Review: Home Fires by Kathleen Irene Paterka

Title: Home Fires
Author: Kathleen Irene Paterka
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Self-published
Publish Date: August 2, 2012
Source: I received a copy from the author; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You like lovable characters.
• You like romance.
• You like a pinch of mystery.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "When fire strikes too close to home…

Attorney Rose Gallagher left her home and heart behind in James Bay years ago, dreaming of big city success. When a family health crisis draws her back to the small resort community where she was born and raised, Rose settles in for a six-week-stay, only to find herself musing over two unexpected job offers and other things, too… such as the string of arson fires threatening James Bay and a handsome fireman named Mike Gallagher who sparks an unexpected fire in her heart.

When the arson investigation blazes a trail which seems to lead directly to an old family friend, Rose sets out to prove her fireman wrong. Mike is determined to keep this pretty litigator from snooping around in his ongoing investigation, and Rose is equally determined not to give up on her quest to prove her friend’s innocence—even if it means giving up a possible future with Mike. Will these two find a way to resolve their differences, or will their dreams of romance go up in smoke?"

My Two Cents:

"Home Fires" is the second book in Paterka's James Bay series of novels. I really liked this one. Rose Gallagher comes back to James Bay to take care of her ailing mother. She's sort of having a personal crisis of sorts, which is one that will probably sound familiar to other people in their late 20s (I know it certainly sounds familiar to me). I think all of us sort of go through a quarter life crisis where we are not quite sure whether or not we are taking the right path. Are we doing the right thing? Have we chosen the right career path? Are we meeting the right people? Are we living in the right place? There are so many questions and Rose is in the middle of trying to answer them all but sometimes, as we all know, there are no good answers. She could go to Washington to become a big shot lawyer but it might mean compromising her personal ethics. She could stay in James Bay but then what would she be doing with her life if she just stayed in her small hometown. Shouldn't she see the world? All of those conflicts seemed very real to me and Paterka does a great job of bringing them to life.

This story is also a romance of sorts. Rose very quickly meets Mike Gallagher (no relation to her!), who is a brave firefighter fighting an arsonist who is plaguing James Bay during the long, hot summer in which the story takes place. Oh, and the arsonist might just be someone that Rose knows and cares about just to add to everything else. I loved the love story between Rose and Mike. Both of them are fighting their own personal demons and both are trying to figure out what they should be doing with their lives. I was rooting for them throughout the book!

I also really liked the mystery of the James Bay fires. I love when I can be surprised by a book and the way that the mystery in the book turned out really surprised me.

Bottom line: This book has a little bit of everything for everyone.