Playing With Fire

By Gena Showalter

Book Overview

Used to be my greatest achievement was holding a job more than three days. Now suddenly I can shoot fireballs, chill your drink or blow-dry your hair at fifty paces with a blink of my eye It all started when this crazy scientist dropped something in my Grande Mocha Latte. Of course I got wicked sick. Next morning I'm waking up with this total hottie bending over me. He tells me 1) his name's Rome Masters, 2) he's a government agent and 3) I can control the four elements with a thought. He seems even less pleased by my (apparently irreversible) transformation than I am.... Because now he'll have to kill me.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373771290
• ISBN13: 9780373771295
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: HQN Books
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.6" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Fun read!

Belle Jamison wants to keep her dreary job so she can continue supporting her father. Instead, she is slipped a potion by a scientist on the run and now finds herself in control of all four elements. Or, at least somewhat in control as she does have a tendency to set fires! Rome Masters is the secret agent assigned to neutralize Belle. Meanwhile, a rogue agency wants control of Belle for their own devious means. Sparks are about to literally fly as Belle and Rome are PLAYING WITH FIRE! PLAYING WITH FIRE displays Gena Showalter's writing at her finest! The characters are superbly developed and the plotline is fantastic. Belle is a sassy heroine with a wicked sense of humor. Rome is the perfect, logic based male hero to handle someone like Belle and the attraction between them is simply sizzling. Tanner Bradshaw is an absolutely hilarious sidekick and one can only hope he will get his own story one day as he would make a great main character. PLAYING WITH FIRE is a wonderful blend of humor, action, and the paranormal all wrapped up in a steamy romance. Gena Showalter has a gift for creating fun stories and PLAYING WITH FIRE is pure entertainment. I couldn't stop laughing throughout this enjoyable story. Easily recommended! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Playing With Fire

Belle Jamison leads an ordinary life, sort of. She can't keep a job and she has no love life. She's just about to lose her job at a coffee shop when a strange thing happens. During a melee, a scientist slips Belle a compound that gives her supernatural powers. Now she can start fires, freeze people and control the elements. Pretty cool, huh? While Belle is suffering with what she thinks is the flu, or food poisoning, government agent Rome Masters enters her life. Rome knows he should turn Belle over to his employers, but he can't quite do that. He wants her to help him with a problem. While running from two different groups of people, the pair fight a powerful attraction that has built between them. Playing with Fire is a fantastic blend of humor, warmth, sex, and adventure. Belle is an unlikely heroine, who struggles to control her new abilities. Rome is a sexy agent that I fell in love with the minute he entered the room. Together, Belle and Rome make a powerful pair. One of the things I loved the most about them was the care and concern they showed not only for each other, but for their family members. Playing with Fire is a roller coaster ride that will take a reader through spills, chills and thrills. When it's over you'll be wondering what's next for the fascinating characters, and their unique supporting cast, which includes fun loving Tanner and a sexy agent who can plug himself into an electrical socket, literally. The tagline on this novel says "Tales of an Extra Ordinary Girl." This book definitely lives up to its boast. Amelia Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Non-stop action!!!

My friend and i both read this book and we LOVED IT!!!!! there was action, comedy, romance and other great things, complete with a perveted kid you gotta love and the 'hot' ex. the love between Belle and Rome was really good. i couldn't put the book down!

Lots of fun

I loved the storyline. The story just sucked you in and you had to find out what would happen next!

When Life's not Quite Exciting Enough...

Along come mad scientists, secret sub-government agencies and...control over the four elements? In a non-stop thrill of a laughter-inducing ride, one simple gal just trying to make a buck finds out there's more to life than coffee and the next lame job. Only problem is, will her new talents consume her, or will she master the potentially volatile forces? Belle Jamison needs a new job to support not only her needs, but those of her elderly father too. She's trying extra hard not to screw up the job she has currently as well as the interview she's got later the same day. Only problem is she's a bit of a smart alec and she's hanging by a thread because of it. When a man bursts into the coffee shop where she works, begging for help, it's Belle who catches his eye. Hours later, after being detained by some pretty convincing agents, Belle's not feeling so hot. All she had was a mocha latte, so why the sudden flu-like symptoms? In a haze, she stumbles through her interview and barely makes it home where she collapses. The next morning doesn't bring any relief and to make matters worse, there's a hot man at her side--only his hotness is not the issue--his wanting to kill her is. With new powers come all new problems and Belle has to find a way to get back to simple `ole her. Only, she might be starting to like the new her... Belle's story is in first person, so anyone not fond of those need be aware of this. Belle is perhaps one of my most favorite female leads I've ever encountered in a romance. She's determined, loyal to the good side and she knows what she wants and goes after it. Plus, she's got some faults and she's not afraid to admit it. It's the combination of her pluses and minuses that make her so unique. The dialogue throughout, with whomever she interacts with, is riddled with laugh-out-loud wit and I was very impressed with how the secondary characters shown through. Rome's role as hero was no less emphasized than Belle's and he is hot, hot hot! The addition of his family lent the story a desperate feel at times as he and Belle strive to make the world a safer place for people like them. If you are a fan of first person comedy/paranormal romances, heroines that save the day make you smile, heroes that make you sigh and a great cast of secondary characters, then I can't recommend this one enough. The plot wraps up very nicely, but sounds as if it might continue with more? Either way, I was thrilled and would love to see more if Ms. Showalter chooses to do so.