Hello everyone!
I've been slacking a bit in my reading (with new books, that is) and going back to some of my old school favourites because every once in a while, I feel like I might enjoy them a bit more than anything remotely new and exciting, despite the fact that I still have a list about half a mile long when it comes to this stuff.
That being said, however, I DID read a couple new books while I was at it, but not recently which means I had to go and find some little tidbits in other venues of what I remember from it all.
Once again, my attention was captivated by the firefighters in Kathryn Shay's novels, and as I had already written a blog post about the first book in the Hidden Cove firehouse series, I figured I might as well continue right along with the second one.
Although to be fair - I still really, truly prefer Mitch Malvaso's storyline. I think it might have a lot to do with the fact that his was the first story I read as opposed to anything else, but the others in his family just didn't really strike so deep within me that I would connect with them quite as well. Then again, maybe all I need is another read, who knows?
Anyway, off we go to write about On the Line!
What we saw previously in the first book, the link to which I will leave down below, is an introduction to the Hidden Cove fire house and everyone in it, and most importantly the Malvaso clan who are pretty much all connected, somehow, to fighting the flames.
In book one, it was all about bringing the family closer, getting Jenny pregnant and getting Mitch out of his incredibly bad marriage, kids included, so that he could get together with detective Megan.
Now in book two, we follow up on some seeds which had been planted back in book one about the potential problem for Chief Noah Callaghan because the fires keep popping back up around the city under his watch, and not all of them have been solved. This is where we jump straight into the story.
An investigator from the big city, Eve, comes to check up on what Noah has been up to and what he's been doing about solving his past cases, which doesn't endear her to the rest of the crew.
Neither does she gather brownie points with the Chief, but that might also be because Noah is confused with his physical reaction to Eve. A widower and dealing with his daughter's marital situation (or, problem, really), he's trying to be in all places at once, for his granddaughter, for the men and women under his employ, and for the community.
It helps that he's also charming and looks good for someone heading towards fifty, which means Eve is on the fast track of falling for the man, despite attempting to remain professional.
Both of them struggle with the physical attraction throughout the book, but to their ultimate credit they don't actually DO anything about it until pretty much the end of it all, when everything, their control included, just goes haywire.
It's one of those cases where just touching another person is too much to handle. It also doesn't help that Noah is big on including women in predominantly male professions, something else which Eve admires about him.
Now, back on topic: every bit of evidence seems to be pointing towards Noah as the culprit behind the fires, even the devastating Sinco warehouse one which had claimed the lives of many firefighters. The investigation turns up evidence that he owns the wiring company, or stock in it anyway, which he's never even heard about, but it's enough to get him suspended.
The men and women in the firehouse are so not on board with it, however, and stand by their Captain.
A different tune starts up when Eve and Mitch get the same email leading to a website where you can pretty much hire someone to take care of a problematic person for you, and it seems Noah has a lot of people around him who want him gone. Now it's just a matter of catching them, which includes Eve playing bimbo in a bikini gathering evidence in warmer climates (which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially because Noah went from caveman to 'will you model for me' in two seconds flat as opposed to just being caveman).
They eventually realise that, contrary to who I believed it would be - I thought it was the police chief - it's politician Stan who's out for Noah.
Stan changed his name and went to law school after Noah reported his father for the same kind of negligence that almost took Noah down, but luckily everyone pulls through and the Captain can breath easy again.
A second storyline in the book centers around Zach Malvaso and Casey Brennan, a fellow firefighter who left her twin daughters with her ex-husband because she felt like she couldn't be their mother. Contrary to what you often see in modern times, the ex and his new wife try to include Casey in everything, and encouraged by Zach (and his family) she eventually does soften up enough that she and Zach can even try a relationship.
It isn't easy; Zach has his own demons to fight, including his ex-wife remarrying and having another child, and Casey has abandonment issues as well as an abusive alcoholic father. But they persevere and end up together rather nicely just in time for Mitch and Megan's wedding.
As a finish to the plot that ran from the first book, the camp which had begun in After the Fire is now complete and actually opens its doors to kids, which is also where Noah and Eve reconcile, as she decided not to take the promotion within her own department.
Happy endings all around! Except for Eve's twin, Ian, who has been in a wheelchair since 9/11 and who turned away a lovely actress who wanted to love him, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of THEM in subsequent books.
As per usual, I can't do justice to what Kathryn Shay writes in her novels. She captures the essence of fire fighting at its finest and also manages to make her characters real and relatable on levels I don't normally see in books nowadays. While there is drama, yes (obviously, with one of Casey's daughters asthmatic, you can bet something is going to happen and everyone is going to jump into high gear), there's also some reasonable conversation that eventually leads to a conclusion.
I think I infinitely prefer these types of books to nowadays YA ones. Drama and angst are so not for me anymore! Not in spades, at least.
I recommend the Hidden Cove series to anyone who wants a good dose of sexy firefighters!
xx
*image not mine
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