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Island Fire #1
Playing with Fire
She's secretly burned for him for years.
Derek Severson left his career as a firefighter after tragedy shook him to his soul. Running his uncle’s beachside bar on a south Texas island gives him the chance to heal, find peace, and avoid entanglements. That is, until Macey, his childhood friend, tracks him down.
After two years abroad in a developing country, Macey Locke is ready to dive in to her Peace Corps-inspired foundation. But when she learns Derek is suffering, she can’t turn her back. Six weeks on a tropical island to help the guy she’s loved for years? No-brainer.
Derek can’t help but notice she’s not the same girl he used to know. She’s more. More self-assured, more determined, more irresistible. But is she enough for him to let go of his newfound fragile peace and give in to the passion sparking between them?
Playing with Fire is a stand-alone novel with a heartwarming and satisfying HEA in the Island Fire series.
Derek Severson left his career as a firefighter after tragedy shook him to his soul. Running his uncle’s beachside bar on a south Texas island gives him the chance to heal, find peace, and avoid entanglements. That is, until Macey, his childhood friend, tracks him down.
After two years abroad in a developing country, Macey Locke is ready to dive in to her Peace Corps-inspired foundation. But when she learns Derek is suffering, she can’t turn her back. Six weeks on a tropical island to help the guy she’s loved for years? No-brainer.
Derek can’t help but notice she’s not the same girl he used to know. She’s more. More self-assured, more determined, more irresistible. But is she enough for him to let go of his newfound fragile peace and give in to the passion sparking between them?
Playing with Fire is a stand-alone novel with a heartwarming and satisfying HEA in the Island Fire series.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2010
1,624 people are currently reading
1,793 people want to read
About the author
Amy Knupp
70books557followersAmy Knupp is a USA Today Best-Selling author of contemporary romance and a freelance copy editor. She loves words and grammar and meaty, engrossing stories with complex characters.
Amy lives in Wisconsin with her husband, and has two sons, four cats, and a box turtle. She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in French and journalism. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, breaking up cat fights, watching college hoops, and annoying her family by correcting their grammar.
Amy lives in Wisconsin with her husband, and has two sons, four cats, and a box turtle. She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in French and journalism. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, breaking up cat fights, watching college hoops, and annoying her family by correcting their grammar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
June 28, 2018
I'm still not sure why I bothered to finish this. It's one cliché after another without a single original character trait, motivation, or plot point. I'd almost suspect it of being generated from a computer algorithm except that even an incompetent programmer would know to throw in a variation or two.
Not that there's anything inherently wrong with a by-the-numbers romance. I've been known to enjoy those if they're at least constructed well or have something engaging to draw me in. Unfortunately for me, this book is hampered by the emotional midget, Derek. Okay, yeah, he lost his fiancée not that long ago. That's one of the background options for a standard romance and I can see how that might make a compelling story. Only Knupp milks every emotionally painful response possible out of that circumstance. Inappropriate guilt? Check. Negative motivation* blown all out of proportion because "pain"? Check. Unworthy of love? Check. Push away those who care about him? Check. Just going through the motions? Check. All of these expressed at the convenient moment to produce extra drama for Macey to endure. There isn't a single scene where he is happy without him ruining it by being a horrendous snotwrag because he's so. very. sad.
And that might have been more endurable if Macey had been allowed any emotional depth at all. But no. She's been in love with him forever and so of course she just endures his ill tempered brush-offs and returns over and over again because rejection is a fun game to play and if she keeps it up she can win a new toaster. Or something? I kept waiting for her to finally have had enough, take her broken heart to heal somewhere, and run into Derek at his mother's restaurant years later with the hunky husband who loves her in tow introducing him as the man who threw her love back in her face and aren't they all glad it worked out so well in the end!?!
But I'm not bitter about wasting the time to finish the book. At all. Or at least, I shouldn't be because it was my own choice and I knew I should have stopped even before I hit the halfway point. Not that this realization will keep me from giving this the single star it deserves because, well, it deserved that rating even if I had stopped when I should have...
