Review – One Fiery Night by Em Petrova

Description:
Firefighter Luke Puckett is determined not to get involved with a female since his brother perished fighting a fire, leaving his wife and four kids. When Luke pulls a woman and her child out of a burning house, he’s stunned to find she’s his college ex. Passion consumes him once again for this recent divorcée. He fights to stay away from her, but his desire for her lush curves is impossible to battle.

Josie Springer escapes the enormous house fire with nothing but the clothes on her back and her daughter. As she begins to recuperate from her losses, she finds she’s gained something bigger since Luke walked back into her life. She’s always held a candle for this lover who dumped her with little explanation.

While their relationship sears between the sheets, Josie and Luke harbor personal doubts it will work until a near tragedy makes them take another look.

I’m a sucker for lover’s reunited stories, I can’t help it. I think it’s that “what if” factor. We get a very good look at that factor and the outcome in One Fiery Night by Em Petrova.

Luke Puckett is a special breed of fire fighter; he’s trained to go in where no one else goes. He thrives on his job but he also understands the consequences of it. He lost his brother (also a fire fighter) in an on the job accident. Watching his brother’s wife and children deal with that loss made him decided it’s best to stay single. When he pulls his ex-girlfriend and her daughter out of a burning house, that idea starts to go up in smoke.

Josie Springer is newly divorced, raising her daughter, and now is without her home or car. When she asks to meet the fireman who rescued her and her daughter she never expects it to be her college ex, Luke. She never understood why they broke up and seeing him again ten years later makes her realize she never fully let him go.

These two find themselves almost immediately back in a sexual relationship. The sex scenes are hot but they just felt off. Josie’s feelings for Luke are immediately engaged. Luke on the other hand isn’t sure what he wants.

I found both Luke and Josie to be somewhat immature and even irrational at times. It’s been 10 years, yet they both claim they have strong feelings for each other despite a not so pleasant break-up on his part and a marriage and child on her part. Luke is still harboring past resentments one minute for something he’s not even sure happened and the next he doesn’t want to be without her. While I understand the “heat of the moment” and emotions were running high I just felt that this couple really didn’t communicate about the important things before jumping in. The one thing I did appreciate is that before figuring out their feelings they didn’t flaunt their relationship in front of Josie’s daughter, Maggie. While the three of them spent time together it was more of an afternoon with the man that saved them than an afternoon with Mom’s new sex partner.

I liked this book but because I didn’t feel connected with the characters I had a hard time caring what happened to them and their relationship. As much as I dislike flashbacks, I almost wished for one in this book so we could have seen what Luke supposedly saw ten years ago that made him break up with Josie. More background on the characters, their past relationship and even what they were doing prior to the start of this story would more than likely made this an easier book to enjoy.