Fired Up: Fever Falls, Book 1

Ashton - Football player, manwh*re, was adopted, his adopted parents died.Beau - firefighter, coach to brother's football team with developmental disabilities.~Kenny (20) - Beau's brother, has down syndrome.Beau says my smile is contagious. I think his is too. ~ Love, KennyThey kissed in high school. Ashton went off to play college football, while Beau stayed home to help his mom take care of Kenny. 10 years later and Ashton is back.“You make him happy. Beau’s a hero. He should be happy.”Kenny is tooo freaking cute! I think he just made the book for me. It was a great story, but all of Kenny's parts and notebook messages just made it so much better.“I’m happy and a good brother because of you. I knew what to do because I watched you. I write notes when you tell me stuff so I don’t forget it, and when I see you do things, I write it down too because you’re a hero and I want to be just like you. Sometimes I’d see things, watching you, like when you were sad or lonely or falling in love with Ash, and I made wishes for you. They came true, didn’t they?”

It all started with a kiss.  An epic kiss for Beau and apparently a mistake for Ashton. Then it’s ten years before the men meet up again.I adore Riley Hart’s books but haven’t listened to one for a while.  This one was a very slow burn and it took a while for the two men to really connect.  Beau has spent the past ten years envying Ashton and his professional football career.  He chose to stay in Fever Falls because he put family ahead of ambition and he has no regrets.  Doesn’t mean he doesn’t ask himself ‘what if’ questions every once in a while, or sit in judgement of the hash Ashton has made of his life. Orgies and sexcapades? Beau is disgusted, and rightly so.Ashton has returned to Fever Falls with his head bowed in shame.  He knows he’s blown his career – one that hit great heights – and now scandal has driven him to the safest place he knows.  The place where he can just be Ash, not Ashton Carmichael the superstar quarterback. Upon his arrival home, he discovers Fever Falls has grown by leaps and bounds and, interestingly, has so Fever Street where there are a number of gay-friendly businesses.  It’s a visit to one of these bars that lands him right at Beau’s table.  Beau is out-and-proud, not hiding his sexuality and he’d been lucky to have been accepted by both his family and his work colleagues.  He’s also a proud firefighter – a job he fell into by happenstance, but has made a name for himself.  When Ash shows up, he’s still feeling resentment for their past encounters.  Ashton doesn’t understand the antipathy and falls into the old habit of calling Beau ‘Cranky Campbell’.Ash is in need of friends and Beau is still the friendly guy from high school.  They embark into an uneasy friendship where Ash is in awe of Beau’s ability to be out.  Eventually Ash reveals his true nature – and sexuality – and the men begin a new journey fraught with pitfalls.  How can an out-and-proud gay man survive in a relationship where his partner is in the closet? How can a professional football player who still secretly hopes to make a comeback come out when there’s no one out in the entire league? This is often a problem that professional athletes – men and women – face all the time. They know they’ll be treated differently – scrutinized in a way that has nothing to do with their athletic prowess and everything to do with speculation about their sex lives.  It’s still that way in so many professions.  The fact we have the first openly gay man running for president is a relief and I hope he’s viewed for his experience as a politician before the fact he’s married to a man.Progress is often incremental.By the time Ash and Beau were a true couple, I was rooting for them all the way.  It is a Riley Hart book, so they do get their happy ending – but there might have been some doubt thrown in for good measure.I want to take a moment to talk about Beau’s family.  His dedication to his single mother and his younger brother Kenny is heart-warming.  He’s protective of Kenny – as any big brother would be – but he also treats his brother like the man he is, rather than letting Kenny’s developmental disability define him.  I love Kenny and have high hopes for him.  Since this book is part of a series, I’m hoping Kenny might pop back in at some point.  And Ash as well as Beau.Finally, Michael Pauley.  It’s hard to choose the correct superlative to describe his performance of this book.  I always adore his work, but this time he went above and beyond.  Tackling unique characters is always a challenge, but I think he portrayed Kenny brilliantly.  I felt it was an honest performance without relying on stereotypes.  Again, he delivered the perfect note for the entire book.I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, written by Devon McCormack.  Well done, Ms. Hart.

