Dylan was a rodeo bronc buster and bull rider who finds his daughter abandoned by her mother, returns home to care for her and settle down. Kristy is a librarian, they loved each other as teenagers and he broke her heart. They've grown up and matured and find a way to heal together.
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Excellent setup for the Bachelor Firemen series. Maribel is a waitress at the diner where the firemen often stop for coffee. She is the single mother of a nine year old boy and has been in a long distance relationship with a celebrity photographer for six years. That doesn't stop her from noticing Kirk whenever he comes into the diner. She finds him incredibly sexy and also very sweet.

Kirk has had it bad for Maribel for years. The problem is that he gets so tongue tied around her that he hasn't been able to let her know he's interested. Besides, she engaged. Plus, he's recovering from a bout of skin cancer that could come back at any time. Because of it, he's planning to move to Alaska, where the climate would be safer for him. He doesn't want anyone worrying about him.

Maribel's son Pete hates her fiance. He can see that the man has no interest in anything but his own interests. He's a smart kid with a great imagination. When he finds an abandoned dog he befriends it, even though it means sneaking off against his mother's wishes. Taking care of the dog puts him in the path of Kirk, who befriends him. The two of them hit it off, which gets Kirk a chance to see Maribel away from the diner and his fellow firemen.

Suddenly Maribel is getting exposure to a whole different kind of man than her fiance. Kirk's kindness to her and connection to her son opens her eyes to just what a selfish jerk her fiance is. Maribel also feels things for Kirk that she never experienced with Duncan. Once she has ended her engagement the romance between her and Kirk really takes off, though she worries about it being too fast.

I loved the ending and seeing Maribel discover just how much Kirk cares for her and Pete. She sees the way he puts everyone else before his own needs which makes her care for him even more. She really stuns him with her demonstration of just how much she and Pete love him.

I loved the big part that the little dog played in the story. Pete's finding the dog gave him something to care for. He also brought Kirk and Maribel together as they tried to find a way to give Pete time with the pooch and yet keep him safe. Having the background of the dog slowly revealed made him just as real as the human characters. I loved the solution they came up with for the pup's future! ( )

Reviewed for Read Your Writes Book Reviews
www.readyourwrites.blogspot.com

One Fine Fireman is a sweet and surprisingly hot book. Kirk, aka Thor, is a member of San Gabriel Fire Station 1. The station is supposedly cursed in the romance department, meaning the handsome firefighters aren’t supposed to find love. Kirk and Maribel have been attracted to each other for six years. Kirk is too shy to say more than five words to her. Maribel has been in a long distance relationship for the whole time and is also engaged. Thus making Maribel off limits in his mind.

One day Maribel’s nine-year-old son, Pete, finds a puppy and follows it to an abandoned warehouse. The same warehouse where Kirk just happens to be working on his motorcycle. Kirk ends up taking Pete back home, where he is actually able to get more than five words out. Maribel is allergic to animals and agrees that Pete can take care of the dog as long as Kirk helps him and the dog stays away from the house.

Over time Pete and Kirk form a pretty strong bond. This relationship leads Maribel to FINALLY question her relationship with her fiance’, Duncan. Duncan is self-absorbed, lives on the East Coast and doesn’t really seem to be very fond of Pete. He hardly finds times to visit Maribel on the West Coast and NEVER wants to spend time with Pete.

Through Pete’s relationship with Kirk, Kirk and Maribel grow closer. After a while Kirk confesses his secret, which makes Maribel care for him even more. After it’s discovered that Maribel is no longer engaged, the two start their romance. When tragedy strikes, Maribel realizes just how important she and Pete are to Kirk.

One Fine Fireman is a really good start to this series. We get introduced to future characters. My only complaint is that I wish there was an Epilogue so I could found out what happens with Kirk, Maribel and Pete a year or so down the line.

Source: Edelweiss ( )

This review was originally posted on my blog.

Welcome to San Gabriel, California where the bachelor firemen are 'like hand grenades of testosterone rolling in the door, sucking all the air out of the room'. Their favorite coffee shop, called the Lazy Daisy, is where we meet the Maribel Boone. The easily frazzled mother of a nine year old boy, is a waitress with an artistic vein for photography. The highlight of her day is when the bachelor firemen stop by for their usual, especially one fireman in particular, Kirk. As the quiet one in the group, she's always hyper aware of his presence. Just looking at him makes her weak in the knees, and she has the propensity to babble whenever she tries to talk to him. Too bad he never says more than “coffee, black” to her. But it shouldn't matter. After all, she's engaged to Duncan, her hot shot celebrity photographer boyfriend of six years.

Kirk aka Thor, for his sexy likeness to the Viking God of Thunder, has had a crush on Maribel for as long as he can remember. Too bad he always gets tongue-tied around her. It's so bad that his buddies keep taking bets on how many words he can spit out in front of her. Looking at her gives him the proverbial butterflies in the stomach. As much as he'd love to, he can't confess his feelings for Maribel because he thinks he's damaged goods. But it shouldn't matter. After all, she's engaged and he's planning on moving to Alaska.

Then there's Maribel's son, Pete. He may be only nine years old, but he has a lively imagination and has a strong dislike of his mother's boyfriend. When she tells him that they'll be one happy family soon and moving to New York, Pete is less than enthusiastic. Imagining himself in the world of Harry Potter, he fervently wishes Hagrid would drop out of the sky on his motorcycle and work his magic. Little does Pete know that his new four-legged friend may be the answer to his prayers.

I loved this story. It was light, sweet, endearing, sexy, and funny! It's one of those romances that gives you the warm and fuzzies. The writing was light-hearted, it flowed well, and the characters' struggles felt real enough to be believable. The predictability of the plot didn't detract from the overall appeal of this story. I enjoyed the chemistry between Kirk and Maribel and Kirk and Pete. I can come up with all kinds of plausible explanations for Mari allowing Duncan to be a part of her life for so long, and I was proud of her for losing her rose-colored glasses so quickly. However, shortly after her epiphany, she has a moment of self-doubt when she's 'not ready to take any drastic steps. She needed to think things through before she made any irrevocable decisions.' I wanted to yell at her, “Yes, girlfriend, now IS the time for drastic steps, post haste, tout de suite, pronto!” The ending may have been rather convenient, but I was relieved and happy with the conclusion. I'm going to miss that little family.

I will definitely be picking up the rest of the books in this series because frankly, you can't beat such sweet, humorous stories with hot, caring firefighters. They're perfect for cold, wintry nights. There's an excerpt at the end of the book for the next book, [b:The Fireman Who Loved Me|12832043|The Fireman Who Loved Me (The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel, #1)|Jennifer Bernard|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329491127s/12832043.jpg|17982241], which is Ryan's story, and it was hysterical!

Favorite quote:

He was so hard he could hang a fireman's coat on his boner.

Impressive. Those coats weigh a ton :)


Disclaimer: I won an ecopy from the author in a blog tour giveaway hosted by The Book Tart. ( )

This novella was a nice start for a series. The characters are engaging if somewhat a little 'too good'. It has its flaws but overall the whole single mother, cute, adorable kid, broken fireman (who is totally the Mary Sue here) had potential and brought a cute vibe to a very conventional trope.

It made me get the next book and boy, was that a mistake.

So cute novella, with cute characters but go no further in this series. ( )