Courting Fire
Tamara Hughes
Historical Romance
A stubborn suffragist …
Boston suffragist, Mattie Duncan is a willful, independent woman whose heart has always belonged to Jack Taylor, a local firefighter. Challenging nineteenth-century conventions, she finds a way to join Jack’s fire station. Not only can she make a difference saving lives, she can spend time with Jack, who is tasked with training her.
The firefighter who resists her …
Jack has always been attracted to Mattie, but he doesn’t see a future with her. In Jack’s mind, she will always be tied to his late brother, who had loved her desperately. To make matters worse, Jack is also still racked with guilt over not being able to prevent his brother’s death.
And the murder mystery that will bring them together …
Mattie overhears a conversation suggesting his brother was murdered. As Jack and Mattie work together to uncover the truth, their passions ignite. But even if Jack’s guilt is absolved, can he overcome the sense of betrayal toward his brother that’s keeping them apart?
Uncaged Review: Set during the time of the suffrage protests and the Great Boston Fire, Mattie has always loved Jack. But Jack has always held her at arm’s length. When Mattie decides to join the fire department to be near Jack, he is assigned to train her – mostly to get her to give up the notion of being a firefighter. There were very few women that were firefighters, but Mattie’s decision to be a firefighter changed after she trained hard and was able to help save a young boy’s life. Jack lost his brother Sam in a fire, and he believed he would betray his brother’s memory by courting Mattie, whom his brother loved.
There are a lot of layers to this story, and a mystery, danger and coverups. Jack and Mattie begin investigating the death of Sam and discover a lot more than they ever could have known. Even though the background is the Suffrage movement and the Great Boston Fire, this is a book about Jack and Mattie and their families. The romance is slow building, and the characters are likable. A good read with a nice backdrop. Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars