DEEP NIGHT - Kathy Clark

#3 in the Denver Heroes romance series

Plot - 3.5 stars - We follow Sara and Chris as they work the night shift as Denver paramedics. They are childhood friends who have randomly been paired as partners and are renewing their friendship. There's romance brewing, but Sara's history of abuse has definitely limited her experience and has totally narrowed her outlook.

Writing - 3 stars - Clark got my attention right away with attractive characters and a good friends-to-lovers trope. It was especially interesting to follow them as they did their paramedic duties--driving the ambulance, waiting for the next run, dealing with patients, cleaning and replenishing their stock, etc. I have to take exception, however, to the plot line about Sara's contacting a patient and getting involved in her life, offering advice even though she was not qualified to do so.

Characters - 3 stars - Both of these characters are appealing, although I had a bit of a problem with Sara. She is a senior paramedic who is in medical school, studying to become a pediatrician. She's a very hard worker and a capable person, but she is carrying some pretty serious mental issues stemming from abuse in her childhood. This causes her to be somewhat standoffish and solitary, but since we're privy to her thoughts, we know she's very warm and sincere inside. However, her history of abuse causes her to be a little too intense about potentially similar problems, which is what caused me to cool off about her. She could have caused some serious harm because of her issues and deciding not to deal with them or even share them with anyone. Miller should have been a good example to her of what can happen when you don't treat serious mental issues. Chris is a good-looking guy just back from Afghanistan where he was a medic. Now he's also in med school and working as a paramedic to pay the bills. He also has some secrets from the time he was in the military, but he's a lot more outgoing and easy-going. They decide to share an apartment to save money and travel time, throwing them together even more.

Title - 4 stars - I didn't realize that the night shift for paramedics is referred to as Deep Night. So this is an obvious name for the book that caught my attention.

Cover - 3 stars - Nothing special for this genre, although it was attractive.

Overview - 3 stars - This book didn't have a lot of plot, but it moved forward quickly and kept my interest throughout. I particularly liked the interaction between the two main characters as well as their relationships with their patients and other workers. I haven't read the first two books in the series, but I had no problem relating to the characters or understanding the plot. It was obvious from the interactions who the stars of the previous books were, but it didn't detract at all from the story. However, my biggest problem was the way Sara dealt with one particular situation. I thought she took way too much on herself, definitely breaking the rules about contacting patients outside of her professional capacity. The situation turned deadly, and at the very least she should have been reprimanded for causing it. But instead, because her "heart was in the right place," it was all brushed aside. This didn't send a good message for me. Of course, a book doesn't provide the timeframe to put a paramedic on administrative leave, or whatever, but the situation was shocking, and I sure hope she didn't make a mistake in her assessment. Just because she had been abused herself did not make her an expert in evaluating someone else's situation. For that reason, I deleted a point from what would otherwise have been a 4-star read.