Print Length: 284 pages
Publisher: Loveswept (November 15, 2016)
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01BJST0FC
Blurb
Chelsea Dwyer arrives home from her job at the middle-school library in Latham Hills, Michigan, expecting another quiet evening—until she hears the screams for help through her living room window. As the first witness to a terrible accident involving two local students, Chelsea doesn’t anticipate how her own life will be irrevocably changed by the father of one of the boys. In the wake of tragedy, she’s the only one who seems to understand his grief. Chelsea’s a survivor, too—and she knows that there are brighter days ahead.
As a single father, Aidan Deveraux worked his entire life to provide a stable home for his son, Derrick. Without him, Aidan feels the deepest despair imaginable. The one thing that keeps him going is his connection with the woman who tried to save his son. Hard as he tries, Aidan just can’t stay away. Chelsea’s warm embrace is the comforting solace he desperately craves—and it doesn’t hurt that Aidan had noticed the beautiful librarian and wanted to ask her out for years. Now that she’s in his life, he doesn’t ever want to let go.
REVIEW:
Chelsea, the heroine in this somewhat melancholy tale, struggles with self-esteem issues thanks to her selfish ex-husband who criticized her for being infertile, something she was not aware of until after they’d married. She’s found joy in her life as a school librarian and blessed woman of many loyal friends. She admired her neighbor, Aidan from afar for 2 years, but she never thought they’d be brought together by tragedy.
When Aidan’s son Derrick dies from a freak accident, the grief he suffers is almost unbearable. Being a mother myself, I can’t imagine going through this, and although this is a very realistic circumstance, it was somewhat difficult for me to handle. My heart ached for Aidan and I wondered how this romance would be pulled off in the midst of such sadness. I must say, Lynn pulled it off. I was glad there was mention that Chelsea and Aidan both had been crushing on each other as it prevents readers from feeling like they were ONLY brought together by the tragedy, although that is what spurned them forward – in a way. Being Derrick’s librarian and neighbor, it was not a stretch that Chelsea would show up at the wake and funeral as well as offer support to the grieving father. At no point did she think to use his pain to finally show her interest, it just works out that way. It’s not unusual that Aidan would lean to her, not only because of her caring personality, but it’s natural for someone in pain to seek comfort.
There’s some moments where we get to release our breath and take a break from the sadness, but Lynn always keeps things real. I would’ve liked the relationship to develop over a longer period of time. The rush took away from the authenticity of the development. It was nice for me to revisit Fireside and I look forward to the next in the series.
Rating system: Cups of Coffee (the less the better)
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 2 cups of coffee