By: Mary GI had Cynthia’s book, Deadly Fear, in my TBR pile for a while. She was new to me. Then the dreaded thing happened. I was in the mood for a rom. susp. and since our faves, Christy Reece, Pamela Clare & Marie Force don’t publish books every week (darn it) I dug Deadly Fear out of the pile. OMG a new found treasure!! What was even better was the timing. It was just a day or two before Deadly Heat released so no waiting between books. Today we’re featuring Deadly Heat. We meet the hero, Kenton Lake, in Deadly Fear so they are both “must reads”. Deadly Heat heroine, firefighter Lora Spade, calls in the FBI to track down a killer arsonist.
Smooth, suave Kenton Lake shows up at a fire in progress where he tries to be a hero. Lora is the one that pulls him out of trouble though he fights it. He doesn’t know “the asshole who slugged him” is a female firefighter until she takes off her helmet & mask. This book literally grabs you right from this first scene. While he’s thinking that she’s sexy, she’s calling him GQ and not in a complimentary way. She gets his name only to want to report him to his boss. This sets up such witty banter between these two. As the ambulance drives away with Kenton & the injured informant he’d been wanting to talk to:
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“Prick.” Lora Spade watched the ambulance pull away in a flash of lights and shook her head. These bureau boys always thought they ruled the world.
God’s gift.
Okay, yeah, he had been hot, and not just because of the flames around him.
But still… a prick.
To say the chemistry between these two is hot is an understatement. Kenton is such an Alpha guy. Lora is a strong kick*** woman. When the arsonist makes Lora a target, Kenton goes into protective mode but never makes it seem that Lora can’t take care of herself. Both are only interested in a temporary affair. I enjoyed the progression to permanence.
While there have numerous discussions on the right balance between romance & suspense in a good rom. susp., Cynthia goes beyond this. The romance & suspense are so intertwined that it is seamless. There is never a thought of – now they’re on the case, and then, okay now it’s time for sex. It’s just all perfectly blended.
There is plenty of everything for everyone in this book. Humor as well as emotion, strong characters, a great plot & and an even better romance. I’ve got Deadly Lies on its way to me and I can’t wait.
Cynthia is giving away two copies of Deadly Lies today, so make sure comment to be entered to win!
Now in honor of the hotness that is this book here’s a recipe for one of our family faves :
Hot Buffalo Wings Recipe
Ingredients
Wings
2 lbs chicken wings (about 12 wings)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
4 Tbsp bottled hot pepper sauce (like Crystal or Frank's Original)
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Cut off wing tips (discard or reserve for other use such as making stock). Cut wings at the joint. Put chicken wing pieces in a plastic bag. Set aside. Food safety note: when cutting raw chicken it is best to use a cutting board reserved just for cutting raw chicken. Wash thoroughly when finished. Do not let raw chicken juices come in contact with other food.
2 Create a marinade by stirring together the melted butter, hot pepper sauce, paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the marinade over the chicken pieces in the plastic bag. (Reserve marinade for coating after the pieces come out of the oven.) Seal bag and let marinate at room temperature for half an hour. When marinating is finished, drain marinade and discard bag.
3 Place wing pieces on the rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for about 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Remove from oven and baste with reserved marinade.
Serve with Blue Cheese Dip and celery sticks. Makes approximately 24 pieces (about 12 appetizer servings).
