Burn Zone

Albert (Arctic Sun) ignites a passion between firefighters in her engrossing but overlong Hotshots series launch. Closeted Oregon smoke jumper Linc Reid promises his best friend, Wyatt—one of the few who knows and begrudgingly accepts Linc’s sexuality—that he won’t date Wyatt’s younger brother, Jacob, who is 10 years Linc’s junior and recently came out to his unaccepting family. Six years later, following Wyatt’s death, Jacob joins Linc’s elite forest firefighting team, and Linc promises himself that he’ll keep Jacob safe. Working in close proximity, sparks fly and they agree to get their long-simmering attraction out of their systems by spending “one night” together. But their desires refuse to burn out, leading them to continue hooking up on the down low as Linc struggles with his sexuality, guilt, and trust issues. Their inability to communicate threatens to derail their relationship, until both men are injured during an assignment. External obstacles to Linc and Jacob’s relationship once they’ve worked out their personal issues are clumsily shoehorned into the novel’s final act, but the moments of tenderness are sweetly rendered, and Albert’s depictions of smoke-jumping training and emphasis on teamwork add depth. Readers will find it easy to invest in these appealing characters. Agent: Deidre Knight, the Knight Agency. (May)