A note about Steamy: There's a single explicit sex scene and it's tied up in the awful. So this is on the low end of my steam tolerance. It happens late enough that if I had stopped earlier, I'd have been spared that emotional trauma, too. Ugh.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. a bit back and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
Not that there's anything inherently wrong with a by-the-numbers romance. I've been known to enjoy those if they're at least constructed well or have something engaging to draw me in. Unfortunately for me, this book is hampered by the emotional midget, Derek. Okay, yeah, he lost his fiancée not that long ago. That's one of the background options for a standard romance and I can see how that might make a compelling story. Only Knupp milks every emotionally painful response possible out of that circumstance. Inappropriate guilt? Check. Negative motivation* blown all out of proportion because "pain"? Check. Unworthy of love? Check. Push away those who care about him? Check. Just going through the motions? Check. All of these expressed at the convenient moment to produce extra drama for Macey to endure. There isn't a single scene where he is happy without him ruining it by being a horrendous snotwrag because he's so. very. sad.
And that might have been more endurable if Macey had been allowed any emotional depth at all. But no. She's been in love with him forever and so of course she just endures his ill tempered brush-offs and returns over and over again because rejection is a fun game to play and if she keeps it up she can win a new toaster. Or something? I kept waiting for her to finally have had enough, take her broken heart to heal somewhere, and run into Derek at his mother's restaurant years later with the hunky husband who loves her in tow introducing him as the man who threw her love back in her face and aren't they all glad it worked out so well in the end!?!
But I'm not bitter about wasting the time to finish the book. At all. Or at least, I shouldn't be because it was my own choice and I knew I should have stopped even before I hit the halfway point. Not that this realization will keep me from giving this the single star it deserves because, well, it deserved that rating even if I had stopped when I should have...
A note about Steamy: There's a single explicit sex scene and it's tied up in the awful. So this is on the low end of my steam tolerance. It happens late enough that if I had stopped earlier, I'd have been spared that emotional trauma, too. Ugh.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. a bit back and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
September 25, 2018
This is a good example of cliches, if you need one. Free isn't cheap enough unless your brain is tired and you want something without challenge.
The writer's style is good, but her heroine is a self-centered bitch and her hero is in need of therapy, and whoever else read this and thought it was ready for publication were idiots to let this kind of sloppiness go to press. And it's fine if you give it five stars, maybe this is just the gooey non-challenging read you needed. I've enjoyed my fair share of such things. But for everyone else, nah.
If you've read this and wonder why I'm so down on Macey, it's because her motives for "helping" Derrick are all tangled up in her own wants and needs and assumptions - there is stated sympathy, but her actions speak more of impatience and anger and her own disappointment than they do of any desire to do whatever might actually help him. And Derrick is stupid. Grief is hard, and there is no set timeframe for working your way past it, but guilt and self-denial call for therapy, not seclusion. And then, his epiphany? COME ON. This guy couldn't reason his way out of a wet paper bag. I'm glad he's fictional.
For a book I finished reading, this is not great. Free is not cheap enough.
The writer's style is good, but her heroine is a self-centered bitch and her hero is in need of therapy, and whoever else read this and thought it was ready for publication were idiots to let this kind of sloppiness go to press. And it's fine if you give it five stars, maybe this is just the gooey non-challenging read you needed. I've enjoyed my fair share of such things. But for everyone else, nah.
If you've read this and wonder why I'm so down on Macey, it's because her motives for "helping" Derrick are all tangled up in her own wants and needs and assumptions - there is stated sympathy, but her actions speak more of impatience and anger and her own disappointment than they do of any desire to do whatever might actually help him. And Derrick is stupid. Grief is hard, and there is no set timeframe for working your way past it, but guilt and self-denial call for therapy, not seclusion. And then, his epiphany? COME ON. This guy couldn't reason his way out of a wet paper bag. I'm glad he's fictional.
For a book I finished reading, this is not great. Free is not cheap enough.
November 27, 2019
2.5* aargh.....this lost a star in the last 5% of the book. A man who is grieving for the woman he loved and planning to marry only six months previously suddenly not only spouts I love you's but lets get married! Why do authors tell the tale of grief, wooing and resistance so well yet have a crappy resolution. The tension is balanced well through out and then the author cuts line and it becomes so contrived.
Also the h is always going to go on my 2nd choice shelf if she's been in the H's life prior to his getting together with his deceased love and he's never seen her as something other than friends. Well other than if the h was a child, because that would smack of pedo H...doesn't bear thinking about.
