Crash

Lights and Sirens #1

by Ruby McNally

Love until the wheels fall off…or until they’re past the point of rescue.

Lights and Sirens, Book 1

A year ago, after a gut-wrenching shift at work, Taryn Falvey made a huge she fell into the arms of fellow paramedic Nick Kanelos—and into his bed. Since then they’ve kept their distance, knowing their lives are too messy to mesh.

Taryn’s got her hands full keeping her many siblings and alcoholic mother from slipping into grinding poverty. A normal relationship—a normal life—isn’t even on her radar.

After that desperate night of passion, Nick retreated to the big, empty house on the edge of town he used to share with his late wife. Now it’s just him, his mutt, and his memories rattling around the empty rooms. He’s taught himself not to need anything or anyone too much, but he hasn’t been able to get Taryn off his mind.

As inevitable as gravity, life brings Taryn and Nick spiraling back into each other’s orbit. As their attraction reignites, the only question remaining is whether two professional rescuers are capable of saving themselves—and each other—or if they’re diving heart first into certain disaster.

This work contains two sexy, screwed-up paramedics, a slobbery mutt, and enough countertop sex to change how you view your kitchen entirely.

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2014

About the author

Ruby McNally double-majored in psychology and cognitive linguistics before ultimately deciding her talents lay elsewhere. She grew up hiding her diary from her five brothers, who will never know she writes romance. She lives in Boston and has no cats. You can visit her online at rubymcnally.tumblr.com or follow her on Twitter @Ruby_McNally.

Reviews

[Kate Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I've found a new favourite author!

Flawed characters, realistic conflict, satisfying-but-not-perfect sex... I like it!

[Charlotte Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crash has me hooked, from the very first page I could not put it down. My family had to wait for dinner for me to finish reading. Taryn is possibly the strongest character that I have ever met. Not only does she have a high stress job, but she also has a messed up home life. With money always being an issue, she gives all that she has to keep her family in their house with heat and food. Her mother is not very supportive, usually being drunk and unable to be even able to take care of herself. Yet she manages to hold it all together, at least on the outside. On the inside she is in need of someone to take care of her, love her, and support her.
That is where Nick comes in. What starts as a no string attached, just for fun, friendship quickly turns into more for both Nick and Taryn. Nick is still grieving after the loss of his wife. He has a house that he bought with the intentions of living there with his wife, but after losing her has a tough time fixing it up. His heart starts to open up and let Taryn in, little by little. The road to having a relationship is not easy, but it was entertaining to watch them circle each other and let each other into their respective lives.
I will happily recommend Crash to all my romance readers. This is a book I will not forget quickly and am looking forward to reading future books by Ruby McNally.

[Emma Star Crossed Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free for a Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.I enjoyed this book.

Taryn is really messed up. Her family is a mess. She doesn't want anyone getting to close because then they will have to meet her family and she really doesn't want that. she wants to pretend she is normal. I think she is really strong. They way she looks after her little brothers and sisters is really sweet. She does whatever she can for them. I think she is a sweet girl but she has so many walls around her heart that breaking in will be a difficult task for anyone.

Nick is finally coming to terms with losing his wife. He is finally starting to move on. He is a really good guy. His sisters are a pain but they are just looking out for him. They love him and want him to be happy.

Emily is a really, really good friend to Taryn. Probably a better friend than she deserved.

I liked the ending of this book but to be honest I am unsure where book 2 will go.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well first of all I have to say I never intended to read this book until I saw the synopsis and that was it, I was a gonna! From literally the first page until the last I was wanting to read this, it was a quick read but not easy by any means.

Taryn, well first of all I loved her name unique and different. I didn't like the fact she was basically a second mum to the kids it seemed like she'd had a hard life playing that role for so long that she no longer felt like she deserved a life either. She seemed very self confident and protective of her own heart, which was so understandable considering the situations she'd been in at times though she cut off her nose to spite her own face it was sad to see that she didn't feel that she deserved anything, love, life or happiness.

