Ember

Ember?! Shit, the book was a raging inferno!! Complete with plenty of sexy times, a little bit of suspense, and a whole lot of Gallo/Caldo family!! I love how the kids are growing up, having kids of there own and finding love!! There is also plenty to make you cry in this book - both happy and sad tears! But if you can get past the beginning of the book, where your heart gets ripped to shreds, you are rewarded with more love than you can imagine!! I completely forgot about doing much of anything else today, except for reading this book!! Loved everything about this book and the Gallo family feels like family! Yes, I know there fictional! But isn’t that a sign of a brilliant writer - when they can make you forget your troubles and you know the characters so well they feel like there yours!! Most definitely a five star read!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4 people found this helpful

Great story

After finishing Spark, I was a little worried about what Chelle Bliss had in store for Ember, book seven in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series. Having read all the previous books I was convinced that I have already read my favourite but I wasn’t counting on James and Izzy’s son Rocco who I adore.

Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Connor Crais they did a good job bringing this story to life.

I fell hard and fast for this swoon worthy, caring, protective and passionate man and knew that the woman who earned his love would need to be special. When I learnt that the woman who burrowed deep down into his soul is Rebel, a woman from his past and that she is also a single mum, I knew we were in for one heck of a ride.

This was a fast paced, passionate, story which will keep you on the edge of your seat as danger and suspense unfolds. Reading a book about any member of the Gallo family is for me like catching up with much loved family members.

There is humour, steam, tears and an adorable little girl called Adeline who almost stole the book right out from under the Gallo clan. This book is all about love and family and what one will do for the person who holds their heart. I love this generation of the Gallo’s as much as the originals.

2 people found this helpful

From an ember comes the blaze

Rebel and Rocco were destined but a tragic accident rips them apart. Ten years later she's back but in trouble, the kind of trouble the Caldo family takes care of. The chemistry between these two is off the charts as old feelings long buried resurface. Throw in the charm of a sweet 5 year old and we, once again, have a winning Chelle Bliss work of art.

1 person found this helpful

Once a Gallo rocks your world you done

When you are young and dumb you think your invincible till. God clearly shows you you're not. Horrible accident changes everyone's life.
Then by pure luck you get to right a wrong being a GALLO MAN you already know theanswer

1 person found this helpful

Fan the flames

First, if you've never read or listened to a Chelle Bliss book, you need to! I'm fairly new to her books, but I'm loving every book. Including Ember. This second chance romance is so perfectly named. Things get dark and circumstances come between Rocco and Rebel, but the flame doesn't go completely out, even ten years later.
Rebel is a strong woman, determined to make it on her own, but the Caldo brothers don't give her much choice other than to let them help her. The chemistry between her and Rocco is off the charts, and these two really bring the heat. And Rocco - Well, Rocco is one of those completely swoony alpha males that you're not likely to forget, one that easily lands in the top ten book boyfriend list. Add in how thoroughly Rebel's very precocious five-year-old has him wrapped around her finger, and he's that much sweeter. We also get plenty of page time with Rocco's larger-than-life family, including some past favorites.
Samantha Brentmoor and Connor Crais voice these characters, and Chelle Bliss couldn't have chosen any better for Rocco and Rebel. The narration captures the emotion of the story perfectly. Whether it's danger or love or swoony heat, it all comes through loud and clear. I've listened to both of these narrators before, so I expected good things from them, and boy, did they deliver.
Finally, and this probably should've been first because it's the first thing you see, but can we take a second for some cover love? That's one hot cover for an equally hot leading man.

Second Chance

Broken by tragedy and torn apart by fear and guilt. Ten years have passed, and Rocco and Rebel get a second chance when Rebel returns home to start a new life for her and her daughter, Adaline. Unfortunately, Rocco and Rebel have a lot of emotional baggage to unpack. Rocco is still cocky, only now he's determined to protect her and her daughter. Rebel is still a strong woman; however, her confidence has taken some pretty heavy damage due to her past relationships and choice of lousy men.

Though not as swoony as the previous stories, I still enjoyed reading Ember. Rocco brings Rebel and her little girl around his family, who quickly make them feel at home during family dinner eve amid the fun and sometimes embarrassing conversations held around the table.

Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor did an excellent job with the emotional beginning of the story and carrying the emotion throughout.

Ember (Men of Inked: Heatwave #7)

STORY: I don’t even know what to concentrate the most about in my review because it was just all such a great package all around. Should I talk about Rocco and his swoon-worthy growth and development in the story? Should I talk about the passion and deliciousness that poured from the story? Should I talk about little Addy and how she stole the show every time she appeared? *happy sigh* Should I talk about Rebel and her history and how it just tore my heart to shreds but Chelle swooped in and gave me so much darn hope in all the things with her ridiculous writing skills? Should I talk about how spectacular this second chance to get things right storyline unfolded and had me captivated and glued to my kindle for hours on end? I can't chat about all of it or this review would go on forever (lol) so I'll just tell you that everything about this story gets a high 5 from me :)

PERFORMANCE: I have to say, I've never been a huge fan of Samantha Brentmoor's overall performance in past audios I have listened to, but with this one, she captured Rebel's personality (as I interpreted it) really well and Connor Crais and her worked well off each other!!

Sexy Suspense

Ember is a second chance, love after loss romantic suspense told in dual, alternating first-person POV. It is the seventh installment in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series of standalones, which can be read out of order (but I suspect readers may benefit from having some experience with the series before reading this).

After hearing great things about pervious books in this series, I was very excited to dive into this audiobook. I enjoyed it, but I felt like there was some set up of the Caldo family that would have helped me connect with this story a bit more if I had read some or all of the previous books. I am neutral on insta-love - I don’t go looking for it, but it doesn’t turn me away either - but in this case it seemed like Rocco’s rapid and consuming connection to Rebel was considered a family trait of sorts, and when all the men were sitting around basically mansplaining to Rocco his own feelings, I felt like I was missing something. The only way I could reconcile it was to fill in the gaps with my understanding of werewolves imprinting from Twilight (though, to be clear, this is a contemporary romance, no monsters involved). I like that Rocco was part of a warm and welcoming family, and the way both he and his family took in Rebel and her daughter made me swoon. I was a little disappointed that there was a lot of build-up regarding Rocco’s sexual preferences and history with a BDSM club, but we did not get to see this couple explore that much (other than a teasing mention in the epilogue).

I am very glad I chose the audiobook for this story. Both narrators gave wonderful performances, and Samantha Brentmoor has now officially solidified a place on my list of favorite narrators! She does such a phenomenal job not only bringing the heroine to life, but also portraying the hero during her chapters in a way that is true-to-character (and also pretty sexy - her male voice is on par with some of my favorite male narrators)!

Overall, I enjoyed this listen and am considering trying out some of the other books from earlier in this series to better my understanding of this interesting family.

Sweet, heartwarming, and spicy

The narrators had enthralling voices. I was pulled into the story. This was the first of the series I read so it does definitely work as a stand alone. I really enjoyed the dual POVs and the story. They have a connection and history that can’t be denied. I connected well with the characters and enjoyed the ride. It was sweet and heart warming but also spicy.

Danger & Suspense, Humor & Heat! A+ narration!

Ember is a fast paced, passionate, and exciting story that kept me engaged and eager to see what would happen next! There is danger & suspense, humour & heat. Rocco and Rebel were so likeable and fun, I was rooting for them the whole way! Narrated by Connor Crais and Samantha Brentmoor, this was an audio treat! A rather short listen, but not lacking in story or characters. I loved it!