The toughest captain on the East Coast, single father Rick Roman has come thousands of miles to San Gabriel to put an end to the "Bachelor Firemen" media hype. But when a stunning woman he nearly hooked up with in Reno turns out to be a firefighter from his new station, Roman realizes it's going to be tough keeping the tabloids at bay.

But there's even more Sabina isn't telling him. Before dedicating her life to battling blazes, Sabina led a very different life, one that made her famous. The last thing she wants is to have her secret exposed. The papers, bloggers, and TV gossips will have a field day with that—especially when they sense the obvious sexual heat between Sabina and Chief Roman, who's torn between firing her...and falling in love with her!

Contemporary romance and myself are in a weird relationship.  I read them more now than I did before, but its still not a genre I can confidently say I enjoy wholeheartedly.

That said SEX AND THE SINGLE FIREMAN is an entertaining and satisfying read.  I haven't read the previous books in the "Bachelor Fireman" series (The Fireman Who Loved Me and Hot for Fireman), but surprisingly this didn't impact my enjoyment of the book at all.  I found that the backstory for Sabina and Roman, individually and together, was enough to keep me engaged in the story.

As for the chemistry...well...I can't make myself write a pun.  I just can't.  But you get the idea.

This was also a bit of a crossover appeal novel.  Not just firemen, but also a lot is delved into with Sabina's life as a child TV star and the lasting impact that has.  In a world where child stars are routinely paraded on tabloid and magazine covers, or in blog reports and Hollywood Scandal shows as having difficulties adjusting to their adult years, I found it refreshing that Sabina took that step and walked away before it came to that.  Roman for his part had a lot to deal with because of the death of his wife (also a firefighter), raising his son alone and being Sabina's boss, but I was more invested in his present circumstances (struggling to find the same passion he once had for being a firefighter) and where that ultimately led him.

The tension is palatable throughout the novel, but it never feels...strained I suppose is a good word.  The two of them don't get together until fairly late in the book (last third), but that connection is still there.  It was almost sweet really, how they both obviously wanted to encourage the other, but was thwarted by overly ambitious mothers, coworkers who didn't know when to quit and regulations that could strangle them.

I was not a fan of the resolution between Sabina and her mother Annabelle.  While the truth wasn't particularly surprising, given the circumstances, what was surprising was that it took them this long to get to the bottom of things.  Highlight for the spoilers:  So it turns out Max, Sabina's old agent, is a creep and a thief.  Okay.  So you're telling me that they were both so mad at each other they didn't even so much as look into how they were doing?  They're mother and daughter!  They couldn't possibly be so bullheaded as to not care if the other was alive or not. /end spoiler.

Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  It was a (really) quick read and was perfect to jumpstart my want for romance once more.