Red-Haired Ash Reads

When Cooper comes to Sedona for a season on the fire crew, he never expects to find his fated mate. Abby Carson is a single mom and blacksmith who is being tasked with replicating multiple versions of an axe she made over three years ago in memory of a fallen firefighter. She has been told she is partnering with Cooper and at first does everything to keep him at a distance. But the more time she spends with Cooper the more she realizes he is a good man and a decent blacksmith. 

This was a really enjoyable slow building romance with a bear shifter and a magic using blacksmith. Abby is a woman determined to give her child a better life than she had, and is succeeding. She is a strong, determined, and independent woman who has never needed a man but has realized she wants one. I really enjoyed the slow progression of Abby’s trust of Cooper and how she slowly started to rely on him. It really made for a great slow building relationship built on trust and admiration of each other. 

Cooper was a bear shifter and firefighter. He came to Sedona for the season to work on their fire crew but instead finds himself working with Abby on axes for his fire crew. From the beginning, Cooper respected Abby and her abilities. He never questions if she is a competent blacksmith or if she was a good firefighter. He just accepts that she is a strong woman in a field usually dominated by men and judges her on what she shows him.  Cooper was a sweet and protective bear who wanted to help Abby but waited until she asked before doing anything. Cooper was everything I could want in a protective and accepting male character. 

Like I said, these two had a slow building relationship that grew as they worked on crafting the axes. While they got to know each other their attraction, which had been there from the beginning, grew and it made them realize they needed to get over their pasts to build a future together. Overall, I really enjoyed this couple and their story. This was a great ending for this series and I really enjoyed getting to know each of the sisters and this magical town of Sedona. 

TW: mentions of neglectful parents, abandonment, child abuse and sexual assault; mentions of death of a sibling from a wild fire; 

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

1. Wind Whisperer
2. Fire Dancer