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There is nothing hotter than a sexy single fireman, as author Jennifer Bernard so ably proves with her Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel contemporary romance novels. Following Bernard’s sizzling series debut, The Fireman Who Loved Me, her second scorcher, Hot for Fireman, is just the thing to fire up fans of Kristin Higgins, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Jo Davis’s popular stories of firehouse affairs. Return to steamy San Gabriel, California, where a sexy suspended firefighter, hoping to get back on duty at Station 52, is tending bar at a local dive in the interim…even as the bar’s lovely, desperate owner is contemplating burning the money pit to the ground.

389 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

58 people are currently reading
1047 people want to read

About the author

Jennifer Bernard

88 books1,382 followers
Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life in Los Angeles for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. No stranger to book success, she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name that she’s happy to share with the curious.

You can connect with Jennifer online at http://JenniferBernard.net or email her at Jen@JenniferBernard.net.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
Profile Image for Sharon Redfern.
714 reviews25 followers
June 10, 2012


I loved the first book in this series and this one started off really well. Ryan Blake, the sexy but somewhat irresponsible fireman from book one is back and trying to get his life back on track. He sort of accidentally becomes a bartender at a local dive The Hair of the Dog being managed by Katie Dane, the owner's daughter. Ryan is attracted to Katie right away but she is pretty prickly. It seemed like the start of another good book. However, when Katie comes up with the idea of committing arson as a way to solve her financial problems, I started to have issues with this book. Not only does she have her friend try to burn the place down, she tries herself and Ryan catches her. He lets her off the hook and she promises to stop. WHAT!? Then after that incredible plot twist, she lies to him and hires a professional arsonist to do the job. Unbelievable to say the least and the fire chief just let's it go when she confesses all to him after everything goes bad. I don't think so. As the parent of a firefighter, I was thrilled about this series but this book is totally off the mark. I hope that if Ms. Bernard writes another book in the series that she thinks about the message she is giving.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim).
604 reviews113 followers
July 8, 2012
I hated it. Surprising how much I disliked it really.

Top ten reasons for disliking it - (just in the order of how they pop into my head)

1. Hiring a guy named Carson for arson.
2. Having an adopted four year old that was totally devoted to one of her father's coworkers she hasn't seen in more than a year and a half.
3. Having a father with no money who has a heart attack go on a month's vacation to mexico for his health?
4. Heroine drives a Datsun? I think they stopped making these in the late 70's (Wikipedia says '84 for last model). So heroine drives a 30+ year old car? In California? It would NEVER pass the emissions tests. Plus, she puts Ryan in the backseat? How is she supposed to put a huge fireman in a body cast in the backseat in a two door vehicle?
5. Hero's father has been a freaky bastard for hero's whole life. Heroine tells him touchy feely shit and he becomes a concerned father?
6. The character Doug. From the 'pot is bad' message to the confession and You-tube resolution - BLECH!
7. Melissa 'dumping' her four year old daughter on one of the most irresponsible bachelors with no notice and no way to back out.
8. The school idea at the end.
9. The 'Posedown' or 'Pose-off' or whatever it is called.
10. The sister who never loved me - Oh of course I loved you honey! I'm going to prove it by taking care of your Doug problem!


I could list another 10 very easily. Probably 10 more after that.

From unbelievable dialog, stick figure characters,and all around crappy plot to a heroine who is a serious criminal I'm sorry I wasted my time on this. I don't think I've every been this disappointed in a second book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michele Rene.
141 reviews66 followers
December 28, 2018
What a blast! Thanks Jennifer! I love books about firemen and this one was great. I read most of it in one night.
Profile Image for Desere.
758 reviews78 followers
January 1, 2013
This was book two from The Bachelor Fireman Series and I am at a loss for words to tell you just how awesome this book was.

I have always, always had a very strong liking for fireman,ok more like a obsession and having read the first book from this absolutely stunning series I was definitely not going to miss out on this one.

This time around we get to know more about the sexy as sin, makes you weak at your knees with a mere look, toned in all the right places, Ryan Blake.

From the first book in the series I got to know a little about him and his affirmations but it was more about the fact that he can get any girl to do anything all night long by just smiling at her. But this time the author peeled back the layers and really gave me as reader the low down on him.

He did not have a great childhood and yes ladies he was a bad boy (don't you just love those) but he has worked hard to work his way up the ladder and prove he is more than just a pretty face with a bad rep. Only he has one small flaw and that is that he never thinks only reacts and that is what causes him to loose his job as fireman.

