Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: from author
Once burned is all it takes…
For the last twelve years, Raul Montenga has sizzled with erotic dreams of the girl he left behind. When he finally comes back home, determined to find her, it’s not to Penelope’s warm welcome but to a cold shoulder and her icy rejection. So he’s more than a little surprised to answer his door one day to find her tomboy daughter standing nervously on his porch…claiming to be his child.
Dr. Penelope Gibson’s worst nightmare isn’t that her daughter might want to know who her father was. It’s facing the man she’d foolishly spent her youth loving and keeping him at arm’s length. Now he’s back and the feelings she’d thought frozen solid are melting in his wake. Along with her inhibitions, her clothes and her better judgment.
But when he’s determined to win back her love—body and soul—can she trust him enough to try? Or will everything she’s built without him go up in smoke?
Warning: This book features a wildly hot Latino firefighter dead-set on a mission to seduce. Contains bad words, fiery tempers and scorching sex. Oven mitts required.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
Holy crap…. This book was like a really intense embellishment of my life, and I LOVED it. Tenorio created such a wonderful story about two different cultures clashing together and coming together through a fabulous romance. Seriously, I loved it.
Penelope never hid her childhood crush on Raul, but given her hazy memories of the week before he left town, she isn’t too excited about the prospect of running into his again. Once she realizes how important Raul’s role is in her daughter’s life, she can’t ignore him, or her feelings for him, forever.
Raul ran and never looked back. Now that he is back in his hometown, the idea of Penelope in his life is more than he can handle. Especially since he wants her more than ever. But given their past as kids, and Raul’s family, will they ever get their chance to pursue a romance they both deserve?
I was so engaged while reading this book, as I felt like Tenorio had a sneak peak into my own real life romance, and used it for the inspiration behind this book. While I didn’t have a secret baby to worry about, I did marry into a very large Mexican family that is loud and big and (at times) not very open to outsiders. Granted, I never had to go through the horrible things that Penelope did, and quite honestly, I can’t imagine sticking around like she did!
However, despite Raul’s somewhat racist family, I adored their romance and everything about it. The fact that Penelope got the chance at her childhood crush was so sweet and wonderful to see. I loved that she didn’t fall back into Raul’s arms immediately, and that they were both a little hesitant about their feelings. Raul was super sweet in “courting” Penelope, and I loved seeing him woo her and making her fall in love with him all over again. *melt* I was both horrified and amused by the circumstances around Penelope’s daughter, and thought it added such a neat and different twist on the whole secret baby trope.
I also really liked the relationship between Raul and his fellow firefighters. I’ve only read one other book in this series, so I’m thinking I’m going to have to go back and read the others so I can get another taste of that brotherly bond. I also hope we get to see more of Penelope and how she handles finally being pulled into the fold of Raul’s family. I loved seeing the way she and her daughter and Raul all handled the racism, and how his family was able to pull through as one in the end. It made me all weepy and happy, to be honest. 🙂
All in all I absolutely LOVED this Tenorio book in the Rancho Del Cielo series. The parallels between the book and my real life pulled so hard on me and kept me flipping pages like I couldn’t get enough. I was so in love with Penelope, her daughter, Raul and his father that I was so sad when the book came to an end. I can’t wait to see what else Tenorio has in store for this series. I’m anxious to go back and read the books I missed.
I give Burn for Me an A-