Also the h is always going to go on my 2nd choice shelf if she's been in the H's life prior to his getting together with his deceased love and he's never seen her as something other than friends. Well other than if the h was a child, because that would smack of pedo H...doesn't bear thinking about.
September 11, 2017
Great read. Characters well defined and a great plot.
November 1, 2018
Derek started out a very iffy character for me. I could tell something had happened to him in his past which was the causation for his current behavior. We see his behavior spiraling out of control, grief stricken. Although he wants to be completely alone it is cute that he is like the protective big brother to Macey. Macey is one of Derek’s lifelong friends. They became friends around the age of five and have always been close. She was quiet and shy growing up but then went off to the peace corps which helped her come out of her shell drastically. Derek becomes taken aback a few times with how she is standing up for herself whereas when she was younger she would always just do as she was told.
This was a really quick and easy read with a story line that was fast moving and interesting. I enjoyed watching their friendship be challenged, strained, and strengthen. The love she has for him, and has always had, is beautiful. Now if he can only get his head out of sand and see what he has.
This was a really quick and easy read with a story line that was fast moving and interesting. I enjoyed watching their friendship be challenged, strained, and strengthen. The love she has for him, and has always had, is beautiful. Now if he can only get his head out of sand and see what he has.
April 3, 2018
What a wonderful story, I really enjoyed reading it!
Friends to lovers with a HEA about grieving Derek and Macie that loved him since their childhood. Heartbreaking but also heartwarming story that I highly recommend you to read it
Friends to lovers with a HEA about grieving Derek and Macie that loved him since their childhood. Heartbreaking but also heartwarming story that I highly recommend you to read it
September 26, 2017
Derek is a Dallas firefighter who lost his fiancé in a blaze and can’t get past that immense loss. He moves to San Amaro Island off the south Texas coast to take over his uncle Gus’s bar, the Shell Shack. Macey and Derek have been friends since they were 5 years old since their mother’s co-own a restaurant in Dallas. Macey just returned from 2 years with the Peace Corp in Thailand and heads to San Amaro Island to pull Derek back into his life at the request of their mothers. She has been in love with Derek for as long as she can remember and she knows this is going to hurt her in the end but she has to help her friend. Derek is not happy about Macey’s arrival but he can’t help noticing how much she has changed since she got back from Thailand. How far will Macey go to get Derek to deal with his grief? Can Derek stop himself from pushing away his friend?
I absolutely loved this book. Macey is such a great person and I was rooting for her from the beginning. Derek is a jerk for a good portion of the book but he has a good reason to be since he is trying to deal with his grief the only way he can. The story of Derek’s loss is so sad but that is offset by the story of friendship and love between Derek and Macey. There are sweet, funny, sad, and sexy moments in this book that blend together so seamlessly it is amazing. I found Derek’s grief to be palpable and I have to say that I cried a lot while reading this book- so much that I was afraid I was going to wake up my husband from all of the sniffling and nose blowing. All I can say is WOW- I loved this one!
I absolutely loved this book. Macey is such a great person and I was rooting for her from the beginning. Derek is a jerk for a good portion of the book but he has a good reason to be since he is trying to deal with his grief the only way he can. The story of Derek’s loss is so sad but that is offset by the story of friendship and love between Derek and Macey. There are sweet, funny, sad, and sexy moments in this book that blend together so seamlessly it is amazing. I found Derek’s grief to be palpable and I have to say that I cried a lot while reading this book- so much that I was afraid I was going to wake up my husband from all of the sniffling and nose blowing. All I can say is WOW- I loved this one!
