It took me a while to get into the story because I wasn't feeling the connection between Gavin and Cait, but it got better as the story progressed.

A little excited for the next book; the hero is a single dad and you know how much I love single dads in romance.

E-ARC is received thanks to the publisher via Netgalley.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I enjoy work place romances (and firefighters), but I like work place romances that take place in the work place (or in the fire station). This book mostly took place outside of their jobs. They were at the same call a couple of times, but that was just not enough for me. This is a romance that will please those that enjoy stories of couples getting together and falling in the love. You get to spend time with them as a couple, which I realize I don't read much of. I typically read romance where most is the time before the couple becomes official, so I appreciated the change up. I will be picking up other books in the series, because I still have a thing for firefighters.

I've had my ups and downs with this series, so when I realized that I was a couple of books behind, I decided to give it another shot and checked this one out from my library. While this wasn't a great read, it wasn't a bad one either.

I really hated Cait's approach to a lot of her situations. It seemed like she used her family as an excuse to hide from Gavin more than her own family did! She was too sensitive about some things, and too insensitive in others. Luckily, Gavin was the forgiving sort! I did like Gavin's happy-go-lucky nature. He was much easier to relate to than Cait was, and he approached the relationship in a healthier manner than she did.

The story got bogged down in spots, but overall it was an engaging enough read. There just wasn't anything in the story to Wow! me. Here's hoping the next installment will be a bit better!

Hot Response is a contemporary romance set in Boston with two first responder main characters. Our heroine Caitlyn is an EMT, while our hero Gavin is a firefighter. They know each other through work, as usually EMTs and firefighters show up at the same incidents.

Caitlyn has moved in with her recently widowed Mother, and Carter, her teenage half-brother, to help them recover. So she is pulling double duty, rescuing people both at work and at home. She is burning herself out with all that taking care of others. So when Gavin offers her the use of his apartment for some alone, self-care time, she takes him up on the offer.

Gavin is supposedly a playboy, which does not come across too strongly in this book. Although, because this is book four in a series, his personality may have been more defined in previous books. He is believably written as a 'guy': at times goofy and immature, and at other times respectful and considerate. He is having pants interest in Caitlyn, but, for plot reasons, avoids trying for his usual 'short, superficial and sexual' modus operandi with her.

The romance is set amid the intensity of their careers. There are several mildly descriptive scenes of accidents, fires and car crashes, which just made me uncomfortable, but are probably par for the course in this genre. The major conflicts seem to be a mutual fear of “the L-word”, and differing feelings about the dependency of Cait’s family, and her obligation to them.

Contemporary romances are not a favorite of mine, neither are romances with first responder main characters - all of that fictionalized trauma drama hits way too close to home. It is not a genre that I read for enjoyment. And there were some things in the book that I disliked:
-Referring to people who have accidents as idiots.
- The tickling thing. Ick. I did not like that during intimate moments, Gavin would happen on a ticklish spot and then force the Cait to endure tickling while she “had to settle for pounding her fist on his shoulder, trying to make him stop.” The overpowering and tickling showed up during several different sexy times. It was jarring, especially because of the author's wording: “torturing,” “couldn’t get away from him,” “tried to pull free,” and “holding her down,” and having the heroine feel it necessary to “scramble away” and then have an “ensuing wrestling match.” It did not come across as a playful, 'oops, touched your ticklish spot, tickle tickle giggle move on,' but more like a dominant power play, without any encouragement or sign that it would be welcome by Cait.

Spoiler

- The reaction, on both sides, to the ‘accidental’ heart emoji, which seems overblown in a book with the line “That right there is sketchy enough. How many women don’t have a Facebook account?” That seems like a dated sentiment for people in their late twenties / early thirties.

Also, the part about saying 'I love you' for the first time while sleeping I found a bit too cliche.

So aside from creeper tickling and emoji drama, the story is written well, usually with compassion and respect towards people. The way that author Stacey has portrayed the characters’ instant ability to go from relaxed and off duty to calm, focused high alert is accurately representative of first responders.

Recommended for readers who enjoy spicy, low-angst, contemporary romances with firefighter or cop heroes and/or heroines.

