I know a lot of you have been waiting for Grant and Wren’s story, and it’s finally here! Flare Up  is an emotional reunion romance, but it still brings the heat and the humor that readers expect from the Boston Fire series. Early readers and reviewers have really enjoyed Grant and Wren’s road to happily ever after, and I hope you will, too!

“A hugely enjoyable contemporary romance that sizzles with passion, humor, heat and heart, Flare Up is a fantastic tale of second chances, settling old scores and taking a chance on love that readers will find absolutely impossible to put down. Shannon Stacey pens first-rate contemporary romance that grab readers’ attention from the very first page and keep them engrossed until the very last full stop and Flare Up is certainly no exception!” – Bookish Jottings

Nursing a broken heart while everybody around him seems to be drowning in happiness has Grant Cutter wondering whether staying with Engine 59—or even Boston Fire—is in his future. It’s tempting as hell to pack up what fits in his Jeep and hit the road. But then a 911 call brings the woman who shattered his heart back into his life, and he knows he won’t ever be able to fully leave her in his rearview mirror.

For a few months, Wren Everett had thought the nightmare of her past was behind her and she might live happily ever after with Grant. Until she got the phone call letting her know the time her ex had spent in jail for assault hadn’t cooled his temper or determination that she belonged with him. Cutting ties with Grant was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but it was also the only way to keep him safe.

Now that Grant is back, he’s not letting Wren push him away again. And even with the trust issues between them, Wren dares to hope she and Grant might have a future together after all…if they’re willing to fight for it.

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2CP4Ax4

Nook: http://bit.ly/2NM1ZoG

Apple: https://apple.co/2P9n1SC

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2DIPpEL

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2CnvYky

Harlequin: http://bit.ly/2CPset4

Audible: https://adbl.co/2SxJmIK

You can find more buy links and read the first chapter here: https://shannonstacey.com/books/flare-up/

“If you like second chance romances involving a brotherhood of first responders finding love, facing perils and working together to protect each other and their partners you’ll love this story. I really enjoyed reading it and found it to be full of intrigue and suspense to keep you turning the pages.” – Splashes Into Books

“Grant is so nice, thoughtful and romantic.  OMG.  Just perfect husband material. I loved being in the Boston Fire family in this series. It was a good story and a perfect read for these cold winter nights. I highly recommend it.” – Romance Librarian 88

Happy reading!

🔥 Only three more weeks until FLARE UP releases! I’m so excited for you guys to read Grant and Wren’s story! 🔥🚒❤️ #BostonFireBks

Read the excerpt and/or preorder here!

If you’re looking for a #WeekendRead, don’t forget to grab UNDER CONTROL for only 99 cents before the price goes back up! #BostonFireBks

Find excerpt and buy links here!

(I did my best to be vague and spoiler-free.)

I read romance almost exclusively, but I used to love good horror (so hard to find) on the page or on the screen, and The Haunting of Hill House was the best thing I’ve watched in a long time. It reminded me how much I enjoy the genre, so I was intrigued by the buzz for Netflix’s BIRD BOX. I also saw people talking about loving the book, though. It was only $2.99, so I grabbed it and found myself with a dilemma on my hands. I know the right answer is always to read the book first, but I’m not a fast reader and I wanted to watch the movie. But I also knew if I watched the movie, I’d probably never read the book.

So I read the book on Thursday. I bought the Kindle edition at 1pm and finished it at 9pm. Again, I’m generally a slow reader—not so much in speed as in attention—and it’s been a long time since I’ve inhaled a book in what would have been one sitting if I didn’t have a family who likes to eat an evening meal. Such a good book, both in story and craft, with use of paragraph and sentence structure, style and white space to manipulate the tension. A good horror writer can use structure much the same way a horror movie uses music, and Josh Malerman does it well.

I watched the movie adaptation Friday morning, hitting play about fourteen hours after finishing the book, which was the least amount of time I’ve ever had between the two. And right from the beginning, there were huge differences between the movie and the book, but in a good way. BIRD BOX doesn’t have big bad monsters (maybe). No ghosts. No jump scares. The terror is literally unseen. The problem with unseen terror is, of course, that movies are visual. And I could see how the changes helped make the core story of an excellent book into an excellent movie.

If there was one thing that did suffer in the transition from book to screen, it was the relationship of Malorie (Bullock) with the children. Without spending so many pages literally IN her head, the foundation upon which their unique dynamic was built is flimsy at best. A significant change was made to the plot in the final third of the movie and I think it was so she’d have the opportunity to verbalize some of what went into the dynamic, but I don’t know if it was enough to explain her to viewers who haven’t read the book first. And that change not only altered the reality of what Malorie had been living, but required the addition of a scene that was grossly out of step not only with the book, but with the movie it was actually in.

And the ending was handled very differently, but since the crisis in the book was largely psychological, it had to be jacked up for the screen. And I liked it.

So they were the same and yet different, and both engrossing. Oh, and besides the stellar acting of Sandra Bullock (as expected), Danielle Macdonald (who played Willowdean in the amazingly awesome Dumplin’) plays Olympia and that was a cool surprise! Trevante Rhodes and John Malkovich were also excellent.

In conclusion, if you like horror, you should read the book AND watch the movie.