But with this it also brings him to the cute as a button but very feisty Katie. Katie has a exceptionally hard time to keep her fantasies about Ryan at bay as she believes there is no way a hot guy like Ryan would want her. Along with this the author also brings into play a series of fire related events that draws Katie and Ryan deeper together with a passion so explosive it will leave you just as breathless as I was.

The author also let me as reader a little deeper into the lives of the other fire fighters who are no doubt going to have their own books,hopefully coming very soon.

The dialogue was fun and witty and the little sayings Ryan and Katie throw at each other was really delightful. The author truly packed this read with emotion, passion and just plain good old fashioned hot romance!

I loved how the author sent across a message of sometimes the unexpected of events can lead you right to where you need to be, and under the surface of a pretty face lies the true heart of a hero.

Ryan was and will forever be a character that will stay with me and remind me that letting go of the past and focusing on your future instead of trying to run from it is a life lesson that must be remembered.

I look forward to the next part of the truly hot series.
5/5 star review

"Fire has never been hotter"
Profile Image for Lover of Romance.
3,712 reviews1,123 followers
July 18, 2015
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance My Review

 
Summary 
Katie Dane has no clue how to run a bar businness. Her father has owned and managed it all of his life, but when he has a heart attack and must step away, her family asks her to take over. She is at a total loss, because the bar is sinking financially and she must find a way to save it, but when a sexy stranger steps into the bar, she begins to get a inspirational idea that could save her family. Ryan, is the one firefighter from the Fireman Bachelors that the ladies go all out for. He is sexy, built and charming, and he knows his way around a lady's bedroom. But then he makes a mistake and has had to take over a year off. But now he is back, fully charged and ready to be a full time fireman again. But while waiting for the Captain to make his decision to hire him back, he ends up getting a bartender job with the serious Katie Dane who is gorgeous and sexy but quite crazy at times. Ryan is brought into a world of fighting fire, only not as a fire fighter, but trying to save the bar, a crazy bachlorette party and a romance that sizzles and burns.
The Hero 
Ryan didn't have the best upbringing in the world. His mother abandoned him for her career. His father was crazy and paranoid and abusive. He didn't start out being a law abiding citizen, but the Cap. Brody found him and brought him into the team and helped him turn his life completely around. Ryan loved his life as a firefighter, the adrenlin rush, the attention and being a hero was a complete draw to him, and he was dang good at it too. Until he made a mistake and it cost him a year of what he loved. Now he has returned making a complete turn around, but what he needs is to be to be a better human being. What I loved about Ryan is his charm and you see much more depth in him than in the first book. The first book we see him as a cocky ladies man. Well in this book he is still a ladies man, but so much more than that. So man was he sexy to me, and had all the characteristic for a good hero. Honest, loyal, and handsome, What was most attractive to me about Ryan was the way he handles Katie, and how he keeps on fighting for her and see who she really is and not the person she appears to be on the surface.
The Heroine 
Katie is gorgeous and smart (most of the time), but we see Katie make some pretty crazy decisions. And decisions that I fell hard for from the beginning. What was most likeable about Katie was her personality. Katie has just finished getting her degree in french literature, and who see how she has no clue how to run a bar. She would rather research and study than be around people all day. She doesn't have the patience or inclination for it. When Ryan enters her life, though, she begins to change. She comes up with crazy and wild ideas for the bar, but she is quite intelligent and I love how she starts to enjoy being around people more. We see the growth in her character but there is one thing she does that is nuts, and it drove me crazy at times, because I wanted to shake her. But Ryan handles the situation pretty well. I loved how Katie responds to Ryan and it's very entertaining to see Katie's personality come out at the oddest of times.
Plot and Storyline 
Hot For Fireman is quite a humorous and lively romance that had me bursting out in laughter from the beginning. I mean, Jennifer Bernard definitely creates a story that is witty and charming and so loveable even if you want to shake the characters into some sense. There are some scenes that occur in this story that are quite bizzare at times, but very humorous. I had a blast of giggles and sexy fun with this book. I just couldn't put it down because it really won me over. We have the silly bantering between Ryan and Katie, and do they love to argue. Some interesting ideas for saving the bar...that never turn out as planned. We see more delicious happenings from the Bachelor Firemen team and boy did they rock the house. I fell for Ryan's story hard, probably because you fall for his charm in the first book, and you see how he is taken down a notch in this one, and the way he ends up falling in love and it turns out to be with a woman you wouldn't see him with, but by the end they were just perfect for each other. They got each other in the most unique and strange ways, and I enjoyed seeing how well these two fought for each other in the end, which is when it matters most. This is a romance that is witty, strange at times and fun and silly. It had a different take than I was expecting, and it was so unpredictable that I just craved every moment of it.
The Cover 
Now who doesn't love a hot fireman right? This cover is sexy and hot...I love the summer colors, and the homey feel with the kitchen in the background.
Overall View 
Hot For Fireman is a delicious addition to the series, guaranteed to pull you into a life of sexy fireman, sizzling attraction, crazy scenarios, delicious characters and a story that never ends!! A romance that is pure entertainment!!

