Amanda Young - Pyromancer

One desperate night, a rent boy hot enough to scorch the motel sheets, meets a man doomed to burn for love.

Christian Ryder is a lonely man because of his strange abilities; pyromancy, a curse that causes the temperature to dangerously rise whenever Christian grows excited. He has accidentally hurt lovers in the past and has sworn off personal attachments.

Tanner O’Bannon is broke and desperate. The recent loss of his father has thrown Tanner into a tailspin of debt he can’t afford to pay. Working as a rent boy allows him to pay the mortgage and his college tuition, but it’s burning away his soul in the process.

Through the machinations of an escort agency these men are thrown together. Smoldering embers of desire fan the flames of love, but will it be enough to make Christian overcome his fear of love, or to save Tanner from the fire?

Comment: The second m/m book I've read this month was Pyromancer. It's the story of Christian, a man with powers and abilities with fire and because of that he fears he might hurt the person he's with so he stays away from relationships. Tanner's a young man working to pay off his deceased father's debts. One might they meet each other because Christina asks for a male escort and Tanner shows up and each one makes an impression on the other that won't be easily forgettable. Then there's the fact Christian knew Tanner's father...

First of all, this is a easy story to read and with this I mean it's not emotionally heavy. I like emotional stories but sometimes it's just so sad and considering Tanner's work I thought this would be the case, but is was surprisingly lighter than what I imagined because Tanner wasn't that deep into things he couldn't see past that.

Both characters have to deal with some inner issue before admitting they might want to be in a relationship: for Tanner is the need to be someone different, someone who can different from what he imagined he had to be because of all the problems in his life. For Christian is the knowledge he can be with someone without hurting them and to trust his secrets to someone he loves.

In terms of feelings and sentiments the story is quite interesting and I was eager to see them falling in love. The plot, however, isn't perfect in my opinion. Christian has to struggle with the pyromaniac abilities and what they mean to him but to be honest I don't think it was such a bid deal and it wasn't that important in the story except for one strategic moment. I imagined it would be a huge issue for Christian to get over and Tanner would prove to be the help he needed but the whole concept wasn't explored as I pictured.

Then there's the villain.I get there had to be some kind of antagonism - besides their own reluctance to admit things - but the way the villain showed up and played out wasn't very tidy, it felt like it was there just to something else happen, or to make things go along but I didn't feel the necessity to play things like that. I actually think, in a different story path the villain could actually not exist.

Anyway, apart from this, the story was interesting enough, emotionally speaking, to make me want to know how it ended and I was happy to see it.