REVIEW: Firefighter’s Christmas Baby by Annie Claydon

In Firefighter’s Christmas Baby by Annie Claydon, paramedic Callie Walsh is swapping her emergency uniform for a camera for a while to work on a project at the fire station where Ben Matthews works. Taking pictures of firefighters is exciting, especially when she’s capturing them in their element, but she never imagined she’d fall for anyone like Ben – a sexy man that is committed to his job and doesn’t have time for a relationship. Yet, the more time they spend together, the more Callie finds it hard to resist him and when she discovers she’s pregnant, will Ben and Callie be able to make things work between them or will Callie walk away because she believes relationships aren’t for her?

=All right. But if I feel that any of the photographs are inappropriate, I won’t hesitate to block them.”
She folded her arms. “You want to give me some artistic direction? What do you mean by “inappropriate”?”
He shouldn’t feel embarrassed about this, even if her green eyes did seem to rob him of his capacity to stay dispassionate. It was simply an observation. “I won’t have any of my crew treated as…eye candy.”=

Having enjoyed other books by Ms. Claydon and this being a Christmas themed story, I couldn’t wait to read it and this book was everything I’d hoped for and more. In the way, it was absolutely engrossing with two very engaging characters that have been dealt tough blows in life and which made me sympathize with the pair because of the reasons they want nothing to do with relationships. The way this story started had me hooked, as the hero isn’t all that fussed on Callie being at the fire station working on her project. Will she be able to do her project without too much interference from Ben?

As for the dialogue, it drew me in from the very beginning because Callie and Ben are both very interesting characters that start off as Ben seeing her as the enemy because he doesn’t want her around, and yet, there’s no denying the attraction he feels for her. How long will it take Callie to win Ben over? Will Callie’s pregnancy make both realize how much they need each other? Furthermore, the heroine is resilient, courageous, hard-working and I liked her determination when it came to getting the shots she wants for her project. Will Ben realize that her work is good and deserves to be shared? Yet, what I liked most of all about the heroine is that she took a chance on Ben since taking chances on people isn’t easy for her, considering all that she’s lost and believing it’s better not to let people in because then they can’t end up disappointing her if she doesn’t.

=”Ah. So you were putting me in my place, were you?”
“Only because you didn’t want me around.”
He bent down, kissing her. “I can’t imagine what I was thinking. I must have been crazy.”
“I thought you were nice looking with a bit of an attitude.”
“I thought you were gorgeous. But very scary.”=

While the hero, he’s been through tough times and it’s understandable why he finds it hard to trust after what he went through with his ex. Will he be able to put his trust in the heroine, especially with how Callie handles telling him about the pregnancy? I also liked the tight friendships Ben shares with his fellow firefighters and how they offer each other advice. Really, I just adored the conversation he has with one of the secondary characters, Eve, and how she shouldn’t be afraid to put herself out there more. Her scars are a badge of honor and shouldn’t be hidden away.

”There’s something missing.”
“What’s that? I’ll fetch it immediately.”
He laughed. “You’ll need superpowers, if you’re going to make it snow.”

Overall, Ms. Claydon has delivered a wonderful and entertaining read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was strong; the romance was delightful and had me glad that these two gave each other a chance because it helped them to heal from their pasts; and the ending had me worried for one of the main characters, but left me completely satisfied with how things work out between these two, as what happens makes Callie realize that she can’t live without Ben in her life. However, it was the epilogue that wrapped this story up perfectly, as Callie has come so far when it comes to her career and there’s so much love and happiness between the hero and heroine. I would recommend Firefighter’s Christmas Baby by Annie Claydon, if you enjoy the enemy to lovers trope, workplace romances, Christmas themed stories or books by authors Susan Carlisle, Amalie Berlin, Charlotte Hawkes and Tina Beckett.
 

Book Info:

Publication: October 16th, 2018 | Harlequin Medical |

A festive fling… With consequences!

Firefighter Ben Matthews is committed to his job above all else since his last relationship ended badly. Until he meets alluring and fiercely independent paramedic Callie Walsh! Their fiery exchanges over the project she’s working on at his fire station leave Ben unable to deny their chemistry… Then Callie turns up on his doorstep–pregnant! Can some Christmas magic turn their holiday fling into a forever family?