 

 

Series Order

 

The Fireman Who Loved Me (1) Harry and Melissa

Hot For Fireman (2) Ryan and Katie

Sex and the Fireman (3) Rick and Sabina 

How To Tame A Wild Fireman (4) Patrick and Lara 

Four Weddings and a Fireman (5) Vader and Cherie 

The Night Belongs To Fireman (6) Fred and Rachel 
 

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Profile Image for Amy.
Author 26 books24 followers
March 28, 2012
HOT FOR FIREMAN by Jennifer Bernard is fun, witty, endearing, gentle, sweet yet steamy hot and oh, so very sexy. It's everything you want in a relationship and that's everything you get in this story. THE HAIR OF THE DOG becomes a place where you find yourself wishing you can visit and most definitely hold your bachelorette party especially if you're always guaranteed to have hot firemen do a striptease on the bartop! Wow, did that event stimulate my imagination! Thank you, Jennifer!

I highly recommend that you read HOT FOR FIREMAN by Jennifer Bernard coming May 29th from Avon! I've remarked before that I'm not a great fan of contemporary romance but I totally enjoyed this one from the first page to the last. HOT FOR FIREMAN is a delightfully fun, flirty story that teases us with spark after spark of flame-inducing steamy romance. Jennifer Bernard writes characters with depth, spirit, and humor. I'm looking forward to reading the others in the series for I sense the curse of the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel has not yet been broken.
Profile Image for Ann Lorz.
1,707 reviews22 followers
March 11, 2012
I very much enjoyed this book. I did have one or two issues with it that I overlooked because of the characters I liked so much. I didn't care for the starting fires part and thought it could have been handled differently. Most of the time I liked Katie Dane and all time I liked Ryan Blake. I also liked the other fire fighters in the story and can't wait for them to get their own books. The growth in this book worked well too. It's a feel good read.
Profile Image for Paige.
1,906 reviews13 followers
June 14, 2012
On a scale, I’m probably 80% happy and 20% not so much after the conclusion of HOT FOR FIREMAN.

Although the plot was pretty one focused in a way, the characters were the most disturbing part of the second book in the Bachelor Firemen novels.

From meeting Ryan Blake in THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME, I would have never thought he wouldn’t go after what caught his eye or question his abilities, but a year and a half since the first book and a major career mistake later, Ryan Blake is a changed man.

Katie Dane is now in charge of her father’s run down bar, the Hair of the Dog. A future Grad student, Katie didn’t want to stop the studies she loved to run the bar when her father health issues cause him to get away from the stress. Her family is probably the most annoying part of the entire book. Her mother, knowing about the enormous bills and calls Katie is dealing with, won’t let her talk to her father about what to do. Her sister Bridget is too self-absorbed in herself to help out and her two twin major league brothers are nowhere to be found. Yet Katie is devoted to her family….Why?

Throughout, Katie is known for her blunt attitude, boyish style and aggressive attitude, yet she lets ex-boyfriends control her and won’t admit her feelings.

After a year and a half since his disastrous blatant disrespect for procedures and near death consequences, Ryan gets a job at the Hair of the Dog while trying to get his job back. The banter between him and Katie is instant and becomes the highlight of both their days, even if they won’t admit it.

But as bills pile up, Katie goes to her highly unstable and ex-boyfriend Doug with her idea. With their current insurance policy, a fire will land them a million dollars. As it becomes clear her family doesn’t really care about the bar, Doug begins setting a series of fires….that all get put out by Ryan.

When a professional is brought in, its only after an emotional day that leads Ryan and Katie into each other’s arms, that she confesses what is about to happen. Getting Brody on the scene, a fire is once again prevented.

When Doug learns the depth of Katie’s relationship, he goes to the professional and is given the perfect way to get Katie back.

After a guy’s night, Ryan is finally admitting his love for Katie. Taking Brody’s daughter with him to the bar to surprise Katie with his news, he’s shocked when he finds himself and Dani trapped by a fire.

