Fight

Sky Ridge Hotshots #1

by Sloane St. James

Callahan

Fighting wildfires is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m damn good at it. Being the captain of an interagency hotshot crew of wildland firefighters is high-risk, high-reward. The risk blindsided me five years ago when I lost one of my crew and was changed forever. Now the only rewards I allow are to work harder, smarter, and enjoy easy, sexy nights with strangers.

Until I meet Prescott Timmons. Her smart-mouth and adventurous spirit have me forgetting all of my rules—until her past shows up and lies start to feel too familiar. I swear to never spare her a second glance, but when she finds herself in a life or death situation with mother nature, my instincts kick in, and I take action. Stranded and sharing a bed again, we’re forced to face our truth. Do we let this fire burn out or fight?

Genres: Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary Romance, Firefighters, Enemies To Lovers, Small Town Romance, Audiobook

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2025

About the author

Sloane St. James began writing in 2022, it combines two of her favorite things, books and getting plowed. She enjoys writing strong, witty females and the dirty-talking men that love them--with a little suspense tossed in wherever she can. As an avid hockey fan, her Lakes Hockey series was a natural place to start and debuted in March 2023.

When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and, of course, reading romance.

Reviews

[Gry ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

the best thing about this was the cover

[buket · Rating 1 out of 5]

