Acquired Book By: I recently started hosting with Prism Book Tours, having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting her blog as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold these past several months (something I hope to resume in 2018) but as I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.
I received a complimentary copy of “Rescued by the Firefighter” direct from the author Catherine Lanigan in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to read this story & continue with the series itself:
As I had previously declared having read the ninth book in the Shores of Indian Lake series, I wanted to continue reading more stories by the pen of Ms Lanigan! I had intended to back-read the series through my local library by requesting them through ILL’ing services (inter-library loan) – however, this particular year I’ve been a bit higher on my queue levels and due to the changes to our ILL services catalogue taking longer to ‘clear’ our requests after they’ve been returnt, I haven’t quite sorted out a system yet where I can balance what I want to request with what I’ve already received! I’m hoping as I move closer into the New Year, I’ll master a new plan of action and can start to re-visit this lovely series from the beginning! I have quite a few Harlequin Heartwarming series which fall in this category of #booklove and I dearly look forward to spending more time inside them as time moves forward!
However, when I heard about the premise of this tenth novel was centred round a firefighter, I was overjoyed as I love reading about first responders and emergency personnel! I even have a favourite Hallmark Channel movie starring Alison Sweeney which involves a firefighter who swoons her heart into realising she deserved a ‘second chance’ at both love and romance! Not to mention the fact, I loved how the husband of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character in ‘Ghost Whisperer’ was a firefighter!
Before I begin sharing my thoughts on this 10th installment,
let’s look back and re-visit what drew me into the style
and heart of Ms Lanigan’s writings:
One of my favourite parts of the whole story though was seeing Mica’s family – from his brothers to his sister-in-laws to his Mum and her beau, all stepping forward to help Grace in her time of need. Even her renewed friendships with those she left behind in the towne were heart-warming to see blossoming back into her life. As one of her friends said quite well: it’s one thing to go it alone but without someone to lean on or others to sound off on whilst your trying to juggle everything in life, things get difficult fast! Isn’t that the truth!
Seeing Grace surrounded by support and friendship reminded me why I loved “Three Men and A Baby” as much as I did growing up! I was still a kid myself when the film first came out – it made me laugh and smile and felt warm & cosy all over because of how Mary as a baby had impacted the lives of the Bachelor’s! I should have known then I’d love reading Romances & Women’s Fiction! The same is to be said of Mica – he hasn’t quite realised his own worth or his own capacity for being a father – this is something that is jarring him to his core and he has no idea how to handle the swirl of emotions assaulting him all at once. Whereas Grace reminds me so very much of Silvia (played by Nancy Travis) – unwilling to to compromise the well-being of her baby but without knowing how to ensure he’s being looked after properly.
This novel touched on all the moments I loved in the film, but it tells it’s own story, too. There is a long road towards redemption and the grace of second chances – where each party has to come to terms with their own baggage before they can move forward. At the centre of it all is this beautiful baby boy who gives their parents a run for their money! And, rightly so! He is just the unexpected ‘bundle’ to bridge a family back together whilst finding a way to heal two hearts who never realised how fractured they had become when they stopped letting themselves feel love and embracing the blessings which comes from being loved.
I look forward to back-reading the rest of the series and seeing which characters thread through the series overall – there are generally minor and major characters who take different roles in the spotlight in series similar to this one which will make it a lovely discovery as I move through each installment! I liked how Ms Lanigan tempered the emotional reactions with the living realities of parenthood – of the struggles of relationships which are never fully realised before pregnancies and how the choices after becoming a parent can make or break the relationship in the end. She dealt with a lot of hard topics – from depression to debilitating injury to unplanned and unwed pregnancy to commitment issues in relationships. The muddiness of her characters’ lives makes the resolutions a bit sweeter but also, it shows how hard the journey is to reach a point of peace within the spirit of the person living the life with the hand they are dealt.
-quoted from my review of His Baby Dilemma
Rescued by the Firefighter
Subtitle: Shores of Indian Lake
by Catherine Lanigan
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
He saved her life…
But will he destroy her dreams?
Firefighter Rand Nelson is tall and handsome and has literally walked through an inferno for Beatrice Wilcox. He’s a hero…and that’s exactly the problem. Beatrice knows all too well the risks of loving a man with a dangerous career. But when Rand’s report threatens her beloved children’s camp, Beatrice can’t refuse his offer of help…even though she knows they’re both playing with fire.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781335633880
Also by this author: His Baby Dilemma, Hers to Protect, Home for Christmas
Also in this series: His Baby Dilemma, Hers to Protect, Home for Christmas
Published by Harlequin Heartwarming
on 6th November, 2018
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 384
The Shores of Indian Lake series:
Published by: Harlequin Heartwarming (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin Books
Formats Available: Paperback* and Ebook
*Harlequin has the luxury of offering Regular, Large & Larger Print editions
which I personally can attest are lovely to be reading! Especially after a migraine or when my eyes are fatigued.
Converse via: #ShoresOfIndianLake and #Harlequin + Heartwarming
About Catherine Lanigan
Catherine Lanigan is the international bestselling and award-winning author of forty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, and more.
Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into dozens of languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available in E-books on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, Apple Store, Mobi and Kobo. Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her Vietnam war-based novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference.
Lanigan is the author of a trilogy of non- fiction books regarding angelic intervention in human life: Angel Watch, Divine Nudges and Angel Tales published by HCI and Cedar Fort. Skyhorse published Lanigan’s “how-to” book on writing: Writing the Great American Romance Novel. Lanigan was tasked by the NotMYkid Foundation to write a non-fiction book addressing teen addictions. Ms. Lanigan’s first Young Adult adventure novel, The Adventures of Lillie and Zane: The Golden Flute, was published by Cedar Fort.
Currently, she has published eight novels in the Shores of Indian Lake series for Harlequin Heartwarming: Love Shadows, Heart’s Desire, A Fine Year for Love, Katia’s Promise, Fear of Falling, Sophie’s Path and Protecting the Single Mom. Family of His Own pubs July, 2016. She has recently contracted for one more in the series: His Baby Dilemma.
As a cancer survivor, Ms. Lanigan is a frequent speaker at literary functions and book conventions as well as inspiring audiences with her real stories of angelic intervention from her Angel Tales series of books.
She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence and abuse and was honored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Washington, D.C. (THE EVOLVING WOMAN). She has been a guest on numerous radio programs including “Coast to Coast” and on television interview and talk show programs as well as blogs, podcasts and online radio interview programs.
