I'm actually surprised I finished it.. I was hating every moment of the two main characters - Shea Ford and Tommy Skyler - together. When they were alone it was okay most of the time. I WAS interested in the arsonist and the story behind it. It was told from more than just one villain which gave more angles and also an interest to figure it all out. It was quite simple in a way, yet the whole story of it was a bit too OTT for me.
Let's start at the beginning. Tommy met Shea through Zack's wife Cori when she invited her to party with the firefighters, somewhere in the second installment. There was a spark there, yet though Shea was friendly enough to Tommy, she never gave him a chance, seeing him as just a "kid" and nothing more. Like in the previous books, when Tommy is hurt and is brought to the hospital (where Shea works as a nurse) things start to change and finally she sees there's more to Tommy than the handsome ex-jock. It takes a lot of time for Shea to truly trust Tommy and tell him her story and I don't mean her and Shane losing their parents in a car accident.
Tommy also has a sad story of his own, one most of the guys at the station don't really know, but we do, since he mentioned it to Julian in the previous installment. Tommy was a very successful athlete up until his brother, a marine serving across the see, was tortured and killed. Donny's death did a number on the family, living them functioning yet barely. Tommy never felt "enough" compared to his heroic brother, choosing to work as a firefighter in order to "make a difference" yet it was never his true calling. The family dynamics was quite strange including the big melt down with the family? strange at best.
I don't know what happened to Jo while writing this book but I didn't believe any of it. The characters where simply off, not believable AT ALL, the conversations scratchy and disconnected. Tommy didn't even feel like a "guy". He was SO damn cheesy! I don't have another word for it. The things he said to everyone around him about his feelings for Shea didn't feel like any guy alive or half dead would EVER say, no matter how in tune with his feminine side (and let's be real, most girls wouldn't act this way as well..). It made the whole relationship with Shea wrong because I couldn't accept his character as genuine. Shea was okay I guess, but since she was coupled with Tommy, the whole conversations they had, especially the heart felt ones where they bared their souls (and their past) felt unreal and simply not believable. I didn't "buy" any of it.
The suspense part of the book WAS good. It was nice getting more POVs, Shane getting involved was also a nice add, I really want to read his story in the spin off series "Sugarland Blue" of the cops (planned for the end of this year). As usual our hero got banged up pretty badly and a few times (I gotta say he got the worst deal of all the others before him!). I didn't sit at the end of the seat though because of the romance "gone bad" but I was pretty interested to see where it would go and how much the villains were willing to go to get their goals, whatever these were! It WAS pretty obvious that blowing up abandoned houses around town is a good way to get insurance money but there's got to be more than that, right? you have NO idea!
The epilogue of the book was mostly more cheesiness I didn't care for but it DID have a big teaser to the next one and the story of Sean. I wanted Sean to have a more significant part in this one, I wanted to really see what would FINALLY get him into rehab and take charge of his life but since it was all Tommy and Shea I felt unsatisfied on that front as well.
All in all. I didn't like this book. I don't believe Tommy's character, I didn't feel the connection between him and Shea, I would have wanted more of Will (lets call him "the arsonist") and I didn't get how he was "forgiven" so easily even if he did what he did because he had no other choice (?).
I truly hope the next one is going to compensate me for this disappointing installment.
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 290 pages, 21-23 June 2015 / On GoodReads
ABOUT THIS SERIES
This series is an EXCELLENT Romantic Suspense. It has it all, sexy firefighters, YUM on the outside and sensitive on the inside resulting in sweet romance with plenty of steamy sex. It has suspense galore the fires always licking at the edges and taking our precious heroes into medic care. The women are smart and sexy, not being left out with all the action and not giving the guys a break when they need to put their over protectiveness and priorities straight or just being there, sitting by their bed and showing them real love and care.
There is a spin-off series centering around cops called "Sugarland Blue". Some of the cops mentioned in "Firefighters of Station 5" has a book of their own in the spinoff - Like Shane (1st installment) being Shea's brother - the MC in "Line of Fire" and Tonio (2nd installment) being Julian's brother - the MC in "Hidden Fire".
Books:
1. Trial By Fire [Howard Paxton & Kat McKenna] (Published 8 August 2008) ★★★★★
2. Under Fire [Zack Knight & Corrie Shannon] (Published 5 May 2009) ★★★★
3. Hidden Fire [Julian Salvatore & Grace McKenna] (Published 1 December 2009) ★★★★★
4. Line of Fire [Tommy Skyler & Shea Ford] (Published 4 May 2010) ★★
5. Ride the Fire [Eve Marshall & Sean Tanner] (Published 7 December 2010) ★★★★½
Books:
1. Trial By Fire [Howard Paxton & Kat McKenna] (Published 8 August 2008) ★★★★★
2. Under Fire [Zack Knight & Corrie Shannon] (Published 5 May 2009) ★★★★
3. Hidden Fire [Julian Salvatore & Grace McKenna] (Published 1 December 2009) ★★★★★
4. Line of Fire [Tommy Skyler & Shea Ford] (Published 4 May 2010) ★★
5. Ride the Fire [Eve Marshall & Sean Tanner] (Published 7 December 2010) ★★★★½
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