verdict: still not sure if i am into mustaches. need more data

may this type of romance never find me✋🏻


~~~~~
head empty. no thoughts. just here because of the cover. i might be into mustaches now. it will be decided after this

[Kiara (easing back in) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

🧯 The Premise

Callahan Woods is a hotshot firefighter—devoted to the job, emotionally unavailable, and still carrying the weight of losing a crew member five years ago. Prescott “Scottie” Timmons is the new EMT in Sky Ridge, rebuilding her life after escaping a cult-like religious group that shaped far too much of her past.

Two guarded hearts. One small town. And enough heat to melt half the mountain.

🪵 My Thoughts

╰┈➤ The Romance

The beginning? Whew.

They meet, flirt, text, and hook up at lightning speed. The chemistry was definitely there, but the emotional foundation just wasn’t. That imbalance is exactly why I DNF’d this the first time around.

The miscommunication also shows up early. Cal hears some town gossip that echoes his past trauma and immediately shuts down instead of asking one simple clarifying question. Sir. Please. Use your adult words. It’s frustrating, but given how little they actually knew each other at that point, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

Everything shifts once they arrive at the fire tower during the storm. The forced proximity finally gives the romance room to breathe, and the characters slow down enough to talk, open up, and feel like real people instead of two attractive bodies on fast-forward. That’s when I really started rooting for them.

╰┈➤ Scottie & Cal

Both Cal and Scottie are carrying the weight of their pasts, so watching them slowly learn to let someone in was one of the strongest parts of the book.

Scottie is a survivor who’s finally getting the chance to build a life that’s truly hers. She’s guarded but incredibly resilient, and I loved watching her slowly figure out who she wanted to be outside of everything she’d been taught. I just wish her past had been explored a little more, and that she—not Cal—had been the one to reclaim the ending.

Cal claims he doesn’t do relationships, yet every action screams golden retriever in Nomex. He’s a wounded man with a huge heart and absolutely no idea what to do with it.

“It's strange how you can have your heart locked up for years, then out of nowhere the right person comes along and it's like they know the exact combination to open up everything about you and make you want something more.”

╰┈➤ The Wildfire Setting

I also really enjoyed the wildfire strategy and the hotshot crew dynamics. They made the story feel more immersive and added real weight to the emotional moments. It honestly became one of the highlights for me.

🌳 Final Take

While the beginning didn’t completely work for me, I’m really glad I came back to finish it. Once the emotional groundwork is laid, everything becomes much more heartfelt, and I ended up caring about Cal and Scottie far more than I expected.

Readers who love firefighter romances, survival tension, and “messy but trying their best” couples will likely have a great time.

“Fuck it, red might be my new favorite color.”

Tropes / What to Expect

🔥 Firefighter x EMT
💼 Workplace Romance
🏞️ Small Town
☃️ Snowed-in Forced Proximity
(yes, only one bed—obviously)
💬 Miscommunication
🌸 New Girl in Town
😎 Reformed Playboy
🎧 Duet Narration

Sky Ridge Hotshots Series

1. Fight — 3.5 ⭐️
2. Protect — 4 ⭐️ My review
3. Honor — 2.5 ⭐️ My review

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
✧･ﾟPre-Read･ﾟ✧

I never DNF, so this lone DNF has been haunting me. Was it bad timing, or was it actually that unbearable? Only one way to find out… time to settle this. Wish me luck 🌙

[Matea ☽ [ia] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

Okay, first of all, I need to confess something 😌 — I have a thing for MMCs named Callahan. I don’t know why, I don’t make the rules. My knees just go weak. And then you add this cover on top of that? Yeah. I was DONE for. WEAK, I’m telling you 🫠🔥

I really enjoyed this story. It was fast-paced and such an easy, bingeable read 📖✨ I honestly didn’t expect the survival aspect of the plot to take me completely by surprise — but it did, and I actually loved it. It was different from my usual reads, which made it feel fresh and refreshing 🖤

Now let’s talk about the spice 🌶️🔥
The way Sloane writes spicy scenes… HOLY MOLY. Listen, this is not my first rodeo (trust me 😏), but wow — this was HOT hot. Easily some of the best spice scenes I’ve read 🥵👏

So why only 3.75 stars and not more?
Mainly because I feel like this book was a bit misadvertised. It’s labeled as enemies to lovers… which it really isn’t. They barely tolerate each other (and that’s a strong word) for maybe 15% of the book 😬
My second issue is that the romance felt a little too fast for my taste. I missed a deeper emotional connection — it leaned more toward lust than love 🫠

That said, overall? Still a really good read 💕
