Ride the Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #5) by Jo Davis Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages Published December 7th 2010 by Signet Genre: Romantic Suspense Source: Publisher

The Book Vixen is back again guest reviewing today Ride The Fire by Jo Davis. Take it way BV.

Why I Read this Book: I read Line of Fire, the 4th book in this series, earlier this year and really liked it. When I was given the opportunity to read Ride the Fire, I jumped at the chance. Romantic Suspense is becoming one of my favorite genres to read.

What I Liked: I like that I got closer to Sean’s character. Ride of Fire is the long awaited story of Sean and Eve. Poor Sean has been through a lot. He and his crew had responded to the call and when they arrived on the scene, Sean learned it was his wife and two children that had perished. He has been carrying around this huge weight of guilt on his shoulders for the past two years because he was suppose to be with his family the day of the crash. Instead he was covering another shift at the fire station.

I love the character of Eve. She is my favorite female from this series. She’s a strong woman, which you have to be when working in a male dominated line of work. Until now, everyone except Sean has known that Eve has had feelings for Sean. Sean was too busy drowning in his own misery to even notice. Even though Eve kept her feelings to herself, it was clear to the other guys at the station how she felt about Sean just by the way she looked at him. There never seemed to be a right time for her to make a move; Sean at first had been a married man with children. Now Sean comes with major emotional baggage and his being a recovering alcoholic doesn’t make things any easier.Add in the fact that Sean is the Fire Captain of Station Five, and Eve’s superior, and well, you get a tricky situation.

I really like that the villain’s narrative was told in short snippets. I don’t like reading a lot from the villain’s POV, as I feel it takes away from the hero and heroine of the story, so this was good.

What I Didn’t Like: There was one love scene that was a bit…out there for me (for lack of a better words). One word: foil. It doesn’t belong anywhere in a love scene. I cringe just thinking about it.

Please correct me if I’m wrong but I believe Ride the Fire is the last book in this series and this saddens me. A new character was brought into Station Five’s A-Shift, which would enable another book to be added to this series, but from what I’ve read online I think the author might do a novella for this character instead of a full-length novel (if anything). This of course didn’t effect my review or opinion of Ride the Fire but I don’t like that it has come to an end (if my assumptions are indeed correct).

Overall Impression: It’s been days since I’ve finished reading this book and I’m still thinking about Sean, Eve and the guys at Station Five. Ride the Fire, along with the rest of the Firefighters of Station Five series, is the perfect blend of romance and suspense. Neither element overshadows the other. Jo Davis creates a great combination of romance, steamy love scenes with mystery and suspense mixed in. I was pulled right into the book and before I knew it, the last page was turned. I wasn’t ready to let go.

Reading tip - I had read Line of Fire (book 4) first, before any other book in this series, and that book was fine to read as a stand alone. However, I do not recommend reading Ride the Fire as a stand alone since bits and pieces of Sean’s story has been written into each book in this series. Sean’s story begins in book 1, Trial by Fire. And you continue to get his story along the way in the other books. I knew that before I could read Ride the Fire I would have to read the first 3 books in the series in order for the story to come full circle, so I did. So to truly appreciate Ride the Fire and Sean’s journey, I highly recommend and encourage you to read this series in order. Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the rest of the boys, now would you

Series list:

1. Trial by Fire
2. Under Fire
3. Hidden Fire
4. Line of Fire
5. Ride the Fire

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I Spy A Naughty Game by Jo Davis Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: NAL Trade Available: September 7, 2010 Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense (Erotic)

A tantalizing tale of erotic suspense in which a mask slips-and everything is revealed…

Blaze Kelly, one of the Secret Homeland Defense Organization’s top spies, is a powerful D/S master, and all raw male. Yet underneath his mask hides a wounded soul that aches for love. Emma Foster wears disguises too as part of her job for SHADO. But she’s not excited about her next mission-with the man who broke her heart.

Together they must infiltrate a group that plans to transfer a weapon of mass destruction into enemy hands-a mission that involves them in an illicit sexual game. As they are forced to explore their most dangerous desires, they face a challenge that could break even the steeliest of spies…

Reviewed by: Sophia (FV) 

Blaze Kelly is a member of the SHADO team, a secret governmental organization that takes orders directly from the president.  He’s deeply involved in the BDSM scene as a Dom.  When he reveals this to the woman he loves, Emma Foster (also a member of SHADO), she decides she cannot be a part of his world and he will never be happy without it so they go their separate ways.  While both of them are still hurting over the breakup they are assigned to work together on a dangerous mission to apprehend a traitor who is trying to sell weapons of mass destruction.  They have to go undercover as a D/s couple which will surely involve lots of very hot sex in public places and perhaps even heal their romantic relationship. 

I Spy a Naughty Game is the first book I’ve read by Jo Davis.  I’ve heard wonderful things about her Firefighter series so this erotic spy series seemed like one I would surely enjoy.  Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the characters, the erotic scenes fell flat and at times the behavior of the characters left me scratching my head. This story  lacked the emotional intensity and sexual tension it takes for an erotic romance to work for me.  The characters seemed as though they were simply going through the motions in the many sex scenes and I never had the sense that they really truly loved each other. 

