A review by jenjenbookfan
Defending Charley by Bella Lane, Bella Lane

4.0

Defending Charley is a steamy friends to lovers romantic suspense novella by Bella Lane releasing as part of the Romance Bunnies Hallow Falls Series. Derrick, a detective, returns to Hallow Falls after his mother’s death to settle her affairs. He runs into his old friend, Charley, who grew up to be a firefighter just like Derrick’s late father, the man who saved her from a fire as a little girl. Charley has fought for 5 years for acceptance in her firehouse only to be met with horrendous treatment. Derrick shows up as a breath of fresh air awakening all kinds of feelings in her. But now there’s an arsonist on the loose. Between the long distance and the danger lurking at every fire scene these days, do Derrick and Charley really stand a chance?

I enjoyed this story with the steamy chemistry between Derrick and Charley, as well as the intriguing suspense plot of the arson case. There was definitely a lot of drama surrounding Charley and the firehouse that was frustrating for me as a reader, and more specifically as a woman. Charley never should have put with that treatment for so long, and the actual resolution of it was not sufficient for me at all, but Charley is a much nicer person than me, I guess!