Definitely enjoyed my time with it and don’t regret picking it up!

[naz · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒏, 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕,” 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆. “𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.”

This book was exquisite! I’ve never read a book about wildland firefighters, and even though this is a romance, you can definitely appreciate the small town and all of its knowledge about wildfires and firefighters infrastructure ! INSANE 🔥 I loved how the author created a glossary, which is one of the reasons why I devoured this book so fast!

We have Callahan who loves women (worships them, actually) but never ties himself down because his one true love is his work. That is, until he meets Prescott (aka Scottie), the new paramedic in town. Since it’s a small town and all that, they naturally get to know each other and their line of work overlap as well 😈

𝑰 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.

Tbh, just a heads up, their relationship you get the giddy fallingin love stage, then a huge miscommunication pause, and then finally the real lovers arc which trust me, once you get there OH IS FREAKING AMAZING ❤️‍🔥

This is a steamy romance, and ohhh does it STEAMS and STEAMS and STEAMS some more 🔥😏 There’s one scene that is just WOW like, insane 🚑🔥 (iykyk). But please remember it’s FICTION!! lol because that scene irl... it’s a bit unsanitary, but who cares in fiction, am I righttt?? 🤪

“𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝑪𝒂𝒍. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎?”

I loved their chemistry sm! You get to see how their past traumas affect their present and how they both want to fight not just for a better version of themselves but for their relationship as well. Freaking beautiful!! ❤️

tropes
🔥 small town
🔥 forced proximity
🔥 miscommunication
🔥 firefighter x paramedic
🔥 dirty mouth mmc


⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
➳ 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ my botm 🤭 i’m so excited I heard amazing things!!

[Lexi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t enjoy being a hater but whoo boy did I not end up enjoying this. And I bought a physical copy of this. Nobody is more disappointed in me than me right now. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Here’s the thing - the cover? Stunning. The tropes? Fabulous. He’s a firefighter? Yes, please. And the book started off so good! But I got inklings maybe I wasn’t gonna love it when they were f*cking by like 20-30%. And not in like a love at first sight, romantic way. No. Like a “you’re hot, I’m hot, we’re horny, let’s f*ck” kinda way. And that made the sex not so hot for me.

You might be asking yourself “then Lexi, why did you not just DNF? Why’d you keep going?” Well, let me tell you - then they “broke up” (I say broke up but they basically just stopped f*cking because god forbid two people in their early-to-mid 30s have a damn conversation about some shit they heard). So now there’s tension. They dislike each other. I’m thinking maybe it could redeem itself. Maybe they’ll be forced to talk. Maybe they’ll slowly develop feelings. Maybe this will be romantic and lovely and make up for that first ~30%

Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

2⭐️

[itsjessamess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok ich glaub alle wissen wie SEHHHRRRRRR ich diese “snowed in, in a cabin“ Geschichten LIEBEEEEEEEEE
Und hier auch hihi was soll ich sagen a girl knows what she loves HAHAHAHAHAHA

Ich war an Anfang ein wenig stutzig gegenüber der Geschichte… ich weiß nicht recht warum aber da war so ein Gefühl. Jedoch haben mich Scottie und Callahan ziemlich schnell dann in ihren Bann gezogen und ich hab das Buch INHALIERRRRTTTTTTT

lecker lecker lecker HAHAHAHAHA

[glavreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars ✨ i’m mad i kept this unread in my KU library for so long!!

scottie is a new emt in cal’s small town and he’s immediately intrigued. when they’re on the same wildland fire site, things get hot and heavy and he’s ready to put his casual-only ways behind him for repeats with her… until he hears the rumors flying around town that remind him an awful lot of what he went through with his ex.

i am not normally a big angst or breakup + resolution girl but i loved how it was done in this. the whole situation of them misunderstanding each other, being forced together, and then the reveal of scottie’s past had me SAT. i literally finished this book in one sitting. i wish cal had been leading the charge on the apologies a bit more and that we had seen scottie actually verbalize that she wouldn’t be going back to her past instead of cal just taking care of it all but i loved this one and the spice was H O T.

[Living Through Book Daria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 30%

Nie ma chemii, nie ma emocji. Nic nie czuję między bohaterami.

