boeklogboek: Bella Andre

The second book in the Hot Shots: Men of Fire series, published October 27, 2009.
Genre: romantic suspense.
Cover: hot, certainly not a hardship to stare at it!

A sexy fireman is a bout to meet an old flame…
Sam MacKenzie is a firefighter who knows no fear. There’s no one waiting for him at home, no reason not to risk it all. But then the only woman he’s ever loved shows up begging him for help.
Dianna’s sister is in big trouble somewhere in the rugged Colorado Rockies, and Sam is the only person Dianna knows with the skills to track her sister down.
(Okay, another worthless blurb!).

I love the second chance at love stories, and this one is a great example of that. 10 years ago, hot 20 year old fireman Sam MacKenzie helped evacuate Dianna and her worthless drunk of a mother out of their trailer home. He fell as a rock for the beautiful shy 17 year old Dianna, and after the wildfire was controlled, he came back for her. Asking her out for a date. Even while fighting fire he could not stop thinking about her. And not long after, they became a couple. But on their first time, the condom broke, and the inevitable thing happened: Dianna became pregnant. As Sam never told her about the condom, it came as a big surprise to her. She promised herself never to end up like her mother, a teenage pregnant. But Sam wanted to do the honourable thing, and marry her, even though he had the horrible example of his own parents fighting like cats and dogs his entire life. He did love her, did he not?
Then Dianna got in a carcrash, and lost the baby. Sam took care of her, but they were both relieved when he got back to work. When he came home, Dianna was gone.

Now, Dianna has made a name for her self, working for a big tv company and having her own show. She is rich, and popular, and even more beautiful. And she managed to get her baby sister back from the system. Only it took too long, and April really resents her. As a typical teenager, hardened by the many foster homes she has been in, she does not like Dianna telling her what to do, wanting to hang out with her. She has run away to Colorado with a boyfriend, to a commune. To her own surprise, April likes it there, she feels useful for the first time, and she has been making friends. She finally wants to tell Dianna about it, and asked her to come over. But they soon fight again, and April runs out on her. Leaving Dianna no choice but to go back to the airport to go home to San Francisco. But fate makes her have another car crash, and she is taken to the hospital instead.
Sam learns about this from his brother Connor, and as he has never gotten over Dianna, feels the need to go to her. Dianna is not badly hurt, just bruised. The man who hit her car though, is dead. The media is totally not interested in what really happened they only take care of Dianna. And the dead mans brother is furious with all that. No one cares about his brother, only that rich bitch. Well, he will get even, he will get his revenge! A sister for a brother, how is that?

So when April is kidnapped from the hospital, and manages to escape for a brief period to call Dianna, she is frantic to find her little sister again. The only one there, who will help her, is Sam. The police won’t help her as they don’t believe April’s story, and she has not been missing 24 hours yet. Dianna was very surprised to see Sam when he came to visit her in the hospital, and evidently, her feelings are not dead yet. And now he is the only one to help her, the only one she knows who can find his way in the wilderness and can help her get to the commune April was living in.

And so they set out on adventure together, hiking, wild water rafting, rockclimbing. Dianna has no experience in any of those things, but Sam is a great teacher, and they manage. And they will need to take care of the white elephant between them, their past and their attraction to each other. And even though Dianna is frantic with worry about her sister, they have and take the time for that.

I really enjoyed this story, although I really could not believe in Dianna’s stamina. Surviving a car crash and then all that wilderness stuff, and never once complaining or getting blisters or whatever. She went trough a lot in a few days, and just kept going. It would have been more believable if she was a sporty kind of woman, but she is just a big city woman.
But, skipping the unbelief, I enjoyed the story. The suspense, and the love story both. Dianna really wants to grab this second chance at love and even though Sam tries to keep his distance, thinking this cannot work due to their totally different lives. They talk about what happened, they get mad, but they do understand the other. And never fell out of love. And this time, they will make it work.

The bad guy really is very creepy, and totally gone mad with the dead of his brother. He is brutal and evil, and April and Dianna are going through hell because of him. Of course, in the end, Sam saves the day and the ladies.

I liked Dianna, who made a good life for herself and her sister, and never gave up trying to get her back after their mother gave her up to child services. She went to college, and worked very hard to get where she is now. But if she would have stayed pregnant, she would have made a good life for herself and Sam and their child.
Sam is a hotshot, a firefighter, used to adrenaline and danger. He has nothing to lose besides his brother, so he gives it his all. But now there is Dianna in his life again, unexpected, and he is going to grab that chance. He will help her find her sister, rescue her, and keep them safe. He knows Dianna will never agree to stay behind, so he will take card of her as good as he can. And well, his good is very good …

Of course there are some hot lovescenes between them, the danger is very real and scary, and I really loved this book. Looking forward to the next one. I think this second book is a lot better than the first, and I have heard the third should be the best in the trilogy. So I am in for a hot ride with that one.

8,5 stars