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.