review: desert heat by elizabeth reyes

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Their first meeting at speed dating doesn't go well, but Damian is drawn to Bethany once he sees her onstage a few nights later. From that point on, they're almost inseparable despite Damian's job as a detective and the three jobs Bethany works to support herself and two younger siblings back home. Desert Heat starts off slow with loads of evasive back story setup, but really picks up after Damian drives Bethany home from work. The start of the romance was sweet, but Damian soon proved himself to be jealous and possessive. If Bethany (who also had a jealous streak) talked to a male coworker or didn't disclose all the details of a phone conversation, Damian got all sorts of pissed off. Yes, Bethany was keeping a secret, but his reaction to her desire for some privacy was ridiculous. As for Bethany's secret, the pay off simply wasn't there. Despite Desert Heat being written in third person that goes into the head's of both main characters, her secret isn't revealed until it's revealed to Damian. That was frustrating in itself, but then the secret turned out to be something that was pretty easily explained and only became a big deal because she kept it secret.
3/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Atria.