Fall at Once by Nora Everly

The swoony single-dad firefighter needs my help, but he might be too hot for me to handle.

I’m in Cozy Creek for two reasons: To get over my breakup and help my grandmother run her bakery while she recovers from a sprained ankle.
I am absolutely not here to fall in love.

But my grandma’s smoking hot firefighter neighbor keeps rescuing me—from the side of the road, from a tree (don’t ask), and then finally from my ex with a steamy kiss in a bar.

So when he needs my help, how can I say no?

As a party planner, I’m the perfect person to step in and work with him on preparations for Cozy Creek Fire Brigade’s Fall Fundraiser.

Sparks fly as we spend more time together, but we’ve both been burned by love before.
I do my best to beat the heat, but then he kissed me for real, and (f)all at once, I realize we might just be perfect for each other.

Fall at Once is part of the Cozy Creek Collection of small-town standalones, it is a steamy, full-length romantic comedy.

My Review

Madi is in midlife. She has just broken up with her long-time boyfriend as they wanted different things, and she is heading to the small town of Cozy Creek to help her grandmother. Her grandmother is feisty and convinced she needs help meeting the perfect guy. 

Cole is a single dad and chief of the Cozy Creek Fire Department.  He is a true hero, but he is also feeling his age. 

Their accidental meet-ups with her in calamity go to forced proximity event planning. The chemistry is slow-burn with the grumpy/sunshine trope. This story has some autumn vibes. 

Cole is showing his cinnamon roll interior, and this gentleman likes nature as he helps her, and it gets steamy.  As they go from friends to lovers, they must overcome the complications that affect them.

Cole isn’t a great communicator, and the conversation is heart-wrenching. I really hope he goes after his girl. I totally get Madi hesitant to continue anything with him after that.

I love Gigi in this story. She is feisty and full of life. This book’s ending works out like it should, but it is anti-climatic. I’m surprised it had a one-sentence solver for all the issues they had externally. 

The found family was excellent; however, the autumn vibes were lacking. I expected more instead of brief mentions, but I did enjoy the storyline and the firefighters. The author did a great job with the ties into the past and the interconnections and history between the characters. 

If you would like to read Fall at Once by Nora Everly, you can find it on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Single Dad, Midlife, and Autumn.