Unwrapping: Review of BLAZE by Joan Swan

When Joan Swan asked me if I'd like to read an ARC of her second book in the Phoenix Rising Series, BLAZE, I not only jumped at it, I jumped up and down! I absolutely loved the first book, FEVER, and so had high expectations for the second one - I wasn't disappointed. And how 'bout that cover?

**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for BLAZE:

The hotter they come, the harder they fall…
With a man like him, every mission becomes personal…

Ever since FBI agent Keira O’Shay started tracking a young boy named Mateo, she’s felt a connection even her empathic abilities can’t explain. She needs to save Mateo from the cult leader holding him hostage. Nothing can interfere with that—not even the reappearance of Luke Ransom, the hot-as-hell fire captain she’s regretted walking out on for three long years.Losing Keira left Luke vulnerable—in every way. When they were together, the powers each possesses were mysteriously enhanced. But it’s the sexy, surprising woman beneath the tough exterior that Luke’s really missed. Even if she betrayed him utterly. And even if agreeing to help her uncover a government conspiracy means watching his life and his heart go up in flames again…

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Keira O'Shay lives on the edge as an FBI agent and expert sniper. She chose this life over the one she had as a firefighter after surviving a warehouse explosion that left herself and her surviving fellow firefighters with unusual abilities. She left behind that life and the only man she ever really loved, Luke Ransom. He'd asked too much of her. More than she was able to give. He wanted a family and having never known the love that comes with that, she felt trapped by demands she couldn't meet. So she did what she always does, she ran away.

Luke Ransom has never gotten over Keira. He doesn't allow his friends to speak of her and has tried to replace her in his bed and in his heart without success. Never did he expect to be thrown together with the one woman who could read him better than any other - including his very thoughts.

Now Keira and Luke have survived the rescue of a small boy, Mateo, who Keira has been searching for this past year only to discover this adorable child has similiar abilities to her own and the government spooks who are always watching them are now eager to get this young boy back. Keira and Luke will do whatever it takes to keep Mateo safe until as a group, this unique family of friends, can figure out what is going on and how to keep them all safe.

With BLAZE, Joan Swan has truly proven herself to be a consummate story-teller! BLAZE by Joan Swan is the second book in the Phoenix Rising series and it's jam-packed with action, off the chart steamy romance, paranormal thrills, shoot 'em ups and a tearful reunion as well as a HEA that will have you clamoring for more and wishing the story kept going. Of course, it will in the next installment but oh, how I didn't want this book to end. End it did but with so many questions floating in the air that I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Joan Swan has created a cast of characters that individually are fantastic but together draw you in as a member of their own elite group. Joan knows how to pack a wallop with action from the first page to the last that keeps you on the edge of your seat consistently as she weaves an intricate story of paranormal phenomenon, government intrigue and cover-up. All the while she tugs at your heartstrings as you travel this second chance at love with Keira and Luke.

I highly recommend BLAZE by Joan Swan if you love a great story, a hero who will have you dreaming about him, a heroine you wish you could be as tough and physically confident as, friends who you'd truly die for and sexy steamy romance that will have you wishing it was you and very, very real.

Happy Reading Everyone!

BLAZE by Joan Swan, a Phoenix Rising Novel, Brava/Kensington, release date September 25, 2012 in print and ebook formats.