THE NIGHT BELONGS TO FIREMAN – Jennifer Bernard
A Bachelor Firemen Novel , Book 6
Avon
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-227369-7
October 2014
Contemporary Romance

San Gabriel, California – Present Day

Seventeen years ago Rachel Kessler was kidnapped as an eight-year-old girl.  Her father is a computer developer and the second richest man in the country, but despite paying millions, it was up to her to escape the cage she was locked up in.  This night she's at a bar with her friends celebrating her friend Cindy's bachelorette party when she lands in a cute guy's lap trying to steal his plastic trophy on a dare.  Rachel might have had several drinks, but even her friends agree he's HOT.  Rachel and her friends are leaving the bar in their limo when a freak accident happens and the arm of a crane falls on top of them, and the girls are stuck inside.  Good thing Fred the Fireman is there to protect them.

Fred Breen and his friend Mulligan were just at the bar celebrating Fred's second place in Southern California's Muay Thai Championships.  Despite the fact the first place winner grew up being trained in Muay Thai, Fred still feels as if he's always in second place in everything.  Then a cute woman in a bridal veil falls in his lap and steals his plastic trophy.  She seems determined to get in trouble at the bar, and when her group leaves, he breathes a sign of relief.  But as Fred and his friend go to their cars they see a limo with a crane fallen on it.  Training comes into play, and as Mulligan calls in help, and Fred tries to rescue the women, including Rachel who is stuck. But she wants him to rescue the other women before trying to help her.  This is hard for Rachel, ever since being kept in the cage she hates small places.  The next day Rachel's dad hires Fred, the “Bachelor Hero” to guard her while he is in Washington for hearings, which will bring more attention to the family.  Rachel doesn't know that every once in a while his father gets a message from the kidnapper saying “to be continued” and she still needs guarding, and Fred seems to just fit the bill.

Working with animals in her animal rescue business keeps Rachel sane, and having another bodyguard feels totally ridiculous, but to keep her father happy she agrees to it.  Despite all the great work Fred does, when he rescues a cat he's called the kitty cat fireman and feels that his brothers, who are in the service, are better than he is; he always seems to be the “nice” guy and not really someone to be respected.  Rachel works with animals, but still lives in a bubble, not ever leaving her home or work to interact with anyone but her few friends.  But to truly live on her own, she could expose herself to danger and hurt her father.

Jennifer Bernard is continuing the exciting Bachelor Firemen series with Fred Breen, fireman, and Rachel Kessler, daughter of a billionaire, disguised as the owner of an animal rescue group funded by her father.  Fred awkwardly tries to avoid being called a “hero” for all the rescues he's been involved with, but all the publicity the rescues bring make him feel even more unworthy.  Rachel fights every day for her freedom from her father; her kidnapper was never captured, and going to college and living in San Gabriel was a miracle.  Now she has a penthouse apartment with a regular security guard and every security device invented.  She yearns for more freedom, but knows even after all these years her father constantly worries about her safety.

What a hoot are all the secondary characters!  There are all the firemen who work with Fred, each one more determined than the other to give Fred teasing for his “I love Fred” buttons and his struggles with a woman.  Rachel's father's presence is always felt, even though he's not in person.  Marsden has been her faithful bodyguard for years; he protects her and gives her a feeling of safety.  Let us not forget the kidnapper, still determined to finish what he started all those years ago.

THE NIGHT BELONGS TO FIREMAN is a tour de force of excitement and laugh-out-loud situations.  Perhaps the most humorous of the books in the Bachelor Firemen series, it has excitement, passion, and the scepter of what happened all those years ago still in the background.  Also in the series are THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME, HOT FOR FIREMAN, SEX AND THE SINGLE FIREMAN, HOW TO TAME A WILD FIREMAN, and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FIREMAN; you won't go wrong reading any of them.  THE NIGHT BELONGS TO FIREMAN will absolutely improve your night if you purchase it this month.

Carolyn Crisher