Men of Courage

Men of Courage #1

by Lori Foster, Donna Kauffman, Jill Shalvis

More than just life-and-death intimacy… Their love was the real thing.

These men are heroes—strong, fearless…

Fireman Ethan Winters ran headlong into a burning building to find Rosie Carrington. Rescue worker Brett Gannon defied the aftershocks of a San Francisco earthquake to prevent Haley Brubaker from entering her collapsing home. And emergency-room doctor Matt Walker braved gale force winds and rising floodwater to rescue scientist Molly Stanton.

And impossible to resist!

For Rosie, the heat in Ethan's eyes was enough to start a three-alarm blaze! As for Haley, being trapped amidst the rubble with Brett meant heightened tension—and heightened passion. And sheltering together from the storm, Molly needed Matt to make love to her. It was the only way for her to know she was still alive…and that she'd stay that way.

Contents:
"Trapped!" / Lori Foster
"Buried!" / Donna Kauffman
"Stranded!" / Jill Shalvis

Genres: Romance, Anthologies, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Short Stories, Harlequin

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published May 1, 2003

About the author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.

Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/

Career Highlights
•In 2001, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy.

•In 2002, Lori’s book Too Much Temptation was the top-selling romance title for Amazon books.

•In 2003, Say No To Joe was the second “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for Waldenbooks.

•In 2004, Lori Foster was a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle.

•In 2004, The Secret Life of Bryan was the “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for the BGI group.

•In 2005, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Contemporary Romance.

•In 2006, Jude’s Law was the “Bestselling Romantic Comedy” romance title for the BGI group.

•In 2007, Lori launched a new “urban fantasy” series under the name L.L. Foster. See more on her “dark side” at www.llfoster.com.

•In 2007, Causing Havoc was among Amazon’s Top Ten Editor’s picks in Romance.

•In 2008, Hard to Handle made #2 on The New York Times.

•In 2009, Servant: The Acceptance was Amazon’s #1 Editors’ Pick in Romance.

•In 2010, Lori was a clue in the USA Today Quick Cross puzzle.

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trapped! It helped that the MCs knew each other for a number of years. Since the H was clueless most of that time, the speed of the romance was a tad unbelievable. Then again, it was a short story and part of an anthology. 3 stars

Buried! This novella should appeal to animal lovers. And those that prefer the 'younger H/older h' trope. 3 stars

Stranded! Nope. Nope. Nope. With tropical storm-like winds and rain, a grumpy doctor saves a professor from catapulting into a river. She's hurt and he is, I repeat, a doctor. I don't think Dr. Matt Walker took the Hippocratic Oath. Needless-to-say, in less than 24 hours they are sleeping together and before the week is out, they are talking of marriage. 1 star

3+3+1=7 divided by 3= 2.33

[Dicina · Rating 3 out of 5]

All were short reads, and nice enough stories. My favorite was Stranded by Jill Shalvis. And what really did it for me that each book features a man in uniform: firefighter, resuce worker, and ER doctor.

A nice way to spend a stress-free afternoon!

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Trapped" by Foster. Ethan Winters is a firefighter who had been left at the altar 19 months earlier when his fiance ran off with his best friend. The best friend has a younger sister, Riley, who's love Ethan forever and finally decides to wake him up and do something about it with the help of some other friends.
"Buried" by Donna Kauffman. Haley Brubaker is flying home to CA when the pilot announces a major earthquake near her home. She discovers her house has been severely damaged, but tried to get there to save her dog. She meets the younger brother of her college boyfriend who's loved her since he was 16. He's now a search and rescue dog handler and they fall in love.
"Stranded!" by Jill Shalvis. Matt Walker is a workaholic ER doctor who's gone to check out his grandfather's old house on the TX coast they he's just inherited. When a major storm comes up he's about to leave when he notices blue in his yard and goes out to find injured professor Molly Stanton. They make it back to the storm shelter and spend 24+ hours there and fall in love.

He man guys in risky jobs who fall quickly and hard. Reasonably quick reads.

[Jamoz23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

LORI FOSTER - TRAPPED
I have read this previously in paperback but back before I wrote reviews.
Cute tail that goes a warp speed.
Ethan has acted the manwhores since his fiancée ran of with his best friend’s brother.
His best friend is Rosie and she has loved Ethan for ages and is sick of seeing him acting like he is, so decides to take actions.
When Ethan finally takes action himself, Rosie is all full steam ahead to marriage with a big wedding which Ethan cannot accept.
Regina, a reporter doing a story of hero Ethan, gives Rosie some hard truths about Ethan but before Rosie can act on that information, she is caught in a big fire.
Love Ethan’s fire fighter buddies and will be reading their stories.
DONNA KAUFFMAN - BURIED
Loved Brett and Recon. Though he is a younger man, he was extremely mature, probably due to the job he does.
Though I understood her anxiety and reasoning in wanting to rescue Digger, Hayley put other people’s lives at risk for her own selfish reasons.
JILL SHALVIS - STRANDED
Okay read didn’t draw me in romance wise, probably due to the shortness of the story.
Work orientated doctor Matt, rescues timid professor/teacher Molly during a storm.
Both are emotionally inhibited and lacking in social skills or life but fall for each other.
Matt is slower to realise he has feelings for Molly.
Very little background on these two but what we get is adequate and you can fill in the blanks.