Nick, he was a strong dominant male figure not a pompous one a strong kind one at the beginning as I gradually got to know him through the book, I felt for him too, sometimes he was nervous felt guilty and yeah one time he screwed up but don't we all?

Overall I thought this was a good book, full of action, grief, loss, understanding, growth and most of all love.

[Natalija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crash was Ruby McNally's first book and I have to say she did a great job writing it. I loved both the plot and the characters and I appreciated how realistic it felt. My two main problems with this book are my own hang-ups so don't hold them against the author. First off, there was way too much sex for my liking. I started skimming after the first scene. Secondly, it's written in the third-person present tense. I knew about that before starting the book and was hoping that I'd get used to it, but I ended up struggling a lot and my reading experience was definitely ruined. Despite all, it was still worth the read.

[Stephanie Laurenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little messy, a lot fun - a great escapist read, especially during these times.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://jenninsf.wordpress.com/2022/0...

[Samantha P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have many mixed feelings about Crash. I really wanted to enjoy this one, because HELLO HOT PARAMEDICS! I think most of my complaints lay in the editing.

Crash is ultimately about this long developing romance between two EMTs. There is a lot of back story that really isn't explained well in the book. There is a fire that led to hot sex and that's about all we get. Okay, fine, onto the present. This book is easy enough to enjoy. The dialogue is light and easy to read. The characters have interesting histories that shape their relationships. The romance is HAWT.

The characters aren't overly developed. I would have liked a little more, but can live with what Crash provided. I would have liked to see a little more development in both Taryn and Nick. While the background is borderline cliché, the story still worked. I would have love a little more medical jibber-jabber, being that we're following two EMTs and since I'm a nurse, but anyone could pick up Crash and not be lost in medical jargon.

I think the biggest problem is the editing. Let's go back to the dialogue for a second. It is very much how people actually talk, with clipped sentences at time. This could get a little confusing at times, and wasn't formatted in a clear way. The BIG ISSUE was that we have two perspectives (Nick and Taryn) and absolutely no division between their perspectives. NONE! You're following Nick's train of thought when all of a sudden nothing makes sense because it is actually Taryn thinking. It truly made Crash difficult to understand at times. I hope that this is a error with the Kindle version, and that the print copy maybe has some better formatting. Either way, it was frustrating as hell.

Ultimately, Crash is a good beach-ready romance. Be prepared for difficult formatting, but also a hot romance.

[Aj · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book quite a bit (the writing was on-point), but the constant hammering of Taryn's home situation really threw me out of the book. Admittedly, part of the problem there (for me) is that her problems were relatable and realistic. So much so, it started kicking in my anxiety hardcore and while I did finish it, the tension for me had more to do with the home life rather than whether or not Taryn and Nick would actually make it.

[Tori]

DNF. 12% in and the heroine's already has me annoyed. I'm not a fan of people who initiate hook ups then turn ard and cry mistake. So far heroine's done it twice in this short time but then gets angry when hero, rightly so, doesn't fawn all over her. Yes, she has issues but that doesn't excuse her bi polar behavior.

[Nicole]

I'm giving up at chapter 4. It's written in present tense, with memories in ( ) in past tense, and that kept throwing me for a loop. Add in the fact that the hero and heroine use both first and last names interchangeably, and no strong feelings toward either character, I'm gonna quit while I can. :(

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, good. Watching Nick and Taryn fall in love was so good. Just the right amount of angst, Taryn's situation is tough, and her behaviour towards Nick is painfully understandable. I liked that each found the other so attractive, yet neither is perfect, nor have Hollywood looks.

Bought from kobo.

[Ginger at GReadsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written characters with a strong plot that had me invested in the story. Not to mention the steamy scenes were off the charts. I like a romance with some substance & this one definitely went deep & then deeper again. Highly recommend this one!

[Cyndy Aleo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for RT Book Reviews March 2015 issue: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/crash