Stoking the Flames

The Men of Engine 17 #3

by Ash Keller

The girl of his dreams is a blast from the past. And she's not ready to let bygones be bygones.

In high school, Conor Downs was Mr. Popular, funny and handsome. Every girl dreamed of being his date to the prom—including the quiet and bookish girl-next-door, Lizzie Latham.

Now, the tables have turned. Liz is all grown up, a tough lawyer, and a devoted single mom. She's too busy to date, and has zero interest in falling for Mr. Popular again. He made it clear he didn't want her then. Why should she give him a chance now?

Fall in love with the men of Engine 17 one novella at a time! Each standalone rom-com features a different fireman and his quest to find the one woman who will set his soul on fire.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Short Stories, Rom Com, Fiction, Firefighters, Contemporary

ebook

First published October 6, 2021

About the author

Ash Keller writes clean contemporary romance and romantic comedies. Her books are sweet on heat but big on heart. She lives in the rolling hills of Kentucky with her wonderful husband, three mischievous cats, and a couple of bossy backyard chickens that peck on the door to demand treats. For the latest news and exclusive content, subscribe to her newsletter.

Reviews

[Elisa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

single mom + a firefighter that wants to settle down = a very cute book

friends to strangers to lovers.

is so hard to review a very short book, but promise this is cute

[vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ So here’s the deal, he baby sat her kid and brought her groceries to her house and it was cute but then it was revealed what happened when they were teenagers and yeah no I don’t like it. They were friends but then they went to high school and he became popular and she wasn’t. She watched him date and hang out with other friends. He was older but he admitted to almost kissing her in high school but proceeded to go alone to prom the next day and left with the prom queen who he proceeded to be in a relationship with for over a decade, married her and was going to quit his dream job for her until she admitted she cheated. They got divorced and he has been couch surfing since and it’s honestly pathetic since he can afford his own place but chooses not to. He literally chose his ex over her and that doesn’t sit well for me. I’m glad the fmc left and lived her life. He didn’t even know she didn’t have a date for prom and he still called them friends. I did not like this story.

[scar! . *. ⋆ (Johnny kavanaghs version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a single parent trope, and this one was very sweet!

4 stars

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so excited to keep up with Men of Engine 17. This book follows Conor. I love that I can count on Ash Keller for both humor and swoon worthy romance in these novellas. Such excellent writing!

This one had some fabulous laughs. I don’t want to give anything away! This is worth your time to dive into. Ash Keller always leaves a smile on my face at the end. Highly recommended.

I was given this advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All these opinions are my very own.

[Natasha Leite · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, some of you might be thinking… What happened to Natasha? Or Is she crazy? Or why is she reading books that she obviously does not like? The answer to all of that was that I did a challenge. I would read exclusively Kindle Unlimited free books and they needed to be in the romance/festive period genre. The results are in. I have read around 120 books. Well, that’s a lie, I was able to finish around 114 books and the rest I couldn’t even finish because it was awfully written; or I could see the plot line a mile away and it didn’t interest me; or it was just too religious-oriented for me – yes, that is a thing.

Let’s start with the “good” ones. And I have to preface this saying those were better than the rest, but not in any category of “good”. Homecoming King being the exception, but that was a paid book when I though I couldn’t take any bad writing anymore. So, it was part of my Kindle recommendations, it was part of the holiday genre, but it wasn’t free. So, it was a good book, but I did feel like I cheated a little. I also read Red, White and Royal Blue. It was a great book, but again, not free. Okay, back to the good ones, I liked the Green Valley Library series. Three stars was the usual grading I gave. I couldn’t deal with Love in Deed and Love in a Pickle. But that will come later… The stories were good, there was enough plot (that felt believable) and the writing was good. This was the same for the Forrest for the Trees book, as well as series Park Ranger, Fighting for Love, the books “No Whisk No Reward”, “The One Night”, “My Fake Fiancé” and “Kiss the Girl”(although, I’m not sure if this book was good enough or I had read so many twos and ones that immediately got a three star grading), “Ink”, “The Paid Bridesmaid”, “Things We Never Got Over”, “Neighbours Like That”, “Mr Fixer Upper”, “Heart of Hope”, and “The Mistletoe Kiss”. Even when most of the characters didn’t communicate with another, there was usually a good reason for it.

The next set of books are what I like to call “Worth Your Time If You Really Don’t Have Anything Else to Do” or “proceed at own caution”. With that, either the writing wasn’t that good, or the plot simply didn’t work as well, it was too short to make full sense, or the characters just didn’t say what was on their minds making the whole story a bit contrite. The usual rating for this was two stars. In that sense, in this category featured “A Cross-Country Christmas”, “How to Ruin the Holidays”, “The Elle Project”, “The Holiday Ex-Files”, “My Not So Wicked Ex-Fiancé”, “My Not So Wicked Boss”(also, I have to say, stories that deal with bosses are numerous and they are mostly unreadable, why would someone have something with their boss ON PURPOSE is beyond me!), “By a Thread”, “All is Fair in Love and Blood, “The Neighbourhood War”, “A Very Grumpy Christmas”, “The Christmas Pact”, “Santa Maybe’, “How My Brother’s Best Friend Stole Christmas”, “The Grump Who Stole Christmas”, “Jingle Bell Beard”, “A Convenient Christmas”, “The Naughty, the Nice and the Nanny”, “Love Me Like You Mean It”, “Love in the Spotlight”, “A Partridge and a Pregnancy”, “The Fake Santa Apology”, “Mistletoe Text”, “The Most Real McCoy”, “My Own Best Enemy”, “The Ticket”, “Grit”, “Maid of Dishonour”, “Roomaid”, “Love Unexpected”, “Love Off-Limits”, “(Not So) Alone for Christmas”, “A Little in Love With You”, “Just One Chance”, “So Not My Thing”, “Falling In Love With My Best Friend’s Twin”, “Christmas Like This”, and “Stoking the Flames”, the last book I read. Also, feels like the shortest without being a novella.
Then there was “why am I reading this? What the hell am I reading? Jesus, Mohamed, Budda and Moses together take the wheel because this is not OK” category. This were particularly bad books or compilation of books that I honestly only finished because they deserve one star at Goodreads and if I hadn’t finish them, I wouldn’t be able to judge them as harshly. These were not written very well, massive plot holes or were just really offensive. And I don’t get offended very easily. So, let’s get this started! “Oh.What.Fun.”, “Faking Under The Mistletoe”, “Elves with Benefits”, “One Night with a Nutcracker”, “The Bachelor on the Shelf”, “Three Bells, Two Bows and One Brother's Best Friend”, “Lovelight Farms”, “An Unexpected Boyfriend for Christmas”, “Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy”, “A Christmas Spark”, “Eating Her Christmas Cookies”, “Never Fall for Your Enemy”, “Dare to Love The Guy Next Door”, “Licking her Christmas Cookies”, “Frosting Her Christmas Cookies”, “Bad Cruz”, “The Ego(maniac)”, “Sweet”, “Desiring His Dating Coach”, “Saving the Secret Prince”, “The Nice Guy Next Door”, “Dare to Love My Best Friend”, “All I Want for Christmas”, “Falling for Her Foe”, “The Christmas Letters”, “Falling For Your Fake Fiancé”, “Sweet Snow Valley Complete Collection: 9 Contemporary, Christian, and Christmas Romances”(this was by far the worst books – because it is a compilation of books – in this list. They were way too preachy; they didn’t make much sense and they were awful. GOD AWFUL. I swear, I just finished them so I could rate them), “An Unconventional Christmas Love Story”, “Dashing Through The Tropes: A 6-Book Holiday Collection With Your Favorite Tropes” (only one story was good), “Friendshipped” (exactly what I mean when I say people get stuck in their heads and it ruin the book for whoever is reading), “Just One Kiss”,

