Reviewed by Lesley

TITLE:  Emergency: Kiss of Fire

SERIES:  Carlisle Emergency #1

AUTHOR: Andrew Grey

PUBLISHER: Self published

LENGTH: 107 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 14, 2023

BLURB:

The last person emergency responder Cade Elmhurst expects to meet at an accident scene is his old high school crush. Cade always regretted keeping his feelings to himself. That Selby remembers Cade is a bigger surprise. He even seems to share Cade’s long-buried feelings and flirts with him on the ride to the hospital, but that may just be the concussion talking.

Selby Winston hasn’t had much luck in life. His conservative farm family turned their backs on him, and he’s been making his way alone ever since. Meeting Cade again is a spot of warmth in his otherwise cold life. He’s as nice as Selby remembers, even offering a ride home from the hospital and help dealing with his wrecked car. On top of that, the heat between them means Cade might return Selby’s long-simmering attraction.

Everything changes in an instant when Selby’s family home burns to the ground, leaving his father hospitalized and his four siblings in need of a place to live. Once again, Selby figures he’ll find himself standing alone, but to his surprise, Cade stands with him. Their budding relationship is going to have to withstand four younger kids in a small apartment, social workers with differing opinions, and his father’s closed-minded stubbornness to make the most of their second chance.

REVIEW:

Selby Winston is having a really tough few days. First, he is involved in accident when an another driver has a heart attack , and then his family home explodes, leaving his mother dead and his estranged father in hospital. His siblings whom he hasn’t seen for several years need him and he will not abandon them.

The only person getting him through all this is his high school crush Cade Elmhurst who is the paramedic that comes to his rescue at the traffic accident and whom he is with when his family home burns down.

Cade isn’t having the best time either- nothing as bad as poor Selby is having but he has a new partner, Walker, at work who seems to be a homophobic jerk. His cousin Laura who moved in for a few weeks is still staying in his house a few months later and refusing to leave and Cade’s mum seems to be on her side. Having Selby at his back and supporting him is a new experience for the man who usually supports everybody else.

I am really pleased I have been given the opportunity to review this book. Normally I wouldn’t buy any books under 200 pages and I would have missed out on a really enjoyable read . This book really doesn’t read as a short story. Andrew Grey has managed to pack so much in I actually thought it was longer than many of his books, to the point l actually checked the page count on several different devices when starting this review.

It’s a really positive sign when I am invested enough in the characters that I would love to see them as a side character in another book 5 years down the line so I can see if things go the way I think they do. They would be great dads and I really want to know what Selby’s siblings end up doing as grown-ups. I think they could have a book to themselves .(Pretty please Mr Grey)

RATING:

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