Into the Fire by Cherie Marks

Into the Fire
Cherie Marks
The Wild Rose Press


Into the fire is a delightful story of romance succeeding in spite of a rocky start.  I loved the characters, Shyann and Luke, and the situation that they find themselves in. Shyann is furious with Luke when the story begins, because until two months before, they had been involved, and Shyann caught Luke in a lie.  Now they are competing against each other on a television program to see who can come up with the best Valentine's date meal, without knowing until the last minute what 'secret' ingredient they must include. Luke makes a deal-if he wins, she will go to dinner and let him explain why he hid things from her. If she wins, he will leave her alone. But Luke doesn't intend to lose, and that is what makes this story so much fun: the lengths Luke goes to are, at times, sneaky and hilarious.


I really loved these characters. Ms. Marks did a wonderful job in making them real and human, with doubts and insecurities. Luke is a very handsome and determined suitor, and he wants to explain why he had to hide his actions from Shyann. He is not above trickery and subterfuge to get to her. Shyann thinks he was just using her before, especially since he never tried to talk to her in the two months since the big discovery. She finds out, finally, that her sister had run interference, blocking Luke's calls from her. I was delighted to watch these two trade barbs and kisses in equal numbers, and was happy to see that Luke was able to win her heart again. I also like the surprise of who actually finally spilled the beans about everything, and I hope to see more in this world from Ms. Marks-most notably Shyann's sister's story (please?)