Waking from his medically induced coma, the guys inform him he’s the prime suspect of arson in the burning down of the bar. Katie meanwhile, despite him not seeing her, is working on clearing her name, even if it means taking the blame.

Which was probably the part I loved the most about the book. Katie never suspected Ryan of burning the place down. She defended him to everybody, including her family. It’s very annoying to me when a hint of evidence causes the character to doubt their ‘lover.’ Have some faith would ya?

Only when Brody informs him of her news conference airing soon does he race to the site to stop her. Luckily, neither one has to take the blame because news of Doug’s YouTube hit confession song has went viral.

Now, they can focus on them and confessing their love.
Profile Image for Cocktails and Books.
4,143 reviews322 followers
May 18, 2012
I loved Ryan Blake in The Fireman Who Loved Me. He was like a puppy, full of energy and easy to love. So imagine my surprise when I read the blurb from this book and found out the Ryan was on a leave of absence from the Station 1. WHAT?!?!?!?!



Ryan, being the thrill seeking, over eager firefighter that he was, made a bit of a mistake when he disobeyed a standing command and ran off on another call when he had no back up and that recklessness results in a civilian being injured and Ryan being forced into an leave of absence. When we catch up with Ryan eighteen months after those events, he is most definitely a different man than the one we met in book one. He's more reflective and cautious and trying really hard to control the impulses that got him in trouble in the first place. We find out there is much more to Ryan. He's a man that needs to have a sense of family and people around him that he can love and protect.



When Katie Dune meets Ryan Blake, it's as he's coming to the rescue of her family's faltering bar's bouncer. She's rubbed the wrong way by him because of his overly friendly nature, but she's also drawn to him (and not only for his gorgeous face). When he hops behind the bar to help her, she agrees to hire him, but she didn't know that Ryan would thrown her entire world out of whack (more than it already is). As Katie tries to come up with ways to get the money the bar needs to stay afloat, Ryan is right there helping her at every turn and working his way into her heart.

Ryan and Katie were a case of opposites attracting. He being the type of person show doesn't mind being the center of attention (whether it be brother in arms, 50 women cutting loose at a bachelorette party, or a cute four year old) while Katie has a hard time dealing with people one on one, let alone en masse. But they balance each other out, just like a good couple should. Where they have a similar trait is being able to share their feelings with someone else, but they manage to get that right eventually.

This was a fun read, mainly because of Ryan and the winks and comments he would use on Katie just to throw her off. His fun-loving persona was enough to counteract Katie's uptight nature and loosen her up a bit.

If you're wondering about their heat, they are hot. Hot in a "I can't wait to get you some place decent so let's pull off in the wooded area so I can have you" kind of way.

If you read The Fireman Who Loved Me, you will most definitely enjoy this next installment in the series. If you haven't, you'll still be able to pick this up without missing a beat.
Profile Image for Lisa Filipe.
Author 5 books250 followers
June 2, 2012
http://atastyread.blogspot.com

Another GREAT read by Jennifer Bernard...I have to say for a new author...Jennifer is crankin out some AWESOME reads! If her first two books are any indication of the kind of fun, fantastic reads we will get out of Jennifer, then bring them on girl!!

Hot for Fireman was such a fast paced, fun, flirty read. Ryan Blake was trying to get his life back together, after being suspended from the fire department and the career he loved more than life. The day he stepped into the Hair of the Dog was the best and worst day of his life, and meeting bar manager, Katie Dane, was just the icing on the cake.

Ryan and Katie have an instant attraction, but she knows a guy as gorgeous as Ryan would never date a petite, flat-chested plain girl like herself. When a few fires start at the bar, Ryan's protective nature kicks in and he makes it his place to watch out for Katie, and maybe sneak in a few hot kisses while he is at it. Add in a CRAZY Bachelorette Party, a hoochie named Logan, a kooky ex-boyfriend and some SMOKIN HOT Half naked Firemen, and you have yourself a great read for a hot summer day!!

I simply ADORED this book, not more than The Fireman Who Loved Me, I would suggest reading them both, but I think I liked this book just as much as the first and that says SOOO much for Bernard's writing style. Ryan and Katie heat up the pages and I am not just talking about the fire's that are being started at the Hair on the Dog.

I loved that we got to see Capt. Brody and Melissa again, and they have a surprise for all the readers. I highly recommend this book to all of my followers and hope you enjoy the series as much as I have. Jennifer Bernard is an author to talk about and I hope you will spread the news about The Bachelor Firemen series!
Profile Image for Michelle.
2,050 reviews
November 16, 2012
Great continuation of the Bachelor Fireman series (because who doesn’t love a sexy fireman) but I felt like the gap that the author put in between stories made me miss a lot. Hot for Fireman follows Ryan Blake after he’s taken almost a year off from service for something that I don’t think was every fully explained. It’s almost like there was a novella I missed out on that explains a little bit more. Even though I was missing a little bit of the background, I loved the rest of the story. Ryan and Katie seemed to be pretty opposite but something about them just clicked. They had great chemistry and I just loved the various schemes they came up with to help save Katie’s bar. I would have liked to see a little more development between Katie and her family, I felt there were some unresolved issues there; she was more forgiving than I would have liked, but nothing that pulled from the story for me. Overall, fun, contemporary read. It can sometimes be hard to find a new author and I’m loving what Jennifer Bernard is delivering.
Profile Image for Amanda.
672 reviews9 followers
December 29, 2012
Book #71 of 2012

While I thought the previous book and the novella were cute, this one annoyed me. I liked Ryan well enough, he was a fun guy always willing to lend a hand and put himself out there. It was Katie who I didn't much care for. She's supposed to be this super smart girl but she is SO stupid. She seems to have no backbone when it comes to her family or her ex. Having trouble standing up for yourself to other people, I can understand. But your family has already seen you at your worst, and I doubt that demanding they help you run the bar they've foisted off on you would drive them away for ever. But that isn't really the biggest issue that I had with Kaite. The biggest issue I had with her is that she COULD NOT stop trying to commit arson. Seriously. You think she finally got it through her apparently very dense skull that it was NOT A GOOD IDEA and then she turns around and the idea pops up again. Oh what a stupid girl. And because of this apparent fascination with arson, she's not a girl that I really care about AT ALL.
273 reviews
May 2, 2016
I started out enjoying this but once the arson plot was introduced all the books weaknesses just pulled this down. The heroine's family were awful, her ex boyfriend was awful and she bordered the tstl line too often. Dissappointing because Ryan was a sweetheart and deserved much better. The arson plot was just too ridiculous for words. You have an insurance policy payout of 1.000.000 dollars and you think they won't have arson investigators, WTF?
Profile Image for Jess.
1,075 reviews158 followers
February 1, 2013
DNF around page 90 - Katie's family sticks her with the family business, a struggling bar, because they don't want to deal with it. She doesn't want to deal with it either, but instead of refusing and standing up for what she wants to do, I stopped at the point when she decides that committing arson to get the insurance money is the way to go.

No thanks.
Profile Image for Nicole.
1,535 reviews173 followers
June 1, 2012
Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/05/31/...

I really liked Ryan after reading the first book in the series, so although the blurb had me kinda worried, I decided to take a chance.

Ryan is coming off a year long suspension, and desperately wants his job back as a San Gabriel Firefighter. But in order to get back on the force, he will have to take a test. So in the meantime he takes a job as a bartender at a hole-in-the-wall dive bar only a few blocks from the station. Ryan actual enjoys working at the bar, especially since he can tease his manager Katie all day long.

Katie is helping her folks out by running the family bar. She doesn’t know what she is doing, doesn’t know how to pay the bills, and is at a loss for what to do. When she realizes a fire would pay out their insurance money, she decides that might be the best course of action. But Ryan is there at her every attempt. But despite her fire-starting tendencies, Ryan is attracted to her, and the fire between them heats up to dangerous levels.

I love fireman, but for some reason this book did not work for me. I had a lot of issues with it that only seemed to escalate as the book went on. The biggest problem in this book for me was the whole drama surrounding the bar, and Katie’s desire to torch it. Call me crazy, but I would think MOST people would know that Insurance companies take arson very seriously, and an insurance payout in those cases don’t come easy. In my opinion, Katie thinking she could burn the place down and not only NOT get in trouble, but also get a full insurance payout is just ludicrous. Then the lengths that she goes to, just seemed to ridiculous and over the top to the point that it pulled me out of the little bit of enjoyment the story was holding.

I did like Ryan’s character. I thought we got a great look at his history, what makes him tick and has made him the man he is today. I enjoyed getting to hear more about his father and see him with Brody’s young daughter. Ryan was the one and only reason that I continued to read this book through the finish. Unlike Ryan, I didn’t feel any kind of connection to Katie, while she was sweet in doing a favor for her family, I also felt as if she let them walk all over her, and whined about her situation instead of actually doing something to fix it. I wanted more from her character, and felt as if she was a somewhat hollow character.

