Hidden Fire

5 stars – Romantic Suspense<br /><br />For me, reading Jo Davis’s <i> <b>Firefighters of Station Five</b> </i> series is kind of like indulging in a pint of Ben &amp; Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream, just pure rapturous pleasure. I mean, it’s not like I fool myself for one minute into thinking I’m eating it for the calcium content...I know it’s all about the ooey gooey, decadent combination of chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and caramel swirls. And that’s how I feel about this latest installment in the FoSF series that’s all about the pleasurable mix of thrilling suspense, smokin’ hot, borderline erotic sex, and sexy-as-sin, king of the sheets Latin lover, and surprisingly tender firefighter hero Julian Salvatore...it’s just unadulterated, delectable, steamy, fun entertainment to savor! <br /><br />I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Julian Salvatore as the lead romantic hero because in the two previous FoSF books, he’s been the notorious ladies’ man, Latin heartthrob playboy with an attitude who keeps his firefighting teammates at a distance, but consider me very pleasantly surprised by how much I flat-out <i>loooved</i> him in this! Julian’s backstory reveals that a painful secret from his adolescence is the reason behind his playboy ways and remoteness as a means of self-preservation. But lately he’s become tired of chasing women and one night stands and is starting to question whether or not protecting his heart is worth the perpetual loneliness he feels.<br /><br />Julian harbors an intense attraction towards his fellow firefighter and friend, Howard Six-Pack Paxton’s, sister-in-law, lawyer Grace McKenna, but he’s started to lose hope of it ever going anywhere after months of being turned down. Grace feels the explosive chemistry between her and Julian, but she’s determined to ignore their passionate connection because she worries about his ladies’ man reputation and doesn’t think that he fits into her carefully laid plans for the future. But when Julian is injured while working a traffic accident on the job, and then it turns out his really close call wasn’t so accidental after all, Grace is forced to finally face her desire and feelings for Julian. And then <i>whew</i> boy...do these two set some major five-alarm fires to the sheets or what?!...<i>YOWZZZA</i>! Hot, hot, <i>hawwwt</i>! <br /><br />Could a ghost from Julian’s past be tied to the kidnappings and murders that have rocked Nashville? And when Julian is targeted by a dangerous, sadistic killer, will it be too late for Grace and Julian to forge a future together? But even more pressing, can they optimize their hot, sweaty bedroom sessions when someone’s constantly attacking Julian? Have no fear ladies, he is a generous, tender, romantic Latin lover after all, so of course they find a way to fit in lots of steamy sex between threats on his life! <br /> <br />Julian is my favorite FoSF hero so far, and I liked <b>Hidden Fire</b> more than <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/6069525.Under_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___2_" title="Under Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #2) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Under Fire</a> and just as much as <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/3516986.Trial_by_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___1_" title="Trial by Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #1) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Trial by Fire</a>. It’s an exciting, gripping suspense read with sweet, steamy romance between a too yummy for words, too good to be true firefighter hero and a strong, smart, albeit needs a hit upside the head frustrating when it comes to admitting her feelings, heroine, and of course, several scorch the pages hot sex scenes! A deliciously satisfying 5 stars!<br />

