Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.


This was my first Hannah Grace book, as I did not read Icebreaker first. (I know this is a story with some overlapping characters, but it can be read as a standalone.) Obviously, the romance between the MCs is the main plot in this, and it probably why a lot of people would want to read it, but it was so much more than that. While Aurora and Russ are very into each other, and their budding relationship is covered beginning at a college party and continuing through their time as camp counselors, the other issues they were dealing with seemed like the more important elements. Russ is dealing with his father's gambling addiction and ill treatment of his family, leaving Russ to cope with feelings of loss, anxiety, and never feeling like he's good enough for anyone. Aurora is dealing with basically being abandoned by her wealthy father, and how desiring his attention has made her act out in ways she isn't proud of. She's been led to destructive behavior for most of her life, and she's trying to take the summer to really focus on changing herself for the better. I felt that these elements really made for a much better, more in depth story, than just focusing solely on their romantic interest in one another. All in all, I felt it was a good, quick read, and I would recommend it to fans of the author and/or romance genre.

I am obsessed with this author so I was super stoked to get to read this one. I think I liked it better than the first one if I am being completely honest. Crazy I know. IT WAS JUST SO GOOD! READ IT!

I finally finished this book and I feel so accomplished. I started reading my copy of the ARC back in June because the book is set at a summer camp and it felt like it would be a fun, summer read. I ended up reading just under 50% before putting it down and then finally picking it back up the other day. I read Icebreaker, the author's other book, and I ended up having the same issues I had with Icebreaker with Wildfire. I had hoped that being picked up by a traditional publisher would have fixed the issues I had which all revolved around editing and pacing, but unfortunately those issues are still present.

The thing that had me setting this book down in the first place was the pacing. It is so slow and drags so badly during the middle portion of the book. The begging is a really good introduction to the characters and the ending felt like a bit of a cop out, but was also good. It was the middle section of the book that really struggled. Where I felt like Icebreaker was all smut and no plot, Wildfire was the opposite. There was limited smut, no plot, just lots of feelings and internal monologue. This is a nearly 400 page book. I can't do 400 pages of internal monologue over the same things. It was incredibly repetitive and had nothing really driving the plot other than Russ and Aurora having to sneak around and their daddy issues. Both things that ended up blowing over when they came to a climax and had no real impact on the characters or the plot.

I really wanted to love this because I have been dying for a summer camp romance. I went to the same camp for years as a kid and even ended up working there as a teenager. This book was literally written for me!!! But unfortunately wasn't written well.

I adored this book. Who knew a one night stand could do so much for your life. This book gave me all the feels of young love and summer camp.

Somehow I missed the first book in this series, but didn't feel lost. I love when you can read a book in a series and not realize you read them out of order. I am now going back and reading the first one.

Hannah Grace is a wonderful author in this genre. I have not been disappointed by any of her books. She has quickly become my go to when I want a sweet love story.

I really loved Icebreakers so was so excited to get the second book in the Maple Hills series from netgalley. I was totally here for the summer camp vibes and I liked how the relationship started at college and they did not realize they would be working at the same summer camp. The banter/tension between these two was off the charts. I also really liked how they both had family issues that the other was able to understand and support. I also liked that we got to see a lot of the characters from the first book and it was wonderful to see the hockey teams' ability to support one another. Russ and Rory are so cute together and were definitely made to end up together.

Book two in the Maple Hills series and it's charming! I love it when two damaged MCs come together in a relationship that isn't itself toxic. These two are sweet and it's HOT. More, please.

I’m all for the camp vibe! But I missed Maple Hills. This book was heavy, and I’m all about depth of characters but I got annoyed. The romance started the book with a BANG and then I wanted the push pull of camp life sneaking around but this didn’t have the playful flirty feel I expected.