Emma was opposed to the BDSM lifestyle but her ‘inner voice’ kept telling her that maybe she was turned on by it.  I just didn’t buy the fact that she struggled with the lifestyle enough to end a relationship with the man she loves only to turn around and plunge headfirst into the lifestyle posing his submissive with very little reservation.  I was not convinced at all.  While in the midst of a very serious situation while in captivity, she lets her hair down and enjoys some sexy time with one of her would-be captors.  Admittedly he might have been one of the good guys but the whole situation seemed ridiculous and unbelievable. 

Blaze as a Dominate lacked the exciting alpha charisma that normally puts the zing in this type of erotic romance.  Yes, he was in charge during sex scenes but he never really felt dominate in a way that a submissive would want to surrender themselves to.  Again because of the lack of emotional intensity between Emma and Blaze, I eventually became bored with their BDSM relationship.

Since Emma and Blaze are members of a super secret spy organization I expected a lot more action and suspense.  There is a decent action scene late in the story but it came too late to revive my interest and most of the circumstances surrounding the agents and their undercover operations seemed too implausible to be believable.  This book was not for me.

 

 

Other books in the series:

• I Spy a Wicked Sin
• I Spy a Dark Obsession (Feb 2011)

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Line of Fire: The Firefighters of Station Five by Jo Davis Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Signet Available: May 4, 2010 Genre: Contemporary Romance Book received from: Penguin

After a day of putting out fires, the sizzling-hot men of Station Five tend to start a different kind of blaze. Take all-American–and all-sexy–Tommy Skyler…. To the other men of the A-shift, Tommy’s a lucky guy who has it all. But deep inside, the golden boy of Station Five hides a private pain. He was once a star quarterback on the fast track, until tragedy derailed his dream. Ever since then, he’s struggled with the choices he’s made–including his decision to become a firefighter.

His one ray of light shines in beautiful nurse Shea Ford. And when a dangerous rescue lands Tommy in the ER, what better opportunity to win her over? As Shea gives in to her feelings for him, Tommmy and she reach the heights of passion. But when a conspiracy culminates in deadly arson, Tommy will lose more than he ever imagined. A ruthless enemy is closing in, threatening to destroy the couple’s love–and their lives.

REVIEWER: The Book Vixen

Tommy Skyler is a 23-year old firefighter at Station Five in Sugarland Tennessee. He was on his way to becoming a football hero, until the tragic death of his brother. Tommy feels like he is constantly living in his late brother’s shadow and will never live up to his parents’ expectations like his brother did. Tommy comes to the realization that he became a firefighter for the wrong reason and now wants to pursue his interest in becoming an Arson Investigator. One thing Tommy is sure about is the feelings he has for Shea.

Shea is a 28-year old ER nurse at the Sugarland hospital. She has a twin brother, Shane, who’s on the police force. She’s casually dating Forrest Prescott, the city manager because he’s boring and safe. She has feelings for Tommy but won’t act on them. Shea has suffered through her own set of losses and is reluctant to be in a relationship with Tommy because of that.

Tommy has no problem letting Shea know how he feels about her and what he wants. The two have only been on a couple of dates but Shea will not allow herself to get involved with him. Even though she has feelings for him, she keeps her distance. She thinks he’s too young and lacks experience. She’s been burnt in the past by someone like Tommy (a handsome, sexy athlete) and that’s keeping her from allowing herself to have a relationship with him. However, Shea cannot keep her emotions and desires bottled up any longer when the two share a steamy kiss at a friend’s wedding.

Line of Fire is full of romance and steamy love scenes with a splash of mystery and suspense. This combination had me eager to turn the page and left me wanting more. The love scenes were scorching hot!

In her bedroom, he placed her gently on her bed, then straightened. His pale blue gaze never leaving hers, he shed his shirt and slid his jeans off along with his boxer briefs, kicking them away. Shea drank in the sight of his naked body like a woman dying of thirst. Clothed, he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. Wearing nothing except a grin, the man was a pagan god.

I was rooting for Tommy and Shea all the way. I found myself grinning ear to ear when I was reading most of this book. I, for one, love a man in uniform, especially firefighters. They are the epitome of sexy.

The only parts of the book that didn’t completely capture my interest were the narratives from William Hensley’s and Joseph Hensley’s point of view. William is caught in the middle of the conspiracy that takes place; Joseph is William’s grandfather. I understand the need to fill the reader in with what is going on but I didn’t feel engaged during these parts. Other than that, Line of Fire was a delicious read.

Line of Fire is the 4th book in the Firefighters of Station Five series but can be read as a stand alone without a hitch. I have not read the first three books in the series but that didn’t hinder my reading experience whatsoever. I’ve already added them to my wishlist and cannot wait to read them. The characters are enjoyable (and not to mention hot!) and I want to get to know each one’s story. I hope that Shane, Shea’s twin brother, will get a book of his own (perhaps a spin off series?).

 

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Other books in the series:

• Trial by Fire
• Under Fire
• Hidden Fire

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