Flame by Adriana LockeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Valentine PR, all opinions are my own. I immediately dropped this book and didn't put it down until I finished. I read it in two sittings and it delivered on all of the things you would have wanted from a series finale. It has all of the feels and spice to boot.
This is the long awaited series conclusion of the Carmichael Family series where we finally get to see the elusive Foxx Carmichael in his natural habitat. Foxx is the eldest of the Carmichael siblings, and while you don't have to read all of their books first, you are going to want to so you understand their family dynamics and all of the inside jokes. This is a complete standalone, so if you start here you will be perfectly fine. Those of us who have been longtime fans of the series, have been waiting to get to know the broody silent brother for quite some time. We met Bianca briefly in The Proposal as she is Renn Brewer's sassy sister. This is also where we get some major insight into what Foxx does all day when he isn't being tormented by Banks shenanigans. Don't worry you don't need to read that book either, but I highly recommend it!
This book opens with a classic Banks prank, if you know you know. If you don't know Banks, lets just say he lives for pulling pranks on his brothers, this time it is Foxx's turn. Foxx is saved by his best friend Jason and his sister Bianca. Foxx and Bianca have a complicated relationship which is code for they are attracted to each other but because of personal and professional relationships they haven't moved out of the friend zone. Bianca and her family have been dealing with the fallout of some very bad and possibly illegal decisions their father made and as acting president of the company she is very stressed and the target of those decisions gone wrong. Jason and Foxx convince her to stay with Foxx for a pseudo vacation while things calm down at home and she will be out of the spotlight. Her legal team is busy going over all of the contracts her dad drew up and they find one requiring Bianca be married by her next birthday or the family business she worked so hard on will be majorly impacted. She never wanted to get married, but when Foxx demands she marry him to protect herself it doesn't sound so bad. They agree to a marriage of convivence but quickly come to realize that their feelings for each other aren't so fake after all and things quickly heat up.
Foxx and Bianca were such a fun couple. He is broody and quiet, while she is talkative and goes a mile a minute. They perfectly balance each other. Their relationship took off really quickly, but they had a backstory so this doesn't have an insta-love feel to it because they were friends prior and know each other well. We've been waiting for a long time to get to know Foxx who typically communicates in grunts or one word sentences, and it was so nice to see him open up and have actual conversations with Bianca. At the same time Bianca is this powerful CEO who has her own personal struggles. She is strong supporting everyone else and the company and forgets to take care of herself, it was so nice to see her be embraced by Foxx's family unit and find the support she didn't know she needed. They had great chemistry and the spicy scenes will not disappoint. There were a lot of other great scenes but I don't want to spoil anything.
This was a great ending and a nice crossover book with the Brewer series with the next book out at the end of December. I loved the appearances with the other Carmichael siblings and their partners as well as their parents who are lovely. Damaris also finally gets her couch which I loved!
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