Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Rapid Response 
SERIES: Hearts and Health #8
AUTHOR: DJ Jamison
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 346 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2019
BLURB:
A confused straight guy and a gay hookup artist walk into a bar …
Firefighter Sean Connolly is straight — until one impulsive night changes everything. He tries to dismiss it as a fluke, but when a fire rescue leads him back to the guy who blew his mind, he’s thrown into a chaos of confusion and want. He gives in to curiosity, exploring a new side to himself — not just his attraction to a man, but his desperate need to please.
Paramedic Jace Gillespie is a hookup pro, never letting anyone get too close. When he meets Sean, though, he feels a connection right away. An ill-advised threesome seems to kill a friendship in the making, but when they’re thrown together by work, it doesn’t take long for passion to reignite. Sean calls to something in Jace he never knew was there, and together, they explore a dynamic that fulfills them both.
But as feelings deepen, doubts surface. Sean is in the closet, and Jace struggles to trust his promise that it won’t last forever. With family conflict and his career in the balance, Sean finds it difficult to picture his life without secrecy, but if he doesn’t find a way, he may lose the one person he most wants to please.
Rapid Response is the longest novel of the Hearts and Health series at approximately 92,000 words! It can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
An unexpected meeting at a club leads Sean into an equally unexpected threesome between himself, Jace and Lena. Shock and sudden awareness of what he’s done make him run away from the two, but it also makes him question his sexuality. Jace never thought he’d see Sean again, so he had a shock when he saw Sean, the firefighter, at a blaze that Jace attended as a paramedic.
The story is old in the third person in what I call the traditional way, i.e. no pov named chapters – which for me was a delight. And there’s a lovely balance between dialogue and regular paragraphs. From the detailed information, a lot of research was done into firefighting and procedures. Characters from previous stories pop up, but not in a way that means one feel the need to have perused others in the series first. This book can be read as a standalone.
Sean’s family is divided over his brother, Ian, coming out of the closet. The eldest brother Daniel won’t even enter the house when Ian is there. Sean’s sister, Eileen, although pro LGBTQ, seems like a moody…person…as though Sean should be there when she calls. So, I loved the part where, as a child, Sean beheaded Eileen’s Barbie dolls – a big chuckle moment. As a result, Sean doesn’t know who to confide in or what his family’s reaction will be, as and when Sean is no longer sexually confused.
Jace was utterly rejected and assaulted by his family. Thus, he had never expected to want to settle down, and he couldn’t imagine wanting, let alone having a family. Outside of a best friend he belatedly made a pass at and was rejected, he has been happy with hookups. Though, he has a firm friend support network.
The two are thrown together after a fire in which Sean saves a little girl, Carley, and Jace was the medic. At the mother’s intervention, the two are used to promote their respective departments. I’m generally not a fan of perky kids in stories – they make me wince – but this one’s not overbearing and makes a positive contribution to the tale.
The journey Sean and Jace go on is a discovery of needs, and finding that special someone that works for you, regardless of sex. Speaking of the physical variety of sex, these scenes are incredibly erotic and descriptive, with elements of mild dom/sub – cold shower time. However, fuck buddies aside, Jace can’t imagine that him and in the closet Sean having a happy ever after because, until meeting Jace, Sean was positively straight, and he believes Sean is bi-curious. Jace is a patient man, guiding Sean through whatever he wanted and needed to know.
Rapid Response is one of my favourites in the Hearts and Health Series. It offers, some drama, introspection, man loving, and conflict. My only niggle is – given the length – if you’re going to use a fireman – let us feel the fire. By that I mean; the novel is long, and given the research that was undoubtedly done, it would have been nice to have at least one more example of the men at work. It would have ramped up the adrenaline angle and given me a sense of what it was like to be a fireman with the heat of the flames on your face, etc., instead of a man in uniform with a ripped body – albeit delicious.
RATING: 
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