*eARC Netgalley*

Firefighter Gavin Boudreau and EMT Cait Tasker often find themselves on scene together and the encounters are a bit prickly. He has no idea what he did to get on her wrong side and his buddies at the station give him no end of grief. When they finally resolve that issue, what’s left is the potential of a promising relationship.

This was an easy story where we see two people tentatively beginning a relationship, careful with each other as they get to know one another. The main conflict is Cait’s family whose need caused her to return home to help her recently widowed mother cope with her grief while dealing with a teenaged half brother. I enjoyed how the two of them took the time to forge a meaningful relationship and how the conflicts weren’t overblown. There’s not a lot of drama (thankfully), just two mature people coping with life’s challenges. I also liked seeing the realities of their work life, the lows and the highs and their emotional impacts.

I’m still enjoying this series and particularly this story. The focus on family, work lives of firefighters and emergency response teams and the people supporting them is what interests me most. It’s what I was looking for in choosing the series and it continues to deliver. It’s a good story with characters I not only liked but admired. The narrator also was ideal for the story and I really liked her decisions about how to define the characters. Highly recommend the audio format.

(I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review)

Another winner.

What do you do when the hot guy you meet at work, and are just about to ask our for coffee, calls you ma'am? Hatred like the fire of a million deadly suns.

Cait Tasker is an EMT. She has moved back to Boston to help her mum and step-brother after her step-father's death. She feels like her life has been put on hold while she mothers her mum and her step-brother. She had a thing for Gavin Boudreau until he called her ma'am and made her feel even older than she already does. But since her team frequently work alongside the firefighters of Ladder 37.

Gavin on the other hand likes an easy life and 'easy' women,as the youngest firefighter on Ladder 37 he's not about settling down. The feisty EMT that gives him the evil eye is definitely not his type - so why is he dreaming about her?

But when Cait steps over a line and has to apologise to Gavin they find that first impressions can be deceiving and maybe enemies can turn into lovers. But Cait is only in Boston temporarily and her family come first.

I really enjoyed this, maybe it was the situation in which Cait found herself, caring for her family and putting her life on hold, maybe it was that both Gavin and Cait were lovable characters, people you'd want to drink with in Kincaid's pub, people you'd want to shoot hoops with on a Saturday morning (not that I've ever done such a thing, but I could).

This was funny, sweet and charming. Definitely one of Shannon Stacey's best to date.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

Gavin Boudreau isn't sure why Cait Tasker is so prickly around him. As a firefighter, he generally gets along pretty well with the EMTs he works with. But Cait stymies him. She doesn't seem susceptible to his usual charms.
Cait had toyed with asking Gavin out. But then he Ma'amed her. She assumed that it was his way of letting her know (rather rudely) that she was too old for him. But, after an intense call, the two bond and Cait takes Gavin to breakfast. And then she spends the night at his apartment (he's not there; she just needs to get away from her family for a little while). And then... well.
I liked that Gavin and Cait actually talked to each other (for the most part). I didn't like that Gavin was such a jerk but it was nice to see his family talk to him and tell him when he's stepping out of line.

What a way to start a book...

From the very first scene, I was on Team Gavin. He was so charming and caring and gaaaaah. I wanted him. His cockiness never came across as arrogance; it was just fun and endearing and sexy. He and Cait talked about how he might joke too much, and that sometimes he didn't know when to quit, but I never saw that. Gavin was basically perfect; flawed, but nicely so. And maybe one of my favourite things about him? He had so much respect for Cait's professional competency; there's a scene that I wanted to share but won't for spoiler reasons, but a man letting a woman take charge is definitely swoonworthy. Another win for Team Beta!

And why did he have to have such a great smile? “See, you’re doing it right now.”

“Doing what?”

“That smile that probably makes women’s pants fall off.”

The eyebrow went up before he pushed his chair back a few inches. Then he bent over, as if he was picking up a dropped fork. A second later, he sat up and pulled his chair back in.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just checking to see if your pants fell off.” The lift of his left shoulder matched the curve of his mouth. “I guess I’ll have to try harder.”

Initially, Cait was very hung up on the fact that Gavin once called her "ma'am". At first, I rolled my eyes a bit, but then I took a long hard look at myself and remembered I've also been put off by people calling me that. (It started at the age of 23 from young cashiers and ugh.) But her biggest battle was her family life. I felt so terrible for her, but I could also see what Gavin did: she cared about her family almost too much and was very much like a mother scared to let her kids grow up and make their own choices in life. Cait was incredibly patient and practical, and while I got frustrated with her at times, I had a lot of respect for her.

