“Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name. Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home. Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizing” rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can’t put out?” (Description of Wildfire by Hannah Grace was taken from Simon & Schuster Canada’s website).
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of Wildfire from NetGalley. Wildfire is a camp counsellor summer romance featuring the forced proximity and forbidden romance tropes. Trigger warnings include gambling, absentee parents, and drunk driving. Themes present include found family, addiction, abandonment, communication or lack there of, confidence, appearance versus reality, fame, and wealth. I would recommend Wildfire to fans of contemporary romances like Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy, The Fine Print by Lauren Asher, Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey, Always Only You by Chloe Liese, or Play With Me by Becka Mack. Overall, I was a tad disappointed with this book; even though I enjoyed Wildfire, I personally didn’t think it was as good as Icebreaker, which is one of my current favourites. Furthermore, I was expecting Wildfire to be a college sports romance like Icebreaker, and I was disappointed that the majority of Wildfire was set at Honey Acres summer camp instead of Maple Hills (even though Russ and Aurora are both students there). Additionally, there was very little mention of the hockey team. Even though they made some appearances, I really wish that the Icebreaker characters were more a part of Russ and Aurora’s storyline; beloved characters like Stassie, Nate, JJ, and Henry are only side characters in Wildfire. Not really a third act break-up but Wildfire does have some short-lived instances of miscommunication, which I’m not a fan of. The summer camp atmosphere at Honey Acres, where Russ and Aurora work, was definitely fun and summery; I feel like it will be nostalgic for those who use to attend or have worked at summer camps. My favourite parts of the book involved the camp golden retriever “Fish” and her puppies, who frequently follow and cuddle Russ; these moments were so cute and swoon-worthy (talk about a literal golden retriever boyfriend lol)! Russ and Aurora’s relationship was engaging as it involved a lot of sneaking around (since camp counsellors aren’t allowed to date each other) and spicy hook-ups. I enjoyed how Russ and Aurora are both bookworms, they even go on a date to the bookstore, and I think that fellow readers will appreciate this as well. Henry’s story was alluded to a bit in Wildfire so I’m hopeful that we will possibly get his story next!
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