Code Red Hearts

by Ava Hawthorne

She's the voice that guides him through hell. He's the commander she trusts with everything.
Battalion Chief Braden Torres has spent three years keeping everyone at arm's length. Especially the dispatchers who send his firefighters into danger.

But Emergency Dispatcher Zara Whitmore isn't just anyone. For two years, she's been the calm voice in his earpiece, guiding Engine Company 19 through crisis after crisis with unshakeable competence.

When a new policy forces Zara to ride along on calls, Braden's carefully maintained distance ignites into something far more dangerous. The woman who's kept his crews alive is brilliant, brave, and so tempting he can barely keep his hands off her.

Their professional partnership explodes into stolen kisses in supply rooms and desperate encounters that leave them both breathless and craving more. But she sees right through the walls he's built since losing two men under his command.

Someone is setting fires specifically targeting their response areas, and Zara's inside knowledge makes her either their greatest asset or the next victim. As the arsonist escalates and passion burns hotter than any blaze, they must learn to trust each other with more than just professional emergencies.

They must risk everything on a love that could consume them both.

Code Red Hearts is a steamy dual POV contemporary romance with suspense elements. First in the Ridge Point Heroes series but can be read as a standalone. Features a grumpy battalion chief and the dispatcher who sets his world on fire—with forced proximity, workplace tension, and no third act breakup, just rising danger and undeniable heat.

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2025

Reviews

[Kate W · Rating 5 out of 5]

After years of hearing a voice that sends fire-fighter Braden to his dispatch locations a policy change ends up with Dispatcher Zara becoming his ride along partner. The embers of lust between Braden and Zaram become full on sparks as their relationship starts. When a string of fires happening in the area together they work to find who is starting them and why. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry to say I stopped reading this one at about 45%. I tried, but there were just so many things that bothered me. The story started out fine, though I must admit to being confused about the reasoning and legality of someone riding along on fire calls. I wish the author had explained it better. Pretty soon the story became kind of dry. It seemed like there were pages of radio communications between units/dispatch/etc. and short descriptions of the calls. Rinse and repeat. The two main characters, Braden and Zara, started out fine, too. But too soon they became kind of annoying in their perfection at their jobs. Zara especially did everything right, had an incredible memory, knew all sorts of things, asked all the right questions and on and on. And there was absolutely no chemistry between the two. (And I would be remiss in if I didn’t mention the one spicy scene I read was awful. One moment her back is to him and the next she’s facing him. And somehow it all happens with two fully grown adults in the front seat of a truck? What? Did no one edit this at all?) Then I started to notice the repetitions. First it was the author using the same address for different calls. Then it was the dialogue. The characters just repeated things over and over in slightly different ways. And there was so much repetition of the calls and dry descriptions. Another issue I had was that Braden has a control issue stemming from losing two men a few years ago. Within a day Zara not only recognized the issue but started ordering him around. She sounded like his therapist. So, yeah. At 45% I threw in the towel. The author needs to get an editor to work on this one and clean it up. There might be something there, but it’s a novella at best and needs to be devoid of a LOT of radio chatter. Not recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Code Red Hearts is a coworkers, close proximity, grumpy/sunshine romance and is the story of Braden and Zara.

Braden is the Battalion Chief of a fire department and he has been assigned a civilian ride along who is one of the dispatchers who has been dispatching calls for him for the last two years. Braden and Zara have always felt a connection through the radio and when they meet face to face, their connection only grows. Through mutual admiration and working together, Braden and Zara start to cross lines that may put their careers on the line. When an arsonist starts setting fires, Braden and Zara work together to find the culprit but this only brings danger to Zara and Braden must learn to trust his crew and step into his role as a commander.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story once it got going but the beginning did drag a little. There were some repetitive sections throughout the book that made me take pause and verify if I was re-reading a section or not. The lingo could be hard for some people without a public service background (I work for a fire district) but overall, the book was a fun read with great spice, emotional connection and twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

I received a copy of this book from the author and am leaving an honest review to show my appreciation.

[Mackenzie Gaventa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book because dispatch is usually not included in emergency services romances. I loved that the FMC was so knowledgeable and that she is the one that helps the MMC work through his trauma. It was a good change of pace from the norm in romance. I gave the book 4 stars because I felt like there were words and sentences being used more than a few times. I would read something then a chapter or a few pages later I would read the same thing and it felt like deja vu. I really loved the story though and the ending did have really good twists that I did not see coming.
I received this book as an ARC and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.

[Jennifer Ervine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4. I loved the concept. A dispatcher and a firefighter who only know each other’s voice over the radio finally meet and flames ignite. It was a cute story with a mystery to solve. The spice and emotion were good. I could really feel the angst and forbidden feelings. The writing was a little repetitive and slow at first. It was kind of hard for me to get into the story, but once things started flowing, it was a fun read.

[Randi Zodrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book and learning about Zara and Braden’s story. Zara is a dispatcher and Braden is a fire chief of engine 19. This book has amazing banter, some scenes get intense and the spicy scenes are amazing. One of my favorite scenes involved the fire truck. One of my favorite quotes is “knowledge is armor. Preparation prevents mistakes”
I highly recommend this book definitely a great pallet cleanser.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Braden is a fire chief. Zara works as the dispatch controller. Their paths only cross when they talk on the phone. However, in order to try and improve operations Zara is assigned to work alongside Braden so that they can both get a better understanding of each other's jobs. The chemistry between them ignites as they work together. Some twists and turns in the storyline make this an entertaining read.

[Amanda Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about first responders set in a small town. Its about finding trust, finding love and finding your person. There are twists and turns and unexpected things that you just dont see coming.
Its a sweet, small town romance with some darker undertones.
Im looking forward to continuing the series and finding out more about the rest of the characters in this storyline.

[Nifer Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐3🌶️ E-book Dual POV First Person
Braden and Zara
I was interested bc you don't normally see dispatch as an MC. For me it was too much about the work, with some spicey moments and not much about their actual relationship.
It also needed more editing, not for spelling/grammar, but there is some continuity issues and unnecessary repetition.

[Tina Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Braden and Zara's book is the first in this series. This book drew me in and I couldn't put it down. Braden and Zara fall for each other instantly. And while their relationship is developing someone is lighting a different fire. This book includes suspense which kept me on my toes wonder who did it. I love how the book was written. I cannot wait until the next book in the series is released!!

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Story

I did enjoy the story. It had a cute premise and a good twist with the plot line. I do think there was some confusing timelines going on but if I ignored that part, I was able to really enjoy the love story.

[Desiree Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the banter in chapter one and Mrs. Henderson and her burning the meals 😂 I also loved seeing the in-depth look into a fireman’s job and hearing the characters inner thoughts. The different quotes were great as well! And of course loved the spice 👌

[Sian curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4

cute storyline, i did enjoy it, but it was quite repetitive with some parts of the story, and it goes back and forth a lot, but except for that, I really enjoyed reading it. it had such a good concept of what fire fighters go through and the cute connection

[Tonya Scherrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & enjoyable.

[purple chic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book full of a romance blossoming and a mystery to solve at the same time.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.

[Carol Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read another of Ava's books semi-recently and for me it was a bit meh. This book changed things up for me - the blurb was interesting and the characters weren't bogged down by silly stuff.

Braden is the fire chief of the small town fire brigade. He's tormented by his belief that 2 of his crew died because of something he didn't do, but he's the only one who thinks that. Zara is a dispatch controller who is also tormented about a call that went wrong, and she's also the only one who thinks that.

Changes in regulations mean that dispatch staff are required to get a hands-on knowledge of the call out operations, and Zara is paired with Braden. Sparks literally fly, as Zara's intelligent mind starts picking up patterns on an arsonist, and that then puts a target on her back.

Thanks Ava and Booksprout for the ARC for an honest review

[Emma Clouten · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was such a fun cute story to read. This book had so many twist and turns which i loved. Zara the FMC works in Emergency Dispatch i adored her personality. Braden the MMC is the Battalion Chief of the fire station in the small town. Braden for years has only heard Zara's voice but when policy changes Braden's ride along is Zara. Zara and Braden chemistry was flying off the pages the spice was hot and spicy and they work so well as a team trying to figure out who is lighting fires around the small town. I can not wait to read the rest of this series.

I received this book as an ARC in return for my honest review