Hot in Here by Lori Foster
Contains: Uncovered, Tailspin, & An Honorable Man

Uncovered
Harris Black, firefighter
Clair Caldwell, secretary for P.I. firm
Running buddies, neighbors, good friends.

Casual relationship turns into more when Harris hires Clair's P.I. firm to track down a mystery woman who piqued his interest when he discovered nude photos and unsigned letters mentioning his name.

Humorous moment when all the men are standing around gawking at enlarged photos and using magnifying glasses trying to find "clues" about the mystery woman in the nude pics, not realizing she had just walked into the office.

Tailspin
Connected to above book.
Buck Boswell, owns a lumberyard, best friends with Harris Black
Sadie Hunt, vet's assistant, animal rescue
Neighbors with a stilted relationship bond over their joint effort to rehabilitate an abused dog.

Buck's never had trouble finding friends or girls. He's always respectful and kindhearted but never got serious with anyone. Sadie has always struggled socially and, at 25, has never been in a relationship of any kind. Buck's protective instincts kick in and voila! HEA Sweet story, handled well.

An Honorable Man

Liv Amery is an elementary schoolteacher in the small town her mother grew up in. She was sired by a neglectful father who devoted his life to the military, leaving his daughter behind. After losing her mother at a young age, Liv learned to live alone and tamped down any desires she may have had for marriage and a family of her own. The reason? The only one she ever wanted was longtime friend and protege' of her father, Lt. Col. Hamilton Wulf a.k.a. "Ham" or "Howler", another career military man (Air Force pilot and squadron commander), but Liv is adamant about not wanting to live the military life any longer.

When Liv's father dies suddenly, Ham comes back to break the news and help her recover. He's also determined to convince her to pull up stakes and abandon the home, friends, and life she's created to be with him and live as a military wife. He's facing a difficult battle because all she ever wanted was to put down roots somewhere and stay in one place.

These two had a lot of chemistry, built up after a decade of restraint. There was no doubt of their love for each other, but both characters were strong, stubborn, and set in their ways, and it was a toss-up how they were going to work out a compromise. There was also some drama and danger thrown in which added a nice surprise element to the story, although it did seem a bit contrived to help find an easy resolution to their problems. ( )

UNCOVERED (Men of Courage Book 3)

Firefighter Harris Black is startled to stumble across nude photos of a woman…and handwritten notes about him. Who is this mystery woman? Harris hires a P.I. to trace her, never suspecting he's already found her….

Firefighter Harris is good friends with his neighbor across the street. Claire and he run together almost every day and frequently hang out together. He likes being with her because she likes the same things he does, but also listens to him when he's had a bad day, and never puts any kind of pressure on him. Things change after the building next to hers catches fire and he finds a shoebox of pictures of a naked woman - and notes about him. He hires Claire's bosses to find out who the woman is.

Clair panics when she sees those photos. Apparently her last boyfriend, the one she broke up with because she's in love with Harris, took pictures of her when she didn't know it. She's afraid Harris will get the wrong idea about her if he finds out, and she doesn't want to lose him as a friend. He's never been interested in her so she figures friendship is all she can hope for.

I loved seeing the way she started changing around him once he had those pictures. She really gave him a hard time about his search. I loved her lesson to him on the difference between lust and "antsy" and the effect it had on him. Suddenly he was seeing her in a whole new way and it was freaking him out a little. Especially when he started comparing his feelings to the way his friend Ethan feels about his wife. The final scene in the PI's office was fantastic - classic fun and romantic Lori Foster.

TAILSPIN (Men of Courage Book 4)

Lumberyard owner Buck Boswell prides himself on his way with women—but his prickly neighbor, Sadie Harte, seems immune to his charms. Is she really as aloof as she acts, or can Buck convince her to take a chance on the guy next door?

This was a really fun story. Buck is intrigued by his neighbor but she won't give him the time of day - until one morning when he rescues her and her dog from a killer cicada. Once the ice has been broken, Buck discovers that Sadie is actually very shy. If he can get her to give him a chance, maybe there's a future for them

I loved Buck. He is definitely a ladies man, but he's nice about it. He has been intrigued by Sadie since she moved in but she'll barely speak to him. One morning he finds her running around his backyard in her nightgown screeching like crazy. I loved seeing him deal with the dog, the cicada that the dog has in its mouth, and his own dislike of the same bugs. I enjoyed the comedy of errors that has him in her apartment wearing nothing but a towel (because the dog has his boxers). When Buck discovers that Sadie is taking care of a dog that's been abused his own heart falls a little more for Sadie right then. He also realizes that her aloofness has been a symptom of her shyness and this gives him a chance to get to know her. I loved seeing his patience as he tries not to rush her, and his kindness as he realizes how fragile her self esteem is. I loved the way that he helped Sadie with the dog. I really enjoyed seeing how quickly he and Sadie connected. It was fun seeing Buck go from just wanting to sleep with her to wanting her in his life permanently. Having Harris and Ethan drop in and play mind games with him was fun too.

Sadie was a sweetheart. She had spent a good share of her life caring for her mother who had cancer. This left he without the usual opportunities to date and have relationships with men. On top of that she'd had a really bad experience in high school, leaving her feeling unattractive and that men wouldn't be interested in her. She has been interested in Buck from the beginning but doesn't have the experience to know what to do about it. I loved seeing her thought processes once Buck is in her apartment. For someone so shy, she didn't have much trouble opening up to Buck once she got past her initial wariness. She really got into him quickly. She was really unsure about how he felt about her, but she knew what she felt. I loved what she did at the end.

I loved the two dogs. Buck was dogsitting his friend's dog and it was Butch that alerted Buck to Sadie's presence in the yard. It was so much fun to see Butch get all sweet on Sadie's dog Tish. I loved seeing how gentle Buck was with her. For such a big guy he was a real marshmallow when it came to the pooches.

AN HONORABLE MAN

Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Wulf's career ambitions cost him the one woman he ever wanted—Liv Avery. Now he's determined to win back her love…even if it means risking his life.

Very good story. Liv has been in love with Hamilton for most of her life, but doesn't want to get involved with a military man. Her father was also military and had put his service above everything, including her. He had not been a good father and it has colored her view of military life. Ham has also loved Liv but can't get her to admit her love for him or consider joining him. When her father passes away, Ham is the one to tell her and to help her with the arrangements. He also takes the opportunity to try to show her what they could have together. He has made some career moves that would help deal with her issues while still allowing him to continue in the career he loves. I really liked his patience with her fears and how much he's willing to compromise.

Liv has not had a good experience as part of a military family. After her mother's death, her father became even more rigid and unavailable. His career always came first and he treated her more as one of his soldiers than as a daughter. When Liv became an adult she swore she wouldn't get involved with a military man. She wanted roots, a home and friends and a job that were consistent. She loves Ham but she can't get past her issues with military life to consider being with him. When he comes to tell her about her father's death she doesn't want to lean on him, but she can't help herself. Over the next few days she sees a different side of him and has hopes for their future. When she discovers he's still not leaving the military she gets angry and storms off. But a much larger storm shows her that maybe there's a chance for her if she can just show a little faith. ( )