January 10, 2014
Playing with Fire:Amy Knupp:Series The Texas Firefighters Book 1. I won this book and it's a signed copy by Amy Knupp!(not kindle fire) been reading off of kindle and decided to spend my dreary afternoon reading a real book! This was about two long time friends Derek and Amy that grew up together and of course went their separate ways you thought. Derek was a firefighter and Amy joined the Peace Corp. Amy as a child and was still in love with Derek and he really never had a clue. Derek went through a very hard time in his life and decided that he couldn't continue as a firefighter anymore. Amy returned from her Peace Corp stint and Derek's mother asked Amy if she could go help her friend work out some terrible and sad issues that just happened in his life. She knew this wasn't going to be easy but since she loved him she figured she could help. Although Derek is your sexy firefighter his problems cause him to really be rude and obnoxious all the time. There were some parts that I just thought he was not my type of man. He was more than obnoxious to Amy I just couldn't understand how she took that much from him. Is anyone that worth trying to save? I guess so because Amy didn't give up. Anyway I did enjoy my afternoon delight read and this is book 1 of The Texas Firefighters. Enjoy and Thank you Amy I will be reading more of your series. Susan
January 1, 2018
What a great start to this series - from the introduction of the firefighters to some of the side characters in this book - Uncle Gus and Andie. Macey's perseverance in trying to help Derek get past the tragic fire in Dallas speaks to how deeply she loves him. Otherwise, how could she get past he treats her at times. I'm not sure I would have had her patience even though she's loved him all his life. Of course, learning all of the story of the fire that caused Derek to quit being a firefighter did give me more empathy for what Derek was going through. Sometimes what we need is someone to help give us a different perspective on the situation.
December 18, 2017
Wonderful New Series�. Macey has loved Derek for years. When Derek fell in love with Julie, Macey left for the Peace Corps. With Julie dead, Macey has gone to the southern Texas Island to help Derek enjoy life again. Derek doesn't make this easy because he wants to just continue going through the motions running his bar. Macey and Derek are well drawn characters. Macey is a strong woman, who has gained the confidence that she needs to draw Derek out. This is a well written romance that I loved. This is the start of a new series that I enjoy as much as I enjoy her Hale Street Series.
November 15, 2021
the book was OK, but I don't buy the sudden "I love Macey" after this man has put a year into doing nothing but mourn after the woman he loved. I might have been more apt to trust Derek's feelings if HE was the one to go to Macey but nope, she came running back to him.
Since Derek's deceased fiancés brother called him to ask how he was "celebrating" Julies birthday I wonder how he explained to the family of his ex-fiancé that he was suddenly in love with someone else. This same man (Derek) talked to Julie's picture, apologized and said "he made a mistake" after being intimate with Macey. Again, sorry...not buying the suddenly in love.
Since Derek's deceased fiancés brother called him to ask how he was "celebrating" Julies birthday I wonder how he explained to the family of his ex-fiancé that he was suddenly in love with someone else. This same man (Derek) talked to Julie's picture, apologized and said "he made a mistake" after being intimate with Macey. Again, sorry...not buying the suddenly in love.
October 1, 2017
This was a great read!
I love the friends to lovers stories and this isn't your average one.
Derek had a bad break Macey was the one who was going to save him. Their mom's are best friends and they've been friends their whole lives.
Mom's know best they sent Macey to him to help him. It took a lot of working at it but she did help him.
This book has some hot firefighters and some great friends and a doggy in need of family.
I definitely recommend this book.
I love the friends to lovers stories and this isn't your average one.
Derek had a bad break Macey was the one who was going to save him. Their mom's are best friends and they've been friends their whole lives.
Mom's know best they sent Macey to him to help him. It took a lot of working at it but she did help him.
This book has some hot firefighters and some great friends and a doggy in need of family.
I definitely recommend this book.
November 13, 2022
This book had so much potential. I loved Derek and Macey and felt like their story was rushed towards the end to give them a HEA. Derek still had a LOT to unpack. His grief will take years, and it did feel like he got with Macey to forget about feeling like he did. I wish we lived with them more during their relationship, but we went from a reconciliation to an epilogue of them celebrating their engagement.
September 23, 2018
My view
I would have given a higher rating if when they finally got together hadn't fell flat for me. I enjoyed the story . I didn't care if there was not a lot of sex scenes because the book was good. I just felt that with the great cover of the book and the way you lead up to it, it should have been a lot more to the actual big moment.
I would have given a higher rating if when they finally got together hadn't fell flat for me. I enjoyed the story . I didn't care if there was not a lot of sex scenes because the book was good. I just felt that with the great cover of the book and the way you lead up to it, it should have been a lot more to the actual big moment.
April 11, 2022
DNF. I couldn’t get to halfway through the book when all that happened is Derek kept acting like a jerk and Macey kept taking it because she loves him. That’s just annoying and frustrating to read. No thanks.
June 3, 2010
For me, this is the perfect category romance and it's the best one I've read. It's a wonderful contemporary. I didn't get annoyed by anybody's actions and enjoyed the entire book.
July 15, 2010
Absoluly adored this book. COuld not put it down.
