I love this series by Shannon Stacey. This book was a little different than the others. Not bad just different. I liked how Derick and Olivia met and how very different they are from each other. It was a great story about how life likes to take your best laid plans and shake them up. If you have not read this series I highly recommend it, but I don't think you will be lost if you start with this book.

Since Shannon Stacey’s books deal with firefighters finding their better halves, it’s always a treat to find out who the unknown other half is in every book, as well as the very different story that Stacey tells for ever one of them. 

For Derek Gilman, it’s corporate-highflyer Olivia McGovern who’s quite the opposite of his type, it seems, especially for a divorced man who’s caught up in his job and handling his 2 kids. 

Past their first tension-filled encounter in a stalled elevator however, things past their second meeting fell into a bit of a lull for me despite their paths crossing repeatedly via mutual friends (the details of Olivia’s corporate career and the charity they were involved in didn’t interest me that much) as I impatiently waited for things to heat up between Olivia and Derek. And heat up they do, though gently and without any (unpleasant) surprises, even if I’d hoped for a bit more first-responder action.

The pluses here however, do outweigh the lull for me: the progressive, natural attraction between them, no clichéd evil ex running interference, no excessive denial of attraction or feelings; everyone generally behaves like the adults they are, working towards a happy home—all refreshing to read. Olivia’s fear of compromising her career plans with a relationship is her biggest worry; the fear of Olivia fitting into his domestic life is Derek’s, though the general lack of angst makes ‘Under Control’ an easy read without the overt strife that can sometimes accompany blended-family-type stories.

I enjoyed this book and loved Derek - hot and sexy fireman that is a dedicated and gentle with his kids? Swoon alert!
This novel started with a great elevator scene that made me fall a bit in love with the characters. This is a classic tale of opposites attracting that the author tells in an engaging style. Derek is the busy fireman living on the wrong side of town (and where his life is based), while Olivia lives on the opposite side of town, in an expensive hi-rise apartment and dines in restaurants whose entrees are more than weekly food budgets for Derek's friends. I found that, while I connected to Derek, I didn't connect with Olivia. To me, she was a bit too rigid (yes, I know that's the point), without enough back story for her to make sense to me. I would have loved to know more about her so I could have felt a bit more invested in her.

This is a perfect choice for summer beach reading. Additionally, I loved the appearances of characters from prior books in the series. This is a fun novel and a good addition to the Boston Fire series. While this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel.