Blurb:

Being a single parent to a teenage daughter will be a walk in the park… said no dad ever! I’m a fireman and at the station four days a week. I barely have time to grab a beer with my friends. On my days off I’m too busy being the protective dad while trying not to be Jordan’s worst enemy. However, it’s the ultimatum she needs to worry about for skipping class, suspension or help at Hope Haven, a place where families stay while their hospitalized child receives the best care.It’s where I run into Brooke Tennyson. I had no idea she was back in town and is working at Hope Haven. Sure, Brooke is beautiful, a single parent, and we have so much in common, but I don’t have time to get involved with another woman. It’s bad enough I can’t get her off my mind, can’t stop fantasizing about her. Brooke makes me feel alive again. But I feel like I’m cheating on my late wife and my daughter will be disappointed with me.
If giving up on love is what I need to do to keep my daughter happy, it’s what I must do.

My 3* Review:

November by Michelle Fernandez is part of the Fire Chasers Collection of short stories by twelve different authors about the twelve firemen who comprise the Hope Haven calendar. Set in the small town of Windmill Creek, this romance is about two single parents, Bishop Wilder, a widower and Brooklyn Tennyson. It is a second chance romance between two childhood best friends who had a secret crush on each other but never admitted their true feelings growing up. A good story but it ends abruptly.

Bishop is now a local firefighter but sadly lost his wife to cancer four years ago and is struggling to bring up their daughter. Jordan is fifteen and has typical teenage problems to go along with her grief. He works long hours at the fire station and misses his wife badly but luckily his little sister lives with them and helps him out. He doesn’t date or go out much as all his focus is on Jordan.

Brooke’s perfect and happy life was turned upside down when she found her husband cheating with his secretary. She packed up her life and moved back home with her young son Jonah. She has good and bad memories of life in Windmill Creek. Now living with her mother she has to get over the hurt and betrayal, get a job and try to move on,  

When the couple first meet, all the old feelings come flooding back and they both find the emotions quite difficult to handle. He can’t believe his reaction to seeing her after all these years and feels guilty of the feelings she stirs inside him. They both know they need to go slow and get to know each other again now they have been unexpectedly brought back together. I wouldn’t call this spicy as there are only two scenes with them together.

I was very disappointed that this ends in a cliffhanger and is actually just a prequel to the author’s new series. To me the blurb suggests this is a whole story but it’s a very short novella to set the scene and introduce you to all the characters.

I was thoroughly enjoying the story and was in engrossed in how the couple were sorting through their worries and guilt. The last part of the story was rushed and I was surprised by Bishop’s actions as they seemed sudden and out of character. 

The author ends the story saying Brooks is left wondering what just happened and to be honest so was I. There are lots of unanswered questions which I presume we will get in It Begins With Us. 

The blurb ends with “If giving up on love is what I need to do to keep my daughter happy, it’s what I must do” – to me this relates to the cliffhanger and actually explains the start of the full book, not this story.