I think the only thing about this book that could have been improved for me is some more sexiness. I mean, it was incredibly sexy. I was giddy before they'd even really done anything. Heated looks, some banter, a touch on the arm, and a quick hug was all it took to get me fanning myself, that's how hot the fire between them was. (Hot...fire...tehe...) They did get a few semi-explicit scenes, and I appreciated that Cait was very open and comfortable about asking for it, but wow was it not enough for me.

If she was going to have sex dreams about a pain-in-the-ass firefighter at night, the least her subconscious could do was let her savor them for a while. Maybe then she could spend a little less time during the day thinking about him.

Having a little brother of my own, I thoroughly enjoyed Cait's interactions with her teen brother. He reminded me so much of my brother when he was younger. Of all the secondary characters, he was my favourite. That being said, I loved all the other characters. It definitely made me want to pick up the previous books in the series to see the other firefighters, especially considering how interwoven their lives are. In fact, the two books planned for after this one feature storylines already being teased in this one. For example, Gavin's best friend Grant is starting to date in this, and I've already seen in book 6 that he and this woman get their own book. Plus, I'm already a little bit in love with Derek, the hero of book 5. Yes, I've added all the books to my TBR. I think we need a firefighter month on Love in a time of Feminism, don't you?

Last thing, I promise. Sometimes, characters are given jobs in name only, and if they're referred to, it's only in very general terms, as if all they did was write emails or push papers around on their desks. Not in this. There was just enough detail about emergency situations and what Cait and Gavin did as an EMT and a firefighter respectively. Not only did it show that Shannon did her research, but it also made their professions real parts of their lives and gave them an aura of competence. She notes at the end that she had to take some creative liberties with how things work in emergency services, which I can appreciate, but it was so clear that she knew her stuff before she started tweaking things. I almost felt like I was watching a medical or emergency drama show while reading because she managed to evoke so much of the world in my mind.

Anyway, I loved this book. So much. And now I want to read everything by Shannon Stacey ever. One hit, and I'm addicted.



I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I had to laugh at the initial reason Cait was not-so-fond of Gavin. Even in my mid-40’s, there’s just something about being called “ma’am” that irks me. Maybe if I was born and bred in the south I’d feel differently; but being a full-on Yankee, that title just doesn’t sit well with me. So, while I laugh at Cait, I also sympathize with her.

It also amuses me that Gavin cannot figure out what he did to annoy Cait just by being in her vicinity. The fact that he gets asked if he slept with her friend or sister by his firefighter buddies cracks me up. Cait tends to think that Gavin is cocky…Gavin says it’s just confidence. But when it comes to him thinking the reason she dislikes him is because of another women, that’s cocky! Like he can’t even imagine a woman not falling victim to his charms.

These two are great together. Cait has a lot on her plate in her personal life, while also finding she has to always be sure to show she can and will do any and all things her male partner does while on the job. Because Gavin has experienced a female boss in the very testosterone and male-oriented field of rescue workers, he actually doesn’t give the fact that she’s a female a second thought. Cait quickly realizes she doesn’t have to have her back up when talking to Gavin and that he respects her on the same level he respects the other rescue workers in their house.

Even though Gavin is very close to his family, it’s hard for him to understand Cait’s position. Although I tend to agree with Gavin’s view of the situation between Cait, her mom, and her brother, it’s also a sticky situation he steps into. His dad is spot on with his advice…but there’s only so much Gavin can take before his feeling on the situation are made known. Not because he’s trying to be an alpha-male or “fix” the situation, but because he truly cares about Cait and what the situation is doing to her emotionally. Gavin is not the first, or only, person to express his concern, but his thoughts on the subject are the ones that feel like a betrayal, of sorts, to Cait.

I love how the guys at the fire station can laugh and joke and rib each other one minute, but totally have each other’s backs no matter what the next. They’re not afraid to call each other on their bull, but will also lend an ear if need be. I’m so glad Shannon Stacey decided to continue this series. I absolutely love the ladies and gents of Boston Fire!

https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/hot-response-book-review/