Ride the Fire (Firefighters of Station Five #5) [Sean & Eve] by Jo Davis

I waited for this installment for SO long, ever since the first book where we were introduced to Sean Tanner and his grim past and grimmer present. Also I was very intrigued as with how it will work between him and Eve Marshal and not only because he is actually her boss. Being the only female firefighter can be difficult I"m sure but also harboring a HUGE crush on her boss (even before he was available) can't be easy.. then seeing him ripped to pieces by lose and being (almost) unable to pull himself together while not being able to actually DO anything to help is also heart crushing. 

Unlike the previous novels, Eve and Sean have known each other for YEARS. So while it was a new concept for Sean realizing he is actually interested in her as woman instead of just a trusty friend, for Eve, it's all she can wish for herself but she is also very concious of the fact that Sean has a long way to go to his recovery and them "going at it" will be lusty and enjoyable but probably won't amount to more, her being some sort of a "rebound" when he is finally sober. 

While Sean DOES want Eve, it's very difficult for him to understand for himself what exactly he wants from her and also accept that having her meaning leaving his past behind. Not forgetting but saying goodbye to his lost family and opening himself for a new relationship with it's possibilities. Naturally it's not easy since for both Eve and himself the emotions are already developed from years of knowing each other, hurting her is the last thing he wants, but lets face it, he is also frightened for himself. He lost his family, what will he do if he loses Eve as well?

The relationship buildup between them was heart breaking. It was sad and emotional at times and sweet, sexy and steamy (!) at others. It was well balanced and felt very genuine. Even with the problems they were having, which all made perfect sense, they were still grown up about it. So even if a door was slammed (figuratively speaking) it was never left this way for long, on the contrary it was addressed immediately. 

This IS romantic SUSPENSE and boy did we have action! In the previous novel it was revealed that Jesse Rose was the head behind the arsonist, collecting the insurance money to be used in a major blow out though what exactly the FBI (who got involved in the end) didn't know... They were looking for Jesse for a while now, not knowing what he is doing in Sugarland. He is actually planning his revenge on the man who betrayed his trust 20 years ago when they were best friends, almost like brothers, serving in the Marines together - that man being Sean Tanner.. 

The story was told from both MC, like the previous novels, as well as Jesse and one of the FBI agents. Sean was trying to understand who is after him and why, coming short every time. Even when Jesse was on his mind he never thought it COULD be him or just how much Jesse was involved with his lost 2 years ago. It was painful reliving Sean's personal hell with him and realize it was even worse than what he thought. 

The end had me on the end of my seat and I"m happy that it wasn't just about a fight between the guys, that Eve helped out to put Jesse down but also the way things happened was "well played" IMO. Also the ending made a lot of sense to me with everything that went down. I don't want to write exactly what I'll just say as a hint that naturally them being a couple isn't going to work with two of them keeping their exact jobs so the way the book ended made sense with the recent events, otherwise it would have been a stretch I wouldn't have appreciated. 

All in all it was a great novel, a good finishing one as well! I'm not sure why exactly I'm reducing half a star from my review. I enjoyed this one, I DID. But I wasn't rushing to read it when I went home from work as I did with other ones. I think I wanted MORE but I'm not sure what exactly. I have to say though that I had a VERY busy week and most of the days I returned home for an hour then rushed out again so I WAS tired when I finally got home, yet with a true 5 star book being tired isn't an excuse ;) 

There's a spin-off series by Jo called "Sugarland Blue". It also contains 5 novels, each tells the HEA of one of the cops, some we already know like Shane Ford (Shea's brother), Taylor Kayne (whom we've met in this novel), and Tonio Salvatore (Julian's brother). I'm planning on grabbing it somewhere near the ending of the year (since the last one in the series will be released by then). 

Good read. Great Romantic Suspense series! I had a blast ;)

Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 320 pages, 24-27 June 2015 / On GoodReads

 

ABOUT THIS SERIES 

 

Firefighters of Station Five by Jo Davis is a Romantic Suspense series in which every one of A-team's 5 firefighters finds his/her "Happily Ever After" but not before dealing with their haunted past as well as life threatening ordeals. 

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