Friendship on Fire (LOVE IN BLOOM: The Bradens) Paperback – December 3, 2013

Riley is getting her dream she heading to New York to design for JB Design. That Josh Braden his company. Josh was asked by his brother Rex to have a look at Riley’s portfolio and he liked what he seen. So now she at his company but there’s more then work on Josh’s mind he has had a crush on her for a long time. But a jealous employee is going to make trouble for Riley. So enjoy another good read and see what they go through to get a HEA!!

Riley Banks has been waiting for a break, a way to put her fashion design degree to use ever since school ended. But in an industry more about who you know than what you know, she was beginning to lose hope — Until Josh Braden, the crush from her teen years turned top designer, took notice of her designs. Only now that she has a chance at his design company, she needs to be noticed for what she can do, not who she can’t take her eyes off.Josh Braden could get any woman in New York that he wants, but that’s the problem. He doesn’t want any of them. He wants the girl from back home, the one comfortable in jeans and boots, the one whose design portfolio blew him away. Hiring her is the best decision he’s made in a long time, and being her boss won’t stop him from pursuing something more with her. But in the cutthroat world of fashion design, her shot at a career could be ruined if everyone finds out she’s sleeping with the boss.The Verdict: You know, I had my doubts that Josh could live up to the ultimate man’s man that Rex was in the last book, but I should have known better. Put him in an Armani suit, and he’s sex on legs, of course. And I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Friendship on Fire served up the jealous other woman bit without falling into a pit of cliches.Riley isn’t what people might think of as a typical New Yorker, and she doesn’t fit the stereotype for being in the fashion industry. She’s certainly not a large girl, but she’s not stick-thin, either, and that makes her a bit self-conscious around edgier, cooler, thinner people. But she’s not about to change who she is, and while self-conscious, she doesn’t give into any shame, and that’s what makes her stand out to Josh.The way he sees her is simply beautiful. She’s the girl he stared at from afar all through school, and he still sees her that way now. At the same time, he sees her as different from everyone he’s surrounded by in New York, and her giddy excitement over her new career in fashion coupled with her low-maintenance attitude makes it impossible for him to keep his feelings to himself.I was also pleasantly surprised by the Claudia angle. She was the jealous ice queen who wanted Josh for herself, manipulative and condescending, and she didn’t hesitate to underhandedly try to ruin Riley. But with as much hell as she threw at them, Josh and Riley surprised me by taking a different path than I usually see in stories that include this little twist. Where most would have some blowout misunderstanding, complete with unbelievable miscommunication and utter failure to act like mature adults, there were no tantrums here. Sure, there were hurt feelings and a step back, but it was all written so perfectly that I couldn’t fault either of the characters for their actions.There’s a way that Melissa Foster writes all these stories that make them all so different from each other, but at the same time, I can count on being surprised, meeting entirely different characters in different situations, and still loving them just as much. In Friendship on Fire, we see Riley and Josh’s flirtation in Destined for Love become a full-on romance. When I expected them to take it slow, they didn’t; when I expected them to rush headlong, they held back. And when I expected the jealousy and mistrust to rip them apart, they handled it not like most characters in romances, but more like all us non-fictional people would have. There was hurt, there was angst, and there was communication to set things right. And I think that’s what I love most about all these books. The entire Love in Bloom series takes everything I love about a good romance novel and serves it up the way few authors can.

