seriously romantic: branded by firelight by paula altenburg

branded by firelight finds claire brand returning home to sweetheart, montana for her sister's wedding. claire was always the model child, the most likely to succeed, but something about her is changed. no one knows that she had a baby and gave it up for adoption. it's been a year to the day of her sister's wedding, and all she can fixate on is how her life went off the rails.

she doesn't expect to bond with groomsman ben nichols. he'd always been a flirt, and claire's been burned by men enough to last her a lifetime. but being with ben is easy and fun. he knows how to make awkward silences no big deal. he soothes her in just the right ways.

and even though claire thinks it's all temporary, that there's no way a man like ben would stick around, especially once he knew her secret. especially ben given his own abandonment issues. but she doesn't give him enough credit. because the more time ben spends with claire, the more he wants to convince her that it's okay to come home again.

branded by firelight has some really surprising emotional heft, the impact of adoption and the scars of child neglect and abandonment are dealt with in ways that deepen the story without ever being glib or too easy. ben and claire have delightful chemistry and this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

**branded by firelight will publish on february 6, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/tule publishing in exchange for my honest review.