BURN (L.A. UNTAMED #2) by RUTH CLAMPETT

Standalone in a series
Friends to lovers, second chance at love romance

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Reviewed by Jenny & Gitte 

“Sometimes we have to be our own hero, Joe.”

Burn was our first Ruth Clampett experience and we think we’ve fallen in love with this authors writing style. Although this story deals with some pretty hard hitting issues, the author chose to tell her story in more of a light hearted way, interspersing the heavy, painful moments with witty banter and internal dialogue as told through the eyes of a gutsy heroine who’s found success in what is still quite essentially a male dominated area, and she’s a woman who’s not afraid to speak her mind and who very much wears her heart on her sleeve.

“I’m sorry I’ not easy.”
“I don’t want easy. I want real. You are real. I want you.”

Because of her brashness, the author could have easily made Trisha a little hard for readers to connect with but this wasn’t the case at all. Whilst Trisha may have been one plucky bird, she also had a cracking sense of humour and despite her fierceness, she showed a sensitive soft side that was explored more and more as the story progressed, ensuring we connected and related to her, so well done, Ruth!

“I think I’m finally seeing the soft side of you, sweetheart.”

As Trisha’s layers were peeled away, we began to expose the reason for her ballsy, honest attitude, which didn’t only lie in the fact that she’d succeeded and flourished in her dangerous chosen profession, but also from her present and past issues. . No wonder Joe was so attracted to her.

“Joe, do you even begin to understand how strong and tough I am?”
“It’s okay to be soft once in a while, you know.”

After finding her husband Mike in the throes of passion with another man, Trisha comes to the painful realisation that her marriage has been a lie and is understandably devastated.  The friendship of Joe Murphy, her Lieutenant at fire station who is suddenly everywhere, provides a lifeline in her time of need, not to mention the her attraction to this strong, masculine gorgeous man.

Joe Murphy also has past relationship experience that has left him gun shy and we really felt for this man and what he had gone through. He, better than anyone, can appreciate the pain, confusion and emotional turmoil Trisha is going through and he’s not adverse to his feelings towards her either.

“You’re a good woman, Trisha.”
“And you’re a good man.”

Ruth Clampett threw us head first into the dangerous world of these heroes we sometimes take for granted. To Joe and Trisha, this wasn’t a mere job. They risked their lives daily out of passion and an intense desire to make a difference, and it’s a feeling we experienced firsthand with Ruth’s handling of this story which, at one point, had our hearts in our mouths with gripping excitement and dread. It was a heart pounding moment that’s for sure.

“Even the strongest people need help sometimes.”

Burn was one of those stories that was easy to read and that isn’t said in a derogatory way at all. In fact it’s the opposite as we know the stories that feel easy to the reader are sometimes the hardest to write. This story of of hurt, love, second chances and of opening and trusting your heart again could have been a heart wrenching, painful story to read, however Ruth chose to lighten the load for the reader so whilst we did experience the emotion of the story, it felt like a light read as well.

4 stars