In addition to that, I didn’t understand their romance either. It was obviously stated they were attracted to one another, but I never really felt their relationship come through. I never really understood WHY they were attracted to one another, and had a difficult time really becoming invested in their relationship. That being said, there were a few scenes that I did enjoy reading: namely the fireman stripping scene. That was great!

All in all I wasn’t impressed with the second installment of the Bachelor Fireman of San Gabriel series. I thought the whole plot surrounding burning down the bar was poorly done and too over-the-top for me to actually enjoy. Had it not been for my love of Ryan, I would have quit reading in the middle of the book.
I give Hot for Fireman a D
Profile Image for Catherine Crook.
586 reviews15 followers
September 19, 2014
let me just say that Jennifer is an incredibly talented author. With each brave fire fighter, I fell more in love. The dedication they each had to their jobs, the journey to their HEA and the background stories were unique and intriguing. As a whole, this series is a strong 4.5 - and I cannot wait for #6.

With the previous reads, I could not wait for the firehouse playboy, Ryan Blake to meet his match. This man was so far out of her league, they didn't even play the same sport. Get a grip. I instantly loved Katie. She is full of spunk and met Ryan quip for quip.
He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"If you laugh at me, I'll knock your teeth out with my bat, " Katie said.
The spell broke.
Ryan met his match indeed with Katie. And his GRAND GESTURE of the Firemen Bar Scene was perfection. I think I have decided what my favorite thing is about this series - the insight you get with each member of Station 1. She leaves you eager to meet these men more intimately. Leaving this story behind, one of my favorite men was Vader. First, he shows his nerd with his name, and second for the silliness that is scenes like this one:
"I'll have a G-Spot, straight up," a redhead in a tube top asked Vader. "Do you know what that is?"
"Honey, I invented the G-Spot." Vader leered.
"Seriously? The drink or the, you know...?"
"Both. At the same time. With one hand tied to a bedpost."
The internal battles Katie and Ryan had in admitting their feelings was hilarious to say the least. I love scenarios where everyone tells them, and they still don't get it.
"Did you just admit you like me half the time?" Ryan gave her a half smile, which she supposed was all she deserved.
"At least half. Maybe more."
"More than half? You're scaring me now. Let me know when I'm up to sity-one percent and I'll tone it down."
Another bachelor is off the market! Katie is one lucky lady.
Profile Image for Annie .
2,506 reviews940 followers
May 29, 2012
Posted onUnder the Covers

HOT FOR FIREMAN brings us back to San Gabriel firefighting world. However, things are not good for Ryan Blake. After being suspended a year and a half ago for his daredevil stunt that nearly killed someone, Ryan is on the lookout for something that will change his bad luck.

What he finds instead is a spitfire woman in Katie Dane, a bar owner. Unhappy with her place at the bar, Katie tries a desperate attempt to get rid of her responsibilities, but Ryan is there to talk some sense into her. Who would have thought that the former daredevil would have it in him?

As people who have never been in love, Ryan and Katie are in for a whirlwind of emotions. Their chemistry is potent from the very first page. Their relationship is fun, light and sweet. And there were some great follow up from the main characters of the first book.

It’s kind of sad to see the Bachelor Firemen be taken one by one, but when the books are so fun and sexy, it’s hard not to keep wanting more
Profile Image for Tory.
324 reviews
February 12, 2013
This is the 2nd book in the series, but the first that I have read. I liked the writing style of Ms. Bernard. It was very engaging and I read the story in one night. Ryan is on a sabbatical and has been for about a year - since he had an incident at a fire scene and broke protocol. He is determined to get his job back at the fire department, but in the meant time is working as a bartender at Katie's bar. Katie is running the bar in place of her father who had a heart attack. She has no experience running a bar or any kind of business experience. She is anti-social, sarcastic and at times hostile. The bar is struggling financially and she is trying to figure out how to keep it afloat and not stress out her dad. I liked Katie's snarkiness, but had a diffiuclt time liking her or understanding the things that she did to try to keep the family from loosing money. They were just wrong and I didn't like that she was kind of excused for her behaviors by Ryan and the other guys. I thought that there should have been some sort of consequence for her. I really liked Ryan -- he was caring, loyal, and hard working. Ryan was honest and did not hide the difficult things in his life.
Profile Image for Cheri.
2,269 reviews28 followers
November 10, 2015
Argh!!! Not only are these covers killing me, but what is with these titles? With the writing chops of Jennifer Bernard, I find it hard to believe she came up with these terrible titles.

