Jay "Flash" Reynolds has a brilliant future as a trauma surgeon until a truck on a rainy night changes her life. Assistant chief medical examiner Olivia Price is more at ease with the dead than the living—at least the dead never lie. All she needs to do is listen to their stories. What she doesn't need is a surly new resident who would rather be somewhere else.
Two women, one with a damaged body, the other a damaged spirit, challenge each other to dare to live again.
After two years and too many lost troops, Navy medic Max de Milles is ready to go home. Her last tour is up in four days and she will soon be catching a transport to the States. Life is looking good until she gets detailed to evacuate a humanitarian group in south Somalia.
Rachel Winslow and her Red Cross team are caught in the crossfire during a vicious civil uprising, but she refuses to abandon her team members as the rebels close in on their camp. By the time Max and the Black Hawk arrive, it may already be too late.
Hunted by extremists, Max and Rachel are forced to work together if they are to survive, and in the process, discover something far more lasting.
When you spend your life battling death, who has time for love?
Dr. Ali Torveau knows just how fragile life can be--she sees death and tragedy every day in the trauma unit. Battling the dark forces of fate is her life's work and she doesn't want or need anything else, certainly nothing as transient as love. Plenty of women try to change her mind, but she never has any trouble saying no. Not until the day firefighter Beau Cross shows up in her ER and sets Ali's carefully ordered world aflame.
Firefighter paramedic Mallory "Ice" James commands a crew of smokejumpers—twenty women and men who eat together, sleep together, and parachute into the face of raging forest fires together—and she has thirty days to whip the rookies into shape. Discipline and teamwork mean the difference between life and death on the line, and she's earned her reputation as cool and controlled in the face of danger. Mallory isn't happy when "Hotshot" Jac Russo shows up unannounced for boot camp along with a reputation for being trouble. Jac is none too pleased about her cold reception, even if the new boss is drop-dead gorgeous and hotter than the blazes they're supposed to be dousing. Mallory and Jac may not like each other much, but lust isn't something either can control—and they soon discover ice burns as fiercely as flame.
Navy Captain Wes Masters, newly posted to head the White House Medical Unit, is a physician with only one patient, but her job is twenty-four/seven. Her charge is simple: protect and preserve the well-being of the most powerful man in the world—the president of the United States. As the First Physician, Wes must travel by President Andrew Powell's side, in the hot zone, with everything she needs to save his life if he is injured or falls ill. Her job gets even harder when she has to prove she is up to the task to Secret Service Agent Evyn Daniels, a member of the elite Presidential Protection Detail, and a woman who challenges Wes on more than just the professional front. Evyn isn't happy about inserting Wes into PPD, especially when Wes gets the post Evyn believes should go to her good friend Dr. Peter Chang. The stakes get even higher for all involved when Homeland Security Deputy Director Cameron Roberts is brought in to investigate a possible security breach, and everyone, including Evyn, is a suspect.
Air National Guard Col. Sawyer Kincaid has served her time dueling with death in the deserts of the Middle East. Now that she’s home, the only sand she wants to see is on the beach in South Florida. Too bad tropical storm Leo, swiftly gaining strength out over the Atlantic, is about to draw her into another life or death war, this time on home soil.
Dr. Dara Sims has too many critical patients in the intensive care units at Miami Memorial to consider evacuation, no matter how determined the battle hardened colonel is to make her. As far as Dara is concerned, evacuate is just another word for abandon. When a state of emergency becomes a state of siege waged by Leo, all she can do is hope the rising waters relent before she loses everyone, herself included.
Gillian “Gem” Martin is the lead biologist at a wildlife sanctuary on the Northeast coast and head of the Wildlife Emergency Response Team called in when catastrophes, man-made or natural, threaten the endangered species she studies. Austin Germaine is a troubleshooter, the hired gun for a big oil company, whose job is to help contain leaks and prevent media coverage of a pending disaster until the danger can be eliminated. If it can be.
When Gem and Austin meet by chance in the midst of an approaching hurricane, neither expects their immediate connection to lead them into uncharted territory as wild as the looming storm. When word of the spill gets out, Gem and Austin find themselves reluctant allies in a race against time to divert the spill and save the wildlife refuge and its endangered inhabitants—all while battling an attraction as unlikely as it is powerful.
A high-stakes race against time, the forces of nature, and the strongest power of all—the desire of the human heart.