Główny bohater zachowuje się jakby mógł i chciał posunąć wszytsko co się rusza i jeszcze jest z tego powodu dumny.
To jak on i jego koledzy z dużym mówią o kobietach jest obleśne.
Czytałam już wiele książkę o kobieciarzach, którzy później się dla niej zmieniają itp, ale dawno nie trafiłam na tak obrzydliwego i aroganckiego jak ten.

Do tego ilość zbędnych opisów, które powinny zostać w erze wattpada 2015.
Przeczytałam 8 akapitów o tym jak Scottie myje włosy.

Do tego szparki i grube ku*asy.

Czytanie tej książki to była prawdziwa “Walka”.
Wystarczy 🫣

[Kylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Sloane St. James after reading the Lakes Hockey series, but damn it, I’ve fallen all over again after reading Fight. This book was such an amazing start to the Sky Ridge Hotshot series and to say I’m obsessed is an understatement.

Callahan Woods is a whole ass man and if I could, I’d start a fire in the woods behind my house in hopes he’d show up to save me. The mouth on him had me hot and bothered, while the way he showed Scottie support in navigating her unique situation had me swooning.

The connection between Cal and Scottie was strong from the moment they locked eyes in Shifty’s and only grew more intense as they braved both fire and snow. I loved them both so much and couldn’t get enough of their banter. The text messages had me smiling like a love sick fool and the epilogue was absolute perfection.

Sloane - please, please, please bring me more smokin’ hot, small town men. I’m begging you 🙏🏼

[Kayla | Kayla Reads Smut · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fan-fucking-tastic start to what I already know is going to be an amazing trilogy! I straight devoured this book. Couldn't put it down. There are several reasons why and let's get into them.

I first want to preface that this whole trilogy made my TBR for two reasons: these smoking hot covers and the vibes/aesthetics that were presented to me by the authors. I'm sorry but the vibes of this trilogy had me hooked and then when the covers were revealed I was like say less! But let me tell you something, the hype of this trilogy is so appropriately hyped, in fact it may not be hyped enough.

I want to touch on the actual storyline of this book because let me tell you something, I couldn't get enough. I want to preface this with, I don't read blurbs. So to say I went into this book and trilogy solely based on tropes and vibes for a good time. I literally did not know what to expect. And when I tell you I have never in my life read anything like this one before. The storyline of this one is so vastly different than anything I have ever read in a romance novel before which had me so thoroughly invested and was also really refreshing. As I was reading this book, at the beginning I thought it was going to do one way and then BAM 💥 it took a turn that I was not expecting in the best possible way. And it kept unfolding and kept pleasantly surprising me.

As for our main characters, I loved both Callahan and Scottie. Both of our main characters do suffer from their own personal traumas which they are attempting to work through which does cause their miscommunication, which I'm not going to lie at one point I was like Cal, you are a 30-something year old man. Let's communicate and be emotional available but there is a reason for everything and to be honest, the miscommunication was done well. Also I need to touch base of the top tier banter between these two. It was pure gold! I was living for it.

I really don't want to give much away with this trilogy because I went in blind and you should as well. Just know the vibes and aesthetics are there and the story is amazing. I gobbled it up and I think you will as well. In fact after you read this one you will never look at an ambulance or the game of battleship the same way 👀 😉 Happy Reading!

You should most definitely read this book if you like:
- Workplace Romance
- Enemies to Lovers
- Firefighter x EMT
- Miscommunication
- Reformed Playboy
- New Girl in Town
- Strong FMC in Peril/On the Run
- Us vs Nature

*I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Sloane St. James for allowing me the absolute pleasure to be a part of the ARC read for FIGHT in exchange for my honest thoughts, opinions and review.

[elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

a playboy MMC who fucked everything that moved and an FMC whose singular sexual partner was her gay husband? what a fresh, interesting take

[Brittany Ferraro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fantastic audiobook(duet narration) and honestly exactly what I was in the mood for something I could just kick back with and listen to without having to put too much pressure on my brain.

At first, I was like okay… this is a very fast burn. We get a super hot scene in an ambulance pretty early on, and it definitely felt a little insta-lusty to me. But then something happens midway through that kind of pushes these two backwards, and I actually loved that. It added a layer of tension and made the story way more interesting. I’m not usually a huge insta-lust girl, so that shift really worked for me and made the overall experience a lot more fun. The banter was so childish, but so hilarious (these two were literally throwing a dead squirrel back-and-forth.🤣)

I will say, some of the plot points felt a little random and maybe not as fleshed out as they could’ve been?? Like there were moments where I wanted just a tiny bit more depth or explanation. But overall, it wasn’t that serious since I was kind of just looking for something to zone out to, and the audio was still super easy to stay invested.

But I have to talk about the spice for a second because… wow. Sloane St. James writes some of the best spice. I was literally clutching my nonexistent pearls, fanning myself, the whole thing. There were multiple moments where I just had the biggest smile on my face like… damn girl. There is just something about high-quality spice that hits so different. It’s not about how much of it there is it’s about how well it’s written, and she absolutely nailed that. It’s been a minute since I’ve read spice like this, I’m really excited to check out more of her books 👀

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t have a ton of depth but will still keep you hooked, this is good one. I flew through most of this audiobook in one day it’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s just a really good time.

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story hinges on themes of redemption, trust, and second chances, yet it struggles to bring emotional depth or meaningful character development to the page.
The "life-or-death" plotline felt contrived, and the resolution left me unsatisfied. The potential for a raw, intense, slow-burn romance was there, but it just never quite ignited.


🎶 "Wildfire" – Seafret
🎶 "Lay It On Me" – Vance Joy

[Zawszezaczytana]

Mój pierwszy DNF w 2026 🪦

NO NIESTETY, ale książka mi totalnie nie podeszła. Odpuściłam naprawdę szybko i nie mam zamiaru do niej wracać xd

[marioncoin | coin.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

‼️regardez qui sort le 9 juillet en français chez Saxus romance ??? 🥹
je suis trop contente, j'ai adoré cette saga et j'ai vu personne en parler, j'espère qu'ils vous plairont autant qu'à moi❤️‍🔥

---

STOP THE CAR ✋🏼🚒
JE NE PENSAIS PAS AUTANT AIMER CE LIVRE ?

j'ai savouré ma lecture, c'était tellement bien, j'ai conscience que ce n'est pas le livre de l'année mais c'est totalement ce dont j'avais besoin !!!
pour être honnête je l'ai clairement lu pour sa couverture (oupsi) mais au final l'histoire m'a totalement conquise donc contente d'avoir jugé ce livre à sa couverture hihihhi

pour le pitch rapide, Callahan est pompier (de forêt) dans une small town (évidemment) et il se retrouve à bosser avec Prescott, une ambulancière (qui débarque de nulle part / on sait pas pourquoi) - y a de la proximité forcée (par la nature 🏔️- c'était génial) donc du one bed (pas pour me déplaire 🤭) il y a aussi de la miscommunication (ça, ça me déplait, mais j'étais tellement impliquée dans l'histoire que je voulais rentrer dedans pour les raisonner)

plus sérieusement, j'ai adoré le début, leurs réparties, j'avais un sourire impossible à effacer de mes lèvres et ça m'a fait du bien,
Prescott m'a énormément touchée, je me suis reconnue en elle sur plein d'aspects, elle mérite tellement d'amour bichette,
j'ai adoré Callahan aussi, son "still with me?" pour m'abattre et si vous aimez le dirty talk vous serez servies avec lui, c'est un homme capable et je le classe de suite dans mon catalogue de book boyfriends

j'enchaîne immédiatement avec les deux autres tomes, j'espère qu'ils seront traduits prochainement en VF, vraiment !!

― “i’ll never be who i once was, and i don’t want to. so it’s time for me to rebuild a version of me i can love. so that someday, someone else can love me too.”


──────୨ৎ──────
↝ 𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 & 𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚜 :
#1 fight- 5/5☆
#2 protect- 4.5/5☆
#3 honor - 5/5☆

[Asia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Szkoda mi tylko tej wiewiórki, którą tak zbezczeszczono.

[The BookyUniverse · Rating 1 out of 5]

To było instant instant instant.

Fabuła instant, romans instant, opis charakterów bohaterów instant lub to było też bardziej pobieżne ich przedstawienie. Dużo 🌶️🌶️ (jak widzę w TYCH scenach plucie, to mam odruch wymiotny, a pojawiło się to mnóstwo razy, ogólnie kartkowałam wszystkie te sceny) i przyciągania od samego początku, miłość po paru dniach.
Liczyłam na tych strażaków, ale mocno się przeliczyłam. Wątek z Owczarnią miał potencjał, ale miałam wrażenie, że został mocno wciśnięty na siłę, dla samego dodania do książki „dramatyzmu”.
Zawód ogromny, szkoda.

Współpraca reklamowa z Wydawnictwem Bezwstydna

[Shaz ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 - Loved the banter. Fucking hated the miscommunication trope.

