Fire and Snow

By: Andrew Grey

Narrated by: Randy Fuller

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

Carlisle Cops: Book Four

Fisher Moreland has been cast out of his family because they can no longer deal with his issues. Fisher is bipolar and living day to day, trying to manage his condition, but he hasn't always had much control over his life and has self-medicated with whatever he could find.

JD Burnside has been cut off from his family because of a scandal back home. He moved to Carlisle, but brought his Southern charm and warmth along with him. When he sees Fisher on a park bench on a winter's night, he invites Fisher to join him and his friends for a late-night meal.

At first Fisher doesn't know what to make of JD, but he slowly comes out of his shell. And when Fisher's job is threatened because of a fire, JD's support and care is more than Fisher ever thought he could expect. But when people from Fisher's past turn up in town at the center of a resurgent drug epidemic, Fisher knows they could very well sabotage his budding relationship with JD.

©2016 Andrew Grey (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Nice series, not my favorite narration

This is book 4 in the Carlisle Cops series and as such we meet another police officer, JD, new to the force from North Carolina. He was forced to leave home by his parents old fashioned sense of propriety (gay is apparently not proper) after being outed by the town’s mayor’s son. He likes his job and is adjusting to the weather. On a snowy night in December he finds a man sitting on a bench acting strangely, when he rules out intoxication, he befriends him and asks him to join him and some friends for dinner.

Fisher is the man on the bench and he has some peculiar traits after receiving a traumatic brain injury a few years ago that have left him with a condition like bi-polar disorder. While on his meds he’s mostly in control, but he’s subject to mood swings under times of emotional stress.

For some reason JD is immediately attracted to Fisher (though Fisher can’t see why) and the two begin a friendship that slowly develops into something more.

**

While I’m a big fan of Andrew Grey – there are some of his series that resonate more with me than others. This is one of the series that I only like, not love. Because it’s Andrew you know you’ll get quality writing and perfect editing and a solid story line filled with emotion and hot smexy times – and this is true here as well.

I didn’t care for the relationship between JD and Fisher as well as some of his other pairings because I didn’t quite see the instant attraction on JD’s part. Fisher doesn’t represent well until almost 70% through the book – his self-esteem is low, he has several stress induced episodes and he tends to be abrasive and defensive. So I was hard pressed to see the appeal.

Once the couple got together and began working through their stuff a bit, Fisher calmed down and began to be more appealing, but in the beginning I was wondering why JD even tried.

So… for fans of the series and the author, you’ll want to check this out to see where previous MCs are at and because you know the author always delivers a good story. If you’re new to the series or the author (really? He’s written like a million books – read them – they’re awesome!) then you might not start with this one. I’d recommend his Farm series or his paranormal series as those are really heartbreaking and excellent at the same time.

3.5 of 5 stars

Audio

Randy Fuller does a satisfactory job narrating this series. I think that fans of the series are used to him as the narrator, so they know what they’re getting. He sort of fits the region, has kind of an older voice and he sounds a little “down home”, so I think he’s appropriate for the series. In this case, he was a bit more nasal sounding than usual and that caught my attention more than it should. I also didn’t really love the voice he chose for Fisher, it was a bit too high pitched for my tastes. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite from this narrator and I found it hard to get through.

2.75 of 5 stars


Overall
3 of 5 stars

a fabulous romance with some suspense

This is Carlisle Cops, Book 4 but they stand alone pretty well. You just have a better understanding of the recurring characters if you’ve read them in order.
As with all Andrew Grey books the story has great characters and there is a bit of a suspense in this. I really liked that Fisher is different and his bipolar issues are a big part of the story. I loved the romance between him and J.D. and how J.D seemed to understand and was so patient with Fisher. It is an allover good romantic suspense.
I listened to the audio and liked Randy Fuller’s narration. His voice is appealing and easy to listen too and he makes the story smooth and intriguing.

series hit

just like the other books in this series. loved them all. narrator was awesome. a must read!

A look at the darker side of life

This is the fourth book in the series and the author has done well to keep the timeline straight so its easy to pick up on the previous action.

Fisher has his issues and this gives us a look at the darker side of life, the side many try to avoid. Its great how JD does his best to support Fisher even going to Donald for advice in how he can support Fisher better. JD's mother had me pulling my hair out at times wanting to slap her for her attitude! Talk about high-handedness!!

Its great to see how well these two characters gel and how they come from similar backgrounds - both faced prejudice from family, but given all that they didn't allow it to cast a shadow over their future.

Many of the characters from previous books make a guest appearance and its great to catch up on their stories - it does help make the books more rounded and less spotlighted on the main characters.

There is one tiny flaw and that is where the author gets a name wrong during a scene where there are multiple characters gathered at the diner. It had me re-listening to it.

Overall this is very much a great story which is worth perceiving with the less than stellar performance - there is a different narrator for the spin off series!