Ryan endeared himself to me in the first book...as the heroine in that book said, he was like a little brother. I couldn't believe when I started this book that not only was he suspended, but it had been over a year. It makes me really wonder if I should be reading the .5 books. I have found that the "in between" books aren't usually necessary when it comes to most series, but did it really jump that much?

Anyway, this was a wonderful story. I couldn't stand the way Katie's family treated her. They are a loving and wonderful family, they are just so clueless! I loved that these issues I had with her family are somewhat addressed in this book.

There would be one more star, but Katie's wishy-washy naiveté got to be grating at times so I couldn't bring myself to look at this as a five star book. Still wonderful, though.
Profile Image for Sheryl C. Nash.
2,019 reviews432 followers
April 1, 2012
Funny, just like the first book in this series, this one started out better than it finished... still enjoyed it though and will definitely read more books from Jennifer Bernard in the future! Oh and Ryan is HOT... just saying :)
Profile Image for Wminbc.
1,152 reviews81 followers
October 20, 2012
What a wonderful amazing guy Ryan is! I just loved him...Katie...sooo many times I wanted to smack you upside the head!
Thankfully my HeA was lovely...not as steamy as Brody and Melissa's story but somehow much sweeter!
Profile Image for John.
407 reviews24 followers
April 3, 2022
Bernard's voice is so great and these early 2010's contemporaries mostly hold up because of it. Compared to the first book in this series, the quirkiness here often felt like it didn't align with the very messy way the heroine's family treated her and each other.

There was a lot of majorly problematic behavior around finances and emotions that never got dealt with by any party, and the hero's backstory felt short-changed by comparison. The last quarter also took QUITE a dark turn that didn't feel like it was needed and required way too much narrative finangaling to solve - resulting in it feeling inauthentic.

There was also ableist language used in a very unnecessary way I disliked, and one of the villains is portrayed as bad because he uses pot which is very uninformed 80's after school special in tone.

So, mixed bag. I rounded up because I think it holds up despite the flaws and because Bernard is great at writing characters with chemistry both in bed and in their dialogue. I'm also a series completionist since I have them all in print so I think I'm hoping that this has second book syndrome and the series goes back to the original vibes again with Book 3.
Profile Image for Wauktown Thumper .
534 reviews
September 20, 2019
The story was ok but it didn't really blend together well to me. It had to many unanswered questions or unexplained reasons for things. For example if the relationship between Ryan & his father was that strained what was the point of Ryan going to see his father? He didn't really give a good description of the man he was trying to identify. He became ready to fight his father for vague reasons. Plus he didn't even stick around long enough for his father to even try to figure out who from that sloppy description Ryan was asking about.
Another example, if Ryan was considered as the immature or unpredictable one of the group why would anyone leave their young child with him? Especially if he said he had something else that he needed to do. Not to mention that it's just rude to impose your child on people who have informed you that they had something they needed to do.
And what was the deal with the gnomes?
Profile Image for Lisarenee.
763 reviews117 followers
March 13, 2012
Notes: I read and eBook ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this one.

And another one bites the dust...

"I suppose I could use a hand"...Katie knew it was a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. A whole night of working side by side with a man with such devastating good looks, the kind of looks that belonged on a movie screen where they could remain a fantasy, would lead to nothing but trouble.

Katie Dane had been asked by her parents to watch the Hair of the Dog, her family's pub. Her dad had suffered a stress-induced heart attack and was attempting to take it easy by going on an extended vacation. Shortly after taking over the care of the bar, she understood why her father's life had been so stressful. She was having a tough time trying to break even and pay the bills that kept rolling in every week. Desperate for escape from the family money pit, she comes up with a plan, albeit a bad one, to burn the place down and cash in on the insurance policy.

Ryan Blake, a former San Gabriel fireman, had gone on an extended leave of absence a year and a half ago after an incident in which he didn't follow the department protocol. The incident had nearly cost a woman her life and had almost ended Ryan's career. If Ryan hadn't rushed out alone to take the call, things would have ended differently. Prior to that he'd been the department's wunderkind, one of the department's youngest and most successful firefighters beginning his career at the age of 19. He'd been deemed a natural. After taking time to reflect upon what happened and wrap his head around it, he was finally back in San Gabriel looking to get his job back.

When Ryan walked into the Hair of the Dog, he wasn't looking for a job, and Katie wasn't looking to hire. Sometimes things just have a way of happening.

This was such a fun story. I was laughing, shaking my head, and grinning from ear to ear. This is a very lighthearted read. If you're looking for a little pick me up, then you might want to pick up this book.