<br /><b>4.5/5</b><br /><br />I love it when an author can take a character who appears to be a shallow, self absorbed, womanizer and turn him into one of the most loveable men on the planet. Such is the case with Julian Salvatore. Book 1, <i>Trial by Fire</i> and book 2, <i>Under Fire</i> both showed him to be quite the ladies man. He’s carefree, no strings, no commitments, sex on demand and seeming to never, <i>never</i> taking life or any part of it, seriously. I couldn’t imagine exactly how Ms. Davis was going to turn him into a compelling, compassionate hero who I’d identify with and want to care about, but she did.<br /><br />Grace Mckenna, Kat Paxton’s sister, made her very first and very brief appearance in the series in book 1, <i>Trial By Fire</i>. We know her to be totally absorbed in her work, not interested in a relationship with a man… blah blah blah. Same story, different heroine. I didn’t find anything really exciting about her which is unfortunate because Julian is such an exceptional character. <br /><br />I find the team dynamic very interesting and enjoy the way the author creates interactions between each person that are often times funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but always believable. Frequently in families there will be one person who keeps everyone together – that one relative who everyone looks up to and depends on to keep things going. When something happens and that person is no longer able to do that job, or to be that person to act as the glue keeping everything in place, someone else has to step in and do it. Such is the case with the Station 5 family. Sean Tanner might be the Captain, but Howard Paxton seems to be the boss. He’s the one everyone turns to, depends on, and whose opinion is most valued. <br /><br /><b>Slight spoiler</b> <br />I guess what has me thinking along these lines is the team intervention which was planned to help Sean see how much everyone cared about him, for his wellbeing and how desperately they wanted to help him. They spoke openly and while the words weren’t flowery or eloquent, they were from the heart. I appreciated the authenticity with which that scene was written, and without going into too much detail, the realism of how it turned out. <b>End spoiler</b><br /><br />For me, the bottom line is that I appreciated the honesty with which this story was written. Julian’s past, the nightmares, the confrontation, then the self doubt… all very realistic to me. However, after reading the first three books in the series, I’ve come to the conclusion that part Jo Davis’ writing style depends on coincidence to be able to tell the story or resolve the conflicts. While <i>Hidden Fire</i> is my favorite of the three I’ve read, we see a continuation of chance, happenstance and luck playing a big part in propelling the story which then takes me from believing it to being skeptical of it.<br /><br />See, the thing is, Jo Davis’ writing is very good. She has this amazing ability to give us tormented, complicated, interesting heroes and heroines, which she has proven with Julian, Howard Paxton, Sean Tanner, Zack… but their stories themselves, which start out very good, end up being… <i>meh</i>. I mean no disrespect, truly I don’t, but what could be a 5 star read falls short for me. Maybe she just loves writing with lots of coincidence in her plots, but it doesn’t work well – or at least as well as it could – <i>for me</i>. Lord knows I couldn’t write a book and I’m the last person on the planet who should be criticizing, but this is how it feels, how it seems to me.<br /><br />Book 4, <i>Line of Fire</i> is next and I’m hoping for a great read!<br />

^^I FOUND THE FIRE AND I WANT IT TO BURN!^^<br /><br />Why am I naked? I will tell you why. Its because of Julian Salvatore, he is like that thing you know you shouldn’t have but you have some anyways, and then you only promised yourself a small taste, but that taste leads to you eating a slice, and the next thing you know, you want the whole bloody thing. That is Julian Salvatore, the sexiest man in Jo Davis firefighters of station five series. This one I really liked, the story behind it is creepy and intense, and Julian is a tall drink of Corona( or some exotic beer or liqueur) this sexy Hispanic hottie, goes straight to your head. Dizzy much!<br /><br />We know Julian Salvatore as the ladies man of the bunch and he also can be considered the Ahole of the group. He fronts like he cares for no one, and he doesn’t need anybody, underneath all that bluster is the sweetest and most gorgeous man ever. There are circumstances which has led Julian to guard his feelings and you can empathize as to why. See Julian was molested as a child, and he is struggling with how it led to the destruction of his family. Without knowing his molestation was apart of something bigger, something sinister. This leads him closer to the one woman who might bring his bachelorhood to a close. Grace Mckenna is everything he wants and she is the one woman who wont have him.<br /><br />Grace is playing hard to get, her reasons for avoiding Julian in the beginning is understandable then it just becomes plain stupid. I want to keep my independence, blah blah, for a lawyer she sure was stupid, but I liked her. She is a ride and die chick, when the going got tough for Julian she was always there. In the end she became the perfect balance to Jules sexy.<br /><br />I always like a good story with my romance and this book had it, its heavy on the content, with kidnapping and torture, those kinds of story lines always touch me. The creep factor was high for me, was not surprised who was the ring leader in the murders, you might be, because it was kinda unusual.<br /><br />Lets talk about the sex, Jesu it was awesome, the description of Julian was just so sexy. He is by far my fave firefighter, he is beautiful and he gots angst, just how I like them. Him and Grace together, lit up all kinds of fire and it was just bloody awesome. A great addition to the firefighter series. I am just excited for the last few books.<br /><br />P.S There is a hot sex scene with Grace bent over the hood of Julian's porsche, all the ways I died after reading it was so, so good.

