Book Review: Heart of Fire

I am pretty thankful that Jackson has tennis lessons for another five weeks because I get an uninterrupted hour of reading in every day and that's been kind of nice. But today I'm having my endoscopy done so I'm giving you a book review because I've been a bit of a basket case in anticipation. Tomorrow I'll have another book review but that one is a FIVE STAR one that I couldn't put down!

Heart of Fire - Linda Howard

A fabulous lost Amazon city once inhabited by women warriors and containing a rare red diamond: it sounded like myth, but archeologist Jillian Sherwood believed it was real, and she was willing to put up with anything to find it -- even Ben Lewis. Ruffian, knock-about, and number one river guide in Brazil, Ben was all man -- over six feet of rock-hard muscles that rippled under his khakis, with lazy blue eyes that taunted her from his tanned face. Jillian watched him come to a fast boil when she refused to reveal their exact destination upriver in the uncharted rain forests -- and resolved to stand her ground. Neither of them could foresee what the days ahead promised: an odyssey into the fiery heart of passion and betrayal, and a danger that would force them to cast their fates together, immersed in the eternal, unsolved mysteries of love....

I'll start by saying I totally enjoyed this one and it reminded me a little of her Cover of Night book where the man takes over extreme conditions to save the woman but the woman is no slouch herself. This was different in that it takes place along the Amazon River in Brazil and they are dealing with  murderer closely while searching for the treasure that may or may not be there. Jillian is absolutely sure that it is and is determined to find it to not only salvage her working reputation but that of her late father's. Ben is the guide up the river and back and he's curious only because of who is financing the trip, a known criminal with a reputation who has brought along a murderous thug as hired help. Once they find the Stone City things start to unravel quickly and it's a race to get back to civilization before they are murdered. But in the middle of it all, Ben and Jillian strike up an unlikely romance that's as hot as the jungle itself, but with a relationship clouded with deception, it's anyone's guess if they make it.

I know next to nothing about the Amazon River but Linda Howard's writing puts you right in the middle of it, and all of the discussion about heat and humidity makes this a perfect summer read! It's 309 pages but I made it through in a few hours (actually 4 of Jackson's tennis lessons plus one evening session but that makes it sound longer than it really was) and enjoyed it. 4 stars.