Books & Spoons Review for EXPLOSIVE FORCES by D.D. Ayres

Danger is heating up…

When Carly Reese’s beloved fashion boutique catches fire, she sees her dreams go up in smoke. The good news is that Carly was saved from the flames by a barking dog nearby. She soon discovers the heroic pooch is a trained K-9 who’s guarding his unconscious partner …a gorgeous firefighter who ends up in Carly’s arms.

Noah Glover and his K-9 are a fearless duo, and Noah has clearly met his match with the brave, beautiful Carly. Soon they team up to track down the arsonist behind the blast – a psychotic criminal who’s intent on framing Noah. Meanwhile, the sparks between Noah and and Carly could ignite a five-alarm fire. Should they smother their feelings in the name of justice…or fan the flames of passion?

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The story takes off with tension and fear filled moments in the darkness of the night where lives are at stake and I was hooked. Immediately my expectations of the story went sky high and I wish that wouldn't have happen because the next morning things got awkward. 
Noah is in the hospital and turns out this gorgeous hero of the book is very abrasive with sharp cutting edges when relating to others around him. At first, I tried to put it on the condition he was in and to the events the day before but it turns out that's just how he was, rather arrogant and rude person who only soften when around his son. Yes, Noah has had it tough, with many setbacks and tragedies, but this is just me, I don't have much sympathy for unnecessary rudeness in any form. 
And then in walks Carly, the heroine who saved Noah's life the night before. She has found out about a rumor that Noah might have tried to kill himself at the fire. And Carly walks in yelling at him, not listening to a word Noah has to say, just being judgemental, rude, overbearing, and rumbling all over this person whom, to her knowledge, tried to kill themselves the night before. Who, what, I mean what kind of person does that?! A little compassion, consideration, kindness, and humbleness go a long way. 
So the impression the main characters made on me wasn't that flattering. As the story unfolds the reasons for their behavior comes clear, but not justifiable in my mind. 
Their connection to each other is running as hot and heavy as their tempers. I wasn't prepared for their relationship to turn physical at the hello. It had no foundation, no base to built on, it was basically a hook up in the heat of the moment.   After that, I eagerly looked for 'more' in their connection, I really wanted to like them as characters, like them together, and root for them, and their nearly managed to pull me on their side. The epilog didn't work for me, it just proved to me that what I had thought at the beginning was actually correct. So the romance side of the story was a wash for me, furthermore, it made my mind wonder while reading at the cost of the suspense side of the tale. 
The story is told from many different points of views, I like it when I get to see the culprit's thoughts, to better understand their reasons, how delusional they might be, but in my opinion, it gives more depth to a story. What I wasn't prepared for was Harley's point of view, the K-9 dog. I loved him, he is a trooper with his eating disorder, but I had to go over the pages couple times to confirm it really was Harley here talking and thinking. It was just distractive and didn't really give anything to the plot. 
The suspense  behind the crimes was alluring. The mystery held my interest so that I kept reading despite the other issues. The strain at the arson investigator's offices was concerning and the possibility that Noah might not win the fight against the villain chilling. And as lives are at the stake again, the actions of the offender petrify. 
So no, this wasn't my favorite story in the series. Someone else might not find the issues I faced a problem at all, might even enjoy them. But from my end, the suspense saved some of the character falls, making the final score
~ Two Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

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