Title: From the Ashes
Author: Daisy Harris
Length: 259 Pages
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Heat Level: 
Moderate
Overall Rating: 
2 disappointed hearts
Synopsis: He wanted a boyfriend. What he got was a hero.
Fire and Rain, Book 1
When an accident burns down Jesseโs apartment, heโs left broke and homeless, with a giant dog and a college schedule he canโt afford to maintain. And no family whoโs willing to take him in.
Lucky for him, a sexy fireman offers him a place to stay. The drawback? The firemanโs big Latino family lives next door, and they donโt know their son is gay.
Tomasโs parents made their way in America with hard work and by accepting help when it was offered, so he wonโt let Jesse drop out of school just so he can afford a place to live. Besides, Jesseโs the perfect roommateโfunny, sweet and breathtakingly cute. He climbs into Tomasโs bed and tugs at his heart. Until Jesse starts pushing for more.
Their passion enflames their bodies but threatens to crush Tomasโs family. Tomas is willing to fight for Jesse, but after losing everything, Jesse isnโt sure he can bear to risk his one remaining possessionโhis heart.
Warning: Contains an angry older brother, judgmental best friends, a slobbering bull mastiff, and enough red-hot gay loving to make a porn star blush.
Review: Meh. Nothing really stood out for me in this one. I couldn’t seem to connect with the characters, so I never cared one way or the other. Honestly, I didn’t even like the characters. The writing was fine, technically, but it was all very flat for me – even the story itself.
Tomas also comes off really badly in the beginning. Well, he’s kind of a dick all the way around actually, but I just didn’t like him in general. There are some elements of dubcon for those who may be sensitive to it. After Jesse loses his apartment in a fire, Tomas takes him home and then immediately jumps Jesse who is ultimately, still in shock. I mean, Tomas barely gets him in the door before he slams Jesse up against it. And we actually read Jesse thinking that he’s unsure what to do b/c he has nowhere else to go, but goes with it nonetheless. Tomas is hot, so he relents.
Aside from that, we really have no mention of firefighting. Those going into it with that expectation, will be sorely disappointed. There’s no action, no flames, no excitement period.
This was a very disappointing read for me. It fell far short of what it could have been, and that gorgeous cover is wasted on such a mediocre book