The Love in Bloom Series by Melissa Foster is actually several connected series that tie together."The Snow Sisters" series are the first books in the collection, and "The Bradens" are the second set in the series. Then "The Remingtons," "Seaside" and "The Ryders." All together there a ton of books in the collection, that all correlate with each other. I have only read books from the Snow Sisters and The Bradens so far to give you info on, this series is way larger than I originally thought. The entire Love in Bloom series is romance quite obviously, but there are also a lot of deep emotions and issues each character has to face in their book. They were not quite the light "feel good" read I was hoping for, but now I am roped in. I have read the fist book of each set (free downloads) and really want to read the rest. The Snow Sisters set, is obviously about the Snow sisters, three sisters Danica, Kaylie, and Lacy, three books. The Bradens set, as before, is about the Braden family. There are 5 brothers Treat, Rex, Josh, Dane, Hugh and sister Savannah and they each get their own books. After, Hearts at Play, which is Huge's books, the series keeps going on with more Bradens that I have yet to meet in the two I have read. My warnings for the series seem pretty basic. Lots of graphic sex, some language, there is not really any action or adventure, mostly it is the "emotional conflict" that keeps the plot moving and the pages turning. I am not a huge fan of the characters physical descriptions, I can't really picture them. However, their personalities are great. They are well developed and distinguishing. Also, overall there were no huge typos or grammatical errors that stood out to me in the two books that I read.Here is what I have on the Series:Love in Bloom::The Snow Sisters:Sisters in Love (Danica)Sisters in Bloom (Kaylie)Sisters in White (Danica, Kaylie & Lacy)The Bradens:Lovers at Heart (Treat)Destined for Love (Rex)Friendship on Fire (Josh)Sea of Love (Dane)Bursting with Love (Savannah)Hearts at Play (Hugh)Taken by Love (Luke)Fated for Love (Wes)Romancing my Love (Pierce)Flirting With Love (Ross)Dreaming of LoveCrashing into LoveAs I mentioned before, both "Sisters in Love" and "Lovers at Heart" are currently free downloads for Kindle on Amazon. Lovers at Heart ,For a complete list of The Love in Bloom series, synopses and more on everything Melissa visit her website at http://www.melissafoster.com/ .GENRES: romance, contemporary romanceAGES: 18+WARNINGS: graphic sex, deep emotionsSERIES: yes!Thanks & Happy Reading!=D

Josh and Riley have had a crush on each other since school. But because of an on going feud with the Bradens and the Johnsons (her best friend Jade Johnson) they never let each other know. When Jade got together with Rex Braden, Riley was embraced into the family. When Josh offered her a job in New York she jumped at the chance to become a fashion designer and learn from the best. She tries her hardest to fit in and quickly makes friends with most of her co workers. But there is one who tries to belittle her at every opportunity. Claudia wants Josh and will do anything to get him. As Josh and Riley get closer Claudia steps up her game. When Claudia accuses Riley of stealing designs it get ugly quickly with Josh caught in the middle, will his love for Riley fizzle before its even started or will the evidence clear Riley. Josh is one of my favourite Bradens along with his brother Dane. I have read the book on several occasions and have now listened to it again, as you listen again enjoyed it as much as the first time. Melissa did good when she picked BJ Harrison as the narrator.

When I started reading this series, I was not overly excited by the characters. The first book was okay for me, but I stuck with it and based on the reviews on Amazon, I bought the second book. I really loved that one so I carried on with the series.This third one was just okay for me. I enjoyed learning more about Josh's character, but I found the female characters in the books are starting to all sound the same. When Riley was introduced in the second book, I thought her character would be interesting - gutsy, strong and outrageous. She always had something funny to say and was cracking jokes with Jade all the time and seemed very up beat and happy. Unfortunately in this book, she loses a lot of these traits and all the angst and internal agonising started to annoy me and I felt she was losing the parts of her character that made her so interesting in the second book. Don't get me wrong, she does overcome some of her insecurities and takes a stand for herself, but by then I felt a bit let down as I didn't see her in the same light as in the second book.I am still going to carry on reading the series as I really want to find out more about the other brothers and am interested to see where the author takes us.

I love how this book includes the messy tougher parts of love as well as the steamy passionate ones, and there are lots in this book - love it, having read this a second time I want to give it more than 5 stars, another fantastic book from Melissa, once you enter the love in bloom world you will crave more of her fantastic books.

Wow I am loving this series - I am trying to pace myself as when I have read them all I know I about going to be disappointed. This is also a series that I highly recommend - start at book 1.This book we meet the 3rd Braden boy Josh, who has made a name for himself in the fashion world as a top-class designer. Josh's brothers Treat and Rex have both fallen in love and he realises that this is the one thing that's missing in his life - a perfect partner. Riley (who we met in the last book)and you could tell their was some spark/connection between them so when Josh offers Riley a job in Manhattan it's finally her chance to make a name for herself in the fashion industry. But can she make their and have a relationship with Josh?

Another great read from MelissaJosh Braden is sexy, quiet, intelligent fashion designer and lives his life in the limelight and works to design the very best clothes so when Rex his brother asks him to look at Jade's friend Riley's portfolio he is amazed at how talented she is and also how beautiful he remembers her he has had a secret crush on her for years the way Riley has had on Josh.When Josh offers Riley a job to work in New York for him she thrilled, she and Josh get together and love awakens within them though it has to be kept a secret.When Riley starts her job as design assistant she has Claudia (Cruella) to show her the ropes things don't go as planned.