Title:  Wild Heat
Series:  The Northern Fire #1
Author:  Lucy Monroe
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  April 28, 2015
Publisher:  Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Synopsis:

In the quaint little town of Cailkirn, Alaska, it’s impossible to keep a secret, especially one as juicy as the unexpected return of Kitty Grant. Tack MacKinnon remembers her wild red curls and even wilder spirit—and still feels the sting from when she shattered his heart in college. But there’s a pain in Kitty’s gorgeous eyes that guts him to the core, and Tack is determined to do whatever it takes to see the woman he still loves smile again—even if it means taking on her demons as his own.

After fleeing an abusive ex-husband, Kitty decides that the best way to heal her broken heart is to come back home. But she gets a whole new shock when she sees how undeniably sexy Tack has become. More handsome, more muscular, more charming—more everything—he’s impossible to resist. Before she knows it, they’re reigniting sparks that could set the whole state of Alaska on fire. Yet trust doesn’t come easy to Kitty anymore, and as things heat up between her and Tack, she can’t help but wonder if one of them is going to get burned .

Read on for my thoughts on Wild Heat  No true spoilers, promise.

Caitlin was coming home to Cailkirn, Alaska.  Eight years she had been married to a monster.  Eight years she had lived with a monster within herself.  Each had tried to destroy her, she was determined to not let that happen.  But it was so damned hard.  Everyone watched her so closely now, everyone treated her like fragile glass – everyone except Tack.  Once her best friend, she had cut him out of her life when she married.  Now here they were again.  Nothing and everything had changed.  Most of all her.

Tack had lost the woman he loved, his best friend eight years ago when Caitlin had cut him out of her life and went on to marry the wealthy man who would cause such pain and chaos in her life.  In the years since, Tack had done everything he could to not hear the gossip about Kitty from her relatives and his family.  It hurt less that way.  But when he was told that Kitty was coming home, when he learned about her life in those eight years his indifference changed to concern.  He was told she was just 93 pounds when she landed in the hospital during the months before her divorce.  Broken bones that could not be casually passed over as bumping into walls or sharp table edges.  He husband had physically and emotionally abused her and she had abused herself through an often misunderstood eating disorder.  Tack searched online, reading everything he could find about anorexia, what he learned terrified him.  And he waited for his best friend’s return.

Wild Heat is the first novel in a new series set in a small town in Alaska.  In this first novel we have met many of the townsfolks, and have had a taste of life in Cailkirn, Alaska.  While I completely enjoyed Tack and Caitlin’s story I’ve stopped here because I feel this is a story that needs to be read for there are other issues within that go beyond whether our hero and heroine will find their happily ever after.  Yes, Tack, being a guy, does and says some silly, stupid, dumb things in order to get Caitlin to eat what she should, to encourage her and even to dare and rage at her to become healthy once again.  I didn’t find them offensive, just a guy being a guy and doing dumb guy things.  It happens, and really it was realistic.  Sometimes we will say or do the most outrageous things when we are trying to help someone who just won’t listen.  I know this from personal experience.

The issues addressed in this novel: anorexia, bulimia, abuse, ptsd and mental health are all issues that need to be brought out into the open – and if including them within our fictional escapes helps even one person – then this is a novel that is brave and necessary.  I sincerely hope you will take the time to read it, think about it and help someone who desperately needs help.

*I received an e-ARC of Wild Heat from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*