Radclyffe maintains the core strengths of her authorship here-enthralling women, strongly positioned in demanding careers, while seeking personal fulfillment. I loved Jay-the explication of the losses professionally and otherwise that she endured following her accident, her reabsorption into medicine (albeit in a new specialty) and her intransigent exchanges with Olivia. Their interactions possessed the balance of the technical and emotional that I have grown to appreciate from the First Responders series, I truly rooted as well as empathized with them. Slipping into this novel was not an act of reliable comfort, I was still captured and excited as a reader, despite dozens of completed volumes by this writer. When Radclyffe bears strongly on the things most familiar and obviously, dear to her, the results are always worth it.
Reviewed by Adrian Amador
A great romance with an interesting storyline, that kept me turning the pages
By Netgalley.com on Jul 8, 2017 05:07
I'm a huge fan of Radclyffe, and am always excited to get my hands on one of her books. I especially love some of her earlier series like her Justice series and Provincetown series. When I heard this book was going to be full of Justice series people, I could not wait to read this. I am so happy this book was everything I love about the First Responders and Justice series.
They way the First Responders series is written, each book is it's own story. You can read them in any order. Now this book is a little different, because it is basically Justice Series 6.5 if you count the prequel A Matter of Trust. Can you read this book without reading the Justice Series first? Absolutely. The only problem is you will be learning a lot of new characters, and you will not have the connection to them, like I did reading all the previous books. I did not think Radclyffe would write another Justice book. It really was such a treat to be able connect to these women again. My only small complaint, there was only a little of Sloane and no Michael. Michael and Sloane are one of my favorite lesfic couples, so it was disappointing. I do understand it though, they would not have fit into the story as well, I still wanted a Micheal cameo though.
Beyond the Justice Series folks, the main story focuses on Jay and Olivia. Jay, if my memory is correct, was a secondary character in Trauma Alert, First Responders book 1. There are also a few appearances from Ali and Beau. You would not have to read that book first, and to add, it was nice to see Ali again. Anyway, Olivia is a new character, as far as my memory remembers. She is the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, and takes her job very seriously. When Jay, a former trauma surgeon, shows up in her office for a job, Olivia thinks she is unqualified. Pressure from the top lands Jay the job. Can Jay handle the job? And can they keep working together despite the fierce attraction?
One of the things I enjoy about Radclyffe's writing, is her characters. She is really good at crafting characters that you would either want to hang out with or date. What was great about Olivia and Jay, their chemistry was off the charts. I mean totally smoking hot the two of them. I have not read that much chemistry in a while. The sex scenes were pretty intense also.
Not only was the chemistry and romance good, the overall story was good. I was riveted with all the medical examiner scenes. I never thought I woulds say that, but it was so damn interesting. With shows like CSI, crime scene techs get all the glory. But medical examiners are just as important, and I was extremely interested in all their scenes. They were very well written.
Overall, this book checked all the boxes that I look for in a good read. A great romance with an interesting storyline, that kept me turning the pages. I wish there could somehow be a sequel with all these same characters. I want more of the medical examiners, and the Justice crew. This is an easy book for me to recommend.
Reviewed by Lex Kent
I enjoyed very much
By Netgalley.com on Jun 29, 2017 03:06
This is the sixth book of the First Responders series written by Radclyffe. This time the plot focuses on situations within the medical examination department, where the causes of death are determined, instead of going into the frenetic pace of hospital urgencies, which is the usual environment in the medical novels of this author. As usual, too, secondary couples play an important role in the story, sometimes diverting us from the main plot... I have enjoyed very much the romantic story between Jay and Olivia. Although they have a very different background and despite the cold reception that Olivia has with Jay in the beginning, I liked the growing of their attraction, the respect with each other and with their decisions and the final acceptance of their feelings. In general and as always, the book made me have a very good time.
reviewed by Rosi DePlma
You wont be disappointed
By Netgalley.com on Jun 23, 2017 10:06
What a nice addition to the first responder series. You don't necessarily need to go in chronological order to enjoy this or any of the other books, I did. passion love and a little medical jargon thrown in for flair, you wont be disappointed when reading this next stage of Radclyffe series.
Reviewed by Paloma Vergara
I would certainly recommend this novel, an excellent read
By Netgalley.com on Jun 22, 2017 01:06
Radclyffe as always writes incredibly good novels and this one is no exception.
The characters Jay and Olivia are great, you can feel the chemistry between the two straight away.
This is a wonderfully written story, the romance between both enjoyable and the build up is heart warming.
The plot has it all romance, passion and tension.
To be honest she is one of my favourite Lesbian writers, I have been a massive fan of hers for a number of years which is why I found this novel so special, you get to catch up with some old favourites characters.
It isn't necessary to have read the books about the other secondary characters but it would add to your enjoyment, its made me go back and re-read them again.
I would certainly recommend this novel, an excellent read
