Casee‘s review of Hidden Fire (Firefighters of Station 5, book 3) by Jo Davis.
He’s more than earned his reputation as a ladies’ man, but chasing women has also been a way to outrun a terrible secret from his past. Then he meets defense attorney Grace McKenna, a beautiful ice queen who’s more than willing to give Julian her body, even if he can’t seem to melt her heart.
In the blazing heat of their passion, Grace and Julian start to let down their guard—just as a series of grisly murders rocks Nashville and Julian is targeted by the killer. As the firefighter comes face to face with his demons, he and Grace must race to uncover the terrible truth—or become the next victims.
This is book number three in Davis’ Firefighters of Station Five series. It’s also the best of the series. I read this book in one day. Considering my desire to read has been lacking the last few months, that shows how good this book really was. To me anyway.
Julian is the ladies man of Station Five. Since the first book, he has been the guy that never takes anything too serious. He loves women and treats them well, but he doesn’t have any desire for permanence. When he first sees Grace McKenna, he is instantly attracted to her. Grace won’t agree to go out with him, something that confuses Julian even as it makes Grace more intriguing.
Julian sees Grace at the scene of the fire with someone that he had hoped he would never see again. The nightmare of his childhood, Derek Vines, is a client of Grace’s. He tries to tell Grace that Vines is no good, but she is hardheaded. Telling her that he’s “bad” doesn’t do it for Grace.
What I liked about this book is how open and honest Julian was with himself about his feelings for Grace. He admitted his attraction from the beginning, but when they started seeing each other, he knew that she was it for him. He didn’t hide his feelings from Grace. He never tried to be “manly” and make less of his feelings than they were. Given the impression that Julian made on me in the last few books, this was surprising and refreshing.
Everything in this book worked for me. Even Grace’s problem with commitment didn’t really bother me. A few times I got annoyed with her, but other than that I loved the book from start to finish.
This is my favorite book in the series. It rocked.
4.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Other books in the series:
Hmm. I’m borrowing this book from a friend. I loved the first book, TbF, but OMG did I hate Under Fire. I mean, really, really disliked it.
But your review makes me think maybe I’ll like this one better, although I seriously hate the contemporary romance theme of “professional woman doesn’t have time for love”. How long does she hold out, Casee? Is it tortuous? Or does she come to a decision pretty quickly?
Kati, that’s funny. I didn’t like Trial by Fire. It seemed so cliche.
It’s not that she holds out exactly. She just questions herself every step of the way. But the way she feels about Julian is clear.
Can we please have Sean and Eve’s story soon??
I am still stuck on Howard. That man gave me naughty dreams 😉
Do you know when Sean and Eve’s book is coming out? I think he still has a long way to go before he can get his book.