Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Seeing Red by Jill Shalvis

Seeing Red
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Blaze
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Firefighter #3

Reviewed by Kate
352 pages

Summer rushes back to her hometown when she hears her mother's warehouse has burned down. She left town after a similar fire and has never looked back. What she finds when she arrives in town is her old best friend Joe. While Joe, a fire marshal, is investigating the fire, the last thing Summer expects is to feel flames for Joe.

If there is one thing Shalvis excels at, it's the characters she creates. In Summer and Joe, she has managed to create two characters who are able to find each other without giving up who they are. The relationship with Summer and her family was realistic and moving. Joe's friend Kenny provides comic relief better than a Disney villain's sidekick.

When I find an author I enjoy, I - like any good reader - try to go back and read the author's back list. More often than not, I discover that the author has grown into their writing, and their back list is sadly lacking compared to their newer releases. Happily, that was not the case with Seeing Red. Shalvis continues to keep me coming back for more.

How about you?  Do you enjoy catching up on an author's back list?  Which authors' backlists have lived up to your expectations?

3 comments:

  1. Anne Calhoun and Cara McKenna are authors who have a solid backlist. I do like to go read a backlist when I find an author I like, but I've been burned before with authors where I like their mature (lets call it that) voice as opposed to their early voice.

    There are certainly authors that are the opposite, though! Ones who started with a voice I enjoyed and then changed into one that doesn't work for me any more. Amanda Quick, Jude Devereaux, I'm talking to you! ~Anne

    ReplyDelete
  2. In general it can takes me years to catch up on even a short backlist. My TBR list is long and my funds are short:) Right now I have 3 books from Cherise Sinclair's backlist that have been on my wishlist for almost 2 years now. But I'm saving up for her new release. Why, oh why, can't my budget match my wishlist?
    -Kate

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have read the fireman series and I think Jill Shalvis has grown so much as a writer. I can't even think about any authors backlists yet with my totally ridiculous TBR list. One step forward and three steps back!

    ReplyDelete