Fire and Snow

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

The Carlisle Cops Series by Andrew Grey is set in a small town in Pennsylvania. There are currently five books in this series, and I was very fortunate to be given a chance to read all five books in it. If you've read my previous reviews, you'll know I'm a fan of Andrew Grey's. There is just something about his stories and his men that just makes my heart sigh in happiness every time I read one of his books.

Fire and Snow, Book 4 in the Carlisle series has a new addition on the Carlisle police force, JD. JD is from the south and has been cut off from his family due to a scandal. One night on patrol he sees Fisher on a park bench. There's something about Fisher that gets JD's attention and he invites Fisher to join him and his friends for dinner. Fisher isn't sure what to think of JD and his friends, but he slowly comes out of his shell. Due to a wreck, Fisher has a traumatic brain injury that has caused mental health issues. Fisher lives a solitary life as his family and friends cut him out of their life completely. He goes to work, does his job, and comes home. When he needs a break, he sits on a bench and is ignored by everyone around him. Unexpectedly, when JD tells the police what he noticed one night while sitting on the bench, he gets unexpected consequences, both positive and negative. Positively, he gains a friend in JD and eventually, if he learns to trust and let someone in his life, he will find love.

Each book in this series has focused on a different issue that is seen as a negative in society and helped it be viewed differently and this book is no different. With Fisher, we're able to see the backstory that led to his drug use and why his life is solitary. In many cases, people would probably sympathize with Fisher's family, not Fisher but in this story it's not the case. It's a reminder about unconditional love and how not everyone has that in their life. Fisher's story really was heartbreaking and it showed just how quickly, through no fault of your own, that your good life could unravel. And JD was so perfect and accepting, without coming across as naive. He needed Fisher just as much as Fisher needed him.

And again, this story was about more than JD and Fisher. These Carlisle police officers do more than fall in love. They're working to keep their town safe and along with that, we get a mystery as we try to figure out who's the bad guy in this book. All of our previous characters are back, and we get some great time on the page with them. I just love these characters more the further I read into this series and love the stories of hope, family, love, understanding, openmindedness and friends that's so prevalent.

Rating: 5 stars!

Book – Fire and Snow (Carlisle Cops #4)
Author – Andrew Grey
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 200
Cover – Hot!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Absolutely!

What an excellent addition to this series!
First I want to say I was very luckily given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.... Lucky me indeed. I adore this series; although I'll find it almost impossible to top to Carter, Donald and little Alex's story, this one was just as heart wrenching.

First, we had JD; we'd seen him in previous stories but didn't know much about him. He's a good cop who left his hometown when a scandal and his family turning their back on him made him want to start over somewhere new. Having an aunt he was close to give him the strength and encouragement to be who he is was amazing. I was sad he lost her and even sadder that his mother was so awful about her and their relationship. They got the last laugh though and it ended up being what brought them together. I didn't care for his mother AT ALL in the beginning but I'm glad she eventually saw what was most important in life. Having two young kids myself (actually, not so young anymore, my oldest turned 13 today... whaaaaat?)
I don't care what my kids do; who they choose to love or what they choose to do with their lives as long as they're happy and decent people.... that's enough for me. (Although, I'll strive for them to be a little more than decent.. I mean, I've put a lot of hard work into them haha) Still, I hated that JD didn't have the support that he needed from his family but was glad he had his aunt.

Then, we have Fisher. Fisher broke my heart and continued to do it. After a car accident leaves him with some mental disabilities; bipolar, depression, bouts of paranoia and panic and anxiety attacks; he's just looking to settle into a routine that keeps him balanced. Everyone in his life turned against him and maybe some of it was justified; certainly not the abandonment of his family. Again, as a mother myself, shame on his family.
He pulled himself out of the depths of all things bad though and worked everyday to be a better person. That's admirable and hard to do. I liked seeing someone less than perfect, striving to be better; it was real and genuine and an every day problem for some people. I love stories that people can relate to and this one was perfect.
It was hard for Fisher to get close to JD and accept that he was good enough and that JD liked him for him. He was constantly thinking that JD deserved better and sometimes tried to push him away. I was glad JD put up a fight and went after what he wanted.

The plot twist and darkened story-line was easily guessed by the first few chapters. I knew who was behind everything I was just waiting and page turning to see how it all played out; so while it was angsty to an extent, it wasn't a mystery and it made me antsty because I just wanted to get to how it played out. I didn't like the weasly boyfriend of the ex and I wanted to see him get what he had coming to him. For everyone who follows my reviews; you'll know I hate when the bad guys get away with being bad guys... I need them to get their karmatic kick in the teeth or I don't feel vindicated... is that weird? Probably... do I care? Nahhhh

Other than that; I loved seeing Carter, Donald and Alex; I love that Alex is a happy kid now with his Daddy and Papa; I love seeing the progress they made as a family and that everyone is still, happy and healthy and together.
I loved seeing Terry and Red; Red was another of my favorites and I enjoy reading about he and Terry whenever they come up; and even Jos and Kip even though they weren't mentioned a lot in this series I was happy to see everyone doing well.
I adore this author and I adore this series but that doesn't mean I'm biased; it means I have heavy expectations and every one of them were met in this story....

Overall; this was a great addition to an already fantastic series and I can't wait to read more!

