A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford
This book stole my heart when I found out the little ranch town was a haven for cats - not just any cats, but Hemingway cats (Polydactyls). As Misty explores the town, she finds them everywhere and they each have a special personality. It was a beautiful touch to really make the town unique from all the other western towns I've read about.
Now, Misty is on a mission to find out who has been burning down the Christmas Tree Farms. Which seemed like a bit of an odd job to take on considering she hates Christmas and she's terrified of fires - but OK. Within the first two pages she's been dragged into helping put out a brush fire with local hottie Trey Duvall. I have to admit to really admiring Misty at this point for diving right in during a crisis and leaving her fear behind her to help save the day.
This first scene really sets the stage for the rest of the book. Misty and Trey find themselves together in a variety of crisis fire situations that just keep getting more and more out of hand and dangerous. But throughout these fires, they have a chance to get to know each other and really develop an actual relationship - not just a lust at first sight.
My only complaint about the story was that the bad guys were a little too obvious and the characters a little too dense to spot it. I had the pegged two sentences after meeting them. It wasn't very well hidden and it made Misty and Trey seem just a little dumb at times - especially Misty since she is supposedly an expert in solving problems and finding out who is sabotaging things.
Great romance, great characters - and kitties, but the suspense/mystery element really needed some work. There was just enough Christmas to make this a bit of a gushy holiday romance, but not so much it got overdone.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
