Hi there! Today I’m sharing in the release day festivities for JC Emery’s new novel series. It’s my first time reading this author’s work, which is always fun. FALL FOR ME is a story about finding the right person at the wrong time, and learning to live with it…

About the book:
Melanie Kincaid is a trust-fund baby with a knack for sassy comebacks and unnecessarily complicating her privileged life. So, of course she would have to fall in love with a man she can’t have.

Jameson Hayes is a NYC firefighter for Manhattan’s oldest ladder company with big shoes to fill and a city to protect. He’s strong, sexy, and not looking for the complications Melanie brings. But he can’t stay away from her either. The attraction between them is immediate and the pull between them is crazy powerful. But she’s only home for the summer and long-distance relationships never work.

Unfortunately, Melanie’s beauty and smart mouth are a lethal combination and Jameson isn’t the only Hayes who’s interested. As if his brother isn’t enough to compete with, now the city’s most famous arsonist wants to claim her as his next prize. Jameson can’t stand to watch Melanie get hurt and she can’t seem to keep herself out of trouble.

Fall for Me is the first Ladder Company novel, a stand-alone companion series about New York’s most elite firefighting family with hot alpha heroes, snarky heroines, and an arsonist hell-bent on destruction.

How about a little taste!

“Mom!” I move through the foyer and into the open great room— a large, open living/kitchen combo— where I leave my suitcase and kick off my flats before I hit the carpet. What the hell is she doing with gas? That stuff is toxic.

“Well?” Mom says, appearing at the edge of the hall on the other side of the kitchen. She has a hand towel around her neck and one of her many yoga-specific exercise outfits on. This one is a light blue and she’s barefoot. Monica Kincaid is dedicated to many things in life— her husband Christian, her daughters (the youngest, especially), and her charity projects— but yoga is the one out of all of it that I don’t understand. It puts her at peace, she says.

“Well?” I ask and drape the dress bag over the island counter top in the kitchen and move around to prop myself up on one of the bar stools. God, that gasoline smell is driving me mad.

“Are we planning a spring wedding yet or what?” Mom says with a grin. Her nose wrinkles, catching the scent of the gasoline, I’m sure. “Janet and I have been taking bets.”

“God, Mom,” I say and place my head in my hands.

“No really,” she says, “Tell me.”

“Nothing happened,” I say. Verbalizing it is even more disappointing than it probably should be. Apparently, Mom and Dad were also in on Jameson and Royal’s surprise trip. It took all of an hour after they landed for Janet Hayes to text me telling me she wishes she could have been there. It was sweet, but then she suggested she needed to leave me alone so I could spend as much time as possible with Jameson. And that we shouldn’t be disturbed. While the level of investment our mothers have in our has-yet-to-happen relationship is borderline creepy, the support is pretty awesome. It’s a rarity to find a woman as kind and loving as Janet Hayes is. Even if she doesn’t really know appropriate boundaries and likes to talk about when her sons were starting puberty… in all the gory details. I know more about Jameson’s solo activities when he was a kid more than I care to.

“You must be joking,” she says and heads to the fridge where she pulls out a single-serve cup of yogurt. “That man flew down to that god-awful place—,”

“Mom,” I protest. New Orleans never did grow on her in the four years I was there.
“Well, he did. He flew in to see you graduate and you two were alone for a few days. You can’t tell me you stayed in your apartment and nothing happened.”

My Review:
Some spoilers may be revealed. Read at your own risk…

Melanie and Jameson meet at a benefit for her mother’s charity. He’s a fire fighter and she’s a college senior home for the summer. They experience an instant attraction, with one glitch: Lydia, Jameson’s live-in girlfriend of the past five years. Conundrum 1.

Melanie and Royal, Jameson’s younger sister, hit it off and develop a friendship. Jameson’s entire family seems to like Mel a whole lot more than Lydia. Hennesey, Jameson’s brother is unattached and interested in sparking a fire with Mel. Jameson is irrationally jealous. Conundrum 2.

Mel and Jameson become friends, although this is fraught with sexual tension because each wants to connect, but Lydia stands in the way… Conundrum 3.

Mel is leaving at the end of the summer to return to school and Jameson’s locked into a lease with Lydia until March. Lydia knows about Mel, and confronts them about their ‘friendship.’ Conundrum 4.

Lots of stuff happens, but most of which was either Mel or Jameson acting poorly, with poor communication, or via stalking through FB or conversations with Jameson’s family. The first third of the book was not my fave–Jameson’s issue, essentially, is that he can’t afford the rent on the apartment (that Lydia picked out) without Lydia’s contribution. So, he’s too cheap to break up with her and have a chance with Mel….? Doesn’t inspire me.

Mel is spoiled and timid. She wants hearts and flowers, but can’t/won’t ever say this to Jameson, unless she’s rip-roaring drunk. Hmmmm. *Scratches head* *re-checks age of MC*

Okay, as this is a romance (of sorts), telling you that the leads get together isn’t a spoiler, but the wait for them to get together–after they have been single for a while–was really too long. Also, they NEEDED to talk more. I wasn’t sure if these were adults or fifth graders with a first crush.

The best part of this book was probably the mystery surrounding Mel’s stalker, an arsonist who Collects women, and spouts stuff about sins even though it put me in mind of SE7EN, (“Seven”) quite possibly the worst movie ever made with such an A-List cast.
(This scene is NSFW due to copious cursing and a hellacious murder.)

The romance itself resolved, but the mystery was To Be Continued, apparently, in the next book in this series. For a fire fighter romance there is an absence of heat, both the line-of-duty variety, and the sexytimes.

Interested? You cna find FALL FOR ME on Goodreads, and Amazon.

About the Author:

As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year round in Northern California and can’t imagine a climate more beautiful.

JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries, yet she is most enthralled by supernatural stories– and everything has at least a splash of romance.

Catch up with JC on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon author page and Goodreads.