{ARC Review} Ignite by Tessa Teevan

Title: Ignite

Series: Explosive #1

Author: Tessa Teevan

Published: 30th Oct 2013

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: eARC provided by author for honest review

Rating: 5/5

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BLURB:

After nearly a year and a half of grieving the loss of her husband, twenty-seven year old Alexa Sullivan Tate is headed back to her hometown after a decade of being away. She has no idea her high school crush, Jace McAllister, the guy who stole her heart the same night that he broke it, is more than ready to pick up the pieces.

Jace has spent the last ten years in the Army defusing bomb after bomb, trying to forget the girl who ignited all his passions. Little does he know that the spark still exists.

Ten years ago they had smoldering chemistry, but the spark between them now might light a fuse that leads to an explosion even Jace can't stop. Not that he wants to. If only Alexa can get past her guilt and trust her heart again.

But how do you put it all on the line when you've already lost everything once before?

REVIEW:

The story:

From the very beginning I knew this was going to play with my heart and oh boy was I right. The prologue alone made me cry, with such a tragic and heartbreaking scene, and it didn't stop there. There was plenty of crying and not just a few stray tears but that awful hot-ball-of-lava-in-your-throat type of crying.

After loosing her husband Ty is a car accident Alexa struggles to move on with her life. Her sister Sierra is there for her as is her new friend from work, Brady (who I adored!). They both encourage her to attend the high school reunion and meet up with her old best friend and first love Jace. Alexa is very hesitant at first, worried that it will awkward to see him after he broke eyer heart 10 years ago. But their connection is as strong as ever and watching them rekindle their relationship was so beautiful and sometimes quite hilarious. But the question is can their love overcome their past mistakes and Jace's life in the army?

The characters:

Jace, oh who wouldn't fall in love with that man *sigh*. Yes he's a hot muscly soldier, but he's also so much more. He is sweet and caring and so devoted to Alexa that I just wanted to squeeze his cheeks! (on his face of course! *cough*)

Alexa was such a real character, and after all that she's gone through she's still a very strong character. Like anyone she struggles with her emotions - grief from loosing Ty, happiness and a second chance with Jace and guilt at feeling happy again. I found her so relatable as a character and very likeable.

I have say I was really impressed with how Alexa's husband Ty was represented in the story. He so easily could have been written as a 'bad' character - uncaring, abusive, cold etc. But their love was honest and real, which only made the loss all the more tragic and heartbreaking. Reading some of the flashbacks scenes, broke my heart and made the pain of loosing him more real for me - I could really empathise for feelings of grief.

And there are also lots of great secondary characters with Lexi's hilarious & pushy sister Sierra and her husband Jeremy and of course their adorably hyperactive 4 year old Ava. I am also delighted that the next book in the series will be Jace's mate Knox's story - oh I can't wait to get to know that brooding soldier a little better!

The romance:

A romance that can survive ten years apart can only be described as epic, and that's exactly what it is. When they first see each other again it's like they've never been apart, the connection is still there and the sexual tension is electric! Seriously, there are some hot & spicy scenes these two share - and I have to say I am positive that Jace is not longer the Blue-Clit-Master (most hilarious scene I have read in a loooong time!!)

The Writing:

Tessa's writing was so full of emotion, it I felt like I was living through this alongside of Alexa and Jace. The feelings of grief, sadness, guilt, love, passion and hope where woven so beautifully into the story - I laughed and cried my way through the entire story.

I also felt the timeline was handled very effectively. After their reunion things don't just happen in a matter of weeks, but over a year, and this made their relationship so much more realistic and believable.

FINAL WORD:

The emotions in this book are so real and tangle, you won't be able to put it down. I felt everything Alexa went through and couldn't stop thinking about her story days after I'd finished reading it. Ignite is a tragic, heartbreaking and ultimately an uplifting story of love and second chances.

CONTENT:

Sexuality: strong / several sex scenes

Violence: mild

Language: medium-strong / several f words

Drugs & alcohol: mild-medium

2 comments:

Crystal @ Crystal in Bookland27 October 2013 at 13:18
Amazing review! I have heard a little about this book on twitter and it sounds so good. Love the teaser and your review made me want to get it even more. I don't normally read a lot of NA been I've been trying to branch out more and these seems like something that would interest me.
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