Under Control (Boston Fire #5)

Under Control is an enjoyable 5th entry into the Boston Fire series. After reading the first chapter of Derek and Olivia’s story at the end of the previous story, I was looking forward to the rest of the book and it didn’t disappoint. Derek and Olivia are definitely from different worlds. He is a 30-something divorced father of two who loves his kids and his job above all else. Family means everything to him and the Ladder 39 crew has become as much his family as his own flesh and blood. Olivia is an only child who has lived her life by focusing on a life plan, setting goals and knocking off accomplishments one by one. The concept of an amicable relationship with an ex-spouse is completely foreign to her after watching the misery her parents still continue to inflict on each other years after divorcing, not to mention several other close relatives who acted the same way. And when it comes to kids, she has no frame of reference to refer to at all. Despite all that, neither Derek nor Olivia can deny the attraction between them from their very first meeting. When they cross paths again a few weeks later, they decide to take a chance and a sweet, sometimes hot, romance is born. But Derek is still cautious about introducing someone new to his kids’ lives and something will have to give if they have a chance at a future. Can a person who lives a very structured life with the illusion of control find a way to take a chance on a man who lives moment to moment with the chaos of his job and his 8 and 10 year old little whirlwinds? Under Control has some familiar faces from the prior books in the series but it can absolutely be read as a standalone so feel free to dive in if this one sounds like your kind of read!

Derek is a hunky firefighter focused on his two kids and his work buddies. He has a great relationship with his ex-wife (rather unbelievably great given that she was remarried two months after their divorce) and he isn’t an OTT alpha. Definitely book boyfriend material. Olivia is harder to relate to. She is almost a caricature. While Derek lives for others, Olivia lives to achieve her goals. She has only the most basic of human interactions and no social life. Opposites attracting can be real, but these two are so far apart in their interests and priorities that other than sexual attraction, it is hard to see their relationship working. Given Derek’s huge focus on his two kids and need to include them in his life, what happens in the epilogue is very strange. Too much of the book is spent with Derek thinking she is out of his league when he should be looking at the fact that they have nothing in common. A huge chunk of the story involves the reader getting bashed over the head multiple times with Olivia’s need to plan. Take these two aspects out and you have a novella at best. This is not a book I would reread.

This was a totally vanilla story: no angst, no real problems, no real obstacles, nothing to make you care. Two adults (one of whom happens to be a fireman — nothing about his job in this story except that it is a difficult schedule) meet when their elevator gets stuck and there is insta-lust but it is so mild that you could miss it (the insta-lust that is.) They date with no problems except scheduling conflicts. And there is no drama and no difficulty on the way to the HEA — despite the fact that there is an ex and children. I kept wondering where the story was in this “romance”. It all felt very vanilla, and distant. At no time was I feeling for the characters. The “dark moment” lasted only a few pages and was resolved in an adult manner but not in a way to make the reader worry about whether there would be an HEA or not. This was a real nothing burger of a story.

Who knew being stuck in an elevator could be a good thing? This is how Derek and Olivia meet as they are both leaving a building and end up in the same elevator. Shortly after they are out Olivia disappears and Derek is thinking of her and has nothing but her first name. But as it turns out…Olivia is the new member on a charity board that Derek is involved with. Derek is a fireman, divorced and has two children. Olivia is single and driven to work long days to have the successful business she started. Total opposites but very interested in each other. Can two people with such different life styles make a relationship work? How do they move forward with his children and ex-wife still a big part of his life? Can Olivia give up a little of her ambition and tight work schedule to let Derek and his children into her life? This is a good story showing if people love each other enough all these questions can be answered successfully and commitment can happen. Joy can come from letting the person you love into your life and breaking down the walls put up for protection. Trust is such an important part of building the relationship and Derek and Olivia need to make the jump and give in to their feelings and trust it will workout. I liked these characters a lot and as always a good story from this author. Recommend this book.

I really enjoyed Under Control as I’ve enjoyed the four previous books in the series. The author gives us a view into the life of two people who live really different lives. One is an entrepreneur who started her own business and is very successful. The other is a divorced father of two who is a firefighter. The sparks between them set all those differences aside as they try to make their relationship work. Realistic characters and every day problems made this an interesting book to read. I love this series!

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