Early Review of The Night Belongs to Fireman (The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel, #6) by Jennifer Bernard

Title: The Night Belongs to Fireman
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense/Firefighters
Series: Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel
Format: Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (September 30, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0062273698
ISBN-13: 978-0062273697

Author's Website: http://jenniferbernard.net/

Notes: Received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. I am one of Jennifer Bernard's Hot Readers.


Fred Breen is one of San Gabriel's latest firefighters to become the center of the media's attention. The firefighters originally gained media attention for a curse that had allegedly been placed on the firehouse by one of their own who'd been jilted by his mail order bride. Despite the fact that over the last few years the bachelors and bachelorettes of the firehouse have proved time and time again that the curse is broken, the media's attention to the group hasn't dissipated. When Fred saves a group of women trapped in a limo during their bachelorette party, he gains some unwanted media attention as well as the attention of the female population of San Gabriel. Fred, however, has eyes for only one female--one of the woman he helped save from the limo.

Rachel hates confined spaces and media attention of any kind. When the limo she and her friends are riding in crashes, keeping her face out of the papers is her top priorities second only to making sure her friends are safe. The daughter of a very rich man, she'd been kidnapped years ago as a child and held in a cage. That spurred her fear of confined spaces and while she'd escaped, the kidnapper was never captured and is still at large. Over the years, her father managed to keep her out of the press but at a cost. While she escaped one cage, a protective bubble complete with a body guard has prevented her from truly living. While her first encounter with Fred did not impress, moments later, as he and his fellow firefighter, Mulligan, come to the rescue, she sees the true man and something in Rachel starts to stir. Can he be the one to break down the barriers she's surrounded herself in?

This is the sixth book in The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series. If you haven't read any of the previous books, that's okay. Each book stands on its own. Some characters from previous books make appearances while others are mentioned, but you won't feel you've missed anything other than some good stories which you may wish to read later. 

I was once asked if I could be any celebrity which one would I most like to be. I responded, "None." I can't imagine having paparazzi hounding me 24/7 hoping to snap an embarrassing picture as I try to go about my day-to-day life. While it might be fun for a day or so, I think it would get old quick. While Rachel isn't famous, her kidnapping years ago would make her a person of interest to the media, and if her identity is revealed, the press would be after her in a flash. Add in that her kidnapper is still at large and you can understand why she would want to stay off the radar. Plus, her father's wealth combined with her being his only heir, makes her very appealing to fortune hunters. You can understand why she isn't very trusting of others and why she'd question anyone's interest in her. When Rachel meets Fred, she sets off his knight in shining armor nature which puts Rachel on high alert. Her first thought is her father must have hired him to be a bodyguard. This sets up an extremely fun first meeting and Fred can't quite figure out what he did wrong.   

Fred is a fireman with training in urban search and rescue. He comes from a long line of career soldiers and is the first to break tradition in many years. His brothers give him a hard time about it, but Fred would rather protect people without having to shoot anyone. With Fred, what you see is what you get, and what you get is an extremely nice guy wrapped up in a very handsome fireman package. I guess you can't knock Rachel for thinking he'd be too good to be true. I must admit, I rather like the idea of a guy who saves people pairing up with a woman who saves animal. Rachel runs a wildlife refuge for injured animals.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. I enjoyed the bumps this couple had to overcome to make their relationship work. The added suspense of someone possibly attempting to kidnap Rachel due to her father's congressional tesimonywas a nice way to bring these two closer and draw out their feelings. While this one still contained some of Jennifer Bernard's signature humor, the suspense out shined the humor in this one. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, I give this one STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

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