Up in Flames

Written by Nicole Williams

Narrated by Allyson Ryan

Elle's life couldn't possibly get any more small town. She was raised in the same home as the two generations before her were, her family owns the iconic downtown cafe, and she's been dating the pastor's son since she was allowed to go on her first date at sixteen.



Cole's life couldn't possibly get any larger. He's tried. Roaming from town to town for the past three summers as a smokejumper, Cole dreads the thought of putting down roots. The only thing he avoids more than that is settling down with one woman, especially when there are as many willing women as there are trees in the forest he jumps out of planes to save.



Elle Montgomery's life is going one way. And Cole Carson's is going the opposite. There's no reason their paths should ever intersect, even in a small town in central Washington.



But summer in the Methow Valley has other plans for Elle and Cole. After an awkward run-in at the local swimming hole, Elle tries to keep away from the guy who looks at her like she's already lying beneath him in bed. She fails. Cole is about as successful at staying away from the girl who seems immune to his charms.



As the summer heats up, and tensions between Elle and Cole run high, Cole begins to realize there's more he's attracted to than Elle's body, and she discovers there's a lot more to the man that jumps out of planes into raging forest fires than meets the eye.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781452683355

Nicole Williams

Nicole Williams, author of Crash, Clash, Crush, The Eden Trilogy, and The Patrick Chronicles, is a wife, a mom, and a writer who believes in true love, kindred spirits, and happy endings. Nicole currently lives with her family in Spokane, Washington.

Reviews for Up in Flames

[okies-600424 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This YA novel is very good at conveying the drama of first love - "Up In Flames"! The intensity mixed in with the frustration, despair and elation flowed through the story, but there wasn't much plot - it was more like a few days in the life of these few young people - Elle, Cole,Logan - not a whole summer.

Full marks for the intensity but it failed to explain anything about why people feel the way they do other than how sexy he is, and that seems cultivated in the smoke jumper's case. He's more than that but it takes some time for that to be revealed, and it could take up more space.

It reminds me very much of Crash, which I thought it was more sophisticated.

[chris.blogemporium · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Badass Smoke Jumpers , Hot, hot hot Men ... Best reason to read this book lol .

Well I had my review all typed up and hit the wrong button and closed the tab and lost it all soo , now your gonna have to deal with my review this way because I am not gonna sit here and type it all again lol .... This is a great read , if you have not read it yet get to it .



One small town girl with a bright future.
One smokejumper with a dark past.
One summer that will forever change them both.
They’re going . . .

Up In Flames.


Elle’s life couldn’t possibly get any more small town than it already is. She was raised in the same home as the two generations before her were, her family owns the iconic downtown cafe, and she’s been dating the pastor’s son since she was allowed to go on her first date at sixteen.

Cole’s life couldn’t possibly get any larger. He’s tried. Roaming from town to town for the past three summers as a smokejumper, Cole dreads the thought of putting down roots. The only thing he avoids more than that is settling down with one woman, especially when there are as many willing women as there are trees in the forest he jumps out of planes to save.

Elle Montgomery’s life is going one way. And Cole Carson’s is going the opposite. There’s no reason their paths should ever intersect, even in a small town in central Washington.

But summer in the Methow Valley has other plans for Elle and Cole. After an awkward run-in at the local swimming hole, Elle tries to keep away from the guy who looks at her like she’s already lying beneath him in bed. She fails. Cole is about as successful at staying away from the girl who seems immune to his charms.

As the summer heats up, and tensions between Elle and Cole run high, he begins to realize there’s more he’s attracted to than Elle’s body, and she discovers there’s a lot more to the man that jumps out of planes into raging forest fires than meets the eye.

“We live our lives afraid of change and if we were to just embrace it instead, it wouldn't seem like such a big deal when it hits us”

“Like sex, seduction, and sin had decided to get it on and Cole Carson was the result.”

“I said those things and did those things because you'd hurt me," he continued, whispering just outside my ear. "And I wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to feel the same way I did when I woke up and found you gone. I wanted you to feel the anxiety I felt when I tried calling you and you wouldn't answer. I wanted you to feel the anger I felt when I showed up at the diner and watched you through the windows for a few minutes. Serving and talking to guests like it was just another day. Like you hadn't just broken my heart.”

“If mouths cold commit the act, his made very hot, passionate love to mine last night.”


“Don’t be scared of making mistakes,” she said, waiting for me to look at her before continuing. “Be scared of making none. Because if you’re not making a healthy number of mistakes along the way, you’re not really living life to its fullest.”


“I might kinda, sorta, really, truly love you”

[iloveladyporn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fabulous Book!
Loved Cole & Elle's first meeting.
Cole pointed out some things about Elle's life that she may have know but it really brought it to the surface. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Elle once she realized her life wasn't her own.
I wasn't sure if she had the strength to take back her life or not.
She had some obstacles to over come if things were going to work out with her and Cole but it just seemed Cole was pushing her away. I was very impressed that she had to do what she had to do even if Cole wasn't in her future and she had the foresight to not base her decisions on him. A bit of Sex nothing detailed or raunchy. Fantastic ending.

Quotes:

"The wild I liked to pretend wasn't there was happy. My stripping down to my birthday suit in preparation for a cool dip had satiated its appetite for rebellion."

"My first name's Keep and my last name's Walking."

"Like sex, seduction, and sin had decided to get it on and Cole Carson was the result."

"You might belong to someone else, but you kind of belong to me, too."

Read more on my blog iloveladyporn.com

[aribookzilla · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, so much. As a matter of fact, when I learned about it, it sounded so good, I went around telling people "This is gonna be SO good!"

Well, it wasn't. It was just another piece of smut, which seems to have infiltrated the new adult genre. The story had potential - good girl with a wild streak, trying to please everyone and forgetting herself. Unfortunately, the heroine is a cheater, the hero has no personality, there's insta-love, and the story was basically about her losing her virginity to "the other guy" while still being in a relationship with her boyfriend.

Nobody likes a cheating heroine. Even worse, Elle is a cheater that makes excuses for herself. The way she treated Logan was so low, pretending everything is fine while going behind his back.
Actually, I don't know what to say about her. She was judgmental, hypocritical and whiny. I wouldn't want her as my friend.
She complains about her life all the time, but then you learn she never even told anyone what she did want and you just can't feel sorry for her.

I liked Logan. Yeah, he was a bit...prim? But I'm confident that if she told him how she felt, exactly, he would have done things differently. Instead, she lets him live his illusion that they're good the way they are. It's no wonder that he is so ignorant to her unhappiness. The way she spoke about him, safe, comfortable and a tad boring, was probably what bothered me the most. Why are you with him if you feel this way? It's cruel. WHY?

I didn't care about Cole. That's all I have to say about him.

This was the lamest love triangle I have ever read. I just didn't care about the whole thing.
There was no depth to anything, no depth to the story, no depth to the characters. I can't even say if I liked the way it was written because I just didn't care. I skimmed the sex scenes.

It may be that this just wasn't my kind of story, and I think I may be in the minority (again). I'm just so disappointed because I had really high expectations. It's a fairly short read, so give it a chance and decide for yourself.

[emigre_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this drama and angst-filled new adult story, the small-town heroine is torn between her loyal football hero bf and the new bad boy in town.