This is the 4th book in the Emerald Coast 911 series and I think I liked this story better than #3. Matt Clark in a firefighter with his partner Lara Hughes. They find themselves at a house fire that turns into a "time bomb" and they just get out before an explosion. When Lara sees a man lurking around the house after the fire, she realizes she has seen someone who did not want to be seen. Lara is now a witness, in need of protection and Matt, her partner wants to be her protector. Lara doesn't think she is worthy of anyone's affections because of her family and how messed up they have been. But Matt can't help how he feels, even though he has to play it "cool" so he doesn't scare her off.
I liked the way Matt and Lara "danced around" how they really felt about each other. They were partners so they know each other very well and liked to joke and have fun, but getting serious about each other was a whole new realm to their friendship. The ending of the book was an intense scene and I loved the way it turned out and the way Matt and Lara dealt with their true feelings. A good read! (You can read this book without reading the other books in this series, but it uses alot of characters from the other books in this series, so I recommend you read them in order.) I am looking forward to reading book 5 in this series! ( )

Lara Hughes is a firefighter who would rather risk her life rushing into a burning building rather than risk her heart in a relationship. Her feelings of unworthiness go deep. Matt Clark is a firefighter and Lara's partner. He is developing strong feelings for Lara as he sees what a strong and caring woman she is, but she won't seem to give him a chance. As the two of them investigate suspicious fires that seem to be connected to a drug ring, they become targets. Will they be able to find out who is truly behind this activity before it's too late and will this change how Lara thinks?

After reading four books by this author I've come to believe that you are guaranteed a GREAT story! Her characters come to life and seem to be real people. She makes you care about them. I like that she's kept the characters from previous books interactive in the story but not in such a way that you would be lost if you picked up any book in the series. She did a great job addressing Lara's feelings of unworthiness. It was believable to me. I also liked how Matt kept gently showing her that everyone has a past but God is bigger than all of that. One thing that I really enjoy about this author's books is she has a lot of interactive dialog between the characters, which keeps you turning pages. I took a liking to Matt's brother Tyler and would love to hear more from him. If you like Dee Henderson, Irene Hannon or Lynette Eason you will definitely want to pick up all of Stephanie Newton's books. I highly recommend this story and am looking forward to "Christmas Target". A thank you goes to the author for sending me this book to review. ( )