Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews

Burnin' For You by Jamie Lynn Miller
Dark Roast Press
Contemporary
Short Story, M/M
Review by Daisy

Lucas Taylor is a hard-working New York City fireman at Station 127, dedicated to his job, even though it has brought him heartrending tragedy - the loss of his lover, Ryan, in an explosion a year ago.

Evan Singer is the new guy in town, a paramedic transferred into Station 127 from San Antonio, and he sets his eyes on Lucas from the get-go.

Neither knowing who the other is, their first meeting is explosive, a night of passion and desire that awakens something inside Lucas he never thought he'd feel again.

But when Lucas discovers that Evan is a paramedic, it all comes crashing down. For despite the feelings he has for Evan, Lucas has vowed to never again get involved with someone on the job, after losing Ryan to it.

Can Evan convince Lucas to open up his heart and take a chance on love again, despite who Evan is?

♥ ♥ ♥

I love firefighter stories, so I had high hopes for Burnin’ For You. Luckily, it didn’t disappoint. Ms. Miller writes both the technical stuff the characters have to do as part of their jobs and the heartwrenching emotions they feel as the relationship between Lucas and Evan develops equally well. If the balance between those two story elements was weighted on one side or the other, the story as a whole would have been greatly diminished.

At the beginning of the story, Lucas is dealing with the anniversary of his lover’s death. In his emotionally ragged state, he meets Evan and decides to spend the night with him, thinking that it might ease his loneliness. At least for a little while. They form a bond – a little nugget of something more than just the physical. But Lucas’ fears are a huge obstacle to a relationship. This plot line has been used a lot in traditional romance in the past, but Miller freshens it up by exploring it with a homosexual pair.

Lucas and Evan’s co-workers are all really understanding – they give the couple both emotional and physical space – I think it might have been more realistic, though, had at least one person had not been comfortable with the idea of the two of them together. Gay couples have to deal with that all the time. I feel that there may have been a missed opportunity for more conflict there. Especially since, at times, it seems as though some of the existing conflict could have been resolved with a simple heart-to-heart conversation.

Miller hits a home run with the tension and action at the end, though. It’s difficult to describe without spoilers, but the emotional and technical balance as well as the quick pace keeps you flipping the pages until the resolution.

I would recommend Burnin’ for You to fans of firefighter romance, GLBT fiction, and erotic romantic suspense.