The Fireproof Girl
By Loretta Lost
(Sophie Shields #1)
Published on September 29, 2016
New Adult, Action, Romance
Trigger Warnings: Violence, Sexual Assault, Rape, Suicidal Thoughts
Abandoned at birth, Sophie Shields grew up in abusive foster homes, escaping into books and computers for solace. When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.
That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart.
Until it did.
And she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…
———
When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man.
Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together.
But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…
His enemies might just take him down.
Review
This book was provided to me by Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.
The Fireproof Girl is also flammable due to its extreme intensity. We are not talking about a friendly bonfire with s'mores or a comforting fireplace that offers warmth and relaxation. The Fireproof Girl shows snippets of the darkest parts of humanity. Sophie's and Cole's devastating childhoods tugged at my heartstrings and pulled me into their emotions. There were points when I physically winced in pain on their behalf. I hated their enemies, swearing to kill them if they came close to either of my precious main characters. I rooted for them, through thick and thin, death and life, impossibility and hope.
The truly impressive feat accomplished by The Fireproof Girl is the consistency of pace and action. There is no lag or lull in the story, just one event fluidly connecting to another, making it impossible to break away. The twists, turns, and reveals were organized in just the right way to keep my attention without frustrating me.
The story is told through alternating point of views from present Sophie to past Cole. The structure was creative and lent itself well to the mystery of the characters' lives, but I very much preferred the voice of grown-up Sophie to the stereotypical young voice of Cole. The simple tone of young Cole's story did not match up to the brilliant and interesting man who Sophie described. The sentence structure and sole focus on Sophie led to an overly juvenile tone. Though, in his defense, Sophie's present-day reflections on Cole gained him more points in my eyes and allowed me to root for their relationship.
Sophie and Cole deal with some extremely serious situations, not all of them dealt with delicately. There were points in the novel when the violence seemed unnecessary to me, a hindrance to the plot instead of an addition. There were times when the hardships that the characters faced were undermined or judged, especially in the case of Zack.
Even though I loved the story between Sophie and Cole, there was a lot of potential in the other characters' stories that was ignored. Sophie's thoughts were often too focused on Cole to actually think about the other people around her. Adding Cole's flashback perspectives into the story added another voice, but the main plotline was still insulated inside only their two lives. For example, if Zack had more characterization, more than just the facts that he is missing a leg and likes guns, then his situation as a disabled vet would have been less problematic for me. However, he was defined so much by those two characteristics that he became a caricature of a soldier rather than an actual person.
If you are in the mood for an intense story with a romance to light up the dark themes, then The Fireproof Girl will not disappoint.
Author Bio
USA Today bestselling author Loretta Lost writes to experience all the love and excitement that can often be lacking from real life. She finds it therapeutic to explore her issues through the eyes of a different person. She hopes to have a family someday, but until then her characters will do nicely.Follow @loretta.lost on Instagram for cute photos of her cat reading books. He refuses to cooperate unless they are really good books.You can also subscribe to Loretta’s mailing list for updates: www.eepurl.com/O0WTL (P.S. You will receive a FREE book as a gift for signing up!)
Giveaway
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Are you a fan of romances with darker themes or do you prefer your romances light and fluffy? What was the last slow-burning romance that made your heart swell? What excites you the most about The Fireproof Girl?
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