Smokescreen by Terri Blackstock was my first time reading a book by this author. I loved her writing. She has an amazing ability to draw out emotion in a reader, whether happy, sad, or mad.

Brenna Strickland is a single mother fighting her ex for custody of her children. Nate Beckett is a smokejumper who is home for the first time in over a decade after suffering burns while fighting a wildfire. They’re relationship is about as complicated as it can get.

You see, Brenna and Nate are childhood sweethearts. Until Nate’s dad was convicted of murdering Brenna’s father. Brenna and Nate broke up, went their separate ways; Brenna married Jack and Nate escaped town after it was insinuated that he burned down the church.

Fast forward to today. Brenna has turned to alcohol to manage her pain and Nate has to face his father who was just pardoned by the govenor. Is there too much history between them or can they help one another face what’s coming?

Like I mentioned, Terri Blackstock is a master at pulling out emotion. Never have I wanted a character to lose or be the bad guy as much as I did when Brenna fought her ex. Though she was not my favorite character, I was rooting for her children and their happiness Nate, however, was a great character. I liked everything about him, from his humility to his willingness to wade into messy situations.

While I admire Terri Blackstock’s writing, the story itself wasn’t my favorite. It was hard to follow the changing point of view because they were both in first person. But more, Brenna’s struggle with alcohol seemed to take over the story and Nate’s firefighting and investigating action not given enough attention.

Overall, I can’t give this story as high marks as I’d like, but I will definitely be checking out other books by Terri Blackstock. Her writing is great and I hope I can find a plot that matches her skill.

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I received this book free from NetGalley in order to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”