You know when you find that author? Then one that the moment they release a new book, you have already had it pre-ordered...months...years in advance? Yeah, T.J. Klune is that author for me. It's not only about being a brilliant author, but his books are so much more. They have queer and mental health representation; they pick apart issues we face in reality; his books are just so much more. 

Going into Flash Fire, I had nothing but the highest expectations, and I was not disappointed. Klune pulled out all the stops on this one constant funny dialogue, excellent character development, more heroes and villains, and a romance that makes you swoon and cringe at the same time. I swear I was laughing so hard at some points - cackling like a hyena - that my partner honestly thought I had gone insane. Maybe I did.

What impressed me most with Flash Fire was Nicky's character development. I thought he made exceptional character growth in The Extraordinaries. I was wrong; I believe Nicky made his most significant development moves in this book. Nicky has a lot he needs to learn, and the one lesson Nicky learned most in Flash Fire is he can not make life-changing decisions about someone else and not even talk to them. There were so many moments where Nicky does this at the beginning of Flash Fire, and all you want to do is knock some sense into the kid. Throughout the book, Nicky continues to face this issue of wanting to be a part of something extraordinary yet having to come to terms with not everyone wanting his dream. I was very impressed by the end of the book to see how far Nick indeed has come. What makes this great is he still has a lot to learn, and I can see that character growth genuinely taking off in the last book. 

Then Klune brings in social justice issues that hit close to home for many - the police force, police brutality, and the unjustness of those in power. It's not only Nicky who has to go through hurdles to learn from his mistakes. Aaron (Nicks's dad) - a police officer himself - has made choices in his career that show a white man with a badge can get away with a lot. These choices come back and strike him—choices that hurt those around him, which any other person would never have gotten away with.

Another theme that Klune brings in, and I think people, especially parents, need to understand, is that respect needs to be earned both ways from parent to child. So many times, we hear, "you are the parent. Your child has to respect you, has to trust you". I do not believe this. A child is a separate entity from the parent, and the parent, like any other person, needs to gain that trust and respect. If a parent hurts a child, they have to earn that respect and confidence back. Klune does a beautiful job showing this when Nicky's dad keeps secrets that end up hurting him and understands that he has to gain that trust back from Nicky. He has to work for it and can't demand Nicky trust him because he is the parent.

I can not wait for Heat Wave. It will be an epic conclusion to such a wonderful trilogy thus far. I already have high expectations, and I don't think I will be disappointed with the conclusion. I already have a lot of theories for the final book in this series.