What a wonderful story. My students loved Slow Burn. The discussion we had would have made the author proud. We are a small but proud lezfic reading group who enjoy discussing books that others tell us we can't.
The best way to express how everyone felt is to quote a few of the students.... "I hope to find a love like this one day." "Her writing yanked me in and I wanted to stay in Sky Valley forever." "This is my favorite author because her books are cool. She knows how to keep me wanting more." "I was sad when the story was over but happy to know Missouri is writing more." "What was there not to like, the entire book was addicting."

DNF

I tried but the story was so dreary and plodding with nothing really happening. The MCs have no chemistry whatsoever and appear to be simply going through the motions of dating simply because they’re the only WLW in town. Everything they do is formulaic and emotionless. They kiss after two dates because that’s what the schedule is. I’m sure they sleep together after the pre-determined time/events pass but I didn’t want to be there for that.

It has a lot of things I like: butch/femme, firefighter, small town but the lack of any emotion or tension ruined it for me.

I’m sure someone who is looking for a non-dramatic non-angsty countryside romance with a hot butch firefighter will enjoy this book, but it wasn’t for me.

My rating: 2.5 stars

Slow is the operative word for this one.

This features MCs Faith, an artist coming off a breakup who moves to a small town to be near her best friend and help out at her cafe, and Gray, a firefighter recovering from a harrowing experience and loss.

The title says it all, this is a slow burn in many aspects, the two leads barely interact up to the 40% mark and even when the do interact there’s not a lot of substance to what happens with them, so I didn’t feel they knew a great deal about each other by the requisite HEA, even though they did spend time together they did t discuss anything of real substance.

Both characters are likable enough, together and separately but for a book that talks about fire a lot, there weren’t many sparks between the leads.

There’s a few supporting characters, but none with any particular depth and I saw the ‘dramatic’ moment coming from halfway through.

On the plus side there’s no stupid miscommunications or contrived breakup. Just two lonely adults who find something in the other that they’ve been missing. If you’re in the mood for a gentle romance then this would suit you. 3 stars.

A small-town butch/femme romance (Missouri Vaun is pretty good at those) set in deep winter. Both Faith and Grayson move to Sky Valley to recover from their losses. They meet at the restaurant where Faith is temporary helping out her friend. Slowly they get to know each other better and more. Like the title says a slow-burn romance, perfect for a rainy weekend.

Slow Burn is a sweet story, set in a small town. Who doesn't love a small town romance

Faith an artist and Grey a firefighter both with a past where the hurt is still hurting.

This is a well written story, great characters which will keep you interested, but the title does fit the story this is a slow burn romance

Would I recommend: Yes if you want to just chill out and read

This is a well written engaging small town romance between two women with a lot of baggage. It isn’t formulaic though and the scenes with Grey working as a firefighter in huge forest fires are genuinely gripping and scary. The thought of hiding while fire rages around you is terrifying and it is totally credible that Grey is damaged by the experience. No spoilers here.

Faith is rebuilding her life and connects with Grey and the relationship is nicely developed with the stop/go and the ending is very satisfying. Grey becomes a whole new person and can move on. The scenes with her little cousin are especially good as it is a way for Grey to give back and feel good about herself.

I enjoy Ms Vaun’s work and I will continue to read her novels. This is strong plotting and rich character development in a gripping narrative.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

This is a story about two women who meet in a small mountain town called Sky Valley. Both women are trying to take a step back from their lives, but for different reasons.

Faith Owen is an artist who recently found herself single and without purpose. She accepts an offer from her best friend to visit Sky Valley to work for a few weeks in her family restaurant. She finds herself slowly healing and starts to feel at home in this idyllic environment. As a result, she starts to paint again and gets commissions.

Grayson Reeves is a firefighter who recently went through a very traumatic experience while fighting a forest fire in California. As a result, she needs time to heal and decides to travel back to Sky Valley where she grew up as a child.

There is a very slow build up to the attraction between Faith and Grayson. Faith realizes that Grayson is hurting and tries to help her. Readers will find themselves drawn to these two characters and hope there will be a happy ending to their story.

I have read all of Ms. Vaun’s books. She has a very good writing style. Her words flow on the page. Unfortunately, this romance did not draw me in like most of her other books. It is for this reason that I only rate Slow Burn with 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3,5 stars

This was a cute small town slow burn romance between 2 people who had their guard up due to some hurt but didn't let it control their life or decisions. I actually kind of loved this as there are books out there in which the MC's make bad decisions or close themselves off completely due to past hurt.

I liked how the MC's gave each other enough space and time but also kept in touch as their interest in each other grows. Fun quick read.

Slow Burn features a very sweet romance between Faith and Grey. I liked both characters and their backstory but I found this book, at times, quite slow in pace. Once the romance peaked, the pace picked up and the I-love-yous then felt a little too quick.

The writing style within this didn't work for me. The head-hopping between Faith and Grey within paragraphs made it really hard for me to follow who was thinking/talking. It was a cause of frustration for the whole novel unfortunately.

The premise was interesting but the writing style just didn't work for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

After a bad breakup Faith Owen needed a place to go so when her friend Kayla suggested she come so she could put more space between her and her ex. Besides having a place for her to live already. And we can’t forget Kayla also needed her friend to give her a helping hand worming at Kayla’s diner.
Faith was actually excited about the move because she looks at this move as a chance to get back to her painting.
Grayson Reeves has worked fighting fires. big, out of control wildfires. But when she’s hurt and her best friend Shane was killed she decides to head back to Sky Valley, NC. She still has a few cousins living there. So she moves back into the home her grandmother had left her.. It’s been a few years and the old place needed a lot of work but there was nothing she didn’t think she could handle.
When they meet the attraction is mutual. But Faith is afraid it’s too soon after her break up and Gray’ never had a real relationship. And so the dance begins.
Ms Missouri writes about people we can’t help but like. Great cast, from the leads to the supporting cast. Wonderful, fun read. Very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books.

Greyson Reeves, firefighter that experienced a personal loss and returns to her home town to reflect and process. Faith Owens, artist, decides to settle down after a break-up in one of her favorite childhood places at the suggestion of her best friend, Kayla. This slow burn romance has both Grey and Faith taking stock of their life while deciding what to do next. I really enjoyed the setting. It was presented as a character that had to be negotiated. The mutual attraction was sweet with low angst.

Really sweet small woodland town, Butch/Femme romance, Gray is a firefighter recovering from a major fire, Faith is processing a bad break up, both have run away to the small community to heal. I really liked the characters, all are believable and well rounded, I especially enjoyed Gray forming an important bond with her young niece, the description of Faith's artistic process and Otis the cat. A gentle story about connection, healing and a brief mention of climate change increasing fire season on the west coast of America.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story and thought it was well written. I found the main characters to be quite intriguing. I would highly recommend. Well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

Missouri Vaun

Slow Burn


Faith and Gray meet at the restaurant where Faith works.  Faith feels like she knew Gray before. There  was an instant connection.

Faith and Gray were both looking for a new beginning, each for different reasons.  I feel like Gray and Faith were both kind souls.

Gray had nightmares from an accident and was having a hard time with finding her way. This was a sweet slow burn love story. I really like an old fashion romance from time to time .


I was hoping to have the story be more about Gray working as a firefighter,  the story was unique due to that element,  I was very intrigued from the blurb.   The story was still very well written,  I did enjoy the two main characters.

There wasn’t an instant connection between them.  Faith was a bit put off, believing that Grey was a player.   Gray  needed someone to help her get through one of the most difficult seasons of her life.


I did enjoy the story.  This  was my first book by the author.   I will definitely keep an eye out for her next book.  I highly recommend it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



I would like to thank NetGalley and Bold Stokes Books For the arc.

Grayson Reeves is a wildland firefighter reeling from a near death experience and in need of a place to regroup and recharge. She heads to her childhood home in the mountains of North Carolina, far away from the wildfires in California to regroup but struggles to escape her memories. Faith Owen, artist and illustrator is struggling to move past her recent breakup. Disillusioned and miserable, her friend Kayla convinces Faith to come to Sky Valley to forget about her ex and spend some time with Kayla and her husband Dan.

“The faint glow of the horizon line was like a fulcrum as the weight of the night tipped toward day.”

Loved this opening sentence which points to why I enjoy reading books written by Missouri Vaun. Her books are well written and easily transport readers to the fictional worlds she creates. I loved the premise of an emotionally damaged firefighter and an artist who had lost her mojo following a bad breakup. I had high hopes for this romance but found the character development lacking, like too much had been edited out leaving us with only hints at the demons Gray was running from and little about the breakup leading to Faith’s writer’s block and need to escape the city. I did appreciate the mentoring role Gray takes on with a young girl trying to find her place in the world. I wanted more scenes with Haley as well.

Slow Burn is a gentle low angst summer read. The quality is there. I was hoping for more substance.

A copy of this book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for review.

This was such a great storyline. I could actually feel all the emotions the author wanted to convey coming off the pages of this book. I could definitely feel the hopelessness of Gray, because she felt like she didn't deserve a second chance for finding happiness, and Faith was to hung up on a previous relationship to see what was in front of her at the beginning, but her sympathetic nature made it hard for her to ignore Gray, and the attraction between these two was very sweet and off the charts. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next from this author.

I cannot think of a better way to describe this one than the title itself, Slow Burn. While I’m usually all in for a good slow burn, this one was a little too slow for me.

After a terrifying incident while fighting a wildfire in California, Gray returns home to the only other place she knows to try and overcome her trauma. There she meets Faith who is looking for a change of pace and some distance from her cheating ex-girlfriend.

Faith and Gray know there’s something between them from the moment they first meet, but it takes a lot of the book for them to really act on it. However, the story only takes over the course of a couple months. This meant that there were actually a lot of things from their pasts that simply weren’t addressed. For example, I would have loved to see more of a storyline with Hailey and details about Gray’s experiences growing up in Sky Valley. These were hinted at throughout but never explicitly addressed. I’ve had similar feeling with other books by this author that they maybe ended just a little bit too early.

Overall, this was a cute story but I felt like the pacing left some things to be desired.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

The title of the book is quite explicit, both in how the story has developed and in the profession of one of its protagonists. It has been a slow developing romance, sometimes too slow and getting boring.

The two protagonists arrive in a small mountain town escaping from the latest negative events in their lives. Gray is a forest firefighter who has just suffered a strong trauma that she is having a hard time getting over. Faith arrives on the run from her failed relationship, looking for new inspiration for her art as she is a bit stuck.

The two of them, not wanting to get involved, having enough with their personal dramas, avoid what is inevitable as much as possible. And so much avoidance makes the story slow and repetitive and frustrating.

An ordinary romance.

Grayson Reeves is a wildlands firefighter and has survived a traumatic firefighting incident where she lost her best friend and has come home recover and heal. She meets Faith who is coming off a hard breakup, but the attraction is instant, if only they can overcome what is holding them back 👀

There were several things I liked about this book. The characters are really well developed. The storyline around the hardships of wildland firefighters was really compelling and I loved the detail. Faith is an artist and I liked all the descriptions around her approach to art, it felt quite real.

Even though the attraction between the characters is immediate Vaun takes their time in stepping into the romance portion of their story. Even then the storyline was interesting as Gray adjusts to life back in her hometown. The writing is really nice and keeps you hooked into the story.
With all of that I still felt that the MCs spent too much time apart and I didn’t feel like they got to know each other before the “I love you-s”made an appearance.

The end felt a little rushed and I would have liked to have seen them spend more time with each other after they got together.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but would have liked more emphasis on the romance. 3.75⭐️s

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When it comes to small-town romance I'm an absolute ‘goner’.
Slow burn is a very calm, gentle, little angst story. About 2 ladies, learning to trust, love and find happiness. Slow burn is a perfect easy Sunday read. I did think the ending was slightly rushed but still a good story.

I've given Slow burn a 3.7 out of 5.