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EMS Heat #9
Shades of the Past
All paramedics know how dangerous their job can be. Kiefer just never expected to experience that truth so early in his career when he lost his cousin and job partner to a tragic accident. Now floundering in both life and his role as a paramedic, Kiefer is in jeopardy of losing everything he worked so hard for.
In all his years as a Pontiac City Fireman, Ray’s seen a lot of hurt. Nothing affected him more than the day he found Kiefer, emotionally shattered and near catatonic. Ever since then, Ray hasn’t been able to get the paramedic out of his mind. When he finds out that Kiefer is making a cross-country trip to return some items to his deceased cousin’s mother, Ray jumps at the chance to go along. What Ray doesn’t expect is to fall for the medic. Will he be able to help Kiefer heal enough to give them a chance or will Ray suffer his own heartbreak?
In all his years as a Pontiac City Fireman, Ray’s seen a lot of hurt. Nothing affected him more than the day he found Kiefer, emotionally shattered and near catatonic. Ever since then, Ray hasn’t been able to get the paramedic out of his mind. When he finds out that Kiefer is making a cross-country trip to return some items to his deceased cousin’s mother, Ray jumps at the chance to go along. What Ray doesn’t expect is to fall for the medic. Will he be able to help Kiefer heal enough to give them a chance or will Ray suffer his own heartbreak?
75 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Stephani Hecht
250 books864 followersStephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings! You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book or gorging on caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.
When she’s not running around like crazy, trying to get her kids to their various activities, she’s currently working on numerous projects. In the coming months, she has several books coming out with eXtasy Books in both The Lost Shifter Series and Drone Vampire Chronicles, plus a few additional projects that are still in the development stages.
Visit Stephani on the web at:
Email her at:
archangelwriter@yahoo.com
When she’s not running around like crazy, trying to get her kids to their various activities, she’s currently working on numerous projects. In the coming months, she has several books coming out with eXtasy Books in both The Lost Shifter Series and Drone Vampire Chronicles, plus a few additional projects that are still in the development stages.
Visit Stephani on the web at:
Email her at:
archangelwriter@yahoo.com
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 9, 2016
2.5 stars rounded up to 3!
Shades of the Past picks up exactly where the previous book in the series ended. When Ray arrives at the place of the explosion and sees Kiefer kneeling beside the death body of his cousin, he needs to help. As careful as he can, he approaches the young man and takes care of him as good as he can. However, Kiefer is completely catatonic and isn’t able to react to Ray.
A good five months later, Kiefer is totally withdrawn. Crushed by a heavy feeling of guilt, he isn’t able to take part in life anymore. His cousin Chauncey desperately tries to get him back ”into the land of the living”, but his interventions haven’t been successful thus far.
When Kiefer decides that he wants to bring Jill’s belongings back to her parents and asks Chauncey for his car, the trauma nurse springs into action. In order to get his car, he wants Kiefer to join him at Vaughn and Dustin’s place for their regular poker night. Having noticed Ray’s attraction to Kiefer, he manages to make the firefighter join Kiefer on his road trip to Florida.
Will they be able to fight the growing attraction between each other when being that close together?
I once again liked the topic of this story in the series, but somehow Hecht’s books are getting shorter and shorter. No place for plot or character development!
Shades of the Past picks up exactly where the previous book in the series ended. When Ray arrives at the place of the explosion and sees Kiefer kneeling beside the death body of his cousin, he needs to help. As careful as he can, he approaches the young man and takes care of him as good as he can. However, Kiefer is completely catatonic and isn’t able to react to Ray.
A good five months later, Kiefer is totally withdrawn. Crushed by a heavy feeling of guilt, he isn’t able to take part in life anymore. His cousin Chauncey desperately tries to get him back ”into the land of the living”, but his interventions haven’t been successful thus far.
When Kiefer decides that he wants to bring Jill’s belongings back to her parents and asks Chauncey for his car, the trauma nurse springs into action. In order to get his car, he wants Kiefer to join him at Vaughn and Dustin’s place for their regular poker night. Having noticed Ray’s attraction to Kiefer, he manages to make the firefighter join Kiefer on his road trip to Florida.
