The Firefighter’s Fiancé by Kate Hardy

4 Stars! ~~~ There’s a lot of story packed into these 185 pages, and it’s a phenomenal one at that!

The Firefighter’s Fiancé by Kate Hardy

Harlequin Medical Romance # 272 – October 2006

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Five years before, Kelsey Watson was engaged when she and her fiancé had their car hit head on by a motorist talking on a cell phone. Kelsey walked away with barely a scratch, but Danny had lost the use of his legs. Kelsey fought to stay with Danny and look after him, but he refused her and pushed her out of his life. This prompted Kelsey to change the direction of her life and she chose to become a firefighter where she could hopefully make up for her inadequacies with Danny and make a difference. Matt Fraser is a paramedic and when his fiancée decided she didn’t like the unpredictability of his job and the hours that he worked, she dumped him. That was two years ago, and he’d needed a place to stay. Sharing the rental house with Kelsey seemed a good solution and they soon became the very best of friends and often attended on the same emergencies. Both are attracted to each other but neither want to risk a relationship that could very well destroy their friendship. They might have kept to that rule if Kelsey hadn’t had that nightmare after losing two children in a fire that sent Matt rushing to her side, climbing into bed beside her to comfort her. Though nothing happened, they were both suddenly struggling with their desires. And as Kelsey began to have flashbacks it became obvious that she was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but refused to acknowledge it. Matt knows he can’t tell Kelsey how he feels about her until she deals with her nightmares, as he suspects that they are rooted in the accident of five years before when she’d been helpless to help the man she’d been so in love with.

This is a wonderful read, and I loved the fact that the heroine is the firefighter! Matt and Kelsey are great characters, equally devoted to their jobs and very good at them. It was great that their co-workers knew they were a couple well before they did! The issues of PTSD are handled with great care and were very enlightening, as were the details of the fire and accident scenes. I gained a further respect for those in service. Ms. Hardy gave us both Kelsey and Matt’s point of view, showing us how their insecurities from the past and the very real fear of losing their friendship keep them for reaching for the stars. There’s a lot of story packed into these 185 pages. And it’s a phenomenal one at that!

Excellence: Very Good ~ Steaminess: Yummy

My Totals ~ Harlequin Imprint = 16 ~ Other Publisher = 0

Mini-Challenge ~ One Thing Leads to Another

• Expecting His Love-Child by Carol Marinelli
• The Surgeon’s Miracle Baby by Carol Marinelli
• The Surgeon’s Meant-To-Be Bride by Amy Andrews
• The Italian Count’s Baby by Amy Andrews
• The Italian’s Chosen Wife by Kate Hewitt
• The Firefighter’s Chosen Wife by Trish Wylie
• The Firefighter’s Fiancé by Kate Hardy

~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog