Feature book: Wildfire

Wildfire by Hannah Grace
Series: Maple Hills #2
Subgenre: romantic comedy
Release date: 4 Oct 2023
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Format: ebook and print
Length: 400 pages
RRP: $16.99 (ebook); $22.99 (print)
It was great to catch up with the hockey house people from Icebreaker and see a bit more of the couples.
This story is about Russ (who we met in Icebreaker ) and Rory. Russ is a very shy guy, but he builds up the nerve to talk to Rory at a party at the hockey house. Rory is a bit of a wild child and feels an immediate connection with Russ. They end up spending the night together—for a shy guy Russ has some moves!—but Rory sneaks out the next morning to head off to her job as a summer camp counsellor.
Russ is disappointed that she left, but figures it was a one-and-done. Then he arrives at Honey Acres for his job as camp counsellor and finds Rory there. Now they have the chance to figure out their miscommunication, but anything more is hampered by camp rules against fraternisation. Both Russ and Rory have family issues that colour their behaviour and they need to work through that as well.
I loved the summer camp location and enjoyed the activities they came up with. I liked Rory’s sense of humour and Russ’s quiet strength. I particularly liked the resolution of insecurities and family issues over the course of the summer.
The story has a great group of friends, including Emilia (Rory’s gay BFF) and Xander (Russ’s cabin mate). With walk-on roles for other hockey house guys, it left me wanting more, so I’m very happy to see the next book in the series is Henry’s story.
reviewed by Debbie
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. ARRA members who leave a comment on the blog by 31 January 2024 will go into the draw to win a copy of the book.