I expected more firefighting or lumberjacking (??) I actually don’t understand this man’s job….

Couldn’t care less about the church stuff but definitely wouldn’t say no to Cal calling me his “good fucking girl”.

[Noi (in & out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Boldness with fear is courage. Boldness without fear is confidence."

“You’re like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m alive with you. Callahan, I like you. A lot. And I like who I am with you, but…”; “We’re facing our own battles. I won’t stand by and watch you lose yours because you decided it isn’t worth the energy. I need to know you’ll fight for yourself. If you want to do this, I promise you won’t do it alone. I’ll be at your side the whole time, even when it gets ugly.”

I would definitely read more from Sloane St. James.



Spoiler:



I didn't love 100% of this. I was upset by how the FMC felt obligated to her past, I felt like she owed them nothing. Why should she feel bad? Why should she wait? Why should she start over? I hated that whole thing. How dare they ask for MORE? pissed me off. I also didn't like that the MMC was the one to tip the scale on that plot point. I wanted it to be her, to show all her progress and self-discovery. I also am not a fan of how we had bible verses/religion sprinkled in. I get it was part of the story, but some of it rubbed me the wrong way.

[zajkosink.a · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Walka”

Jeśli myślałam, że “The Pucking Wrong Number” zostanie na pierwszym miejscu w moim prywatnym rankingu książek do Złotej Maliny, tak Walka stanęła obok, spojrzała mi w oczy i powiedziała: potrzymaj mi wiewiórkę (nigdy nie wybaczę).

Zapominam już to, co się działo w TPWN, bo zabawy truchłem zwierzęcym w wykonaniu strażaka leśnego z ELITARNEJ JEDNOSTKI i RATOWNICZKI MEDYCZNEJ nic nie przebije. NIC.

Ta sprawa ewidentnie nie może wyjść mi z głowy. I to nie dlatego, że była TAKA ZABAWNA, że aż boki zrywać, tylko dlatego, że taka scena była kompletnie nie na miejscu. Fikcja fikcją, ale są granice elementarnej przyzwoitości i logiki świata, który autorka sama sobie zbudowała.

Strażak leśny.
Elitarna jednostka.
Zawód, którego FUNDAMENTEM JEST RATOWANIE ŻYCIA I OCHRONA PRZYRODY.

Co robi nasz bohater?
Bawi się martwym zwierzęciem.

Czym miała być ta scena?
Przełamaniem lodów?
Momentem napięcia?
Jakimś mrocznym klimatem?

Nic z tych rzeczy. To upadek etyczny postaci i kompromitacja historii.

Zabawa martwymi zwierzętami jest:

✨ nieetyczna
✨ niebezpieczna sanitarnie
✨ w realnym świecie byłaby podstawą do natychmiastowego usunięcia ze służby, a w elitarnych jednostkach - konsekwencją dyscyplinarną.

Szczerze współczuję każdemu, kto się na tej scenie zaśmiał. Bo powiedzmy sobie wprost: czy gdyby zamiast wiewiórki był pies albo kot, to też byłby „fun”?

To, co pojawiło się w książce pokazało brak empatii, słabą kondycję psychiczną (chyba że mówimy tu o mózgu w postaci narządu w spodniach) i brak poszanowania granic.

Takie coś… tak źle rozegrane, nie powinno się pojawić w książce o strażaku leśnym i ratowniczce medycznej. TO JEST ZŁE.

A cytat, który dobił mnie już po wiewiórce? O Scottie?
„Troszczy się o innych w sposób bezinteresowny i szczery”.
Słucham? GDZIE ta troska była podczas rzucania ciałem wiewiórki? GDZIE?

Jak dobrze wiecie, na naszym polskim rynku jest mało książek ze strażakami w roli głównej. Na palcach jednej ręki mogę zliczyć, ile takich przeczytałam. Natomiast to tutaj… nie nazwałabym romansem z pełnoprawnym strażakiem. Może i początkowo było okej, ale… później? Równia pochyła.

Fabuła tej historii skupiała się na:
✨zbliżeniach
✨nieporozumieniach
✨urojeniach
✨happy endzie

W ramach pakietu otrzymałam
✨ playboya, który umawiał się na seks BEZ ZOBOWIĄZAŃ
✨ kobietę, która (SPOILER) uprawiała seks z mężem gejem, „żeby zaspokoić potrzeby” - absurd
✨ brak komunikacji ludzi po 30, którzy nie zachowują się adekwatnie do wieku
✨ dialogi i opisy będące czystym zapychaczem

Cal.

Jego życiowe motto?
“Życie jest krótkie. Seks to zabawa.”

Arogancki, obrzydliwy, irytujący. Rzekomo miał mnóstwo demonów, którymi nie chciał obarczać innych. Tylko czy człowiek będący w służbie, po przejściach, nie powinien być pod stałą kontrolą psychologiczną?

Jego sposób myślenia o Scottie w skrócie:
– “przełączam się z trybu “jestem słodki i czuły” na “potrzebuję wsadzić mojego kutasa tak głęboko, by musieć tłumić jej krzyki.”
– „kłamała cały czas”
– „ma czelność wyglądać na zranioną” - tu już parsknęłam śmiechem
– „razem mogło nam być wspaniale”
– „jest na to za mądra”

„Ogień to moja jedyna kobieta. Jest okrutna i seksowna”.
Szkoda tylko, że tego ognia praktycznie nie było.

Scottie.

Dziewczyna, która pragnęła czegoś więcej: niezależności, bycia pożądaną, poczuć, że żyje. Szkoda, że ta niezależność kończy się tam, gdzie on odprawia akcje, a ona i tak przy nim zostaje. Taka to niezależność.

Rozwój relacji? Zastąpiony maratonem erotycznym z wstrząśnieniem mózgu i zwichniętym barkiem - co jest kompletnym absurdem, bo nawet gdy sytuacja wymagała odpowiedzialnego podejścia, Cal darł się na Scottie. RED FLAG.

