***4.5 'It's your home' Stars*** 
 Between the cover and the blurb I knew I had to get my hands on Heat Wave one way or another. I mean how can you not want to reach out and grab this book and just stare at the cover. The fact that it was set in Hawaii did have me hesitate a bit because as most of you know I have a whole #MyHawaii issue , but my curiosity got the better of me as whole (though I will get to the #MyHawaii thing later) and I jumped at the chance to read the book and I ended up loving it! It has the perfect blend of sweet, smexy and angsty and if filled with characters that you want to keep hanging out with long after reading 'The End' 
 Veronica grew up feeling as if she wasn't worth anything to her family. She was never 'enough' for any of them and though it hurt her heart she still managed to march to the beat of her own drum and reach for her dreams even if they didn't mesh with what they wanted for her. I loved Veronica. She had moxie with a good bit of impishness mixed in there. She didn't always make the right decisions, but there was no way to doubt the passion behind them, especially the one that got her fired from her job (I personally thought that was brilliant!). Her heart is her greatest asset, but also the thing that trips her up the most because of how big it is. 
 Logan had one dream and that was to own his own hotel and though he made the correct choices in obtaining that dream, they were also the worst and he finds himself in purgatory as he works to keep his dream alive, even when he isn't truly living. After finishing the prologue I didn't like Logan all that much, in fact a "Oh no he didn't" came out of my mouth, but I trusted in the journey, though there were a few more instances of outrage in regards to situations with him, and I ended up loving him. He is a grump and an asshat (I LOVE their nickname for him) but that's because he carries such a heavy weight on his shoulders but when he sheds that skin he's more snarky, sneaky and holy hot and determined alpha male. When the real Logan Shepard comes out to play, he is absolutely lethal. 
 Talk about a rocky road to travel to get to your HEA, but I enjoyed every second of it. Watching as they danced around each other, poking and prodding until neither could deny that the attraction between them had never died despite the choices that were made that had them walking very different paths until "fate" intervened and threw them together. There were quite a few issues they had to work out between them, and let me tell you some of them were pretty intense, but I liked how they eventually worked themselves out and once they did, lemme tell you Logan and Veronica were amazing together. We're not only talking sexual heat here, though an Arctic temp bath should be waiting for you, but they had a similar outlook on life, challenged each other in the right ways and understood each other's souls. Simply put: They fit. 
 The #MyHawaii "thing" ~ So, I tend to avoid books set in Hawaii because I have my view of my island home and don't think it's fair to get judgey if another's view doesn't mesh with mine. But in this case my curiosity was piqued because I follow Ms. Halle on IG and see the gorgeous pictures she posts of Kauai and see how much she loves the island, so I wanted to see what her Kauai looked it and I have to say it's somewhere I'd love to be. The love she has for Kauai jumped off the pages. I felt the sweat beading on my skin from the humidity, smelled the plumeria in air and got lost in the live aloha laid back vibe that permeates every aspect of island life. 
 I enjoyed the writing style and pacing of the story. The 1st person POV was well done and while there were moments where I wished it was a dual POV, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story in any way. There are some issues that come up that may be triggers for some, but I thought they were handled well. One actually had me pausing in my reading to write down my thoughts about it and what I thought the outcome would be (Note: I was right, though Ms. Halle did have me doubt myself for a hot second). The secondary cast of characters were all very well written and I loved the depth they brought to the story, even the ones I didn't like, and would love to see some of them getting their own stories told in the future! 
 ~ Copy received from InkSlinger PR & voluntarily reviewed ~