Ask Me For Fire
A slow-burn, unconventional, realistic romance between two neighbors
Ask Me For Fire
A 2023 Reads Rainbow Adult Contemporary award finalist!
Selected for review by the Stonewall Book Award Committee
Can two loners living in the wilderness find friendship and love?
Barrett loves everything about living outside the remote mountain town of Lake Honor. His days as a forest ranger are filled with unpredictable adventure, so home is the one place he knows he can count on. But even home has been a surprise of late, as his next door neighbor and good friend has suddenly passed away, and the house has been sold to someone new. When the new neighbor, Ambrose, arrives, Barrett realizes that the man is a loner, like himself, and clearly not looking for a friend.
Which is a pity, because Barrett finds him fascinating and incredibly good looking.
Ambrose didn’t move to the outskirts of nowhere to make a friend. But Barrett, his new neighbor, is kind and generous, and has soft brown eyes he can’t stop thinking about. As he slowly warms up to Barrett, fate finds a way to push them together when danger and sabotage strike. Barrett saves Ambrose’s life, and their bond is cemented. Letting Barrett get close is difficult, but it's hard to ignore the handsome, kind neighbor.
As their lives entangle, and their relationship grows, neither man can ignore the attraction between them. But their pasts are complicated; an ex-boyfriend reappears, an estranged parent tries to get in contact, and Barrett’s nephew falls ill. On top of that, the sabotage of forest ranger equipment grows more dangerous and Barrett is pulled into the investigation. Both men want to take their relationship slow, even with all the drama swirling around them, and it's getting more difficult to ignore the spark between them.
Ask Me For Fire is a love story drenched in atmosphere, suspense, and heartfelt connections.
Tropes: forced proximity, slow burn, grouchy loners, small town romance
Content warnings: explicit sex (with others and between the MCs) ; some violence and danger (mostly minimal and/or off-screen); mental health issues including anxiety and depression; abusive and manipulative family; neglectful family and past relationships
Cover by Dazed & Inked
“This was just gorgeous.
A pitch-perfect slowburn romance, wonderfully atmospheric, perfectly paced, with a hint of suspense and some of my favourite tropes, expertly used. Both MCs are incredibly well developed and believably complex, with trauma and past hardship to overcome. Watching them fall in love, support each other in dealing with the troubles in their lives and help each other heal was just beautiful. Themes like abuse, manipulative family relationships, and mental health issues are deftly handled. The supporting characters too are well fleshed out, and I greatly enjoyed the writing.
Really loved this and am looking forward to discovering more by this author.”