Such an interesting small town, opposites-attract, grumpy-sunshine romance. Main characters River Alfaro and Logan Sonelli are new neighbours in their apartment block and get off to a rocky start. Logan fights wildfires, so he travels away a lot and is uninvolved in his community, and single. He is also divorced and struggling with guilt and regret. River is a wildlife behaviorist who has also experienced a failed relationship and she is new to a job at the local nature museum. She is amusing herself with new hobbies and revisiting her childhood list of animals to see, which includes a Sierra Nevada red fox. This hunt for a fox becomes the connector when Logan and River go hiking together as he knows the area and is well placed to show River around.

Logan is suffering from low-level depression and is shutting himself off from his friends and family while River is naturally gregarious and has both the social skills and the nous to engage with her work colleagues and make friends. River is a wonderful character – she is funny and optimistic and brave – a delightful mix of sensible and zany which is so attractive to Logan.

She draws Logan out and they begin to appreciate their differences and each other. When she stands up for him at an award function, their connection intensifies. Their text messages and conversations are funny and increasingly intimate.

The author’s note mentions love scenes – rather than sex scenes – and this is a terrific description of the character’s increasing closeness. And shout out to the power of hugs which are used so well to show their growing emotional intimacy.

If the heart of the novel is two lonely people finding each other, then the mind is about climate change and the enduring impact of wildfires. Unfortunately, this impact is mostly shown from a human perspective. Even though River works with wildlife, she doesn’t appear to consider the effect of fires on animals, or how loss of habitat impacts regional biodiversity.

Logan’s work with fires, and the fires themselves, happen largely off the page. The reader sees him with his mates, camping at fire sites, but he doesn’t get ‘down and dirty’ on location. As an Australian reader, where we are constantly battling drought and the resulting bushfires that are increasingly frequent, I would have loved to read more about how the fires are fought and what happens when they burn out of control.

Janine Amesta’s writing is terrific, and her imaginative settings makes her books sing. She’s an autobuy author for me. Overall, even with some missed opportunities for a bigger conversation, Love in a Time of Wildfires is a warm-hearted and tender romance with loveable characters finding each other.

Thank you so much Janine Amesta for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Laura Black is a romance editor, reader and reviewer based in Queensland, Australia. You can visit me on Instagram @laura_black_reads