Sara Walker’s life is going nowhere fast: she has a job she enjoys but doesn’t love, friends who are too busy to hang out with her, and no boyfriend in sight. Then a phone call on a lonely Friday night changes everything, and suddenly she’s spending her weekends with Laura. Newly single and openly bisexual, Laura makes Sara think decidedly not-straight thoughts.

Laura Murphy, with her red hair, freckles, and killer curves, is any guy’s wet dream. But Laura’s done with guys for now, and it’s Sara who can’t stop dreaming about her. When Sara finally gives in to the curiosity, Laura blows her mind and pushes her further than she’s ever gone before.

But Laura makes it very clear that this is only a rebound fling, and she’s still planning to move to California. She’s more than happy to tie Sara up, but she’s not ready to be tied down. If Sara wants to keep her, she’s going to have to work hard to convince Laura that New York is worth staying for . . . and so is she.

Goodreads / Riptide Publishing
Release Date: July 31st

Annie’s review of Whiteout
Jude’s review of Whiteout
Annie’s review of Thaw

Elyse Springer, despite being a rather new (published) author, has quickly become one of my faves. So far I’ve liked each of her books (some more than others of course, but they were all great). I think she’ll be one of those authors I will always be able to trust to write a great story. She’s definitely a one-click author for me.

I really enjoyed Heat Wave. It’s really well written, vivid and visual and I had no problems picturing it all despite never having been in New York. Maybe the heat wave we had over here in Germany at the time I read this, did its part in making it more real; if anything I could relate more to Sara. 😉

That being said… I just didn’t like Laura. The way she’s hot and cold with Sara really annoyed me at times. Admittedly they *both* should have communicated more with each other, but I can understand how Sara would be hesitant to tell Laura about her feelings the way Laura kept pushing her away to ravish her the next minute.
I liked the premise of them getting together and really enjoyed that at first – these two ladies do burn the sheets up – but the longer the story went on the less I thought that Laura was a good fit for Sara. The sex between them is great and I could feel that physical attraction – the emotional one on the other end came rather abruptly toward the end of the story. I missed the build up and slowly falling in love.

Maybe part of that is that I really would have liked to have Laura’s perspective on things. For most of the story she eluded me and I didn’t get the feeling that she was attached to Sara for anything more than sex.

I have no idea how to rate this because I *loved* Sara, I loved how she evolved, how she grew throughout the story. The way she determinedly followed her plans and did not give up. I really liked how she just went and tackled things and just signed up for college courses while working her job, and somehow still finding time for friends. In a way she reminded me a lot of my sister and how I would just love to be a bit more like her – and Sara too.

In Heat Wave we also see Noah and Jason again, as well as Brie and Abby – but we also get to meet new people from this big cluster of friends. I can’t wait to read Tony’s book. He grew on me so much and I’m curious to see how he’ll find his happy ending! A small big part of me hopes that maybe one day we’ll get Jer’s story as well?

Heat Wave is the third book in the Seasons of Love series, but can be read as standalone.

*a copy was provided via NetGalley

Genre: Contemporary Orientation: Bisexual Pairing: F/F Publisher: Riptide Publishing Review Tag: BDSM Tag: Friends to Lovers Tag: Part of a series Elyse Springer Heat Wave Seasons of Love