I loved this book! So happy to see that Jo Davis is back on track after the disappointing (to me) <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/6006369.When_Alex_Was_Bad_A_Novel_of_Erotic_Suspense" title="When Alex Was Bad A Novel of Erotic Suspense by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">When Alex Was Bad A Novel of Erotic Suspense</a>, and to a lesser extent, the slightly far-fetched <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/6069525.Under_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___2_" title="Under Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #2) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Under Fire</a>. This is book #3 in JD's <b>Firefighters of Station Five</b> series, and yes, you should read the previous two before you dive into this sweetly sexy, yet suspenseful book. This is drop-dead-gorgeous, firefighter/paramedic, (and I hate to use this term...) man-whore Julian Salvatore's story, and to my surprise, what a dreamboat he turned out to be. I fell for him hook, line and sinker, and I wanted his commitment-phobe dream girl, lawyer Grace McKenna to fall for this Latin charmer too. She resisted him as much as humanly possible, I guess, but really, <i>she didn't stand a chance</i>. Who could resist a charming, hunky guy with a bit of a tragic, (and to him, humiliating) secret past, a guy who's determined to win you over and put his man-on-the-make ways behind him just so he could win your heart forever? Yeah, not me either.<br /><br />Grace and Julian had met before,(in her sister Kat's book--<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/3516986.Trial_by_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___1_" title="Trial by Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #1) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Trial by Fire</a>), and had even shared a kiss, but Grace is very leery of Julian due to his less than stellar reputation. This guy was not the type to want to settle down. Thirty-year-old Julian's always been a bit immature acting, kind of cocky, not really a buddy with the other firefighters at the station, and just out for a good time while romancing woman after woman. But the cocky attitude, the womanizing ways, the good-time-Charlie persona, is all an act to hide his secret shame. But when he meets Grace, he feels the cool, blonde, willowy beauty may just be the one woman who he'd be comfortable showing his true self to, if only he could melt her reserve. Grace has no trouble wanting to share her body with Julian, but has no desire to lose control with him. Committing her heart to him (or any man) would mean a loss of her freedom, a loss of control, a loss of her dreams, and that scares Grace more than a little. But gradually, the more Julian and Grace spend time together, the more he worms his way into her heart, breaking down her well guarded barriers. And once Julian lets Grace in on his the secrets in his past, they both realize that his past may be connected to a serial killer lurking in the Nashville area. When Julian's life is put in danger time and again by someone determined to silence him, Grace realizes that she may have done the unthinkable--she's fallen in love with the former bad boy. But will the serial killer who's connected to Julian's past get in the way of their future?<br /><br />This one one very <i>quick</i> read, and happily I had no trouble focusing and had no 'mind-wandering' moments. I was glued to the pages and had a hard time putting this one down. I <i>loved</i> the characters (and enjoyed revisiting past characters), the plot had just enough suspense and some very creepy villains doing unspeakable things, and while the ending built to an (almost) TSTL moment for Grace and Julian (NO! Don't go hunting in that spooky cave unarmed and by yourselves--wait for the police!), I was willing to forgive that heroic, but stupid decision because I loved Julian and Grace so much. And of course, Julian had to have one of those moments that a lot of romance heroes have--that "you're-better-off-without-me-baby" thing that's <i>always</i> a bad idea, but thankfully that didn't last all that long nor did it hinder my enjoyment of the book.<br /><br />Now, the romance between Grace and Julian? <i>Mega-hot</i>! Of course I've read more <i>explicit</i> scenes, but the scenes between Grace and Julian really moved me <i>emotionally</i>. I loved reading/hearing each character's inner dialogue too--I loved reading what they were thinking even if it wasn't something that they were saying. Julian was just so vulnerable, and reading his thoughts and desires, and the sweet things he said to Grace (often in Spanish), and the loving way he treated her, brought me to tears a couple of times. Just a really, sweet, good guy--well done, JD, for turning this character around! And (as Julian would say) Madre de Dios, Grace, how can you resist him?<br /><br />There were a few unanswered questions in this one for me (why did the villain conveniently relocate to Nashville from San Antonio?), a few unresolved plot points (fire captain Sean's continuing struggle with alcohol to deal with his grief), but all in all this was just a very good read and a nice addition to the series. After JD gets done writing the stories for the rest of the firefighters, I hope she has a story left for Detective Shane Ford. Maybe she'll hook him up with one of Julian's sisters--maybe Tawny?<br /><br />If you're looking for a sexy, romantic, fast-paced, suspenseful 'comfort' read, then this is it. It's got all the elements a good romance should have, and it should have you eagerly anticipating the next book in the series, Tommy Skyler's story (<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/7098762.Line_of_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___4_" title="Line of Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #4) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Line of Fire</a>) 4 1/2 stars.