Will they be able to fight the growing attraction between each other when being that close together?
I once again liked the topic of this story in the series, but somehow Hecht’s books are getting shorter and shorter. No place for plot or character development!
July 30, 2011
Pretty good, although really short it feels more complete than some of the previous books in this series. I would have given five stars if more of the relationship development would have been shown. there is like 5 months of build up that the reader doesn't see and i would have liked to see more of that
June 4, 2011
Nice comfort-and-heal love story with added bonus of men in uniform (paramedic and fireman). Kiefer and Ray are a cute and hot couple with a good chemistry. Wished this story had been longer.
March 15, 2012
Liked it.
Very nice hurt-comfort, simple, but enjoyable story and despite being short, I've been satisfied with the way the relationship progressed.
Very nice hurt-comfort, simple, but enjoyable story and despite being short, I've been satisfied with the way the relationship progressed.
Read
January 24, 2023The EMS Heat Series by Stephanie Hecht
I’m reviewing this entire series in one go because they all have similar themes. Each book is short and sweet – little bite-sized stories when you want to pick up something quick to read (I read each one in one sitting).
This is one of those series (previously called St Michael’s) that centres on a group of men who work in emergency services. It is a glorious combination of EMTs, firemen, nurses, doctors…
Each book is relatively short (<100 pages) and make the perfect quick read when you want something short but enjoyable. Each book has a fairly emotional theme – these guys have been abused, hurt in the past, rejected by their families, and any manor of other things that have left them feeling scared and vulnerable but each man finds his partner, someone to love them for who they are and to teach them about trust.
For such serious topics, there isn’t a lot of time to delve into each story in depth but there is just enough heartache and working through issues to reach a happy ending. Okay, so most seem a little unrealistic – love at first sight, overcoming issues quickly and even the over-abundance of gay guys in the town – but I read this series for a light enjoyment so didn’t mind a bit!
You can read the blurb to find out more about each story so I have included a little quote from each book to give a sense of the style...
#1 Running Hot “Running to him, Calvin threw his arms around James and pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. They had a huge audience, but he didn’t give a damn.”
#2 Man Down “I told myself I couldn’t get close to you because I didn’t want any complications in my life. That I didn’t have time for a relationship because of school and stuff. The truth is, I didn’t want to grow attached to you because I can’t stand to lose someone else who I care about.”
#3 Lights and Sirens “Unlike Gary, Matt happened to be good looking on the inside too.”
#4 Priority One “This was it. Finally Dylan would be able to know what it felt like to be with another man. After tonight, there’d be no more lingering doubts. No more false hopes that maybe he’d been wrong all along and wasn’t gay and could make things right back home. If he did this, actually went through with it, these would be no question of what he was. “
#5 Code Blue “He wondered how this little brat had managed to mean so much to him in just the span of a day.”
#6 Red Lights and Silver Bells “Kaleb gaped at him in shock. Even after all these months of having to deal with Dylan’s insecurities, it still shocked Kaleb every time he realized just how little his lover thought of himself. If it was anyone who could have their pick of men, it was Dylan.”
#7 High Flow “Since he’d gotten away with touching him earlier, Patrick allowed himself to reach out and cup Forrest’s face. When the younger man briefly closed his eyes and turned into the touch, a thrill of victory went through Patrick. That’s it, babe, open up to me. It’s safe, I promise. Since he knew it was too early to speak those words aloud, Patrick simply went with, “I want you because you’re Forrest. I wouldn’t change a thing about you because you’re perfect the way you are”
#8 Three-Alarm Fire “Why it’s so easy to tell you things that I could never share with anyone else. It’s because you know what it’s like to be hurt by someone you love. You understand me in ways that nobody else could.”
#9 Shades of the Past “As Kiefer’s body seemed to mold into his side, Ray became aware of two things. One, that Kiefer made for a perfect fit. Second came the startling realization that Ray would do anything to protect the medic from being hurt again.”
#10 In His Hero’s Shadow “I don’t want to get hurt,” Brody finally admitted. “I know I’m not good enough for you and that it will only be a matter of time before you figure that out for yourself and dump me.”