Katie is a straightforward type of person who speaks her mind. She also has a soft spot for her family and can't seem to tell her parents she really doesn't like nor wish to take over the pub for them. At times I wanted to figuratively knock some sense into her, like when she devised her scheme to set the bar on fire. I guess her mother never told her not to play with fire?

Ryan was a great character. Loyal and big-hearted, he just kind of steals your heart as the story progresses. His plan to help the bar was my favorite. Just a hint--it involves fireman and not much else. *grin* Oh, and it involved a bachelorette party.

I loved the way the relationship between Ryan and Katie mimicked the four stages of a fire. It started slow with an incipient attraction--there wasn't much to detect just a little heat. Then things started to smoulder between them. Eventually, the relationship became flammable with visible flames. Finally, heat erupted between the two as they became engulfed in their feelings. All right, there was a point at the beginning that saw a spike in heat, but isn't that still consistent with a fire? When you light a fire with a match, for instance, there is that initial flame you get from the chemical reaction sparked on the match head. Hmmm...could the author have done this on purpose??? I wonder. On, the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Where did the series get it's name? I believe from the following:
"According to firehouse legend, Virgil Rush, a volunteer fireman from the 1850's, had been heartbroken when Constancia B. Sidwell, his mail order bride, had run off with a robber on her way West. The other firemen, always quick to tease, tormented him so much he laid a curse on the town vowing that the firemen of San Gabriel would have as much trouble finding love as he had. Ever since then, the firehouse had possessed an unusually high number of bachelors."

Song that played in my head while reading this one--'Light My Fire' by the Doors. lol It should be noted there were many songs referred to in this one. The author could probably create a playlist for it if she hasn't already.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. It was a lighthearted, smile earning, and a laugh evoking read. I only wish I was able to get my hands on the first book of the series before reading it.


Notes to keep you in the know:
According to http://safetyguide.web.cern.ch/Safety..., "A fire develops typically in four stages, and fire detectors are designed to detect some characteristic effect of one or more of these stages:
- Incipient stage. No visible smoke, no flame and very little heat. A significant amount of invisible (but -sometimes smellable) combustion particles may be created. This stage usually develops slowly.
- Smouldering stage. Smoke, but no flame and little heat.
- Flame stage. Visible flame, more heat, often less or no smoke, particularly with flammable liquids and gas fires.
- Heat stage. Large amounts of heat, flame, smoke and toxic gases are produced. The transition from the previous stage can be very fast."

Order of Series:
The Fireman Who Loved Me (The Bachelor Fireman of San Gabriel, #1) by Jennifer Bernard Hot for Fireman (The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel #2) by Jennifer Bernard

If you would like to see more of my reviews please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com I'd greatly appreciate it. :)
Profile Image for Cris.
114 reviews2 followers
December 5, 2021
Not quite as good as the first one, but I so loved both Ryan and Katie. They both have personalities to spare and are good at using images as shields. Ryan Blake, hothead hunk turned bartender after his impulsive behavior forces a leave of absence from fire fighting. When he walks into the Hair of the Dog to get drunk, he gets more than he bargained for when meeting pint-sized firecracker Katie. The one girl who ones girl who does not throw herself at him (even though she drools behind his back.) Lovely story. It was deeper than I expected.
Profile Image for Martha.
534 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2020
Ryan took a leave of absence from Station 52 and comes back a year later to get his job back. He gets a job with a bar called Hair of the Dog until he finishes studying for his test with the Captain. Katie tries to burn the place down because she can never talk to her father about it due to the stress. It is another fun filled book which i will probably do a reread in a year or so.
Profile Image for Nelia D..
96 reviews
July 31, 2018
What a blast!

Thanks Jennifer! Loved the story. Unexpected with lots of suspense, dumb-assed-ness, nail-biting, feelings of being powerless... Add a hunky non-fireman (at the moment)... And you have this great book! Go on! Grab it!!
Profile Image for Nancy.
560 reviews3 followers
November 27, 2023
Nancy

Cute story with great characters and interesting story line! I love this series with all the funny characters and interesting story lines about fire station and their adventures. Thanks
2,740 reviews127 followers
September 19, 2025
HOT FOR FIREMAN is the second in Jennifer Bernard’s Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series. Fireman on a break Ryan Blake stumbles into a temporary gig as a bartender at Hair of the Dog, a local dive being temporarily managed by Katie Dane, daughter of the owner.
2,835 reviews20 followers
June 20, 2020
Review of Hot for Fireman

This was a great book and I will recommend her books to anyone who loves romance novels. She keeps you involved from page one until the end.
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