Sunday, April 8, 2012

Ride the Fire (Firefighters of Station Five #5) by Jo Davis

After he lost his wife and children to tragedy, Capt. Sean Tanner drowned 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.



Type: Romantic Suspense, Firemen!
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 5 out of 5


Happy....sigh.... I loved Ride the Fire. This was the last of the Firefighters of Station Five books and I thought the perfect way for the series to end. Finally we get Sean and Eve's story! There are some incredibly emotional scenes where Sean is dealing with his grief that just break your heart. And while this could have easily been a very dark broody book Davis incorporated enough humorous moments (hello! charity firefighter auction!) that the emotional turmoil Sean faced  didn't feel overwhelming. Davis did a fantastic job of balancing everything out and creating a well rounded read. The reason behind the suspense/crime was a little outlandish but it's romantic fiction so you just have to go with it :) and, well, there are some really whacked out crazies out there so you never know, right?


After watching Sean's downward spiral for the last 4 books it was wonderful to see him making improvements and reclaiming his life even if it wasn't smooth sailing. This man has some serious demons haunting him and even though he's become less and less pleasant/reliable as the series progressed I nonetheless found him worming his way into my heart a little more with each book. He's one of those characters I wanted so badly to have a second chance, to be happy again and fight their way back from the edge. To redeem themselves. Losing his entire family and being called to their accident scene is more than most would be able to handle and even though I hated how he was coping and treating himself you could see he was doing all he could just to survive. Davis didn't shy away from Sean's alcoholism and his struggle with recovery. There were temptations, awkward moments with friends who didn't know quite how to handle drinking in front of him, AA meetings, etc. I liked how Sean himself finally handled his alcoholism and didn't hide what he was going through from his friends and family. That he talked about it when it needed to be talked about. I loved getting to see him get his life back and be the man everyone saw in him!


Eve, now, was just flat out amazing and a kick-ass, strong heroine! Not only is she the only female firefighter at the station but she handles Sean and his pain astonishingly well. When so many people would have just given up on him and his roller coaster of emotions/outbursts she held it all together. Realized that when he would lash out it wasn't about her but his guilt and was there for him when his grief overwhelmed him. She also has a bit of a spicy temper and doesn't allow all these alpha men to get away with any and everything. Loved when she'd stand up for herself and didn't shy away from putting them in their places when they needed it.

Even though things got hot and steamy early on in the book the relationship didn't feel rushed since things have been building up between them for ages now. Much prefer that to a chance meeting and suddenly having a hot and heavy romance. I really enjoyed when Sean finally met Eve's mom. It was kinda sweet how this big, strong man in his 40s was nervous about meeting her. Okay, so probably warranted considering Eve's mom, who is just a freaking hoot. 

"Having said that, I'll give the two of you my full blessing and support--provided you're not yanking her around," she advised, addressing Sean. 
"I'm not, I swear." 
"Good. Because if I find out you are? I'll cut off your balls and use them as Christmas ornaments. We're clear?" 
"Mama!" 
He nearly choked on a bit of pie. "Crystal." 
Amelia graced him with the full force of her angelic smile. "Fantastic. More pie?"
I loved the ending. Of both the book and the series as a whole. Yes, it's a little cheesy... but in a good way. Everyone together, happy, celebrating, moving on to new things in their lives both professionally and personally. It was a sweet moment in time that had me grinning like a fool. I'll miss these sexy, brave, entertaining firefighters but I'm pleased with how things ended. It was a nice series that left me content and happy to have spent a little time getting to know them.

Amazon

4 comments:

  1. I've got this series on my list to read some day. I might have to move it to the top. I keep hearing good things about it.

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    Replies
    1. I really enjoyed the series as a whole. The hero in the first one is named Howard and it took me forever to stop giggling over that. Was kinda sad there were only 5 in the series.

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  2. I have read the first three books in the series. I particularly loved Zack's story - Under Fire. Sean and Eve's story sounds interesting. I'm going to have to read it now.

    Judy

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    Replies
    1. Aw yeah I liked Zack's story too. I think Julian's was my favorite though :)

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