The second book from Hannah Grace's Maple Hill's series, "Wildfire" gives adorable miscommunication tropes with an emotional depth I wasn't expecting. This instalment follows hockey boy Russ "Muffin"Callaghan as he tries to "fake it til you make" on the confidence front. After being the catalyst for rink disaster in "Icebreaker", Russ is a bit nervous about jumping into dating. Poor Russ really does not handle confrontation well, and he is the king of miscommunication from shyness. So when Aurora Roberts starts flirting with him, he decides to take his friend's advice and pretend he knows exactly what to do. A fumbled one night stand later puts Aurora and Russ on two different sides of the story. Which wouldn't be a problem if they didn't both end up working as counsellors across from each other for the next 10 weeks at Honey Acres camp.

Less of an enemies to lovers than "Icebreaker", this book plays out as more of a second chance romance. As a hockey nerd, I immediately jumped on "Icebreaker" when it came out earlier this year. I quickly fell in love with the Maple Hills crew and was super excited to get an ARC of "Wildfire". All that being said, if you are here for the romance on and off the ice, this book is WAY more off the ice. I know the first book did deal with some heavy stuff, but I feel this one had a lot more depth to it. Both of the characters were dealing with heavy trauma and watching them unpack their drama together was almost cathartic in a way. I'm really chopping at the bit to see who Grace lines up for us next. (Here's hoping for Henry).

This book was full of so many awesome tropes and Hannah Grace definitely nailed them all!
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher Atria books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an easy read romcom, which I love! But it also included so much more depth with each main character having their own internal struggles outside of their relationship but also outside of the college life they’re living. I liked that it didn’t completely surround college life, more realistic to include so much more to their lives.
This sweet couple has an actual romantic one night stand (if that’s possible) early in the book but rather than walking away and never seeing each other again they find themselves as camp counsellors at the same camp for the summer! So hilarious to watch them try to navigate their history and their persona traumas all while teaching 8-10 year old for the summer
The heart and soul in this story was so endearing that I will definitely pick up any other book in this series!
Released October 3, 2023

Thank you Hannah, for providing me with this e-arc. All opinions are my own, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"What if you fall?" "Then we'll fall together."

BIG RUSS AND RORY. Wow. I absolutely loved this book! I loved how shy Russ was, and how you never knew what to expect with Aurora.

I loved that this book was a little "deeper", and shared the struggles and issues with both of the protagonists families.

These two were suited so well to each other, balancing each other out, and allowing them to open up in a way they both haven't been able to with very many others.

I will read anything Hannah writes!!! Can't wait to see who's next in the Maple Hills story!!

I think this book is going to be the book of the fall- as a follow up to the Icebreaker sensation, it builds on the world and gives the reader more to chew on. As a story, I think it is tighter and a little deeper than its predecessor. I loved seeing Russ and Aurora’s relationship get deeper as they fell for each other- they were so easy to root for! They were both very human and figuring out how to figure things out together and that felt right for a new adult novel.

While I liked the character and the story, I found myself frustrated that every moment of tension and conflict was resolved immediately. I felt like every character wasn’t given the chance to feel any negative emotion for more than a page. This book had so much potential from great and likeable characters to a fun setting and equal fun plot, but there just weren’t any stakes for the characters. I was bored by the time the book ended cause I didn’t have to even worry about a big fight that Aurora and Russ would then come back from.

I wanted so much more. I wanted the book I could see if the author had just pushed her character just a little bit.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The characters are easy to fall in love with and returning to Maple Hills brought all the warm fuzzy feelings. Hannah Grace is incredibly talented in her writing abilities.

I really wanted to love this book a bit more than I really did. I adored the fact that we see friends from the previous book. I adore Russ and he is probably one of the sweetest characters in this book (originally, I was a little sad this second book wasn’t Henry’s book, but not anymore)!

The character growth of Rory is amazing to read too. She begins the book a bit immature and honestly she wasn’t my favorite character. But as the book continues, she really grows as a character. She and Russ are really good for each other and are adorable on the pages. They bond over their mutual family drama and then they both grow from being able to confide in each other.

