Book Review: Fireworks by Sarina Bowen

Fireworks (True North #6) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 343
Publish date: November 13, 2018
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing, LLC
ISBN: B07H22C3YL
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Skye Copeland is on paid leave from her broadcasting job after accidentally drawing a pecker on the traffic map.

Let that sink in. Like it’s her fault the traffic pattern that day created a perfect schlong?

Skye isn’t laughing. She needs this job. And that’s the only reason she’s agreed to chase down a story in her least favorite place—that hell on earth known as Vermont.

A quick trip. In and out. Much like – never mind. Skye can sneak into the town that once tried to break her, get the story and get back into the good graces of her producer. Easy peasy.

Except things go sideways even as she sets foot over the county line. Her step-sister is on the run from a violent drug dealer. And the cop on the case is none other than Benito Rossi, the man who broke her teenage heart.

His dark brown eyes still tear her apart. And even as she steels herself to finally tell him off after twelve years, the old fireworks are still there.

Things are about to go boom.

Fireworks:

I received an e-arc of Fireworks by Sarina Bowen from the author for review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

If you’ve been here a while, then you know that I love Sarina Bowen books, so when I heard she was writing another True North novel, I nearly screamed. And then when I heard it was about Benito I nearly jumped out of my seat. I love learning more about the Rossi and Shipley family, and Fireworks really added another depth to these family in Vermont.

Fireworks follows protagonist Skye Copeland as she arrives back in Vermont, a place where she never thought she would step back in to. She left this town for a reason, but after an incident at work, she wants to hide away for a little while. But this town doesn’t just hide secrets, but also Benito Rossi. The one person who she gave her heart too and he broke it. She thought she would be in and out, no one would know that she’s there, but things don’t go to plan and boy are we in for a ride.

I really enjoyed Fireworks, it had the classic Sarina Bowen romance, with a little mystery intertwined. And while I didn’t love it as much as her previous books in the ‘True North,’ series, it was still engaging and addicting as much as her other books.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Skye, for the most part, I really liked her. I loved getting to know, getting to know her story. And gosh some of the things that happened to her broke my little heart. And while saying all this I wanted Skye to be a little more vulnerable. She was so closed off because of her child and teenhood, that it really played with who she was. And who she let in.

As Fireworks goes on, Skye’s wall so breaks down and the reader is able to see a different side of her. I loved that Skye was hella strong. She had been through so much, but she pushed and pushed and go to where she is in the book. In saying that I hated her work situation. I hated the way that she was treated and wished she had left. But then I also understand why she didn’t.

And while I thought I would love Benito, I didn’t. I did like him, but his possessive nature at times wasn’t my favourite. Okay, not possessive, but too worried about Skye’s safety that it felt suffocating. Other than that I really enjoyed Ben. I liked that he liked his job, that he would do anything for his family. He was sweet and caring and just made my heart happy. And while he was protective, he was also supportive and that just made me smile.

I really did enjoy the romance in Fireworks. It’s a second chance romance that just squeezes my hearts to bits. It’s got that classic Sarina Bowne, tension and anticipation, and the romance blows me away. Ben and Skye were so cute together and they just feel right back into each other. I adored that we got to see the flashbacks of how they were like together before and I thought it created a great sense of their relationship up until now. The reader is able to see Ben and Skye fall back in love with one another but is also able to see what is keeping them apart.

What one of my most favourite parts of this book, is the flashbacks. I think it added just another layer to this novel. The reader is able to see Ben and Skye falling in love with each other twice and it was great. The flashbacks, however, are very hard to read. She went through a lot as a teen, things that NO one should ever go through. But I understand why Sarina Bowen also included those scenes. Because I know that I was able to understand Skye a whole lot better.

The notion of family is a big theme in Fireworks, much like her other books. Ben is not only apart of the Rossi family, but also the Shipley family and together they are a force. I loved seeing characters from previous books interacting with one another. Family is so important to me, so seeing that in books, just makes me happy and I can connect with characters a whole lot more. Nevertheless, we also see bad family relationships throughout Fireworks, but I think it worked in favor of the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed Fireworks by Sarina Bowen. It explores second chances, family and trusting in yourself. It has a little mystery, a little love and lots of lots of Sarina Bowen charm. Ben and Skye test each other, but in the end, they both know they love one another. Fireworks is a great addition to the True North series and I for one cannot wait for more.

Have you read Fireworks by Sarina Bowen? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What is your favourite romance trope? Let’s Chat!