Up In Flames by Nicole Williams
Elle Montgomery has spent her whole life doing exactly what she's supposed to - what everyone else thinks is how she should live her life. Outside, Elle is smiling politely and perfectly happy with her perfect-fit boyfriend. Inside, Elle is screaming for the chance to do something a bit wild.
| Up In Flames by Nicole Williams | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
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| Summary: A quick read, probably best devoured during an afternoon on a beach somewhere. Relatable characters and some steamy scenes. Recommended for older teenagers. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Simon and Schuster | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1471118463 | |
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Enter Cole Carson, an adrenaline junkie smokejumper. It's his job to fight fires in the remote forest regions, but he's lighting a fire under Elle's skin. She knows he's not what everyone else wants for her, but what about what she wants?
Nicole Williams promises to deliver hot romance for the older teenager. She has all the love triangles and will-they-won't-they romance prevalent in books for teens, only with added sex. It's a genre that's really taking off at the moment, with lots of success stories - often going via self-publishing to traditional bestsellerdom.
Williams is no different, with 'from the online sensation' proudly emblazoned across the top of her novel. Unlike many of her peers, it's not an immediate indication that what you're about to read is tripe.
Quite the contrary. Williams does a good job of building up the stifling atmosphere of Elle's life, reflected symbolically in the heat of the record breaking summer. Despite many traits that could make her unsympathetic, Elle is a relatable character, whose quest for self-discovery outside of the tunnel vision of her father and other people who 'know' her, is something that I imagine a lot of older teens will relate to on some level.
There is a lot of back and forth in the 'will-they-won't-they' relationship between Cole and Elle. Of course, we all know that they'll get together, the enjoyment is in seeing how it happens, and Williams doesn't fall into the trap of dragging it out too much. At 288 pages of reasonably big writing and quick fire chapters, this is a quick read, probably best devoured during an afternoon on a beach somewhere.
It's not the sort of thing you are likely to read over and over. The story is really a shallow framework on which to hang plenty of steamy sexual tension - which is fine when you're after that sort of thing, but it's not a read to change your life. Borrow and enjoy.
My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.
Fans of slightly older teen romance might enjoy Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
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You can read more book reviews or buy Up In Flames by Nicole Williams at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Up In Flames by Nicole Williams at Amazon.com.
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