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Heartstrings of Honor #0.5
Fire Academy
197 pages, Paperback
Published March 7, 2026
About the author
Casey Morales
55 books462 followersCasey Morales is an LGBT storyteller and the author of multiple bestselling MM romance novels. Born in the Southern United States, Casey is an avid tennis player, aspiring chef, dog lover, and ravenous consumer of gummy bears.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 17, 2026
I truly enjoyed reading Danes origin story. Also finding out how he met Sami lol
August 16, 2026
‘Stoneface! Close one, brother. You almost had me.’
Florida author Casey Morales offers a Prequel to his Heartstrings of Honor series with this clever (and hot and hardy) novel FIRE ACADEMY. Casey provides hints at the fun to come as the book opens with Dane: ‘The hose kicked like an angry bull at the moment I opened the nozzle. I braced with my shoulder locked and legs wide, then drove the stream into the target sixty feet out. Water hammered the metal plate dead center. I held it there for the required three count before shutting down. Everything had been clean and controlled. Months of practice in my apartment courtyard with a garden hose had translated better than I’d expected, even though the seventy-year-old woman in the next unit had caught me rehearsing my footwork once and asked if I was watering invisible plants…’
Casey slyly introduces this knowledgeable prequel as follows: ‘‘Before Dane met Patrick and found his happily ever after, he had to survive the Atlanta Fire Academy. The drills. The instructors. The thirty-two percent washout rate. And Micah Andre. Micah is loud, blond, and built like a man who bench-presses problems instead of solving them. He's an ex-Marine with a grin that never, ever stops. He's also Dane's drill partner, which means eight hours a day of shared ladders, gear checks, and the kind of physical proximity that would be fine — totally fine — if Dane could stop noticing the way Micah's curls fall across his forehead when he's concentrating. Or the way his laugh carries across a training yard. Or the way he says "Stoneface" like it's a term of endearment he hasn't admitted to yet. Dane didn't come to Atlanta to fall for anyone. He had a plan. The plan did not include a locker room incident that neither of them will talk about, a midnight diner conversation that ended with their lips locked, or a Puerto Rican firecracker named Sami who sees everything, says everything, and will absolutely end your bloodline if you make her cry in a bar. This is the story of Dane before Engine Four, before Patrick, back when he was just a quiet farm boy from Kansas with a jaw made of granite and a heart he hadn't learned how to use yet.’ A winner on every level, this book is rich in hilarious moments and in the terrific tension that builds relationships.
Florida author Casey Morales offers a Prequel to his Heartstrings of Honor series with this clever (and hot and hardy) novel FIRE ACADEMY. Casey provides hints at the fun to come as the book opens with Dane: ‘The hose kicked like an angry bull at the moment I opened the nozzle. I braced with my shoulder locked and legs wide, then drove the stream into the target sixty feet out. Water hammered the metal plate dead center. I held it there for the required three count before shutting down. Everything had been clean and controlled. Months of practice in my apartment courtyard with a garden hose had translated better than I’d expected, even though the seventy-year-old woman in the next unit had caught me rehearsing my footwork once and asked if I was watering invisible plants…’
Casey slyly introduces this knowledgeable prequel as follows: ‘‘Before Dane met Patrick and found his happily ever after, he had to survive the Atlanta Fire Academy. The drills. The instructors. The thirty-two percent washout rate. And Micah Andre. Micah is loud, blond, and built like a man who bench-presses problems instead of solving them. He's an ex-Marine with a grin that never, ever stops. He's also Dane's drill partner, which means eight hours a day of shared ladders, gear checks, and the kind of physical proximity that would be fine — totally fine — if Dane could stop noticing the way Micah's curls fall across his forehead when he's concentrating. Or the way his laugh carries across a training yard. Or the way he says "Stoneface" like it's a term of endearment he hasn't admitted to yet. Dane didn't come to Atlanta to fall for anyone. He had a plan. The plan did not include a locker room incident that neither of them will talk about, a midnight diner conversation that ended with their lips locked, or a Puerto Rican firecracker named Sami who sees everything, says everything, and will absolutely end your bloodline if you make her cry in a bar. This is the story of Dane before Engine Four, before Patrick, back when he was just a quiet farm boy from Kansas with a jaw made of granite and a heart he hadn't learned how to use yet.’ A winner on every level, this book is rich in hilarious moments and in the terrific tension that builds relationships.
May 26, 2026
This fairly short novella sets the scene for the Heartstrings of Honor series. This is is full of interesting characters and Casey's charming wit. Stoic and private Dane meets outgoing and loud Micah during firefighting basic training. Each crack through the others defences and we see a cute relationship evolve. A great start. I am so looking forward to the main novels, especially with the promise of more from Dane's mother and his firehouse friend Sami.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews