Trial by Fire (Dreamspun Desires)

Title: Trial by Fire (Dreamspun Desires)
Author: B.A. Tortuga and Rusty Topsfield (Narrator)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 20th 2016
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
Reviewed by: Belen
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

One Aussie. One Texan. One baby. One hell of a fight.

When his sister and her husband are killed in an accident, Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney rushes to Texas to rescue their infant daughter, Chloe. He expects to find his niece living in squalor with the Sheffields, a rodeo family.

Instead, Lachlan finds Holden Sheffield, a salt-of-the-earth cowboy running a huge business operation. They want to explore their mutual attraction despite the many problems thrown their way, and together, they must find a way to give Chloe a new family and find a love that spans thousands of acres and two continents.

This fun and sweet romance actually has a little bit of everything: humor, insta-love, suspense, some emotionally charged scenes, action, heartache, some sexiness, and even a kidnapping!

For over two years Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney has been looking for his runaway sister. Instead of the happy reunion he hopes for he instead finds out his sister and her husband have recently been killed in a plane crash leaving behind their infant daughter in the custody of her husband’s twin brother, Holden Sheffield.

Lachlan immediately rushes to Texas to take custody of his niece from Holden. There’s friction between the two at first, but, of course, that friction turns to sparks and the two fall in love. Lachlan recognizes how perfect Holden is with their niece Chloe, and he tries to work out how to break it to his parents that Chloe will be staying with the family she already has. However, when Chloe is kidnapped the two men must work together to bring her home.

Yes, it is bit dramatic at times, and the insta-love is super fast (especially under the circumstances), but I was prepared for all of that and enjoyed it all.

The only thing I was baffled by is how Holden, who runs a huge rodeo operation in the U.S., and Lachlan, who runs an enormous cattle station in Australia, would be able to make a relationship work. In the end obviously there’s a solution, but I didn’t quite buy it. I found myself having to suspend my disbelief a lot in order to enjoy the HEA.

Rusty Topsfield is a great narrator and I enjoyed the narration overall with one glaring exception. I’ll admit I didn’t care for his Australian accents. Though I give full kudos for him making an effort, I felt like his Aussie needs some work.

If you’re looking for an insta-romance with some suspense and humor, and are a fan of the Dreamspun Desires series, I think you’ll enjoy this as much as I did.

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