The Night Belongs to Fireman

September 15, 2014
After a dramatic rescue, a reclusive heiress and a sexy fireman navigate family tensions, media pressures and a shadowy enemy on their path to happy-ever-after. Indulging in an uncharacteristic night on the town for a bridal shower, Rachel Allen meets firefighter Fred Breen in a bar and takes umbrage at his protective overtures, but everything changes minutes later when the limousine she and her friends are in is involved in a freak accident and Fred helps them to safety. Attractive but self-effacing, Fred is appalled when the local press whips the story into a media storm, referring to him as the Bachelor Hero. Not as appalled as Rachel, though, who has taken great pains to change her identity from Rachel Kessler, the daughter of multibillionaire Rob Kessler, who was kidnapped as a child and held in a cage until she managed to escape. With all the attention on Fred, Rachel was able to sneak away from the scene mostly unnoticed, but now the hunt is on to find the mysterious woman the Bachelor Hero rescued. Against her better judgment, Rachel feels honor-bound to contact Fred to thank him, and neither can ignore the sizzling attraction between them. Taking cautious steps into a relationship, the couple is undermined by Kessler's overprotectiveness and Rachel's resistance to it, despite her very real and haunting fears. Falling in love makes her question everything, but just as she begins to believe a bright future could be possible, her violent past rises up, demanding she and Fred fight for it. Bernard ends her Bachelor Firemen series with a fast-paced, witty read with a touch of danger that at moments seems far-fetched, but due to her impeccable storytelling and characterization, we buy in. Perhaps it's a little too reliant on deus ex machina in the end, but most readers will be charmed enough to be forgiving. Sexy fireman hero saves the heiress who has everything and nothing-what's not to like? Smart, fun and engaging.

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