. However, before I buy any other books by Nicole Williams on audio, I will make sure that Allyson Ryan does not do the narration.