New to the town and the firehouse, Dustin is excited to prove his abilities as a fireman. On his first day, the crew responds to a kitchen fire and he takes it upon himself to lift Emberleigh over his shoulder and haul her out of her home. Sure, the fire was mostly under control but she seemed like she was in shock and she wasn’t moving away from the danger zone. He’d do it again. Emberleigh, however, was less than thrilled with being manhandled in such a way. When she needs a partner for a baking competition, Dustin is more than happy to volunteer.

Fire and Icing was a cute, small town romance. This book is perfect for a relaxing weekend or evenings after work. It has a feel-good, happy vibe with a good amount of humor. The banter between Emberleigh and Dustin was entertaining, as well as the interactions with all the other side characters. Waterford seems like quite the town! I enjoyed the baking competition and the way Dustin and Emberleigh came together. I also appreciated that the baking competition wasn’t the whole story. There was a lot more going on and our main characters were able to get to know each other in their real lives, not just in the competition bubble.  I do have to warn you though, it might be impossible to read this book without eating a donut… There was so much talk about the donuts from Emberleigh’s bakery and how good they were. I had no choice but to get in my car, drive into town, and get a donut. So, if you’re on a diet, beware.

I’m not so sure about Dustin’s size though… multiple times it describes him as ‘built like a house,’ or ‘built like a tree.’ ‘His thighs are like tree trunks’?!? I thought it was a little excessive and made him seem like a giant. Like, Jack and the Beanstalk giant. I get it, firemen can be big and tough. I think I just took the descriptions too seriously. Maybe we need a diagram in the front of the book. We could see how Dustin compares to the average male vs Goliath (David and Goliath) and the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk… Anyway, I loved the crew at the firehouse. Their friendships developed quickly and I loved the brotherhood between the guys. I’m excited to read about Patrick in the next book in the series! Apparently he likes to read!