My biggest “issue” with this book not getting more stars, is because I felt like it was a little slow at times. I honestly went from 2-4 stars at different points of the books (and there was a couple times where I left the book completely and had to return to it a little while later). Honestly, I kinda landed on 2.5 stars but rounded up because I really loved the epilogue. There were absolutely good points in the books, but there were several that I kinda wanted to skip through.

Thank you to the publishers, author, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series!

I thought this book was so fun and I enjoyed it a little more than Icebreaker (which I also did enjoy). I appreciate romances that have a little more substance so Russ and Aurora working through some heavy family problems fit that bill.

I thought the camp setting was great. I'm not sure I've read a book in this setting and I thought it was a great backdrop for the sneaking around the characters were doing. I did wish we got a little more of their interaction with the campers to flesh out the setting but nonetheless it was great.

One thing that makes or breaks romances for me is the inevitable fight that occurs close to the end and how realistic I think the conflict is. Once I get towards the end of a romance I start dreading what this conflict can possibly be and how overblown the reaction and "break up" is. I loved how that was handled here- the conflict was in line with the story and how I would expect the characters to handle it. However, it was resolved SO much faster, and I felt realistic, than many other stories in this genre.

I can't wait for the next installation in Maple Hills!

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Returning back to Maple Hills was a little dream of mine. I'm so glad that Hannah Grace decided to make this into a "series." While Icebreaker hit home for me, Wildfire will have a small spot in my heart. I loved the characters in this book! To see each character grow and change throughout the book was amazing. If you need a small steamy romance cute book, this is the one for you!!

Wildfire was an okay follow up to Hannah Grace’s debut novel Icebreaker, but fell somewhat short. The romance was mediocre at best, but the spice was pretty good. The relationship between the main characters was not very strong. The side characters were much more interesting.

I wanted to love this book when I started as I had thoroughly enjoyed Icebreaker. And there are parts of this book that I did love but as I went through this book, my rating fluctuated between 2 stars and 3 stars and 4 stars, I ended up at 3 stars for this book but there will be people who love it more than I did. Russ and Aurora at their core are great matches for one another and the chosen family part of this book is very charming. Where the book fell flat for me is that the writing, at moments, felt very repetitive and pedestrian and had moments of checking the romance dialogue boxes that felt a bit unnatural, which again is a shame because Russ and Aurora are a great match. And while we come to understand Aurora better, she is almost too immature in the beginning, even for a 20 year old. But maybe it was my mood and others will feel differently. It was a slightly disappointing follow up to Icebreaker for me but I am definitely not put off the series by it. Sits firmly in the middle. I ended up enjoying myself enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! The characters were so relatable. There are a few times because it was obvious that the author isn't from America based on the use of some of the words. The book is written as being in California but using some words we don't use here in America.

eARC received for review from NetGalley

4.5/5 ⭐️

After how much I loved Icebreaker I was super excited to read Wildfire, meaning I had high hopes for this book and Hannah Grace did not fail. I enjoyed this book so much that I honestly kept forgetting to take notes.

I am always so grateful for a good dual POV and in this case with both Aurora and Russ facing similar familial issues, the quality of writing really shined through because it never felt repetitive. It made it so much easier to relate to both Aurora and Russ and I loved that.

Through only two books, I have fallen in love with each character (main and side) and would, one thousand percent, read a book about each one of them. There are so many intertwined series out there with groups of friends where majority of the characters just fade into the background but that seems to be impossible with the Maple Hills cast. Each character written by Grace is just so uniquely them that you grow so attached to each and every one of them.

I do think my only dislike was the miscommunication trope but it was resolved SO quickly that I was very easily able to get over it.

Also Russ Callaghan I love you. Also also... <spoiler>book #3 Henry fake daing trope ??</spoiler>

Thank you to Hannah Grace, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.