Hearts of Fire by L.H. Cosway (Hearts #2)
Released: March 9, 2015
Contemporary Romance
Self Published

Reviewed by Mandi

I’m a huge fan of L.H. Cosway’s books, each one not only so different from each other, but just different from a lot of romances out there. In Hearts of Fire, she takes us to a small traveling european circus called, The Circus Spektakulär. Jack McCabe is a very talented fire-eater/breather who performs in this circus. The small group of people who work with him have become his family of sorts, although Jack doesn’t let anyone get too close. If you like a dark and broody hero – Jack is the man for you. Plus he has long hair that he pulls back into a man-bun, and is very muscular and sexy.

Man-bun + fire-eater = Hot hero.

Jack lost  most of his family in a fire when he was very young (this plays into his obsession with fire), and moved to foster care, where bad things happened. Escaping that life, he finally found the circus, and has never looked anywhere else. He carries around a lot of anger that his brother, who also survived the fire and was placed with his uncle, does not want him in his life.

Lillie Baker is twenty-one years old and a waitress in a small diner in Ireland. She lives with her mother, who is extremely controlling about all aspects of her life.

All my life I felt like I’d been living in quiet desperation. Following my mother’s rules and biding my time, waiting for the moment when I could finally break free. The thing was, I was twenty-one  now, and my time still hadn’t come. I had a disturbing image of me still living under my mother’s roof at thirty, still keeping to her straight lines, never walking on the cracks, and it made me feel like screaming.

When the circus comes to town, Lillie is excited to go see it. Jack and a few other people from the circus, come to eat at her restaurant, and Lillie is captivated by Jack’s intensity. Lillie is a very talented artist who would love to run away and pursue her dream of painting, but her mother would never hear of it. Lillie feels like she is missing out on life, even creating a list of things she wants to  accomplish – like having sex with a stranger, Get a Tattoo, and Fall in Love. Lillie is naive, but also extremely passionate about the unknown. When the leader of the circus offers her to join them as a face painter, Lillie runs home, packs a bag and sneaks out of her house before she can change her mind.

From the get go, Jack has his eye on Lillie. Traveling in a circus can be dangerous, especially for a single woman, so Jack is not only angry Lillie joined them for fear of her safety, but it’s that lusty angry vibe. Jack is extremely intense and quiet – but when he speaks, he says wicked things. Lillie starts to fall hard for him, and Jack lets down his barriers and starts to trust Lillie.

For those that read LH Cosway, Jack is the brother to her previous hero Jay, from Six of Hearts. Actually, Six of Hearts is my least favorite book by her, but this can totally be read as a stand alone. I loved the atmosphere of this book. The circus brings in something so differed to read about, but never overshadows the romance. It’s a more behind the scenes look than the actual circus, and that is where all the fun drama takes place. The author creates such rich supporting characters, some horribly evil, some really funny, but all with secrets they are harboring. A lot of people who join a traveling circus are looking to run away from their problems, which creates an intriguing group of people.

Jack pushes Lillie away at first, because she is new and he thinks innocent and all of that. But he can’t hide his attraction to her. The sexual tension is soooo good.

“Got a nice little look at you earlier,” he said, and I seriously thought I might die of mortification. My skin prickled in awareness.

“What?” I replied, my voice so, so quiet.

He didn’t say anything for a second, just hummed low in his throat, and it was the sexiest sound I’d heard, possibly ever. Then he took my hand in his. I’d taken the bandage off, but I still had a red burn mark down the centre of my palm. Holding it up, he seemed fascinated as he ran a finger down it gently. It only stung a tiny bit, and the combination of him touching me and the sting caused a strange tingling between my legs. Yep, my vagina was definitely on Team McCabe, even if my brain was waving around big red Beware signs like a maniac.

His mouth moved, and there was something intriguing in his expression, like he’d just figured out he’d aroused me, and it both interested and surprised him. He moved closer, eating up my space…and just stared at me.

And man, could he stare. I felt like he was telling me a silent story, and it was captivating.

Their romance slowly develops at first as Jack has a very hard time trusting people, but once it gets going, it’s hot. Jack can be very blunt with his words – I think he tries to shock Lillie with his crude words at some point, but it turns out Lillie likes things crude and rough, making the sex scenes dirty and hot. Smexy approves.

Very sexy, very engaging and the romance hit all the right spots. I really can’t get enough of LH Cosway’s books.

Rating: B+

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