#11 Life Over Limb “Nah, he was just being nice. There is no way in hell a guy that good-looking could be interested in me.”
#12 FUBAR “The victim finally looked up and Danny sucked in a breath as he found himself instantly attracted to the other man. Damn it though, he knew he shouldn’t be having that reaction, after all, this guy barely avoided being viciously attacked. The last thing he needed was his would-be rescuer drooling over him.”
#13 Status Dramaticus “Are you even listening to me?” Ah, no. I was too busy drooling over you and imagining how it would feel to have you fuck me into the mattress.
#14 Tagged and Bagged ”The good think about Housten being asleep, aside from the fact his mouth was shut, was that he wasn’t aware of how sappy Rich was being. And Rich was being sappy with a capital S.”
#15 Blamestorming “Intrigued because I’m gay and working in such an alpha dominated field, or because you’re interested in me for something more than a friend?”
#16 Circling the Drain ”Would you think I sound young and dorky if I said that if I wasn’t careful I could fall in love with you?”
#17 STAT “For some reason, Wells felt a flash of jealously over Jaret being so close to another man. Which was crazy. He and Jaret weren’t even friends, much less in a relationship.”
#18 City of Fire “Awww….you better watch it, people will say we’re in love.” “I see that you’ve been watching Oklahoma again.” “What can I say, I’m just a guy who can’t say no.”
I publish all my m/m reviews on my blog so if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place come visit at Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
I’m reviewing this entire series in one go because they all have similar themes. Each book is short and sweet – little bite-sized stories when you want to pick up something quick to read (I read each one in one sitting).
This is one of those series (previously called St Michael’s) that centres on a group of men who work in emergency services. It is a glorious combination of EMTs, firemen, nurses, doctors…
Each book is relatively short (<100 pages) and make the perfect quick read when you want something short but enjoyable. Each book has a fairly emotional theme – these guys have been abused, hurt in the past, rejected by their families, and any manor of other things that have left them feeling scared and vulnerable but each man finds his partner, someone to love them for who they are and to teach them about trust.
For such serious topics, there isn’t a lot of time to delve into each story in depth but there is just enough heartache and working through issues to reach a happy ending. Okay, so most seem a little unrealistic – love at first sight, overcoming issues quickly and even the over-abundance of gay guys in the town – but I read this series for a light enjoyment so didn’t mind a bit!
You can read the blurb to find out more about each story so I have included a little quote from each book to give a sense of the style...
#1 Running Hot “Running to him, Calvin threw his arms around James and pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. They had a huge audience, but he didn’t give a damn.”
#2 Man Down “I told myself I couldn’t get close to you because I didn’t want any complications in my life. That I didn’t have time for a relationship because of school and stuff. The truth is, I didn’t want to grow attached to you because I can’t stand to lose someone else who I care about.”
#3 Lights and Sirens “Unlike Gary, Matt happened to be good looking on the inside too.”
#4 Priority One “This was it. Finally Dylan would be able to know what it felt like to be with another man. After tonight, there’d be no more lingering doubts. No more false hopes that maybe he’d been wrong all along and wasn’t gay and could make things right back home. If he did this, actually went through with it, these would be no question of what he was. “
#5 Code Blue “He wondered how this little brat had managed to mean so much to him in just the span of a day.”
#6 Red Lights and Silver Bells “Kaleb gaped at him in shock. Even after all these months of having to deal with Dylan’s insecurities, it still shocked Kaleb every time he realized just how little his lover thought of himself. If it was anyone who could have their pick of men, it was Dylan.”
#7 High Flow “Since he’d gotten away with touching him earlier, Patrick allowed himself to reach out and cup Forrest’s face. When the younger man briefly closed his eyes and turned into the touch, a thrill of victory went through Patrick. That’s it, babe, open up to me. It’s safe, I promise. Since he knew it was too early to speak those words aloud, Patrick simply went with, “I want you because you’re Forrest. I wouldn’t change a thing about you because you’re perfect the way you are”
#8 Three-Alarm Fire “Why it’s so easy to tell you things that I could never share with anyone else. It’s because you know what it’s like to be hurt by someone you love. You understand me in ways that nobody else could.”
