FACE THE FLAMES - Jo Davis
A Sugarland Blue Novel , Book 7
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-451-47700-2
March 2017
Contemporary Romantic Suspense

A Year Ago and Today in Sugarland

Firefighter and paramedic Clay Montana has been restless lately. He has always been successful with women, but nearing thirty, and with his friends and team mates nearly all happily paired up now, he wonders if his series of easy hook-ups are enough for him. He puts all that out of mind when called to a traffic accident. Clay drives the ambulance and is just entering an intersection on a green light when a truck keeps coming through on red and hits the driver's side of the ambulance. The next thing Clay knows is nothing, as he finally regains consciousness. His body is still in bad shape, but his mind is empty.

A year later, Clay has relearned most everything he needs to know and do, but he's not yet ready to go back to work. However, he is determined to get his body back in shape. Out for a walk one day, Clay hears a shot coming from a gas station and sees a man running off. He's not able to chase after him, but he can help the wounded young man inside by keeping pressure on his wound - and calling for an ambulance. The young man had set off the silent alarm, and the police arrive soon. One of them is female and Clay is struck by her beauty. She's Detective Melissa Ryan with the Sugarland Police Department, and it was her bad boy cousin who rammed Clay's ambulance. Later, she and another cop went out to search for the shooter. They see and stop for a suspect who runs. Melissa manages to follow, tackle and capture him . . . next to Clay's house!

Clay can't wait to get back to duty, so he feels ready to work out. He does pretty well at the training center, but then pushes himself too long and too hard. He falls out of a second story window landing on his back and head . . . it's back to the ER. When let out, he's told not to be alone yet, so is it back to his mother's? She's a wonderful woman who has spent the last year caring for him, and he loves her, but he doesn't look forward to having her worrying over him again. Luckily, Melissa offers to take him home and stay the night.

Clay and Melissa are strongly attracted to each other. He's caught not just by her red-headed beauty, but by her inner beauty and strength, and he turns her on just by being. Their tale heats up quickly, yet, in spite of the passion and salty words, there is a tenderness to their love making.

So where does the suspense come in? As Clay has only his mother for family, Melissa has only her Uncle James and Cousin Foster, who prove to be two nasty and dangerous individuals.

Jo Davis's Sugarland Blue Novels about the local police department are closely connected to her Firefighters of Station Five Novels , with characters appearing in both. I'm sorry to not have read any of the books other than this one, in which the hero and heroine are from one and the other department. I liked FACE THE FLAMES very much, especially because of the great and plenty dialogue and introspection we are treated to. I plan to explore more titles in these series and strongly suggest you do, too, if you haven't already.

I'm not at all sure where the fictional town of Sugarland is set. Perhaps Kentucky or Tennessee? Maybe someone who has read the earlier books could let me know at www.romrevtoday.com ?

Jane Bowers