[Rosemarie Grainer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting short stories full of action and character development

These 3 stories include book 1 of Lori Foster's Men of Courage series. All of these contain thrilling action as well as super characters. The first two are second chance stories, while the last one is not. I love reading all these authors and am surprised I hadn't seen this before. This is a fun, quick read.

The stories all have a fast pace and an uncertain yet hopeful tone with lots of action and some steamy scenes. The characters are vibrant and engaging. You can really relate to them and root for them right away. If you like some action with your romance, then this is for you. Enjoy!

[Amy Butterbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all three of these stories by all three authors. The stories were well written about three different couples who fell in love with each other.
The men have been in a hero profession one way or the other. They didn't want to get involved with a relationship and worry the women in their lives. But the girls had a different approach to get them to stay with them
Would they all fall in love or would the men they love so much walk away ?

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah except for Shalvis story

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these short, wonderful stories. Can't wait to read more of them!!

[A.N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

[Brandy St. Amand Chesney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Peggy]

trapped/lori foster 7/21
buried/donna Kauffman 7/21
stranded/Jill Shalvis 7/22

[MsRomanticReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

#1: Trapped by Lori Foster

Ethan and Rosie have been close friends for a very long time. When he wakes up one morning to a half naked Rosie in his bed, he can't remember how either of them got there. Did they or didn't they? He sure hopes not because she's his friend, but unfortunately she's also the sister of the cad who took off with Ethan's fiance, Michelle. Rosie has always had a thing for Ethan. He doesn't remember the night they spent together so she uses it as an excuse to break down his walls and make him hers.

It takes all of his friends to point out the obvious (she's a woman, not some asexual being, and she wants him) before he gives in. Of course she's a virgin, and how dumb must he (or any manwhore) feel when she tells him that she was basically saving herself for him? In the post-coital bliss that follows, she asks him when they can get married? WTF?

I liked Ethan and hated Rosie. I know she's wanted him badly for a very long time, but the fact that she "had a key made for him months ago" is a little ... creepy. She's described by everyone as being pushy or bossy - I think she's obsessed.

A little fiery drama, a compromise later and a HEA, yay. This story would get 2 stars from me. Maybe the actual series by this author will be better than this snippet.


#2: Buried by Donna Kauffman

Haley is the "poor little rich girl". A string of poor choices in her love life and an ex who nearly emptied out her bank account have left her a little bitter. The only companion she cares about now is her dog named Digger. On her way home from a trip, she hears that an earthquake hit very close to her house. She fears for her dogs safety and beats feet to get to him. When she arrives at the scene, she looks for someone to help her. That's where she stumbles across Brett, the younger brother of one of her past loves. He's always had a thing for her, but her being 19 at the time to his 16 put the kibosh on that. Now he might have a chance with her, if the twit doesn't get herself killed or anyone else. And here is where the story goes downhill like a landslide.

She's so desperate to get to her dog that she sneaks herself among rescue workers and Brett and his rescue K9 have to chase after her, then she runs headlong towards her house, which is on unstable ground.

Edit Okay, so the story redeemed itself towards the end, mostly due to Brett's charm and humor. Haley actually becomes likeable as well as she opens up to him and allows him into her heart. 2.5 stars. I'd give it 3 stars if it wasn't for the lousy first impression she made. Brett totally steals the spotlight in this story.


#3: Stranded by Jill Shalvis

This one was a total waste of time. Molly was a blubbering mess and so darn needy. Matt was closed off and cold. I didn't jive with either of them and their too fast ILYs wasn't convincing. It felt forced just to give the characters an excuse to stay together. Meh. 1 star.

Funny, but the second story that I started out not liking turned out to be the best one.

[Amy Li · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent trashy novel. 10/10 was worth the dollar or two.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short stories by three wonderful writers. Sounds like a winner to me.

In the story Trapped! Lori Foster tells the tale of a hot fireman, Ethan, who is a bit relationship shy after being left at the altar when his fiancé took off with his best friend. Said best friend’s sister, Rosie, is in love with Ethan and always has been. She goes about finally trying to get him to see they are meant to be together.