#9 Shades of the Past “As Kiefer’s body seemed to mold into his side, Ray became aware of two things. One, that Kiefer made for a perfect fit. Second came the startling realization that Ray would do anything to protect the medic from being hurt again.”
#10 In His Hero’s Shadow “I don’t want to get hurt,” Brody finally admitted. “I know I’m not good enough for you and that it will only be a matter of time before you figure that out for yourself and dump me.”
#11 Life Over Limb “Nah, he was just being nice. There is no way in hell a guy that good-looking could be interested in me.”
#12 FUBAR “The victim finally looked up and Danny sucked in a breath as he found himself instantly attracted to the other man. Damn it though, he knew he shouldn’t be having that reaction, after all, this guy barely avoided being viciously attacked. The last thing he needed was his would-be rescuer drooling over him.”
#13 Status Dramaticus “Are you even listening to me?” Ah, no. I was too busy drooling over you and imagining how it would feel to have you fuck me into the mattress.
#14 Tagged and Bagged ”The good think about Housten being asleep, aside from the fact his mouth was shut, was that he wasn’t aware of how sappy Rich was being. And Rich was being sappy with a capital S.”
#15 Blamestorming “Intrigued because I’m gay and working in such an alpha dominated field, or because you’re interested in me for something more than a friend?”
#16 Circling the Drain ”Would you think I sound young and dorky if I said that if I wasn’t careful I could fall in love with you?”
#17 STAT “For some reason, Wells felt a flash of jealously over Jaret being so close to another man. Which was crazy. He and Jaret weren’t even friends, much less in a relationship.”
#18 City of Fire “Awww….you better watch it, people will say we’re in love.” “I see that you’ve been watching Oklahoma again.” “What can I say, I’m just a guy who can’t say no.”
I publish all my m/m reviews on my blog so if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place come visit at Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
February 27, 2021
*Sigh*
So much potential to be a really great story, but it was undeveloped. So many questions that bugged me about the characters and their actions: Why was Kiefer, who did NOTHING wrong, blamed for his cousin's death? Why did no one explain and make it clear to the crappy family that it was her mistakes and attitude that got her killed? She almost got him killed as well, but I guess he had survivor's guilt. Why would anyone who is hated by relatives drive thousands of miles cross country to return some stuff without calling ahead to see if they even want the stuff or appreciate the effort? I guess for the contrived road trip plot device. This was one of the more frustrating stories in this series. Also, like the others, editing errors and stray commas abound.
So much potential to be a really great story, but it was undeveloped. So many questions that bugged me about the characters and their actions: Why was Kiefer, who did NOTHING wrong, blamed for his cousin's death? Why did no one explain and make it clear to the crappy family that it was her mistakes and attitude that got her killed? She almost got him killed as well, but I guess he had survivor's guilt. Why would anyone who is hated by relatives drive thousands of miles cross country to return some stuff without calling ahead to see if they even want the stuff or appreciate the effort? I guess for the contrived road trip plot device. This was one of the more frustrating stories in this series. Also, like the others, editing errors and stray commas abound.
August 24, 2017
A bit too rushed for me
August 26, 2019
EMS heat 9
Another hot firefighter and paramedic combo in this next instalment of EMS heat, dealing with the accident which caused his cousin and work partners death
Another hot firefighter and paramedic combo in this next instalment of EMS heat, dealing with the accident which caused his cousin and work partners death
June 5, 2011
Since loosing his cousin in a house fire, Keifer has sworn to himself that the pain of loosing someone you love isn’t worth allowing anyone that level of vulnerability again. Even if that means staying away from a certain fireman that gets him all hot and bothered. When his health and job start to suffer from his grieving, his friends decide its time for an intervention.
Ray hasn’t been able to get Kiefer out of his mind since he helped him after the accident that killed his cousin. Even though Kiefer shuts him down at every turn and won’t allow him to get close enough to prove they’re perfect for each other, Ray isn’t willing to let it go. So if being a part of Kiefer’s cousin’s blackmail finally gives him what he wants, then so be it.
I think I read this book in an hour. Is it just me, or do Stephani Hecht’s books keep getting shorter? As a result, everything just happened really fast. The characters were sweet and good together but underdeveloped and the use of “telling the reader” instead of showing us how and why the MCs fell in love might make it easier in the face of writing the story but doesn’t benefit the book or the reader.
Ray hasn’t been able to get Kiefer out of his mind since he helped him after the accident that killed his cousin. Even though Kiefer shuts him down at every turn and won’t allow him to get close enough to prove they’re perfect for each other, Ray isn’t willing to let it go. So if being a part of Kiefer’s cousin’s blackmail finally gives him what he wants, then so be it.
I think I read this book in an hour. Is it just me, or do Stephani Hecht’s books keep getting shorter? As a result, everything just happened really fast. The characters were sweet and good together but underdeveloped and the use of “telling the reader” instead of showing us how and why the MCs fell in love might make it easier in the face of writing the story but doesn’t benefit the book or the reader.
April 21, 2012
I somehow missed this one in the series. Picked it up today. It's very short and sweet. It's typical of what I expect but sometimes that's exactly what I'm in the mood for. Poor Kiefer is still suffering following the death of his partner/cousin and is about to lose his job if he doesn't get it together. His friends push him towards Ray and a road trip to return the dead cousin's things to her family finally let him get back on track. Although why he just didn't send them via Fed Ex, collect, I wasn't sure. :-)
September 10, 2014
3.5 Stars.
I don't know if it was just me but it seemed like the book was incomplete. I shook my reader when the book finished, wondering whether I'd gotten my hands on a dodgy copy or not.
Thank you to the author for this book.
I don't know if it was just me but it seemed like the book was incomplete. I shook my reader when the book finished, wondering whether I'd gotten my hands on a dodgy copy or not.
Thank you to the author for this book.
June 4, 2011
Good m/m romance about an EMT whose partner and cousin died on the job because she wouldn't listen to him. He blames himself for her death and isn't doing very well at all. (I wanted just a bit more in each of the later scenes in the book.)
June 6, 2011
I love how Stephani Hecht can always make you love a character no matter how long or short the story is. While I admit that this isn't my favorite of the series, I continue to absolutely enjoy her writing and look forward to the next one!
November 20, 2011
This part was totally off. I simply couldn't connect to Kiefer and that was because of the plot. Which was to undeveloped and to short. Ray was interesting guy, but we didn't get to know him at all, only about his fixation on Kiefer. I didn't like it.
July 7, 2011
Nice continuation of the EMS series. As with all the others I just wish it were longer.
June 3, 2011
Sweet easy read. I would have liked to see a little more of the characters!
July 18, 2011
3.5 stars
A sweet short story.
More background info on both MC's would have been nice (especially Ray) since by the end of the book we still don't know much about them.
A sweet short story.
More background info on both MC's would have been nice (especially Ray) since by the end of the book we still don't know much about them.
July 27, 2011
HOLY WHIPLASH!
I'm a closed off basket case NO WAIT I'M IN LOVE AND THE WORLD IS RIGHT! Maybe I shouldn't have read this and not the rest of the books in the series?
I'm a closed off basket case NO WAIT I'M IN LOVE AND THE WORLD IS RIGHT! Maybe I shouldn't have read this and not the rest of the books in the series?
December 27, 2011
Again to short and rushed. More so then the last book.
April 7, 2012
I give this book a 2.5 because there was a lot of errors in it. If I notice the errors then it had to be bad.
October 3, 2012
3.5 stars
April 18, 2013
a real look at how dangerous a job can truly be
November 7, 2013
Thankfully Ray pulled Kiefer out of his funk before he lost everything. Wish this one had been longer though.
April 14, 2016
2.5 stars
June 2, 2011
sweet story between a mourning paramedic and a firefighter.
June 9, 2011
really light weight
just 2
it didn't grab me and it had all the elements that it should have
just 2
it didn't grab me and it had all the elements that it should have
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews