This book is more than a romance. It is uplifting in a very down-to-earth way and inspires hope through hard-won battles where neither woman is prepared to give up.
Julie Cannon's eleventh novel grabbed my attention right at the beginning with the very short but haunting Prologue and the powerful introduction of Brady. Oh Brady, no-nonsense, self-made in a man’s world, Brady! She has a grand first curtain: Standing there in her full regalia of a oil fire-fighter after several hours of work covered in soot. Magnificent and all business she gets orders to attend an event at headquarters. "What a f***ing waste of time", she thinks. Cut. And enter Nicole, calm, collected in her corporate power suit, the CEO at said headquarters. Within a few masterful pages and with a compelling pen Julie Cannon has set the stage for what’s to come.
And though the Prologue already hints at something more, one would at first expect the usual romance – blue collar vs. management, brawn vs. brain, hot monkey sex and all is ending well when the girl gets the girl. The last is true but, ladies, this story has more to it, much more to recommend it as a romance with unusual depth, engrossing characters and dang-bang hands-on action on the oil-fields.
Both characters have secrets to hide and a past that makes them vulnerable, very vulnerable and cautious. Julie Cannon takes her time to delve into the intricacies of the human mind and the story is all character-driven in a very gripping and believable way. I especially liked how she doesn't go for the easy resolutions and short-cuts to make ends, ahem the two women meet. We stay with them through pain, trauma, the most tender scenes, we travel with them to roaring flames of burning oil wells in foreign lands, we share the camaraderie of those putting their lives on line, and then come back into civilisation (loved Mrs C.) to see that there will be new life even after devastating loss when there is at long last courage again in the face of someone who loves and who loves not only the woman outside, but inside as well.
This book is more than a romance. It is uplifting in a very down-to-earth way and inspires hope through hard-won battles where neither woman is prepared to give up.