Title: Stars on Fire
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  E.L. Todd 7/26/19
Length:  190 Pages
Series: Stars #1

Overview

I was happily married until the doctor gave me terrible news. My husband must have never really loved me because he left me shortly afterward. It’s been six months and I’m in a better place…but do you ever truly get over something like that?

Then I meet Neil Crimson.

The guy isn’t just handsome, smart, and charming. There’s something special about him.

He’s an astronaut.

He just returned from a three-month voyage at the moon and now he’s working at the NASA Space Center in Houston. He’s my best friend’s brother-in-law so I see him all the time. Every time we bump into each other, I like him a little more. 

After my divorce, I’m looking for something easy, something fun.

Neil Crimson seems easy and fun. 

I’m about to have a fling with an astronaut. How many people can say that?

My Thoughts

It’s nice that when i’ve been reading various series by E.L. Todd, that i’ll get the finale of a trilogy and then a bonus first book to a new series. That’s what happened here when I finished the Fighter. Something that i’ve noticed of a lot of these series, we have insanely intelligent (genius) hot sexy male leads taking over the pages, and just as impressive smart strong beautiful women partnering with them to keep a story going. this is no exception.

We meet out leading lady at the onset of this story – we watch Charlotte adapting to her life in the new normal. She’s recently divorced and trying to pick up the pieces of that failed marriage – and we only get hints for the first half of the story as to what caused the breakup. It seemed like she and her ex were well suited, they were madly in love with each other until they weren’t.

She’s got a great job to fall back on, amazing friends, and a new perspective on what her life should be now. it’s through her best friend Stacy and her husband Vic that we see a shine come back to Charlotte’s eyes. They are the kind of friends that you want to have because they’re there for it all. When Charlotte was down from the breakup, they picked her up. Vic didn’t have to – he’s Stacy’s husband, but he treats her like a little sister and that’s something special.

Things change when we’re watching a rocket landing and learn that it’s Vic’s brother Neil, who’s the astronaut piloting the mission and he’s finally back after 3 months away. There’s anxiety over having a successful landing, and once that happens, everyone’s happy for this hot sexy American Hero to be back on Earth.

From here, we watch a new friendship blossom. Neil is back on Earth, he’s in high demand because he’s smart, he’s one of the best, and he’s incredibly attractive. Women drop at his feet for his attention, everyone wants a piece of him because he’s the man of the hour, and all he wants is to make his family proud….even though he knows that they don’t like what he does for a living. (mind you we learn that his father was an astronaut that was killed in a rocket explosion at launch). He’s not looking for marriage or kids since he knows that he’ll be in space more than on Earth and his priority is always that. This makes for the perfect friendship because Charlotte doesn’t believe in marriage and it seems like kids aren’t her jam at this point in life. (for reasons that we learn later).

They are clearly attracted to each other but they don’t act on it. instead they develop a friendship, banter and enjoy what is new and different in their lives for the first time ever. It makes Vic uncomfortable that his brother is bonding with Charlotte in a way that wasn’t expected but, at the same time he likes to see two friends happy.

Of course as these stories go, whatever starts as purely platonic never ends well and we see something unique and interesting grow out of that. There’s a chemistry that they share and there’s a comfort that’s unexpected. Neither expects the heat and electricity that they feel together, and that leads to some of the hottest on brand scenes from our amazing author! Neil is protective of her in everything that causes her pain and of course doesn’t want to be the cause of making her upset. Because of that, Charlotte actually tries to put boundaries on their relationship because friendship is far more important to the both of them.

Age old tale of what you want v. what you get – so of course things get complicated (in a good way maybe?) and we’re left at the edge of our seats as a result of another unexpected trip to the moon. I’ve got the next book on deck to jump right in and I can’t wait to see where we are taking off to next! Enjoy!