Riley Hart is an amazing author and I have read re- read this book many times, like other books of hers. No spoilers here, you just need to read it or do as I do and opt for the Audio add on and follow as Michael Dean brings this book to life as he does countless times. Good reading to you!

A football player and a fire fighter (totally hot together), one who left town and became famous and the other one stayed and took care of family. They use to be kind of friends but was always competing and for some reason Ash always got under Beaus skin.Then on the day school ended Ash kissed Beau and then left town. Beau didn't have a clue that he liked guys before the kiss and that it's the irritating, cocky Ash that made him realise it is even more irritating. On top of that Ash played it of as being drunk and left town shortly after.When the football career Ash always wanted comes crashing down after scandals involving booze and women he goes back to the town he grew up. What he doesn't expect is to meet Beau and find out that he's still the only one who can call him on his shit and see behind his mask. And he really wasn't prepared for having the one thing he always refuse to acknowledge to come bursting out when he is with Beau. He might even have to admit that he isn't as straight as he always tried to be.I really loved Ash and Beaus dynamic and how Beau doesn't put Ash on a pedestal and still loves the man behind all the posturing. And it's so endearing how Ash loves Beau, Beaus relationship with his brother Kenny and how Ash connects with Kenny.

Although Ashton can come off as cocky and overconfident sometimes, deep down he really is a sweetheart. I guess it comes part of his family circumstances. His coping mechanism to all his insecurities are not admirable but it was the only way he knew how to handle it, especially with his parents gone. Beau is one of the most endearing, kind and lovable characters I have ever read, and I love him so much. The sacrifices he made for his brother and mother, although he was not asked, is unbelievable. He did it willingly, but according to his mom and Kenny, who by the way is totally lovable and a one-of-a-kind brother, he has to go after what makes him happy. This book is one of the sweetest books I have ever read, there is angst, don’t get me wrong, but the way it was presented, it came off incredibly light (I hope I am not being a contradictory), and it shows you that when you truly love someone, you will do anything to keep that love, be it on a second chance or first time. One should always go for that elusive happiness, not everybody has that, and that is shown here. Now, I am on pins and needles for the second book. I wonder who is in that…..Congratulations Ms. Riley Hart, this is an amazing story of beautiful characters, not only the MCs but also the supporting characters like Kenny, Mom, Linc, Rush, Camden and Sawyer, and even Jace.

Urgh, what a painfully beautiful journey through acceptance of oneself. My heart!! Ash’s long term denial about being gay and his feelings for his hometown friend he hasn’t seen for years just bloom from the page. Beau is a beautiful soul and his relationship with his brother Kenny and his mum, oh K Man you have my heart. Such an emotional and honest read. Bought it immediately after reading. 5 stars

Another enjoyable MM read. Wasn’t too much drama, loved Beaus relationship with his brother and mum. Was lovely to see Ashton added into that. Quick read, loved seeing Ashton find himself more. I did feel like the book centred more around him than both, but was still enjoyable, just would have liked maybe a bit more of beau other than just how he felt around Ashton. Again loved the friendship group, looking forward to reading the others.

Fired Up was a very enjoyable read. Thanks to likeable characters. Who had bags of charm and were very engaging. Especially Kenny, Beau's brother, who I thought Riley Hart wrote incredibly well and I adored not only his relationship with Beau, but the one he created with Ash. As for Beau and Ash I enjoyed the relationship between the pair and the pace at which the story developed. Although the last 1/3 did feel a little slower, especially once they got physical. Yet, it was a sweet, entertaining story. That also had a splattering of emotion and was very engaging to read. And I would definitely read more from this series in the future.

I couldn't put this book down and read it all in one day. The chapters flowed seamlessly into each other and found I couldn't find a spot I was willing to stop reading on.The characters are well fleshed out with their own individual personalities and it really comes across in their playful (and sometimes damn hot) interactions. The love the two main characters (Beau and Ash) feel for each other is obvious all the way through. It tackles some great issues such as impression of people with Downs Syndrome but also the mind state of someone struggling with their sexuality and having feelings for someone of the same gender.I will definitely be reading more by this author and fully recommend this book to everyone. A fantastic read.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.Ash and Beau were the cutest ever ever everrrrrI cannot wait to read more of Riley’s books I’ve become OBSESSED.