Blurb:

BREAKING: ONE FIRE. ONE CARELESS ARTICLE. AND A SPARK NEITHER OF THEM IS QUALIFIED TO HANDLE.

Carlisle prides itself on being quietly respectable. Unfortunately, a breaking news reporter and a fire brigade watch manager have just made that considerably more combustible.

PHILIPPA

I have spent twenty years earning my place in the fire service. Same assessments. Same risks. Same decisions under pressure. So when a newspaper article about a farm fire leaves readers questioning whether I took charge quickly enough, I am not exactly delighted. Especially when the article also points out that I am the first female watch manager in the county.

I know how these things go. One careless line, one loaded quote, one little implication, and suddenly I am not just a professional doing her job. I am a debate. So when the Carlisle Gazette agrees to send the journalist responsible to shadow the station, I am not exactly thrilled. AJ Hodgson is tall, tired, annoyingly attractive, and far too good at looking sorry while still asking questions. He is here to learn what the job really involves. I am here to make sure he stays out of the way.

AJ

I thought I had written a fair article. Sharp, balanced, carefully phrased. Then I realised careful and harmless are not the same thing. Now I am spending two weeks at Fellside Fire Station, trading my newsroom desk for night shifts, hose drills, turnout gear, and a watch manager who can cut through my best excuses with one look.

Pippa Hart is sharp, capable, and absolutely not interested in being part of my redemption story. Which is fair. Unfortunately, she is also funny when she forgets not to be, terrifyingly competent under pressure, and increasingly difficult to keep out of my head. This assignment was supposed to teach me about firefighting. It was not supposed to make me want the woman whose trust I have not yet earned.

But between long shifts, dangerous call-outs, and the quiet moments after the alarms stop, lines start to blur. Because wanting each other is already complicated. Trusting each other might be harder. And in a job where everyone is watching, getting it wrong could burn more than either of them is ready to lose.

(Fair there’s a cheeky dose of adult content inside. Set in England and written in British English.)

*****

Review:

I loved how this became more than just a firefighter romance. And I also loved that it wasn’t really an enemies-to-lovers type situation. Instead it’s more of a misunderstanding coming out of AJ’s article than anything and time spent together gives them the opportunity to get to know each other better. It was so much slow burn but also so easy to read as AJ got to know not only Pippa, but the rest of the firefighters at the station. Learning how the fire station works and how everyone interacts together. And most importantly to the article, how the job works. It’s a delightful look at their humanity and how they have to handle such a stressful job. And below it all is Pippa & AJ falling in love. It’s so sweet as they truly start to understand each other, their highlights and their hangups. AJ showing that he truly sees Pippa and appreciates everything about her. I have only read a couple of Elias’s books but each have had a good mix of humor and something a little deeper as she slowly makes her way to a HEA that works.