And finally, there was the did not finished (DNF) category. Now some of it was not good, some of it was just not my style like the Scorned Women Society books. So I really like Red, White and Royal Blue and when I read romances/holiday period genre, it is more that vibe I’m looking for. But I’ll definitely pick up those books again. Next up “Love in Deed” and “Love in a Pickle”. I couldn’t deal with the main female protagonists in this. They were too awful or too much. And nothing that they did made more likable. “My Not So Wicked Stepbrother”, really honest, don’t remember this book. “The Plight Before Christmas”. “The Royal Best Friend” (very silly representation of a posh English Baron and a wild, but also posh American girl dating), “Bad Boy Bachelor Claus (this was just an effing mess, I try to read again when I’m not on a timeline and potentially drunk), “Tasting Her Christmas Cookies” (I swear this had an almost identical plot to Licking Her Christmas Cookies, but it was worse, no, thank you, next), “Falling For Your Boss” (as I mentioned before, for it to work for me it needs to be really well written and the plot overall needs to make sense, this was not it), “Not Happy Campers”( I couldn’t believe it and I didn’t like the main characters, so why bother?), “The Buy-In” (I don’t know why I haven’t read it, it just sounded too goodie two shoes for me, and I was NOT feeling it), “World Worst Boyfriend, “Sweet Christmas Beach Collection” (I couldn’t do that to myself once more, so I haven’t).

All this to say, I don’t think Kindle Unlimited is worth it for that category. It just pick the worst books available and shove it down your throat. Now that I have completed this task, I can go back to my normal books. Thank you!

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Stoking the Flames’ is a very sweet and funny short story. I enjoyed this one as it had some really good tropes: single mum, friends-to-strangers-to-lovers; second chance romance.

Conor is a divorcee who’s currently sleeping on his boss’s couch and Liz is a lawyer who’s just moved back to her hometown. They meet in the grocery store. Conor sees Liz for the first time in ten years, but Liz panics and leaves abruptly leaving her shopping behind. And what does Conor do? Well, she pays for her groceries, of course. When Liz is late to coffee to meet Conor it’s due to the babysitter cancelling last minute though she’s due in court soon so he agrees so mind her daughter—Gemma—for the day. As they get closer and spend more time Liz is quickly falling back in love with her childhood crush.

This one was very cute. I so loved Gemma and Conor’s interactions. Him feeling helpless when she has a tantrum because he doesn’t know what she wants is so funny. And after Conor revealing that she’s pining for a family of his own it’s wholesome to see when he gets that.

Again, these are too short for me. I get invested in the concept of the story only for it to end when it feels like it’s just getting started. But a nice quick read nonetheless.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awe! A second chance childhood best friends to lovers story. Does it get any better than that? I'm a sucker for a second chance. Mix that with a wounded warrior of a first responder and a single parent and I'm happier than Dal with his own garden of catnip. This may have been a quick read, but Connor and Lizzy threatened to crush my heart. Watching them reach out to one another yet hesitating in fear, It was almost more than I can bear. I loved where this book left them, however, I'm also sure there's more to be told. I want to know the rest of the story about The Men of Engine 17.

[Mary McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another super short and sweet book. Can’t wait for prom in the next book!

[Tesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firefighter Conor meets up with old friend and Lawyer Liz at the supermarket.
This was sweet, clean and romantic. I loved the personality of Conor and how he approached the relationship with Liz who was reluctant to start anything with him.
Such a nice feel good story!
This was an ARC and this is my honest review.

[Douglas Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story very much, and like the two previous stories about "The Men of Engine 17", it has an ending that makes you smile. It is a quick read, and written with each character's perspective of the story. I really connected with Conor, because he tried so hard to make three year old Gemma happy. I recommend this book.

I received a free ARC copy of this book, and this is my honest review.

[hanawesternberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I can always count on Ash Keller for comedic and swoon worthy short read on the men of engine 17 😮‍💨

I LOVE THIS ONE TOOO.