Tempo relacji trwającej kilka dni (pomijając niezasadną przerwę, bo Cal się obraził):
✨ niechęć
✨ ratowanie życia
✨ „kocham cię”
✨ dom, z którym poczuła więź (jego, oczywiście)
✨ plany na zawsze

HOT SCENY? ZERO.

Niech ktoś mi powie, że scena w karetce była hot. Może byłaby, gdyby bohaterowie nie byli na stanowiskach, które wykonują. Miejsce, które powinno być sterylne, zostało zbrukane przez niewyżytego penisa. Czy naprawdę główny bohater nie mógł go utrzymać w spodniach? Ale no tak - scena w karetce będzie doskonale brzmieć w bookmediach. Zapomniałam.

Ach… jeszcze to plucie. Delicious.

Wracając do wstrząśnienia mózgu i tego, co się wydarzyło - proszę mi powiedzieć, kto w pełni odpowiedzialny decyduje się na pójście na szlak, widząc ewidentną zmianę pogody i ciśnienia, nie informując absolutnie nikogo? Kto idzie na ratunek, nie informując służb, wiedząc, że pomoc może być konieczna?

Widzicie jakie to absurdalne i niebezpieczne? Aż nie chce mi się wierzyć, że coś takiego przeczytałam.

Trauma Scottie?
Poproszę o rozwinięcie, bo ja jej nie zauważyłam.

PTSD? Ledwo muśnięte. Rozwiązane seksem. Terapia? Wzmianka na 94% książki.

Sprawa z wiewiórką, krwawiąca rana głowy, seks bez bieżącej wody, mydła i szczoteczek do zębów. Ja naprawdę jestem w stanie wiele zrozumieć - ale nie to. Jeśli ktoś mówi, że kończy im się woda, a potem marnuje ją na głupoty, byle tylko zaspokoić swoje seksualne pożądanie, to ja nie mam pytań. Tutaj powinien włączyć się tryb przetrwania i rozsądnego myślenia.

Motyw sekty? Miał potencjał, ale został wprowadzony tak, że początkowo kompletnie go nie ogarnęłam i musiałam czytać fragment jeszcze raz, bo myślałam, że coś mi się przewidziało. Ten wątek kompletnie tu nie pasował. Gdyby autorka dała backstage, a sceny seksu zastąpiła czymś wartościowym… to może jeszcze. Ale przy takim poprowadzeniu i takim rozwiązaniu było to po prostu abstrakcyjne połączenie absurdu z niedbalstwem.

Zawody głównych bohaterów? Dlaczego zostały tak oszczędnie przedstawione? Dlaczego autorka nie wrzuciła kilku scen z ich zmaganiami? Z pomocą? Jeżeli oczekujesz bohaterów w akcji, to przykro mi, ale się rozczarujesz.

Podsumowując:

Strażak leśny, ratowniczka medyczna, niebezpieczeństwo, trauma - wszystko super. Natomiast rzeczywistość okazała się srogo rozczarowująca i zamiast interesujących tematów otrzymałam zlepek scen, które same nie wiedziały, czym chciały być.

Czy polecam? Absolutnie nie.
Czy przeczytam kolejny tom, skoro każdy jest pisany przez inną autorkę? Kategorycznie nie, bo znowu przejadę się na poleceniach czegoś, czego nie ma w treści..
Czy jestem cholernie wkurzona na to, co otrzymałam w środku? Domyśl się.

“Walka” to festiwal absurdu, braku logiki i scen, które nigdy nie powinny były trafić na papier.

[angiees_books♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

mój pierwszy romans ze strażakiem, masa polecajek i dużo nadziei.... i na tym się kończy 🥲 potencjał był, ale te postacie, styl bycia callaghana, brak logicznego myślenia prescott ☠️ więcej czasu trwała ich kłótnia niż sam romans. doliczając jeszcze sceny z szałem uniesień. chemia na początku niby była, ale potem gdzieś poszła, chyba w te zaspy 😂 plus za motyw strażacki bo dużo się dowiedziałam mądrych definicji i za wątek owczarni, chociaż w moim odczuciu powinien być bardziej rozwinięty albo nawet bardziej przeciągnięty. także znowu nadziałam się na tiktokową polecajkę i poległam, again 😌

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect with this book having just come off of an amazing hockey romance series by Sloane but she blew me away with this story! It was so unique yet so comforting in all the ways that Sloane makes you fall in love with her characters.

I’ve said it once & I’ll probably say it a million more times but Sloane is the BEST when it comes to plot to spice ratio! The story is always so good & the spice? Immaculate!

Thank you Sloane for allowing me to beta & ARC read for you! This was such an amazing start to a new series 🤭

- enemies to lovers
- reformed playboy
- forced proximity
- workplace romance

[Jo Bennesch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es entretenido.
Bastante hot, poco drama.
Hay diálogos en las escenas spicy que dan un poqito de cringe, no se si por la traducción o si son así.
Poco drama, hay momentos interesantes y otros un poco meh. Pero cumple con el objetivo de ser una lectura ligera.
Ideal vacaciones.

[Pikolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

El estilo de la autora me ha gustado, es bueno, se lee facil, rápido y es entretenido, sin mucho enredo.
La historia es muy hot (a mi me sobran tantos encuentros) pero tambien tiene trama (algo muy importante para mi) además en este caso me ha parecido original y distinta a lo que estoy acostumbrada a leer, aunque es verdad que para mi gusto ha sido demasiado insta love.
La dejo en 3.5*

[✨Rachael, Island Bookworm ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final thoughts and spoilers ahead, 3.5*