July 16, 2012
I always love Amy Knupp's tales, and this one didn't disappoint. I gave this 5 stars because I couldn't put the book down! I am a sucker for best friends to lovers stories.
October 15, 2017
Great
I really enjoyed reading this story. Great characters, wonderful storyline, emotional, love
I highly recommend reading this story. A happy ever after.
I really enjoyed reading this story. Great characters, wonderful storyline, emotional, love
I highly recommend reading this story. A happy ever after.
Want to read
June 21, 2020FREE on Amazon today (10/26/2017)!
September 19, 2018
Decent story about overcoming grief, but the proposal at the end was rushed.
March 18, 2018
If the definition of a talented author is one whose stories grab your attention from page one, and not only hold it, but make you feel deep emotions for the story and the main characters, then we can add to that definition the name of Amy Knupp.
This first book of her Island Fire series centers around Macey Locke and Derek Severson. They had been friends since they were 5 years old and would frequently spend their days in the restaurant owned by their mothers.
As they got older they went their separate ways. Macey to work in Thailand in the Peace Corps and Derek became a firefighter in Dallas, until tragedy strikes leaving him a shell of himself. He leaves Dallas to go to San Amaro Island to escape life and help his uncle run a shack on the beach. When Macey returns to the US, she’s asked by Derek’s Mom to please check on him. Off she goes with the intention of spending 6 weeks in a tropical island. That’s when the plot thickens.
The story was engaging, with very complex characters. But what I appreciated most, was the author’s ability to make us feel the grief Derek was experiencing and Macey’s need to help Derek . A man she has been in love most of her life. All this making it at times a heartbreaking as well as heartwarming story.
The secondary characters were just as entertaining and one can see the potential for stories .
Kudos to the author for this wonderful story.
I was gifted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
This first book of her Island Fire series centers around Macey Locke and Derek Severson. They had been friends since they were 5 years old and would frequently spend their days in the restaurant owned by their mothers.
As they got older they went their separate ways. Macey to work in Thailand in the Peace Corps and Derek became a firefighter in Dallas, until tragedy strikes leaving him a shell of himself. He leaves Dallas to go to San Amaro Island to escape life and help his uncle run a shack on the beach. When Macey returns to the US, she’s asked by Derek’s Mom to please check on him. Off she goes with the intention of spending 6 weeks in a tropical island. That’s when the plot thickens.
The story was engaging, with very complex characters. But what I appreciated most, was the author’s ability to make us feel the grief Derek was experiencing and Macey’s need to help Derek . A man she has been in love most of her life. All this making it at times a heartbreaking as well as heartwarming story.
The secondary characters were just as entertaining and one can see the potential for stories .
Kudos to the author for this wonderful story.
I was gifted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
June 8, 2021
Well, this is a very pleasant surprise in my summer reading adventures. I have several of Amy Knupp’s books downloaded on my Nook, but this is the first one that I’ve read. Believe me, I will be reading the rest of this series.
Playing with Fire is the first book of the Island Fire series. It takes you on the journey of recovery of former Dallas firefighter Derek Severson. After a horrific five-alarm fire, Derek is devastated over the personal loss he suffered. He is overwhelmed with grief. To deal with it, he left the DFD and headed to San Amaro Island, TX to take over the beachside bar his aging uncle owns. He has effectively cut off all ties to his life in Dallas.
One day, out of the blue, Macey Locke, Derek’s childhood friend, shows up at the Shell Shack. She has recently returned from a two-year stint in Thailand. She immediately puts her business degree to work to whip the bar into shape. He doesn’t want her there. He doesn’t need her there. She is definitely going to mess with his wallowing in self-pity.
Playing with Fire is a story about returning to life and successfully moving on from grief. While the topic is heavy, the book really is not. It’s more of a good summer read set on a beautiful island with lots of interesting characters. Summer is here and this is a good series to get all the beach feels.
Playing with Fire is the first book of the Island Fire series. It takes you on the journey of recovery of former Dallas firefighter Derek Severson. After a horrific five-alarm fire, Derek is devastated over the personal loss he suffered. He is overwhelmed with grief. To deal with it, he left the DFD and headed to San Amaro Island, TX to take over the beachside bar his aging uncle owns. He has effectively cut off all ties to his life in Dallas.
One day, out of the blue, Macey Locke, Derek’s childhood friend, shows up at the Shell Shack. She has recently returned from a two-year stint in Thailand. She immediately puts her business degree to work to whip the bar into shape. He doesn’t want her there. He doesn’t need her there. She is definitely going to mess with his wallowing in self-pity.
Playing with Fire is a story about returning to life and successfully moving on from grief. While the topic is heavy, the book really is not. It’s more of a good summer read set on a beautiful island with lots of interesting characters. Summer is here and this is a good series to get all the beach feels.
October 22, 2018
HOT FIREFIGHTERS
Derek is still grieving the loss of the woman he loved. It didn't help that she died in a fire, and him being a firefighter. He was living life day by day, not getting over it.
Macey and Derek have been friends since they were 5 years old, she has loved him for ever.
She turned up on the island where Derek runs his uncle's bar, determined to find a way to ease the pain for him.
To say that Derek was a jerk to her would be an understatement. She would try to get close but he pushed her away time and time again.
Then the unthinkable happened, they slept together and she told him she loved him. So he took off when she went to sleep, so that upset her and she packed up and went home.
A week goes by and Derek has abit of a near death realisation, get rescued by the firefighters, get a job eith said firefighters and decided he loved Macey and had to get her back.
It just so happens that Macey had decided that there were things that needed to be said, and turns up on his doorstep.
A great story with excellent characters and a happy ending guaranteed.
Derek is still grieving the loss of the woman he loved. It didn't help that she died in a fire, and him being a firefighter. He was living life day by day, not getting over it.
Macey and Derek have been friends since they were 5 years old, she has loved him for ever.
She turned up on the island where Derek runs his uncle's bar, determined to find a way to ease the pain for him.
To say that Derek was a jerk to her would be an understatement. She would try to get close but he pushed her away time and time again.
Then the unthinkable happened, they slept together and she told him she loved him. So he took off when she went to sleep, so that upset her and she packed up and went home.
A week goes by and Derek has abit of a near death realisation, get rescued by the firefighters, get a job eith said firefighters and decided he loved Macey and had to get her back.
It just so happens that Macey had decided that there were things that needed to be said, and turns up on his doorstep.
A great story with excellent characters and a happy ending guaranteed.
February 20, 2021
This book took me a bit to finish. I liked the premise of the story: loss, friendship, love, and helping someone you love find their way again. What I didn’t like was how long it took to get there.
Derek was a firefighter and a year ago he experienced the worst loss ever during a call one night. The woman he loved died in that fire. After that, he left the fire department and moved six hours away to run his uncle’s beach bar. He has not gotten over it and continues to just exist in life and not live it.
Macey has been friends with Derek since they were little. She has loved him for probably that long, but it was always one sided. She left and joined the peace corps to gain some confidence and now she is back. The “Moms� send her on a mission to save Derek from himself.
I spent most of this book frustrated with Derek. He had the right to be in mourning, but for me it just took up too much of the book. He was a jerk to Macey, led her on and kept her at arms length. Macey’s heart was in the right place, but she took way too much crap from him. In the end he saw the light, but by then it was too late for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Derek was a firefighter and a year ago he experienced the worst loss ever during a call one night. The woman he loved died in that fire. After that, he left the fire department and moved six hours away to run his uncle’s beach bar. He has not gotten over it and continues to just exist in life and not live it.
Macey has been friends with Derek since they were little. She has loved him for probably that long, but it was always one sided. She left and joined the peace corps to gain some confidence and now she is back. The “Moms� send her on a mission to save Derek from himself.
I spent most of this book frustrated with Derek. He had the right to be in mourning, but for me it just took up too much of the book. He was a jerk to Macey, led her on and kept her at arms length. Macey’s heart was in the right place, but she took way too much crap from him. In the end he saw the light, but by then it was too late for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 11, 2018
Macey Locke has a thing for Derek Severson since she was a child. Yet Derek never saw her as anything but a shy, and timid friend. Two years in the Peace Core has changed Macey into a confident, self-assured woman who is not going to take no for an answer. Derek a former Dallas firefighter gave it all up when his fiancé died in a tragic fire. Derek is now running the Shell Shack, his Uncle Gus’s bar on San Amaro Island off the south Texas coast. Lost and despondent Derek neither wants nor appreciates Macey intervention. Macey is going to help Derek whether he wants her help or not. Derek desperately need help with the bar and when Macey insists that he hire her he gives in rather than argue with her. Macey is determined to help Derek heal even if means a broken heart. This poignant love story by Ms. Knupp is a story that you are going to love. Playing With Fire is a real winner so read and enjoy.