Book – Fire and Snow (Carlisle Cops #4)
Author – Andrew Grey
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 200
Cover – Hot!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Yes.
Genre – LGBT, Crime, Police, Action, Romance
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine

Disclaimer: This is the first book I've ever read of this author, including of this series. I read it out of order, purely to provide this review, but I can say – after reading and reviewing this book – that I'll be going back to the beginning, to read the rest.
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To start with, I really like the author's style of writing. The story is told in this subtle, understated way that makes everything important, so that you're never quite sure what is relevant to the case that's being investigated. I'm a total sucker for cop stories, so the fact that I was never quite sure what was happening or where the story might lead was fun and new for me. I can generally guess the direction of 'mysteries' quickly, but I couldn't with this.
As for it being a part of a series, I really like the secondary characters, who I assume are the focus of the previous books in the series. Meeting them here was kind of fun and I look forward to going back to the start of this series and reading them in order. However, I will point out that I didn't ever feel like I was missing anything. Having started the series at book 4, it easily reads as a standalone. There's never a situation or suggestion of something I desperately want to know more about, but have missed, because I haven't read the other books.
Despite the terrible relationship that JD and Fisher have with their families, there is still a fraction of a relationship that makes it interesting. JD's mother is quite the character and I really feel for both of them, understanding their natures, their feelings and the situations they've found themselves landed in, and how that makes them feel.
As main characters, JD and Fisher are both pretty much perfect. They're relatable, real and have the natural human reactions that I hope for and expect, when reading a crime/cop story. The addition of a cop/civilian relationship really helps with this, as the cop inevitably takes most things in his stride, with the civilian shows the realistic, human nature reaction.
On a similar note, I have to admit that I really love how Fisher's health is explained and explored throughout the book. The bipolar aspect is just one of a million things that Fisher has to deal with and – as someone with an invisible illness myself – I can really sympathise and relate with him. Not all illnesses have to be out of control and wildly exaggerated, to look real in a book. Some are naturally below the surface, more emotional than physical and can be controlled or handled with medication. Some of the things he said or thought about himself are also way too closely linked to things I've thought or felt myself.
There's a real sense of sensitivity, but reality, used for Fisher's health as well as JD's home situation. Just because it's not nice to talk about, the author never shies away from showing both the negative side effects as well as the emotional fall out, when things don't work out as planned. The few episodes that Fisher has throughout are both real, well handled and illuminating – I hope! – for those who don't understand health issues that have a triple effect: emotionally, mentally and physically.
The romance is handled in a similar way; understated and sweetly, with enough realism to make sure that all the big and little things are what you would expect of a real life relationship. Whether that means JD getting caught up with work, Fisher having an episode or withdrawing into himself, they're all important factors of how two people communicate with each other.
On the negative side, there wasn't much I could find. A few small information dumps, at the start, that tried to help us place the character, town and situations into context. They were slightly out of place, which was why I noticed them, but there was never anything more than a few sentences, and they were easily forgiveable.
There were a few phrases that I assume are American or Southern in nature, that I didn't really understand:
“spelling him for lunch”
“woofy”
However, none of this really affected the understanding of the story.
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Overall, I loved everything about the story. It was sweet, well planned and had enough action to fit a good cop story, with mystery and an intriguing case to follow.
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Favourite Quote
“He was forgettable and easy to write off and put away. Don't look at Fisher and he'll just go away. And that's what had happened with his family and the people who had once been in his life. They'd stopped looking, and he'd in effect gone away.”
““I hope he's happy,” Fisher said.
“To hell with that,” JD countered. “I hope he gets crabs, his nuts blow up and explode, and then his dick shrivels to the size of a button mushroom.””
“Sometimes a kiss, or a touch” – JD put his hand on Fisher's, surrounding it in warmth – “is just two people saying hello...with possibilities.”

Fisher Moreland and JD Burnside have been cast out of their families for different reasons, and it seems like since their first encounter they have more in common than what they thought.
Fisher works for a company as a dispatcher and spends the majority of his time at work or alone. He keeps to himself and hardly trusts anyone.
JD is a Carlisle Cop, besides being at work and having occasional down time with his fellow officers and friends, he also spends lots of his time alone.
What started as an act of friendship from JD changes to something different and while Fisher was afraid of telling JD his past, he tried to open himself to the possibilities.
The past came lurking and Fisher's stability is threatened … JD does his best to protect Fisher and show him how valuable he is.
The way they learned more about their pasts, families and try to work through it made them closer and made them fight to be the love each other needs.

This is such a fantastic and entertaining series. With each book that comes our way this world gets bigger and better. Book four we have JD and Fisher’s story. JD works for the Carlisle police department, transferred up there after a situation forces him to leave his hometown for greener pastures. Fisher is struggling with so much when JD finds him. Fisher hasn’t run from his hometown he’s right smack in the middle of all of his demons and trying to just survive. And for Fisher that’s not easy. With a mental illness due to an accident his everyday life has been a battle. Until he meets JD…
What I loved about this story, which is what I love about this whole series, is there’s the hero aspect but there’s the realism to it. Real issues and a wonderful swoon-worthy love story. I’m a softy for the rescue. It doesn’t have to be from a fire, or a stalker, it can just be one soul rescuing another and in JD and Fisher’s case that’s really what this was.
Also, a huge perk was seeing some of the guys from the other books, and sweet sweet Alex. I love that kid!
This truly is a wildly entertaining, exciting, terrific series from Andrew Grey and I highly recommend Fire & Snow as I do the whole Carlisle Cops series.