Review: Hot for Fireman – Jennifer Bernard

Hot for Fireman by Jennifer Bernard
Series:  The Bachelor Fireman of San Gabriel #2
Release Date:  May 29, 2012
Publisher:  Avon
Source:  Edelweiss
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Ryan Blake got suspended from the San Gabriel firefighters a year and a half ago for a daredevil act that nearly killed someone. Now he’s back in San Gabriel, fighting to return to the force. He takes a job at a local dive, the Hair of the Dog, while he studies for the test that will get him his job back.

But the real test comes in the form of Katie Dane, bar manager. Katie got stuck running the family bar when her father had a heart attack. The place is losing money like crazy and the insurance is about to lapse. Her desperate solution? Burn the place down, collect a million dollars. The only problem–little does she know, her new bartender is actually a firefighter.

Can a professional fireman and a wannabe firebug ever manage to get along? More importantly, can they stay away from each other and/or keep from ruining each other’s careers? Not likely. This is San Gabriel, after all

Reviewer’s Thoughts:
I loved Ryan Blake in The Fireman Who Loved Me.  He was like a puppy, full of energy and easy to love.  So imagine my surprise when I read the blurb from this book and found out the Ryan was on a leave of absence from the Station 1.  WHAT?!?!?!?!

Ryan, being the thrill seeking, over eager firefighter that he was, made a bit of a mistake when he disobeyed a standing command and ran off on another call when he had no back up and that recklessness results in a civilian being injured and Ryan being forced into an leave of absence.  When we catch up with Ryan eighteen months after those events, he is most definitely a different man than the one we met in book one.  He’s more reflective and cautious and trying really hard to control the impulses that got him in trouble in the first place.  We find out there is much more to Ryan.  He’s a man that needs to have a sense of family and people around him that he can love and protect.

When Katie Dune meets Ryan Blake, it’s as he’s coming to the rescue of her family’s faltering bar’s bouncer.  She’s rubbed the wrong way by him because of his overly friendly nature, but she’s also drawn to him (and not only for his gorgeous face).  When he hops behind the bar to help her, she agrees to hire him, but she didn’t know that Ryan would thrown her entire world out of whack (more than it already is).  As Katie tries to come up with ways to get the money the bar needs to stay afloat, Ryan is right there helping her at every turn and working his way into her heart.

Ryan and Katie were a case of opposites attracting.  He being the type of person show doesn’t mind being the center of attention (whether it be brother in arms, 50 women cutting loose at a bachelorette party, or a cute four year old) while Katie has a hard time dealing with people one on one, let alone en masse.  But they balance each other out, just like a good couple should.   Where they have a similar trait is being able to share their feelings with someone else, but they manage to get that right eventually.

This was a fun read, mainly because of Ryan and the winks and comments he would use on Katie just to throw her off.  His fun-loving persona was enough to counteract Katie’s uptight nature and loosen her up a bit. 

If you’re wondering about their heat, they are hot.  Hot in a “I can’t wait to get you some place decent so let’s pull off in the wooded area so I can have you” kind of way.

If you read The Fireman Who Loved Me, you will most definitely enjoy this next installment in the series.  If you haven’t, you’ll still be able to pick this up without missing a beat.