Opening Line: <i>"Julian Salvatore sprayed a steady stream of water at station five's ambulance, rinsing off the soapsuds and gyrating around the vehicle to "Life in the Fast Lane" blaring from the radio just inside the bay."</i><br /><br />Hidden Fire is book #3 in the romantic, suspenseful and sexy firefighters of station five series. This time we get bad boy Julian Salvatore’s story. Often excluded by his fellow members in ‘A’ shift because of his aloof attitude and man-whore reputation, in actuality Julian’s hiding a terrible secret from his past and wants desperately to fit in with his crew. He’s also in love with a woman he met 2 books ago in <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/3516986.Trial_by_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___1_" title="Trial by Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #1) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Trial by Fire</a>. A beautiful yet icy defence attorney who won’t give him an inch.<br /><br />So far I’ve really enjoyed this series, I mean how could you not? With hard bodied firemen heroes, smoking hot love scenes, and exciting action-suspense storylines it’s always a great ride. <br /><br />Part of the fun in reading these books is also the anticipation of how many concussions/trips to the hospital/shootings/stabbings/drownings our heroes will have to endure before they get the bad guy and win the girl. Jo Davis just loves to beat up her men and it’s become a bit of a game for me counting the injuries. I also like how all the books are slightly connected with updates from past characters and continuing story arcs. Here we get to catch up with Howard, Zach and fan favourite Captain Sean’s ongoing struggle with the bottle.<br /><br />Grace McKenna’s been trying to avoid Julian’s irresistible Latin charm and ongoing advances, yet despite her all work no play attitude she can’t seem to stop thinking about him. After witnessing his almost frantic reaction to her latest client Grace finally concedes to a date, realizing that theres more to this sexy stud muffin then meets the eye. Julian is of course thrilled however this former ladies man has just fallen for a commitment-phobe and its going to take a long time for her to return those 3 little words he's dying to hear.<br /><br />Of course while this romance is taking place theres also a serial killer on the loose, with violent ties to Julian’s past and now it appears a hold on his future as well as he’s set his sights on Julian as his next victim. As much as I enjoyed the romance here I also really liked this chilling suspense storyline which was frightening, thrilling and in the end, with the disclosure of the killers identity, urprising too. We’re also introduced to police detective Shane who I’m hoping to see more of in future books.<br /><br />My only real issue here were the love scenes which tended to read more like erotica then romance. I’m not complaining, they’re hot but they tended to also feel gratuitous and slightly out of tune with the general feel of the book. Grace receiving oral sex on the couch before they’ve even been on a first date was strange and came (pardon the pun) out of nowhere. Then they decided they were just going to be friends. There was also Julian’s weird domination/anal play issue. This just felt out of character for him especially since it was their fist time together and he had been all soft and lovey-dovey moments before. Anyways… <br /><br />There are still a couple of hot firemen waiting to have their stories told, <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/7098762.Line_of_Fire__Firefighters_of_Station_Five___4_" title="Line of Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #4) by Jo Davis" rel="noopener">Line of Fire</a> is up next in this recommended series.

The third in the Firefighters of Station Five did not disappoint me! Loved it! There is nothing deep here. So far all three have some kind of suspense, but I it is pretty light and solved quite easily. The important part is that you will fall hard for each fireman and root him and his girl. LOL. I loved Julian! A Latin Lover, and sweet guy, who had a horrible trauma when he was a teen. The other guys at the station think he’s an asshole who only cares about himself, and they don’t’ think much of him outside of the job. Lately, he has come to realize he’s tired of empty sex with strangers. He’s getting older and wants to find someone to love him and settle down with. He was floored when he met Grace, Six-Pack’s sister-in-law. She’s a career woman, who rarely dates. She doesn’t have time for it. He’s been pursuing her for months and she keeps brushing him off. He can’t get her out of his mind, though. As fate would have it, Julian runs in to Grace on a job and she happens to have a ghost from his past with her. <br /><br />Julian and Grace do get together about halfway though the book. Whew! Pretty steamy! Julian is always whispering endearments in Spanish that just make you wish you were Grace. Ok, I think I’ve gushed enough over their hero. Julian knows pretty quickly that Graced is The One, and she knows it too, but she’s a commitment-phoebe. She doesn’t mean to, but she hurts him a bit and it made me mad. <br /><br />Both of their lives are in danger, and it is all connected to Julian’s past. What happened to Julian? <br /><br />One small thing that I didn’t like was that one of the secondary characters was killed off, and I really didn’t think it was necessary to do that. Was that the only way to get her out of way? On top of that give her an over the top brutal death? I thought that could have been left out.<br /><br />I recommend this series for anyone looking for fantasy heroes, action, and high steam. We all know its fluff, but we love it! I’m looking forward to Tommy and Sean’s stories.<br />

