(Book 2, Firefighters of Station 5)
Reviewed by PJ Ausdenmore
Publisher: Penguin
4.5 Stars

I strongly encourage you to make sure your fire extinguisher is in good working order before you start reading Under Fire because this book isn’t just hot, it’s smokin’!

With the second book in her Firefighters of Station 5 series, Jo Davis brings us the story of Zack Knight, a brilliant, gorgeous, hard-bodied, virginal firefighter.  Yes, you read that right.  Zack is a virgin.  Growing up as a motherless, chubby geek, Zack was subjected to constant taunting from school bullies and indifference from his self-absorbed father.
Socially awkward and unattractive, he was rejected at every turn until he joined the fire department and evolved into the hunk he is today.  Now women throw themselves at him but Zack decided early on that he was through being rejected and won’t give himself sexually to a woman unless he loves her and is confident she feels the same.   Got to admire a man who knows what he wants and has the discipline to wait for it, even if that waiting has him ready to implode.

As the book begins, Zack is just about at the end of his mental and emotional rope after losing both his home and savings to the man his no-good father owes $750,000.  He’s bankrupt, his father mentally incapacitated from a stroke, and there’s no more money for the man who doesn’t intend to take “no” for an answer, all of which causes Zack’s mind to be elsewhere when he rams into the back of Cori Shannon’s SUV on a rain-slicked highway.  Zack is immediately smitten with the tall, gorgeous, smart-mouthed Cori, which causes him to come across as bumbling and inept.  Cori is late for class and on edge because she thinks someone is stalking her, causing her to be short-tempered and sarcastic.  She’s less than impressed with Zack, calling him Forrest Gump.  Ouch!  The next time they meet, Cori’s SUV is dangling from a bridge after someone shoots her tire   and calm, confident firefighter, Zack is the one sent to rescue her.  He almost dies, willingly placing her safety above his, causing the bold exotic dancer and nursing student to take a second look at this quiet, kind man who put his life on the line for her.

Cori is working hard to make a new life for herself.  She’s survived an abusive marriage, three overbearing, overprotective brothers and a former jet-setting life that she no longer wants any part of.  She’s ready to settle down with her nursing career and a good, honest man who cares for and respects her.  Cori is also a highly sexual woman who put that part of her life on hold after her abusive husband’s death but when Zack moves in with her to help protect her from her stalker her sexual flame ignites…big time, especially after she accidentally catches Zack living out a fantasy (involving her) in the shower.  Hot!  Hot!  Hot!

Zack may be inexperienced but he’s ready and willing and Cori is the only teacher he wants.   Once he decides to take the plunge, pun intended, it’s clear he’s going to be an excellent student.  The sex between these two isn’t just hot; it’s four-alarm fire hot, with their bold, inventive and very erotic encounters setting the pages on fire.  But their relationship isn’t just about sex.  Davis carefully tends to their emotional needs as well as these are two people who don’t trust easily and, even though they are falling in love, they both have issues from the past that make them reluctant to place themselves in a vulnerable position by sharing their secrets.  Added to that are two villains with their own agendas who are determined to separate the couple by permanently removing Zack from the game, and only by being open, honest and working together will Cori and Zack be able to defeat the unknown enemies and have a chance at happiness.

Davis once again has brought us a passionate love story with tightly woven suspense, a likeable hero and heroine, plenty of sizzling hot sex, secrets that must be faced head-on and obstacles that can only be overcome through trust and love.  Happily, the rest of the FS5 firefighters have plenty of face time in this book, though the primary focus remains on the hero and heroine, and the groundwork continues to be laid for their stories in future books – books that can’t come fast enough for this reader.