Book Review: Seeing Red by Jill Shalvis

Twelve years ago, a deadly fire led Summer Abrams to leave her home, her family and her best friend, Joe Walker. Now another fire has brought her back to a place that is very much different than the place she left behind.

Everything has changed. Her family and the man she remembered as a teenager are the least of the changes. Her best friend Joe went from being a chubby teenage boy to a man as hot as the fires he now investigates for a living. The investigation of the fire at her family's warehouse brings these two together and sparks fly from the moment they reunite.

However, Summer has a problem. She can't seem to connect. In fact, she doesn't want to connect. Losing her father in the previous fire was hard enough. Losing anyone else close to her could only cause her more pain and hurt, neither of which she wants.

She wants Joe though. The boy she told her secrets to is now a man she wants in her bed. However, she wants no strings, and to Joe that is unacceptable. Will she realize she needs to reach out and trust before she loses him? Will they discover who is behind the tragic fires occurring before someone else loses their life?

Seeing Red is a May 2005 release by Jill Shalvis, published by Signet Eclipse. Shalvis has released more than two dozen novels during her career, and she has three more set for release this year—including September's release Get a Clue.

Seeing Red is exciting and gripping from page one. We begin in the past and jump to the present with ease, and the characters of Summer and Joe seem to just leap off the page. You have the right mix of romance and suspense, which makes the reader want to keep turning page after page.

The story told here isn't just that of Summer and Joe, but of Summer's family. We have two secondary romances contained in this story's plot that are mentioned throughout the novel—one of them between Summer's mother Camille and Joe's partner, Kenny.

These secondary plots only add to the realism of the book, and they make this book a very well-rounded read that I enjoyed a great deal. I highly recommend this novel by Jill Shalvis, as well as any others you might be able to pick up by this author.


For more reviews by Regina, including reviews on books, music, movies and several popular television shows, visit her review blog found at One Couch Critic. Her rambles on life and writing can be found on her daily blog, One Writer's Rambles.
Pub: NB

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Article Author: Regina Avalos

Blogging since March 2005, Regina Avalos maintains her blog, Inside My Wild Mind, daily with her thoughts on television, movies, literature and life. Currently she also covers the latest in television news, celebrity gossip and movie news for Teevieo and Today.com! …

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