Fantastic! The third book in the Firefighters of Station Five series and it knocked my socks off. Excellent writing, with humorous dialogue and character thoughts that had me chuckling in several places. Excellent suspense, with a serial killer plot and catching the "bad guys." Excellent romance, oo-la-la hot. A scorcher! <br /><br />Julian Salvatore's character was introduced in the first book of this series. He came off as a jerk, but this tale had him growing and what a guy he turned out to be. Half Italian, half Hispanic, he was one smooth talking ladies man. A stud-muffin! But his heart belonged to one lady....<br /><br />Grace McKenna, first introduced in an earlier book, is the sister if Kat (married to Six-Pack/Howard). She played the powerful attorney well because she did it with style and finesse without coming off as too strong. It was her character that had the most growing to do and she did it with the help and understanding of a sexy firefighter, Julian.<br /><br />Looks like "little" Tommy and Sean (the captain) got set up for future books and I can't wait! Thought the team handled the intervention well, and I was relieved that the actual intervention was condensed to a few pages.<br /><br />The who-done-it surprised me.<br /><br />Another favorite from This Reader. :-)

3.5 stars.<br /><br />I loved learning more about Julian but couldn't find it in me to connect with Grace on an emotional level. I liked the fact that she was smart, sensible and quite amusing at times, but wow she was so much frigging hard work. I also couldn't see any familial similarity between her and Kat because she is a deadset cold bitch.<br /><br />The storyline was also kind of depressing but yeah, I'm more than happy to suffer the little low points when there's hot firefighting action to enjoy.<br />

The third book in this series was as good as the first book. Again, great characters, although I thought Grace took too long to acknowledge her feelings for Julian.

Julian Salvatore, notorious ladies man, a big, sexy, hunka-licious chunk of prime Italo-Hispanic meat, has finally met his match in Grace McKenna, his Lieutenant’s sister-in-law. Pity, she doesn’t want anything to do with him, thanks to his reputation. And pity, he can’t make her understand that he can indeed change—and is quite willing to—for her.<br /><br />Well, she can’t see what’s right in front of her eyes until the day he gets hurt. Once she realizes she might miss the best opportunity of her life, all bets are off. But the stakes are much higher than they imagine, when a ghost from Julian’s past starts gunning for both of their lives.<br /><br /><br />Another Julian-Grace couple. But unlike the hero and heroine of <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/470916.Fantasy_Lover__Dark_Hunter___1_" title="Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter, #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon" rel="noopener">Fantasy Lover</a> that made me starry eyed, this couple sadly failed in that endeavor.<br />It was no fault of Julian’s. Oh, no. The guy was absolutely perfect. I love these bad-boy-growing-up-and-maturing-when-the-right-woman-comes-along type of stories, and I was itching to read Julian’s ever since he saw Grace for the first time and "the beer bottle stopped on its way to his mouth" (or something like that). I knew his book would be a beauty, and at least in part I was right.<br />Yeah, my gripe isn’t with Julian. He did everything right, said everything right, pushed just right, relented just right, changed just right, kept just the right traits, and the fact he stopped his womanizing ways way before hooking up with Grace, and dragged his feet about giving up on her for good even when she barely acknowledged his existence was so uber-sweet I almost bawled.<br /><br />So why didn’t this romance make me starry eyed? Because of the heroine, of course. At first I completely understood her reservations about setting herself up for heart-break with Julian. The guy was a player, everybody knew it, and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. But once Julian started to change and grow with each page I read, Grace’s reservations started to bug me mightily. Usually when a heroine is a commitment-phobe, there’s a good reason for that, but Grace herself said there wasn’t any incident from her past to incite her to protect her heart so fiercely. She grew up in a loving family, so there was absolutely no emotional baggage involved, yet she was skittish to a point of panic whenever Julian moved too close. Sure, you’re career oriented, but there’s absolutely no reason you can’t have it both ways…Yet she persisted, and even when Julian finally uttered the L-word (the man took the final plunge first!), she still pushed him away…Until she went too far and, coupled with his own misgivings, Julian finally gave in.<br />Which should’ve made her happy. Wrong! Make up your mind already!<br /><br />And this was also the book in which Ms. Davis finally succeeded in mixing suspense and romance in pretty much equal amounts. Finally! The suspense plot was intricately woven into the story, connected to Julian’s past (*shudder*), the red herring thrown into the mix made it all seem so easy and so simple to unravel, so when the real truth came out it was a real shock, I certainly didn’t see that one coming.<br />The only problem with the suspense subplot were a few holes here and there. I missed the explanations for the big moves and for the gruesome method of disposal the baddies used.<br /><br />So those (little) holes and the heroine’s emotional walls are the only reasons this book doesn’t get the 5-star rating. Here’s to hoping the next one will.