From the below it's clear I had issues with this book, idk why the MMC's reaction to a bad breakup always has to be to turn into a manwhore, if a woman goes through a bad breakup we cry, drink, rant and move tf on 🙄

Anyways had Cal's 5 years as a manwhore not been mentioned so frequently I'd have definitely rated this much higher, the latter parts of this book when they finally put on the grownup undies and communicated were cute. The smut was top tier , me likey.
Scottie was a pretty good h given the circumstances, she'd grown up in what amounted to a cult and when she couldn't take it anymore she had the courage to strike out on her own and make a better life for herself. The only time Scottie irritated me was when her "husband" came and she agreed to go back with him until they could finally leave together. I just wanted her to choose herself and her happin. (SG she'd been married to her best friend for I think 14 years to save him from the cult. He was gay and would've had to undergo conversion therapy. But they also had sex so idk 😐)
At the end of it I did enjoy this but the journey was unnecessarily stressful because of the way the H was portrayed.

******
Cheating as the h was technically separated when she got with the H
No cheating between the mcs
H was a manwhore but after the h he didn't want anyone else, even during their brief middle of the book separation
Religious cult







Thoughts while reading

Am I heading toward my first DNF of 2025?




Spoilers


*Way too wordy
*Immature and crass secondary characters
*H had been with his high school girlfriend and was engaged to her until 5 years ago when he caught her cheating. He of course turned into a huge manwhore.
*He's got a reputation as a manwhore, his inner thoughts about his antics make me want to junk punch him
*I do not need the H's manwhoring rubbed into my face 🙄
*I like my H's obsessed with the h, he's after her because he's enjoying the chase for once
*h is 32 and seems to have little experience, because of course that's who we'd pair the manwhore with 🙄 shocker 🤦🏿‍♀️. She was in a lavender marriage and came from a cult like religious small town
*How's he gonna show up 40 mins late to their casual hang out and offer no explanation and she's not only cool with that but she also has sex with him 🙄 girl stand up
*Of course he gives the it's only casual speech
*He's such a fuckboy of course she's warned off him
**Excellent smut, except for some cringey porn lines
How're you gonna have a breakup before the book is halfway through?🙄 fuckboy heard some rumours and believes someone he knows is an asshole so he breaks things off 🙄
*Small town where the H was known as a manwhore ewwwwwwwwwwww
*I've never been so happy for the forced proximity trope...his assumptions that caused him to break things of with her without asking a fucking question are finally cleared up.
*at least in their time apart he didn't want anyone else
*The sexy times in this are filthy and I love it
*after they get stranded together things are finally getting better,Cal better not mess this up
**Scottie is married, because of the religious town she grew up in she married her gay best friend to save him from them......but thwy were having sex? Idk maybe he's bi?
*Of course the manwhore gets the "as close to a virgin without being a virgin h"


Currently reading

[Southern Lady Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading and there was an element of mystery - I really thought I would be getting more of a romantic suspense novel? For a very fast paced Kindle Unlimited novel -I really enjoyed the brain candy aspects!

I'll read the next one for sure one grey day!

**Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Follow me on Instagram for honest reviews, bookish freebies & giveaways! 🦋 || Check out the new Southern Lady Reads YouTube channel!!

[olcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

podtrzymuję opinię, że największa walka tu to walka czytelnika z dokończeniem tej książki


relacja głównych bohaterów nagle zmienia się o 180 stopni, podejście callahana do kobiet też, dodatkowo nikogo zdaje się nie przejmować fakt że utknęli gdzieś odcięci od wszystkiego a dziewczyna ma chyba wstrzas mozgu, nic sie nie klei a wątek poboczny który chyba mógł być jedynym ciekawym wgl mi się nie podobał bo wydawał być się wciśnięty na siłę byleby wyszło takie nieporozumienie między głównymi postaciami

[Dahlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 67%
will remember this before reading whatever I see on ig 😣

Am making this count as a read because am kinda done with it no 👀 And all I can say for now is that this pissed the shit out of me ..
THE DESCRIPTIONS ? I don't know from where she got them but please just don't use that shit again ..

---
Instagram is making me reading this ..

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not for me. I don't like the miscommunication trope, insta love, or a lot of smut, but the cover is stunning.