Julian Salvatore is the player of station five.  Julian loves women and as such has earned a reputation of being a complete ladies man – no woman is enough for Julian or so the gossip circles say.  This doesn’t bother most women and they are grateful for what Julian offers, but some, like attorney Grace McKenna, believe the worst in him.  When he sees her newest client, Julian does his best to convince her that the client is no good, but Grace won’t listen without an explanation.  How can Julian convince Grace without laying open his wounds for her to see?

Grace McKenna can’t help but be attracted to Julian.  He is a cut above from the men she usually encounters – as a defense attorney Grace has seen a lot of losers, that’s for sure.  The thing that bothers Grace the most is the fact that she knows she will be a notch on his bedpost.  And that is something she isn’t willing to be no matter how scorching hot and sexy Julian Salvatore makes her feel.

Julian and Grace have very little time to explore their burgeoning feelings for each other – a killer has set his sights on Julian and it is all they can do to keep Julian alive.  With a killer closing in and Julian’s past intersecting with his present, Grace and he need all of their wits about them.  The love they feel for each other helps as well.

I love love love Julian Salvatore!  He became one of my favorite firefighters with book one, Trial by Fire.  Julian hides a lot of pain behind his demeanor as a lothario. Unwilling to let anyone get close to him, his feelings for Grace surprise even him and leaves him anxious.  He has fallen in love with the beautiful and intelligent district attorney, but she won’t listen to him.  And because of her inability to listen to Julian and even stop and think for a moment, I disliked her immensely.  Grace McKenna’s character was written to be a smart woman.  Evidently my idea of smart and Grace’s idea of being smart is not the same thing.  I honestly wanted to snatch her up and shake her.  She refused to even talk with Julian without proof of what he was telling her and that made her look stupid in my eyes.  I actually wanted Julian to be with his best female pal.  At least she loved him for who he was.

Hidden Fire was much anticipated, however it fell short of my expectations.  My feelings for stubborn Grace McKenna interfered with my enjoyment of this book.  If stubborn, unfeeling, and unwilling to listen heroines are your forte, then Hidden Fire is the book for you.  If not, I would suggest skipping the scenes with her in them – well except for the love scenes because in true Jo Davis style, the love scenes were smoldering hot.