Review: On Duty by A. R. Barley

18 December of 2017 by ButtonsMom2003

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

A great start to a new series!

On Duty By A. R. Barley

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Released: December 18, 2017

Publisher: Carina Press

Series: Smoke & Bullets, Book 1

Synopsis

Number one rule for a firefighter: never take your eyes off the flame. Male/male author A.R. Barley is back with a new contemporary romance series.

Former marine and seasoned firefighter Troy Barnes has always kept his sex life on the down low, until he takes back-to-back hits: physically injured in a suspicious warehouse explosion and emotionally blindsided when he’s ditched by his boyfriend. When a flirty young paramedic offers him a place to crash, Troy’s not so willing to give in. He’s never needed help before. But if anyone can break through his tough-guy act, it’s Alex Tate.

Alex has crushed on Troy since the minute he saw him. Now here he is, stripped of his turnout gear and recuperating in Alex’s bed. The tattooed hero may be a fantasy-come-true, but Alex wants more than rebound sex—and he’s not sure Troy’s ex is gone orforgotten.

As each night brings them closer together, Troy realizes there’s more to Alex than he’d ever imagined. And with an arsonist loose in Manhattan, neither he nor Alex realizes just how combustible things are going to get.

This book is approximately 64,000 words

Carina Press acknowledges the editorial services of Deborah Nemeth

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

A great start to a new series!

I’ve read a few other books by A. R. Barley and enjoyed most of them very much. I love stories about first-responders whether they are M/M or M/F ones. On Duty is a great book and I devoured it.

This story starts off with a heart-stopping scene where firefighter Troy is caught in a burning building trying to rescue a young teen. Wow, what a way to get your heart pumping and the story rolling. The next thing you know he’s checked himself out of the hospital AMA (against medical advice) and his roommate/lover/friend(?) kicks him out of their apartment.

Paramedic Alex steps in and gives Troy a place to stay. He’s had a crush on Troy since they first met and he’s pretty sure it’s not a good idea have Troy stay with him but he can’t leave him homeless.

I love that there was a fairly slow buildup to the sexy time between Troy and Alex; they took time to get to know each other first. I also liked how Troy’s initial perception of Alex proved to be wrong. Once the sexy time starts happening – watch out! ?

There is also a mystery component to the book. Who is setting the fires that threaten the life of the first-responders?

Like most of my favorite stories, this one engaged all of my emotions and I can’t wait to read the next one in this series.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Scorcher

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About Author A.R. Barley is a writer of humorous (she hopes) contemporary romance for everyone. She writes M/M romance under the name A.R. Barley and M/F romance under the name Aleah Barley. After living all over the United States, she recently moved to Motor City with a fluffy Maine Coon Cat who is constantly trying to appropriate her computer. She also lives with a rambunctious Labrador and a sexy engineer who can wiggle his ears. She is preparing for the zombie apocalypse while she works on her next book.