Consumed by Fire

Fire, Book 1

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Jill Redfield

Evangeline Morrissey remembers the last time she saw her husband: it was during their honeymoon, right before he stole her grandmother's earrings and abandoned her. Now, five years later, the enigmatic man who'd broken her heart and destroyed her trust is back. But she's not the same naive young woman who fell for him so easily.

Marrying Evangeline and letting her think he was nothing but a common thief had been James Bishop's plan all along. As an assassin for the Committee, a covert agency dedicated to stamping out international crime, he had no business even thinking about marriage. But it was the only way to protect Evangeline after she'd unwittingly wandered into his operation against a group of human traffickers, placing herself in grave danger. And now that James's vigilant watch over Evangeline's life has revealed to his enemies that she's his one true weakness, he must set out to have, to hold, and - above all - to protect his bride.

©2015 Anne Kristine Stuart Ohlrogge (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Fantastic Book @$7.34 A Bargain

Nobody writes romantic suspense like Anne Stuart! The Fire series starts off on a high note with Consumed by Fire, a dark and complex romance with a dangerous hero and a smart, scarred heroine. James and Evangeline’s story is rich, compelling, and has an edge to it – exactly what I’ve come to love and expect from Ms. Stuart.

The Fire series is a spin-off of the Ms. Stuart’s Ice series, the premise being an American branch of the infamous Committee is being set up. Like his Ice counterparts, James is a truly deadly hero who won’t ever be a sappy romantic. He’s an alpha male with none of the posturing and he’ll break his own heart by hurting Evangeline if it’s for the greater good. In the hands of a lesser author, James would be a terrible hero, but somehow Ms. Stuart makes him wildly compelling. Like Evangeline, I was drawn to him, even though he’s someone I’d never want to cross paths with, were he real. As for Evangeline, she’s a strong, capable woman who was nearly broken by James in the past. Though she comes to understand his reasons, that doesn’t mean she’ll welcome him back into her life with open arms. Their relationship is tumultuous, with passion, hatred, and love all blending together. Their love story isn’t pretty, it isn’t sweet, but damn if it isn’t sexy, emotional, and impossible to put down.

There’s plenty of action in Consumed by Fire outside of the romance as well. Someone is targeting Evangeline and the reasons why go back to when she and James first met. I can’t say more without spoiling the story, so suffice it to say that very real danger lurks around every corner. Ms. Stuart doesn’t pull her punches and if Consumed by Fire is any indication, the Fire series will be as wildly, wickedly entertaining as the Ice series (though you don’t have to have read the first series in order to follow along). Evangeline and James do not disappoint and I can’t wait to see what happens next for the Committee’s newest batch of operatives.

Jill Redfield was fantastic with delivery of the story.

NICE ONE!!!!

I adore Jill Redfield books, she could bring a phone book to life with her narration and that just made this pretty good book into an outstanding must have book.

I never read any of the Ice series so this is for sure a stand alone book because it all made sense, but I may have to go back and buy those others now. Evangeline is a college professor, a very young college professor and she is in Italy to study architecture when she accidentally stumbles upon an execution that the killers can't figure out of she saw, or didn't see. James Bishop needs to find out if he and his partner need to get out of town fast or if he can distract the beautiful Evangeline with his male seductive ways.

Upon discovering that she really didn't see much he's prepared to let her go on her merry way but his partner thinks Evangeline is collateral damage and should be eliminated. There is only one thing that can keep an agent from killing someone...and that is if they are another agents spouse....so James Bishop marries Evangeline and then leaves her.

5 years later a hardened Evangeline is on another scholarly mission when she is stopped by border patrol and interrogated for hours. At the conclusion she gets back in her camper, drives a little ways and realizes her dog is acting weird, so she pulled over. When the dog led her to the camper door she opened it...and who should be there but her "husband" James Bishop the one man who has haunted her nightmares and erotic dreams for the last 5 years. He says he is there to protect her, but who is going to protect him from her? Heck hath no fury......

Great for sale, credit or buy!

great story!

I LOVE THE NARRATOR JILL REDFIELD. SHE IS AMAZING! please have her read more books. she really gets into it

An unforgettable roadtrip - Committee style.

Consumed by Fire is Anne Stuart at her very best. Stuart's Ice Series of 6 books and one novella introduced the reader to the men and women of the covert, anti-terrorist organization "The Committee". Each principal male character is an anti-hero, some sarcastic, others brooding, but each was witty, engaging and lethal. The female characters were intelligent and ultimately strong and self-reliant. The strength of both main characters in the Ice Series of books is what made them so memorable. Consumed by Fire is the first book in the Fire Series - an off shoot of the Ice Series, and Ms. Stuart's history of strong male and female characters continues.

While on a job in Italy, James Bishop, a Committee operative, meets Evangeline Morrisey, an academic who has a predilection for studying obscure topics of architectural history. (Who knew you could take a class on the architectural history of North American camping lodges). After their initial meeting, the story then moves to several years later when the two meet again. James is a classic Anne Stuart anti-hero, you know he has a good heart; it will just take a long time to be revealed. Events in Italy changed Evangeline from a quiet academic to a self-reliant woman with trust issues trying to forget past events, with little success. James and Evangeline meet and a memorable road trip follows. The conversations and chemistry between James and Evangeline, together with a German Shepard named Merlin, a vehicle named Annabelle, references to prior characters and the introduction of others, that will hopefully be the subject of future books, ensures that Consumed by Fire continues in the tradition of the Ice Series, well written, strong characters who have complicated relationships with blunt dialogue amid the intrigue of romantic suspense and a lot of heat.

You don't need to read any of the Ice books to enjoy this new series, but once you read this book, I suspect you will want to.

Consumed by Fire

The story was well written but I despise romances where the man is a total dick to the woman the whole way thru but somehow she still loves him. Mind blowing sex isn't enough to base a relationship on. The author could have included an epilogue to show him treating her well, at least. Thumbs down.

first book

from beginning to end intriguing provocative and held my attention. enjoyed it a lot. thank you

Very suspenseful!

I loved the story. I listen to books on audible while working in the garden, doing laundry, cooking and cleaning. When I find myself trying to create more chores to do because I enjoy the story and the narration so much……well that’s what I call a perfect book on audible.

review

Loved the story. Lots of action and good narration. I'm not a prude, but the author did drop the f bomb more than needed, but I stayed up until 3am to finish the story!

I fucking love Anne Stuart!!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Consumed by Fire to be better than the print version?

This is way better than the print version. This narrator has one of the best male voices I've ever heard!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Loved James. My favorite kind of hero!

Have you listened to any of Jill Redfield’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'm going to look her up and fine more books read by her. She's wonderful with the male and female voices!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No! I wanted to prolong it!! I didn't want it to end. I never listen or read books over again but I'm going to with this one!

Any additional comments?

I LOVE Anne Stuart! She writes my favorite heroes! Please keep them coming Ms. Stuart!

Loved it

Love stories like this. Action, romance, humor, drama. So entertaining!! Can't wait to read more by author