Casee‘s review of Ride the Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, Book 5) by Jo Davis.

After he lost his wife and children to tragedy, Capt. Sean Tanner Show alldrowned his pain with alcohol. Now, fresh from rehab, he wants to regain the trust of his team and begin again. The last thing he needs is to have feelings for beautiful firefighter Eve Marshall. But even as they dare to explore their growing desire, Sean learns that his family may have actually been murdered. And that a shadow from his past has returned to finish off Sean-and anyone he loves.

It’s been a long, hard road for Sean Tanner. We’ve followed him from book one where he was sort of an ass and watched him spiral downward. We’ve watched him hit rock bottom (que Eminem) and start climbing his way back up. As soon as he begins that hard climb back up, someone from his past comes back to settle an old score. Which causes a bigger problem than it should since Sean has no idea who is fucking with him.

If his old “friend” had returned even a year earlier, Sean would have ended it before it could have even begin. Now he’s sober and thinking with a clear, er, clearer head than he has had in awhile and some things aren’t adding up. It also helps that he has Eve Marshall by his side pointing out things that he otherwise wouldn’t see.

Oh yes, Eve. The person that he doesn’t deserve. And he really doesn’t deserve her. He never has. She’s always been right there in front of him. Waiting. In this book she plays it like she’s stronger than that; she’s not going to be that woman. The woman that waits and waits and waits. But isn’t that what she’s been doing all along? She’s waited for him to grieve. She’s watched him turn to alcohol. She’s seen him at his worst and she still waits. She’s seen him get help and then relapse. Yet she still waits. But she’s not that woman. I think that I lost respect for Eve awhile ago so I would have been happy if she wasn’t Sean’s heroine. I know. Slap me with a spoon. I’m a horrible person. I got over the whole Eve/Sean thing awhile ago.

This book was a big boo-hoo for me. The only thing that made it worth reading was seeing Sean become the man that he was meant to be. You could see it lurking in the previous books, but it never came out. It was a tragedy what happened to his family. Jo Davis has an amazing way of writing that makes it think that it could happen to you. There is a closeness shared by people that risk their lives together that came across loud and clear. That is one of the things I loved about this series. That is one of the things that I loved about this book. I’m grateful that it wasn’t missing. If it had been, this book may have been a total dud.

I know this isn’t the greatest review. I would give the romance a 2 out of 5. Overall a 3 out of 5.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

The series:

Casee‘s review of Line of Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, Book 4) by Jo Davis.
To the other men of the A-shift, Tommy’s a lucky guy who has it all. But deep inside, the golden boy of Station Five hides a private pain. He was once a star quarterback on the fast track, until tragedy derailed his dream. Ever since then, he’s struggled with the choices he’s made—including his decision to become a firefighter.

His one ray of light shines in beautiful nurse Shea Ford. And when a dangerous rescue lands Tommy in the ER, what better opportunity to win her over? As Shea gives in to her feelings for him, they reach the heights of passion. But when a sinister conspiracy culminates in deadly arson, Tommy will lose more than he ever imagined. A ruthless enemy is closing in, threatening to destroy the couple’s love—and their lives.

Jo Davis continually catches me off guard. As I read Line of Fire, I started wondering how Davis was going to fill the last 150 pages. The hero and heroine were together and happy. What in the world could be written about? This has happened in the last several books. It’s like when you ask yourself if things could get worse. They can ALWAYS get worse.

Tommy Skyler is a twenty three year old that is at the top of his game. He has a job he loves, friends he loves, and family to visit. The only thing he doesn’t have is the girl. Tommy knows exactly who he wants the girl to be, he just can’t get her to take him seriously. As with so many people that Tommy meet, they take one look at him and think “kid”. Tommy is far from a kid and he’s still trying to figure out how to show Shea Ford how un-kidlike he is.

What most people don’t see about Tommy is that underneath his sunny façade, he is in constant pain. Three years ago, he lost his brother in Iraq and the course of his life changed. Before his brother was killed, Tommy was going to be a professional football player. After his brother died, he felt that football was too trivial of a profession and went on to become a firefighter. Lately Tommy has been questioning his career decision and has been contemplating going into arson investigation.

After Tommy is hurt on the scene of a fire, Shea is forced to admit that she does have feelings for the young firefighter. Shea has gone through her fair share of heartbreak and the last thing she wants to do is get involved with a guy that seems as young and carefree as Tommy. Everything changes after that. Shea agrees to go out with Tommy and see where it goes.

Eventually, I forgot that Tommy was only twenty three b/c he stopped acting like he was twenty three. Life experience has forced Tommy to grow up and be more responsible than he would normally have been at that age. I found myself admiring Tommy and what he went through to get where he was. When Shea finally gives Tommy a chance, he doesn’t think life could get any better. Shea helps him realize that he doesn’t have to be a firefighter to be successful. For the first time in his life, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing what’s best for someone else.

Of course it would be too easy if it ended there. Tommy is seriously hurt in a fire and the aftermath is too much for him to handle. What seemed so great only the week before is too much for Tommy to bear. He pushes everyone away so he can wallow in peace. The only problem is that his friends don’t let him wallow. Nor do his parents. The only one that has stayed away is Shea, which makes Tommy question her feelings for him. There were many heartbreaking moments in this book.

As usual, Davis came through.

4 out of 5.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here.

The series:

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: