Review – ‘No Regrets’ by Vivian Ward

Blurb

Her brother told me to stay away from her. Her brother can go f**k himself!
I’m a firefighter. When it comes to doing my job, I’m the best around.
Am I cocky? You’re damn right.
Wild? I was. I’ve tried to clean up my act. Was doing a pretty damn good job of it too until I ran into Stephanie Frost after all these years. The heat from fires don’t compare to what I feel when she’s near me.
Her brother’s a troublemaker who’s been in and out of prison. He’s even told me that he’ll kill me if I don’t stay away from his sister. He’d be pissed if he knew she’s been squirming underneath me every single night.
Now that I’ve got a second chance, I’m not giving her up this time.

Review 

Stephanie Frost and her three-year-son Andrew are stuck in their burning apartment, but a fireman rescues them. Though she’s more concerned for her son than anything, she’s shock to see Matt, her ex-boyfriend and now rescuer, again.

Matt Porter hasn’t seen Stephanie in eight years. After she broke up with him, he became a homeless alcoholic and hit rock bottom, but finally dragged himself back to his feet. Now he’s sober and works as a fireman. He loves his job, but his rocky relationship with Stephanie puts everything he’s worked so hard for in jeopardy.

I liked Matt for the most part. He’s protective, considerate, and completely adores Stephanie and her son.

I couldn’t connect with Stephanie, and I definitely didn’t like her family. Years earlier, her brother Lance robbed a store, shot a person, and left that person paralyzed. Stephanie and her controlling family never seemed to care that her brother did anything wrong or felt bad for the person Lance shot. Instead, they accused Matt of ratting out Lance to his policeman father (which Matt didn’t do), and Stephanie dumped him for it. In doing so, Matt’s life went completely downhill and nearly ended at the bottom of a bottle.

Matt and Stephanie had a lot of chemistry, but Stephanie was trapped under her brother’s and her abusive ex-lover’s thumb. She wanted to please her family and keep the peace more than she cared about her and Matt’s happiness, and I just couldn’t respect her.

The story is told in first person, duel H/h POV. It needs an edit to fix some spelling errors and inconsistencies. There are also a few unanswered questions, but nothing major that affected the overall plot.

3 Stars

Disclaimer – I volunteered to read and review this book. I received an ebook copy through the author’s newsletter. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.