Although the love seems a bit rushed, that is to be expected in such a short story. It helps that Rosie and Ethan have actually been friends their whole lives; it’s just trying to pull that “aha” moment out of Ethan that takes the time. This is my first time reading anything by Lori Foster and I have been curious for a while, just haven’t picked any of her stuff up yet. This convinced me that I have to start reading her library of work. 4 stars

Donna Kauffman is another new to me author. Her contribution, Buried!, was well written and made me want to check out more of her work. As with the first story in this compilation, the hero and heroine are already acquainted…although not to the same extent as the couple in the first story. Still, it helps with the pacing of the story that has to be told in such a short amount of time. The title, although not exactly true, is a much better fit than the first story’s title. 3.5 stars

Jill Shalvis’ story, Stranded!, is the only one in this book that the hero and heroine do not already know each other. Talk about insta-love! This one is FAST. But, although it’s one of this author’s earlier published stories, it works. After all, it is a Shalvis story. (Plus, the title actually fits the story pretty well in this one.) 3.5 stars

The ratings average out to 3.666 which means I will round up to 4 stars for my final rating.

(I didn't read this book straight through. I took a break reading other things between each story so it didn't really take 6 days to read. This is a super quick read great for reading on a plane or on the beach.)

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay read.

The first story, about Ethan and Rosie was my least favorite. There's hardly even a rescue here and Rosie irritated the hell out of me. It's one thing to be straightforward about liking a guy, but its another to be so pushy about it. And how long has she been obsessing about this guy anyway? Its a wonder she didn't claim him right after his first fiance failed to show up for the wedding.

The second story would have been great except for the TSTL heroine. I understand loving one's dog and needing to make sure he/she is safe and all that. But you don't go climbing up random mountains after an earthquake when the ground is unstable and the rescue workers have blocked it off. Especially when one of those rescue workers promises to look into it. I wish a house had fallen on her so she could realize what an idiot she was being and putting other rescue workers further at risk because of it. Brett though, the hero was a redeeming factor in this story. I could never have his patience.

The third story was my favorite. Their was a bit of insta-love here, but the characters were pretty enjoyable and the writing was quite humorous. It's basically about two people stuck in a storm shelter together after the hero rescues the slightly absent-minded heroine from a hurricane (it better have been a hurricane - how else could winds get that strong and last that long?). They give into attraction and the rest follows...

[Pattianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

MEN OF COURAGE #1,

TRAPPED (7-74)FIREWORKS, BURRIED (75-150) LAND, STRANDED (151-220) HURRICANE

These men are heroes -- strong, fearless . . .
Fireman Ethan Winters ran headlong into a burning building to find Rosie Carrington. Rescue worker Brett Gannon defied the aftershocks of a San Francisco earthquake to prevent Haley Brubaker from entering her collapsing home. And emergency-room doctor Matt Walker braved gale force winds and rising floodwater to rescue scientist Molly Stanton.

And impossible to resist!

For Rosie, the heat in Ethan's eyes was enough to start a three-alarm blaze! As for Haley, being trapped amidst the rubble with Brett meant heightened tension -- and heightened passion. And sheltering together from the storm, Molly needed Matt to make love to her. It was the only way for her to know she was still alive . . . and that she'd stay that way.

More than just life-and-death intimacy. . . Their love was the real thing.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this out because of Jill Shalvis' contribution but honestly loved all these stories. They have the usual problems of novellas - not enough character development, things just happening too unbelievably fast - but this is probably my first 5 star review for novellas. While Jill's story was my favorite, I enjoyed them all pretty close to equally. I can see Lori Foster's being an introduction to a series featuring all of Ethan's friends. I'll have to see if that's true.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book I’ve listened to on Audio. Still not completely sure I like it. Was different. The story its self was alright. Not sure even what length constitutes long enough for a review but thought I’d give it a shot. I have gotten a couple more stories in Audio to try out when running but have purposefully chosen non-romance as that might be one of the reasons I’m on the fence about audio.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of 3 romances. The first story, Trapped by Lori Foster, was the best of the three, but I found each one rather disappointing. None of the characters were very well developed and the plot, especially on the last story, was really thin. The first story was pretty good.

[Michelle the Romance Witch · Rating 3 out of 5]

i only read the Lori foster one in the anthology but it was definitely not one of her best works but the real screw-up was the blurb writer... the back and nothing to do with the actual story... so strange

[Macwolf01 [Elise] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun quick read, all three story were short and sweet ... definitely like Lori Foster & Jill Shalvis's writing style. I'll have to read more by Donna Kauffman.

A firefighter, a rescue worker, and an emergency room doctor each saved by the woman they thought they were saving.

[Marleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I expected.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://imaromancereader.blogspot.com/...

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second one was my favorite, the third my least. I would have preferred longer stories as these felt rushed, but I'd read the sequel.

[Karissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dislike the least trapped by Donna Jean.

[Susan]

LF: Men Courage-

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, hot, pretty good. Junk food for the romantically challenged. Enjoy.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

this rating is for trapped. didn't read the other stories

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was really good who doesn't want to read about a hot fire fighter, a gorgeous SAR man, and a hot totally capable doctor

[Jacqueline SG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story 1 - a hopelessly shallow story. I had to skim through the garbage!

Story 2 - better than first but not much substance either.

Story 3 - best of the worse but still, no depth.