~REVIEW of Jo Davis' UNDER FIRE~

RETURN TO THE MEN OF STATION 5

 

Under Fire (Firefighters of Station Five, #2)  Stars

Opening Line: "The back end of the SUV filled Zack Knight's windshield before his exhusted brain jolted to awareness, screaming the belated message to slam on his brakes." 

Zack Knight loves to save lives and fight fires along with the other members of his `family' at Station Five yet outside the firehouse his private life has hit rock bottom. In trying to pay off his ailing fathers gambling debts he's managed to lose his house, his life savings and with this latest instalment he's also going to lose his baby, a 1967 silver Mustang. Its while pondering the loan sharks increasingly hostile demands that Zack rear ends Cori Shannon in what will become the first of many accidents he suffers throughout this book. The beautiful exotic dancer wants nothing to do with Zack or his crumpled Mustang and succeeds in destroying what's left of his pride before she leaves too.

With Zack's job on the line for being late, A shift's first call takes them to an MVA on Sugarland bridge. A car is teetering on the guard rail, precariously close to falling into the violent waters below. A car that contains one terrified and somewhat familiar exotic dancer. Zack makes it his personal mission to rescue Cori, climbing into the back and urging her forward to safety just as the car topples over the edge taking Zack with it.

The opening of UNDER FIRE is super exciting and I can't remember ever reading a romance where the author actually kills the hero within the first few chapters. (Okay it was only for a few minutes but still) Jo Davis just loves to torture her men and by the end I truly felt sorry for Zack; he drowns, gets pneumonia, is shot, drugged, stabbed, tortured and hit in the head with a 2x4. It's exhausting. Through it all Zack maintains his nice guy persona and between hospital visits even manages to lose his virginity (I know sweet right, he was saving himself for the right girl)

               

 His `right girl' is very likable, feisty, and independent plus she made me laugh with her sassy comments. Cori is also older than Zack and no virgin which was an interesting dynamic. Together they both have a ton of secrets and I kept waiting for the inevitable explosion of truths, particularly after Cori's crazed stalker entered the scene.

This is a great read full of action, suspense and hard-bodied men. Although the love scenes here aren't as scorching hot as (TRIAL BY FIRE) Zack makes up for it in sweetness, solo shower scenes and role playing games, yeah he's a keeper.

Thankfully there are still several hot team members waiting to have their stories told, (HIDDEN FIRE) is the next instalment. Cheers!