I received this free advanced reader copy and I am freely posting this fair and balanced review.
I received this free advanced reader copy and I am freely posting this fair and balanced review.
August 29, 2017
Macey & Derek grew up together and were best of friends. Macey fell in love with Derek but Derek fell in love with Julie. Macey goes into the Peace Corps and spends two years in Thailand. While she’s gone Julie is killed and Derek is left grieving. A year later Macey goes to spend time with Derek and try to pull him back into the real world again. I really liked Macey. She went all out to be a friend to Derek even though she knew it would end up hurting her. I found Derek to be too mean. I understand he was hurting and lashing out, but he was super mean. Of course, this is a romance so there is a HEA. If you want to find out how they get there, you’ll have to read the book. This isn't my favourite book by Amy Krupp, but the story is good and the writing is smooth. I liked most of the characters and Derek did come through in the end. There is a very sweet epilogue which answers some questions and foreshadows the next book in the series.
April 4, 2018
5 stars
I purchased Playing with Fire by Amy Knupp and this review was given freely.
A well written and well balanced complex romance that is also an excellent introduction to the San Amaro Island Texas Firefighters found in the Island Fire series.
Macey upon returning from the Peace Corp is enlisted by her Mom and her Mother's best friend/business partner to take a 6 week vacation on San Amaro Island to help Derek, Macey's childhood friend and school girl crush, heal after the death of his girlfriend. Derek, who is physically strong but emotionally lost, has been working 14 hour days seven days a week to revive his Uncle Gus' bar. This story contains realistic characters, a mysterious cook, guidance and humor in the form of Uncle Gus, some brawny alpha firefighters that are also sensitive and helpful, a cute dog, and a woman determined to bring Derek both emotional healing and love.
I purchased Playing with Fire by Amy Knupp and this review was given freely.
A well written and well balanced complex romance that is also an excellent introduction to the San Amaro Island Texas Firefighters found in the Island Fire series.
Macey upon returning from the Peace Corp is enlisted by her Mom and her Mother's best friend/business partner to take a 6 week vacation on San Amaro Island to help Derek, Macey's childhood friend and school girl crush, heal after the death of his girlfriend. Derek, who is physically strong but emotionally lost, has been working 14 hour days seven days a week to revive his Uncle Gus' bar. This story contains realistic characters, a mysterious cook, guidance and humor in the form of Uncle Gus, some brawny alpha firefighters that are also sensitive and helpful, a cute dog, and a woman determined to bring Derek both emotional healing and love.
March 20, 2018
Great friends to lovers romance- 4* stars!
This is the story of Macey and Derek who have known each other since they were five but who have been like family due to the close relationship of their mothers. There seems to be some attraction, but something neither have acted on.
As the story opens Macey has just returned to Texas from her Peace Corps service in Thailand and has been asked by Derek’s mother to look in on him while he runs his uncles bar. Derek was a firefighter in Dallas, but after a life changing accident, he decides to hide away and help his uncle with his small beachfront bar.
This was a great book! The relationship between the characters built over time and even though they had the chemistry there were realistic hurdles in their relationship. They both seemed to help the other grow and get better over time. For me, beyond the the relationship between the characters, I really enjoyed the way the author talked about Macey’s Peace Corps service. It was very realistic and rang very true to me!
This is the story of Macey and Derek who have known each other since they were five but who have been like family due to the close relationship of their mothers. There seems to be some attraction, but something neither have acted on.
As the story opens Macey has just returned to Texas from her Peace Corps service in Thailand and has been asked by Derek’s mother to look in on him while he runs his uncles bar. Derek was a firefighter in Dallas, but after a life changing accident, he decides to hide away and help his uncle with his small beachfront bar.
This was a great book! The relationship between the characters built over time and even though they had the chemistry there were realistic hurdles in their relationship. They both seemed to help the other grow and get better over time. For me, beyond the the relationship between the characters, I really enjoyed the way the author talked about Macey’s Peace Corps service. It was very realistic and rang very true to me!
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