Ring of Fire

Fox’s fifth Caribou Crossing novel, set in British Columbia, proves again that she knows what women want in a contemporary romance. When Fire Chief Lark Cantrell—tough, sexy, six feet tall, and divorced—has to rescue “mouthwateringly hot” Canadian Armed Forces Major Eric Weaver out of his burning rented farm house, her action sets off a physical passion that shakes them both. Eric is a recent amputee due to injuries sustained in Afghanistan, and he’s trying to get a handle on his PTSD. Lark’s happy with her warm family life with her mother and her son, who is taking riding lessons to help control his cerebral palsy. Lark also has sworn never to let her sexual needs, satisfied in carefully orchestrated one-night stands, interfere with her professional and family responsibilities; and Eric intends to go back to active service, which his army-brat boyhood convinced him was anathema to family life, so he won’t consider marrying. But their stunning chemistry might change all their plans. Fox fleshes out this steamy mating dance with substantial secondary characters and skillful plotting, making this one hot romance to remember. Agent: Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency. (June)