JAGGED BURN (Kidds Beach Fire Department 2) by Jade Marshall-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 9, 2025

Scars don’t always show on the surface.

Stefan Grey was once the life of the party, the firefighter with a smile that could light up a room. But after the flames took half his face and left him broken inside, he hides behind the shadows, convinced he’s too jagged to be worthy of love. Until the night Anna Alexander comes crashing back into his life.

Anna thought she’d escaped her small town and found her happily ever after. Instead, she walked straight into a nightmare. Bruised, battered, and running from an abusive relationship, she turns to the only people she trusts … her brother and the scarred man who has haunted her heart for years.

Stefan wants to keep his distance. She’s his best friend’s little sister. She deserves someone whole. But the fire between them refuses to be contained, burning hotter with every stolen glance and every forbidden touch.

When Anna’s past refuses to let her go, Stefan will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means risking the only family he has left, and the fragile heart he swore he’d never give away again.

Some loves don’t heal the scars. They make you brave enough to wear them.

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REVIEW:  JAGGED BURN is the second instalment in Jade Marshall’s contemporary, adult KIDDS BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT romance series. This is firefighter Stefan Grey, and Anna Alexander’s story line. JAGGED BURN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Anna and Stefan) JAGGED BURN follows in the aftermath of a frantic phone call from our story line heroine to her brother Matt, a firefighter whose best friend and fellow firefighter is struggling in the aftermath of a near career-ending fire. Determined to protect the woman that has always called to his heart, Stefan Grey becomes guardian and protector of our story line heroine, a woman who has loved Stefan Grey for as long as she can remember.

The world building is fast and furious. An abusive boyfriend, a rescue and proclamation of love, to another threat against her life, Anna once again, finds herself the target of obsession, and a man who refuses to let go.

The relationship between Stefan and Anna is a best friend’s sister; a potentially forbidden romance but a romance that has been developing for several years. A chance at forever, Anna reveals her true feelings with the hope of Stefan accepting he is her everything and more. The $ex scenes are limited but intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters included Anna’s brother and fellow firefighter Matt, and Anna’s ex Sam Baxter.

JAGGED BURN is a fast paced, quick read. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the romance is fated and impassioned; the characters are desperate and dynamic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy