Fire and Ice by Diana Palmer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fire and Ice is one of Diana Palmer's older books that I hadn't gotten the chance to read until now. I loved the humor and the snappy dialogue between the characters. Margie is fiesty enough to handle a man like Cal, even if he did have the ability to find her weak spots with pinpoint accuracy. However, she did the same for him. You could tell that if there was any spellcasting, they were both mutually affected. Both Margie and Cal had bad first marriages that scarred them and made the both hesitant to seek commitment. For Cal, it was a wife who cheated on him more than once; and Margie had a controlling, rapist husband who had given her fears of sexual intimacy. Now, they were both pretending to be footloose and fancy free: Cal limiting his interactions with women to one night stands with sophisticated women, and Margie, keeping men at a distance, and cultivated a notorious persona that fit her job as a romance author.



They enter each others' spheres through their mutual siblings. Cal's brother falls in love with Margie's sister. Cal's brother has to convince him that Margie's sister is suitable for marriage, which ends up with them spending time at the family's summer house in Florida. Under close proximity, the powerful feelings between Cal and Margie blossom, not only attraction, but genuine liking, leading to a love that neither feels is safe, but they can't imagine living without.



Although Margie is largely sexually inexperienced, she felt like a mature, confident woman in many ways. I liked that she was able to keep Cal on his toes. I also liked that he had to acknowledge her as a woman who he couldn't push around, a woman worthy of his respect and love, nothing like his ex-wife.



For die-hard Diana Palmer fans, all the things that attract one to her stories are there: the sizzling sexual tension, the funny dialogue, the very manly hero, and the sweet, good-hearted, and in this case, fiesty heroine. Although not my favorite by this author, definitely a solid read, and it will go on the keeper shelf with all my other Diana Palmer books.



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