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k_cao_xai's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where’s my hot firefighter girlfriend?
Character Impressions:
Dr. Ali Torveau
Calm, composed, and always in control.
Ali has her reasons to keep people at arm’s length, and I love how adamant she is about not wanting to be with Beau at first, but to see her slowly let her guard down to let Beau in was oh so satisfying. It’s easy to see why Beau falls for her in the way she cares for her patients, how effectively she works, and how efficient she is at her job. There’s definitely something attractive about a woman who’s in her element.
Beau Cross
Oh, Beau. Beautiful, brave, ballsy Beau.
The number of times it’s mentioned that Beau is sexy as hell might give you a headache, but she has a tender side under that womanizing façade. The reason she’s so reckless and doesn’t want to settle down was a surprise to me. But the moment she realizes it’s Ali she wants for the rest of her life, she doesn’t back down and I love how unapologetic she is about it. It’s the little things she does almost unconsciously that I adore; how she holds the door for Ali, the way she gives Ali space even though she herself is hurting, the way she doesn’t hold back when telling Ali how she feels about her. Ahhh!
Calm, composed, and always in control.
Ali has her reasons to keep people at arm’s length, and I love how adamant she is about not wanting to be with Beau at first, but to see her slowly let her guard down to let Beau in was oh so satisfying. It’s easy to see why Beau falls for her in the way she cares for her patients, how effectively she works, and how efficient she is at her job. There’s definitely something attractive about a woman who’s in her element.
Beau Cross
Oh, Beau. Beautiful, brave, ballsy Beau.
The number of times it’s mentioned that Beau is sexy as hell might give you a headache, but she has a tender side under that womanizing façade. The reason she’s so reckless and doesn’t want to settle down was a surprise to me. But the moment she realizes it’s Ali she wants for the rest of her life, she doesn’t back down and I love how unapologetic she is about it. It’s the little things she does almost unconsciously that I adore; how she holds the door for Ali, the way she gives Ali space even though she herself is hurting, the way she doesn’t hold back when telling Ali how she feels about her. Ahhh!
Minor Characters:
Wynter: Ali’s best friend who’s very sweet, very pregnant, and married to another woman. We all need a friend like Wynter who can cheer us on in our relationships, no matter how complicated they are.
Jilly: Beau’s older sister. Her support and love for Beau is always present in their scenes together. I like that she wasn’t reduced to being just a cheerleader for Beau and had a minor romance with another character herself.
Bobby: Beau’s best friend and fireman who works alongside her. His friendship with Beau is probably one of the better friendships I’ve seen in stories; wherein they do get mad at each other sometimes, but are adult enough to forgive and move passed it.
Ralph: Ali’s tenant/neighbor. An older gentleman who is friends with Ali. Though he doesn’t play much part in the story, he shares a few wholesome moments with Ali.
Jilly: Beau’s older sister. Her support and love for Beau is always present in their scenes together. I like that she wasn’t reduced to being just a cheerleader for Beau and had a minor romance with another character herself.
Bobby: Beau’s best friend and fireman who works alongside her. His friendship with Beau is probably one of the better friendships I’ve seen in stories; wherein they do get mad at each other sometimes, but are adult enough to forgive and move passed it.
Ralph: Ali’s tenant/neighbor. An older gentleman who is friends with Ali. Though he doesn’t play much part in the story, he shares a few wholesome moments with Ali.
Story Impressions:
This is probably one of my favorite books from Radclyffe. Both characters in their day-to-day job involved so much danger, injuries, and trauma. It’s been a while since I’ve read about characters who genuinely want to help people for no reason other than because they care. Radclyffe’s past as a surgeon really helps the little details in hospital scenes shine through.
Getting to see what firefighters go through from Beau’s perspective gave me a new appreciation for those in the field. I never realized that they get called to deal with so much more than a fire hazard. It made me want to salute my local fire department and thank all the firefighters there for their hard work.
I do wish there was an epilogue chapter or two after the final chapter, because after they get together, it ends too quickly. Please, let me swim in the aftermath of what the future can hold for these characters. I don’t need to see them get married or catch up on a “where are they now” after a year or two. Just give me a scene to hint at them being happy and working around their jobs to be together. I know it’s not necessary, but I just don’t want to let them go so soon.
Getting to see what firefighters go through from Beau’s perspective gave me a new appreciation for those in the field. I never realized that they get called to deal with so much more than a fire hazard. It made me want to salute my local fire department and thank all the firefighters there for their hard work.
I do wish there was an epilogue chapter or two after the final chapter, because after they get together, it ends too quickly. Please, let me swim in the aftermath of what the future can hold for these characters. I don’t need to see them get married or catch up on a “where are they now” after a year or two. Just give me a scene to hint at them being happy and working around their jobs to be together. I know it’s not necessary, but I just don’t want to let them go so soon.
Highlights:
- Highlight 1: There’s a great handful of steamy and explicit sex scenes. Beau is leaking top energy but surprise, surprise, she’s a switch and it was hot seeing Ali take charge.
- Highlight 2: Radclyffe has a way with words and sentences. There were so many memorable lines in the story, not just about love but about life in general and the perspective we have about people.
- Highlight 3: Both heroines are together for 95% of the story.
My Personal Tags About the Book:
- Doctor/Firefighter romance
- Explicit sex scenes
- Funny banter
- Player who isn’t really a player
- Competent protagonists
- One character gets hurt and the other takes care of her (it was so wholesome)
- Mild angst
- Happily-ever-after
- Pining / longing
retronoix's review
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
fianna101's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
levitatingnumeral's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I'd liked this book. I'm all for multi-layered strong women engaging in relationships and character development happening along the way, but Trauma Alert was... Kind of disappointing. And I can't tell for sure why, especially considering I kept thinking about it as Grey's Anatomy with more firefighters, but I can definitely pinpoint some things that bothered me.
Firstly, the characters motives didn't convince me. Though I understand why they were holding back, it seemed shallow, their actions were incoherent and the drama was so... Internal? Easy to solve? But then I can think about situations where characters were holding back for reasons entirely pertaining to their psyche and I still liked the story, empathised with it, even.
It was also predictable. I knew they were going to end up together, I knew when a situation would lead to tension and what the outcome would be; there seemed to be no novelty and at no point was there any need to reflect on the situation, because everything was in plain sight.
Finally, I didn't empathise with the relationship either, as it seemed shallow and all about sex. Fine, they were attracted and captivated by each other, I can understand that instinctive feeling of wanting to know more about someone and/or get close (be it physically or emotionally) to them. Alright, they had a lot of chemistry, couldn't get their hands off each other and had great sex. But... Why did they love each other? What fascinated them? Relationships are built on much than just telling some fun facts about your past and having sex, as far as I'm concerned, so where's the connection? Why did they connect? Why did their personalities click? What reason did they have to stay beyond the initial attraction?
Some other more punctual issues also bothered me, such as Beau acting like "one of the guys" and the sexism that entailed, or sex while one of the people is asleep and unable to consent. Also, the ending, God, that was painful to read,
I'm not even going to say the story was unrealistic because it's recently come to my attention that this sort of thing happens for some people, but I just wish I could read a story that went beyond this romantic/sexual cliché. I seek a story that revolves around connection and not simply drama that stands for itself, so that I can truly empathise.
Firstly, the characters motives didn't convince me. Though I understand why they were holding back, it seemed shallow, their actions were incoherent and the drama was so... Internal? Easy to solve? But then I can think about situations where characters were holding back for reasons entirely pertaining to their psyche and I still liked the story, empathised with it, even.
It was also predictable. I knew they were going to end up together, I knew when a situation would lead to tension and what the outcome would be; there seemed to be no novelty and at no point was there any need to reflect on the situation, because everything was in plain sight.
Finally, I didn't empathise with the relationship either, as it seemed shallow and all about sex. Fine, they were attracted and captivated by each other, I can understand that instinctive feeling of wanting to know more about someone and/or get close (be it physically or emotionally) to them. Alright, they had a lot of chemistry, couldn't get their hands off each other and had great sex. But... Why did they love each other? What fascinated them? Relationships are built on much than just telling some fun facts about your past and having sex, as far as I'm concerned, so where's the connection? Why did they connect? Why did their personalities click? What reason did they have to stay beyond the initial attraction?
Some other more punctual issues also bothered me, such as Beau acting like "one of the guys" and the sexism that entailed, or sex while one of the people is asleep and unable to consent. Also, the ending, God, that was painful to read,
Spoiler
as they would only talk about how they loved each other and belonged to the other, yadda yadda yadda. Spare me the cheesy moments, please. Talk about something else, be interesting! Make your relationship about more than sex and the emotional turmoil that you two have created for yourselves.I'm not even going to say the story was unrealistic because it's recently come to my attention that this sort of thing happens for some people, but I just wish I could read a story that went beyond this romantic/sexual cliché. I seek a story that revolves around connection and not simply drama that stands for itself, so that I can truly empathise.
chelsea_elyse's review against another edition
3.0
Nice, sexy read. Enjoyed the medical drama, too. Edit... I finished this late last night. This morning I thought "dang both of those characters needed some major therapy" thus, 3 stars.
cambic's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
theybedax's review against another edition
3.0
While Radclyffe succeeded in making me care about the characters the sex scenes were laughable. I can only imagine that the author opened up a thesaurus and went with the most off the wall descriptions to try and make it seem fresh. It instead made it to where I read the scenes aloud to friends to see if they to found them utterly preposterous and over the top, they in fact did. This story was akin to most lesbian stories where there must be tragedies left and right. Apparently to be a lesbian you open up to the universe and say, "GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!"
patricia71's review against another edition
5.0
Wauw!! This wasn’t my first Radclyffe book, and all of her books are steamy, but this one was hot! The chemistry between Ali and Beau was so well writen. And the sex......🔥. This book was so good, that I even didn’t care that one of my other favorite couples, Wynter and Pearce, were also mentioned in this story.