This was such so sweet and heartwarming. Conor is so domestic 🥲 my heart is so soft.

everytime Conor is with Liz's daughter 🥺 He is so charming too 🥺

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Then she slowly extends a finger, points it directly at me, and yells, “Ogre!”
I blink. Did she just call me an ogre?
She repeats the word, again and again, jabbing her finger in my direction for emphasis. “Ogre. Ogre. Ogre.”
Heat rises to my face, and I wait for the girl’s mom to tell her it’s not nice to point or call people names. But the woman continues to stare at her list like it’s totally normal for her kid to publicly insult strangers.
“OGRE!”
Seriously? I’m moments away from doing something really immature, like sticking my tongue out at a toddler, when the kid’s mom finally speaks.
“No, baby. We have yogurt at home.”
Oh.
I look over my shoulder to confirm that I am indeed standing in front of a case of yogurt.
I’m an idiot.

If you’re not happy with your life, change it. But for Heaven’s sake, son, stop feeling sorry for yourself.

He eyes me suspiciously, and then his mouth falls open. “I don’t believe it. You’re in love.”
I hold my hands up. “Careful with the L-word, buddy.”
“I knew you’d been spending a lot of time with the pretty lawyer! You said you were just friends.”
“We are just friends. Old friends.” Despite spending a lot of time together lately, it’s completely platonic.
“But you want to be more,” he says matter-of-factly.
I run a hand through my hair and begin to pace across the room. “I knew when I was ten years old that Lizzie was the coolest girl in the world. She’s even cooler now.”
“Tell her that.”

“What’s the little smile for?” Conor asks.
My smile widens. “You’re supposed to be watching the sunset, not me.”
“You’re prettier.”

Conor Downs was Mr. Popular, funny and handsome in high school. Years later, he’s still Mr. Popular, funny and handsome. Lizzie Latham was the shy, quiet, bookish girl-next-door in high school. Years later, she’s a confident, bookish woman, lawyer, and a single mom. Years later, they ran into each other at the grocery store. Conor wants to catch up while Lizzie does but she doesn’t want to fall for Conor again. What will happen?

So far, this novella is my favorite in The Men of Engine 17 series. My second favorite is On the Shelf (book 2), then The Day We Met (book 1). You can totally count on Ash Keller to write humor, clean and swoon worthy romance. I am always wanting more from Ash Keller. This is worth the time to read. 4.5 stars.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

little kids

Reader’s Notes:

– this is book 3 of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone

– this is told from Conor and Lizzie’s points of view

Review:

😍😭🥰 Conor and little Gemma’s interactions are so cute! And who else endured many replays of Moana? 👋 I know I did with my siblings! I liked that Lizzie and Conor used to live next door to each other when they were young and were friends then ❤️.

Lizzie is a busy single mom who just moved back to her hometown. Though she knew she’d have to deal with the boy she crushed on as a young girl, she didn’t expect him to find her in a food store. And she didn’t want her heart to race when she saw him.

Conor knows he’s mooched off his chief for a long time, but he can’t resign himself to losing his hope of a family by purchasing a bachelor pad. When he sees his childhood friend in the food store, his heart leaps at the sight. Maybe she could be the one to give his dream life once again…

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoy reading Ms. Keller's books because she can always make you laugh at something in the story. Especially when Connor is in the store and he sees a little girl and when she starts calling him an ogre, he's like woman handle your child and after being called ogre a few times the lady looks up and says no honey we have yogurt at home and then Connor turns around and sees he's in front of the yogurt and he laughs and then he realizes he knows her and he says Lizzie and she says yes and then she realizes she knows him and says Connor is that you and they start talking. This book is so good and the series is amazing so far but we are talk about hot firefighters. I received this book as an Arc for an unbiased and honest review.

[Anonymous 5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Men of Engine #17 is such a fantastic series! I always know I am in for a good time when I read one of these. This one is the third installment and it is an absolutely wonderful, feel-good story. This one focuses on Conor who reconnects with an old friend, Liz. True to Ms. Keller's books, this will have you laughing and swooning all throughout. Liz and Conor have such great chemistry, and I absolutely loved Gemma! The book will definitely warm your heart and leave you with a smile on your face when you are done. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the men of engine 17 series stars Conor. Recently divorced and currently living on his bosses couch but he desires more. He wants the all American dream. The wife, the house and the children. It’s not until he sees Lizzie his old BFF from childhood that he’s motivated to make a change. I enjoyed being in Conor’s head. It seems that he plays his cards close to his chest with his friends but with Lizzie he is willing to put it all on the line. He won’t let his nerves get in the way this time. This #friendstolovers novella is a great #secondchanceromance that you won’t want to miss!

[Cati K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded the 1-3 set of these books from stuff your kindle day. I didn’t realize it was three novellas in one, but I really did enjoy them! I read the second set of books 4-6 as well.

I understand totally that these stories are very very short novellas, but the author was able to give *just* enough back story to make me love all of the characters and their stories. Even though we already know the ending of everything, I would absolutely read them if she did a rewrite with longer stories for everyone.

I feel wrong adding six books to my read, but oh well. I’m going to copy and paste this for all of them since I read them as a single set on KU

[aliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

another five stars for ash keller's book. oh please you dont know how much i love this kind of fluffy romance. IT IS SO CUTE LIKE WHAT THE HELL ME WHEN?? I WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS KIND OF THING TOO 😩
conor is really a nice man. but i think he is a bit confused when he is in teenager cus ya know teenagers (sometimes we're just too dumb to notice this kind of thing 💀) i love how the author keep all the characters in this series connected like i didnt expect that zoey actually knew lizzie. gonna finish this whole series right away 😆

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Firefighter & the Lawyer

As always, Ms.Keller provides a tight, concise tale, this time of childhood friends, separated by life, and now reunited in their hometown. Still she manages to visit with some of our friends at Engine 17, including Dalmation the mascot cat, from earlier stories, and sets up the intro for the next book.

I received an ARC copy of this story from the author via BookFunnel and voluntarily chose to share my review.

[Ellen Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet clean second chance romance. Conor and Lizzie grew up next to each other. They were best friends until high school when they drifted apart. Now they have a happenstance meeting at the grocery store. Love the chemistry between Conor and Mozzie but Gamma steals the show. I really enjoyed this book.

I was given this advanced copy for free,  and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Isabelle Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love those firefighters

Another heart melting story by Ash Keller. What a way she has of creating relatable characters who pull at our heartstrings. I was rooting for Conor and Lizzie from the start. I am so glad they decided to Stoke the Flames. And you will be, too. Can’t wait for the next firefighter’s story. Plus, there’ll be a prom! 😍

[Lynn Hyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a Surprise

These books are a quick, heartwarming, satisfying romance with some surprise in there. This one has Conor and Lizzie and her daughter Gemma. Conor and Lizzie were childhood best friends until they weren't. She was heartbroken, and he married someone entirely wrong. Now they have a second chance.

[Laramee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ash does an incredible job in giving you a full story in novella sized lengths. If you enjoy sweet romances and don't have a lot of time this series is perfect for you! Can't wait to see what comes next in the series!

I received an ARC from the author and all opinions are my own.

[Happy Reading Watching · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light Romance Read ♡

3rd book in the series and it was cute just like the others. Loved seeing the characters from the past books in this one.

This one is my least favorite of the series but still great and a super fast read. 📚💕

[Joanne Bandfield-Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Another great book in this series. I love how quick these are to read, but yet you feel like you know do much about the characters. I think Conor is my favorite so far.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kisses only. I liked this vest of the three so far. Since the MCs grew up together the quickness of their relationship is more believable. I also felt like we got to know the characters a bit better (I think Gemma helped with that).

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always wish there was more to these novellas, but I know the point is that they're short. This one was cute! I enjoyed the second chance romance of it, and Lizzie's daughter made things so sweet for the two of them. Great read!

[Linda Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read that I enjoyed

This is a quick read about childhood friends who meet up as adults. 1's newly divorced and 1 has it child Without a father. They start renewing their friendship because he baby sits. And histories made

[Alysia Massart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute, short, standalone.

This series is very cute, but almost too short for me. I wish there was just a little bit more, but I think they're supposed to be novellas. I definitely recommend if you're looking for a nice short read.

[Stephanie Blatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

Sometimes it’s just so satisfying to tuck a quick read into your day. I’m loving this series by Ash Keller. Super quick, super sweet stories with instantly lovable characters!