Taking the Heat

Written by Victoria Dahl

Narrated by Celeste Ciulla

Passion this hot can't be faked. All revved up for bright lights and steamy nights, writer Veronica Chandler chased her dreams to New York City. When she hit a dead end, reality sent her back home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Saving her pride and her new gig-writing a relationship advice column!-requires some faking. No one can know the truth about her big-city flop or her nonexistent sex life. But the town's irresistibly rugged librarian is determined to figure her out.and give her hands-on lessons in every wicked thing she wants to know. Gabe MacKenzie's heart might be in Wyoming, but secretly his future's tied up in his family's Manhattan legacy. Getting down and dirty with Veronica is supposed to give him a few memorable nights-not complicate his plans. But the thing about heat this scorching is there's just no going back.and it might be too hot for either of them to take.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490694528

Victoria Dahl

Victoria Dahl lives with her family in a small town high in the mountains. Her first novel debuted in 2007, and she’s gone on to write seventeen books and novellas in historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance. Victoria's contemporary romance, Talk Me Down, was nominated for both a RWA Rita Award and the National Readers' Choice Award. Since then, her books have been nominated for two more Rita Awards, and she hit the USA Today Bestseller list with the anthology Midnight Kiss.

Reviews for Taking the Heat

[spinsterrevival · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This felt more real than a lot of other contemporaries, and it was a lovely, warm read. The characters were true, and their story was simple yet compelling.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

Taking the Heat is another scorching hot installment in Victoria Dahl's fabulous Jackson: Girls' Night Out series. In this outing, newcomer Gabe MacKenzie is paired up with Veronica Chandler and their romance is a delightful blend of light-hearted banter and fiery sex scenes.

Veronica Chandler's dream of living in New York was not everything she hoped it would be so she returned to Jackson where she writes an advice column for the local paper. Although her column is well received, she feels like a huge fraud handing out advice when her own life is such a mess. She lives in fear that everyone will see the insecurities and inexperience she keeps carefully hidden. Her insecurities stem from her emotionally distant father and the long term bullying she endured from her ex-stepbrother. But it is her lack of experience with relationships that makes her feel completely inadequate when it comes to dispensing romantic advice. It is not until Veronica decides to take her own advice that she begins to become more self confident and find the courage to stand up for herself.

Gabe absolutely loves everything about Wyoming, but his time in Jackson is limited due to family obligations. Despite his enjoyment of rock climbing and other outdoor activities, he has never regretted becoming a librarian and he is still very enthusiastic about his career. He is not looking for a romance but he is very intrigued by Veronica and he cannot seem to stay away from her. Gabe is a really great guy but he also likes to take care of people so he has a tendency to keep unpleasant things to himself. Which turns out to be a bit of problem in his burgeoning relationship with Veronica.

The romance between Veronica and Gabe is so much fun to watch unfold. Although Veronica wants to rush headlong into a physical relationship, Gabe insists on taking things slow. Their scenes are full of sexual tension and mercy, it is amazing that Gabe is able to resist Veronica as long as he does!

However, there is much more to Gabe and Veronica's relationship than witty dialogue, sexy flirting and naughty love scenes. With Gabe, Veronica does not hide who she is and she is completely honest with him about her past which is not exactly all sunshine and roses. Gabe has a lot of excuses for not coming clean about his future plans and while he is a great listener, he deflects the conversation away from anything too personal about himself. It is only a matter of time before everything blows up in his face and when it does, Veronica's reaction is much worse than he expected.

Taking the Heat is another fast paced and engaging romance by Victoria Dahl. Veronica and Gabe are fabulously developed characters with realistic flaws and issues to overcome. Their sex scenes are deliciously naughty and sizzling hot. It is another non-traditional but completely satisfying love story that old and new fan of the Jackson: Girls' Night Out series are going to love.

[rosetyper9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I actually began this series with this book, the final book. I wish I had started them sooner but I was happy to find out you don't have to have read the previous books to appreciate this one. As usual Ms. Dahl delighted and enthralled me with her realistic characters and bewitching backdrop. I loved playing outside with these two lovers, and I need a Gabe of my own to go rock climbing with.

You will fall in love with them too.

[mickyfine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Veronica Chandler came back to her home town of Jackson, Wyoming from New York City disappointed by her failed attempt to make it there. Now she's an advice columnist in the local paper and she feels like an utter fraud. Gabe MacKenzie has come to Jackson on a one-year contract at the library to help them implement ebook lending. Gabe just wants a year of the work he loves and some great climbing in the nearby wilderness. But when Gabe meets Veronica, he finds himself intrigued and what started off as a short-term stay may grow into something longer.Victoria Dahl's romances are generally a bit steamier than I usually go for but I picked this one up based on the raves of one of my co-workers and the fact that the male lead is a guybrarian. And what a guybrarian he is. Veronica is charming in her realistic floundering about her life and Gabe is definitely an ideal man but he still seems real and has his own flaws. Because of Veronica's background, this novel isn't quite as steamy as other romances by Dahl I've read. However, there is a healthy dose of humour and the book made me laugh out loud. As a librarian, I was also over the moon that the few bits of shop talk included in the novel were absoluely true to the conversations librarians would have. If you enjoy a romance novel, not a bad one to pick up.