This one was just okay for me.  Characters seems one dimensional and it was hard for me to feel anything for them/toward them. I was underwhelmed to say the least.

I loved this book even though I went in it totally blind and had no idea what to expect. When I requested this book for review, there was no summary available (still isn't), no genre, no cover, nothing but a title! I'm not that brave usually, but I thought I should give this book a chance, and I'm so happy that I did!

So..... do you (like me) love FIREFIGHTERS and PARAMEDICS in your books, especially when there's a romance happening between the two? If yes, then you should definitely read this book, because it's really good!

Troy and Alex both work at the same fire station, Alex as a paramedic and Troy as a firefighter, but that's all the connection these two have with each other. Troy is pretty much closeted at work and in a secret relationship/friends-with-benefits situation with his best friend and police officer Ian. Alex is out and proud and has been crushing on Troy for a long time, but he knows better than to hit on straight guys. 

After battling a dangerous wearhouse fire and rescuing a teenager by taking a dangerous jump out of a window, Troy is beat up all to hell and wants nothing more than a relaxing night at home with Ian. But Ian has a nasty little surprise in store for Troy, and Troy finds himself homeless and without a boyfriend. Alex offers to let Troy crash at his place (with no ulterior motives except maybe ogling tha' ass) and a beautiful friendship is born between these two. 

Troy is determined to include Alex in his group of friends because he truly likes Alex as a person. The chemistry between them is the real deal and once they make it in bed together....phew! So hawt! But Troy is not looking for another friends with benefits relationship, and Alex wants nothing to do with serious relationships after being burned in the past. Something's gotta give!

There's lots of action happening in this book, and there's a sense of mystery to the story due to an arsonist who's determined to hurt Troy's team. There's no dull moment and there's no disbelieving factor about this story, which is great. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that Troy constantly got hurt. I know it comes with the job, but did he always have to be the only one from the whole team to be constantly beat-up and cut-up (not to mention shot)? There's only so much a guy can take and I felt like Troy was punished by the author for some unknown reason.

I'm so happy I chose to read this book, it really is a well written story! And...... FIREFIGHTERS!!!! I can't wait for the next book!

3.5* A tale with decent leads with decent professions, with a hint of an interesting past for Troy, but with a few too many cooks and not quite enough made of each aspect. 

I read this tale blurb-blind, which I think is my preferred reading method these days, especially when it's authors whose style I'm familiar with, so that I can get the biggest impact. This wasn't ARB's best tale, but it's also not a bad one, despite there not being much of a tale under all the getting-to-know-each-other and the many characters who were introduced.

At the start, I hadn't realised that it was the first in a new series, but it is, and I will be reading the next. The leads know each other, as one, Troy, is a firefighter and the other, Alex, is a paramedic, and they end up rooming together when Troy's cop lover tells him that he's been secretly cheating, dating a woman and is about to become a father, and to be out of their apartment in 5 days.

That's the tale, but the ex still plays a part, as he's involved in the investigations into suspicious fires, and, he wants Troy as his bit on the side. But, the investigation seemed a secondary part to the plot, as suspicions seemed delayed and didn't make themselves seen or felt, really, until a young teen/preteen opened his mouth.

I liked this young kid, Sammy, who knew he was trans and had run away from home, but, the proportion of his involvement in the tale wasn't right; there wasn't the right balance, though we began to see more of him as the tale progressed. I for one want to read more about him, so I hope he appears as a side character in future tales and that we see his continuing transition. It'll be interesting to see how the author handles it, as he's in care and at an age where puberty-suppressing treatment could be offered, allowing him a less difficult journey to becoming the man that he knows he will one day be. I hope it's tackled well, with respect and realism. I liked, too, that the family who appears to have taken him in seems decent, open-minded and very accepting and loving. 

As to the tale and the leads? The balance wasn't right and the baddie wasn't believable, though, from the mention of a name pretty close to the start, I had my suspicions that he was more than simply a character in a cast, but not a memorable one or a really interesting one. There wasn't a ton of sex in this, and there wasn't a lot of tale or time that the leads had together, and I'm not sure that I believed in their 'you're it for me'. At the start, Alex proclaimed not to want anything with Troy until Troy had had at least 2 more lovers/encounters, and Troy was days out of a non-relationship. 

Still, it wasn't too bad a read, but I really wish a competent editor had taken a look at this, as ARB's debut was great. 

ARC courtesy of Carina Publishing and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Absolutely loved the heat and chemistry between Alex and Troy. Here's to wishing A.R. Barley will make this a series and feature Luke's character next,

This is the first book I've read by this author and won't be the last. So looking for more books by this author.  This is a great story with hugely likeable characters who don't mess around but gets straight to the plot which is something I like and would recommend. Easy to read with the right amount of sexy thrown in to keep you reading all the way till the end. Would recommend

I loved this book by A.R Barley. I have not had the opportunity to read much, but what I have read I am absolutely impressed with.

On Duty is a book about Troy and Alex, a fireman and an EMT. Troy has recently been burned by his boyfriend who never really acknowledged him, and Alex, well...Alex is just all kinds of sweet, smart, funny and the perfect person to take care of Troy when he is in need. 

Their relationship stars out as friendship, then quickly turns into more. I loved these two together, I loved the freedom Troy had once he was free from the confines of the relationship that did not let him be who he really was. And Alex...so much love in that kid's heart!!!

This was fun to read, but I felt like the second half didn't quite live up to the promise of the beginning. 

Troy, a firefighter has already had a pretty shitty day when his roommate with benefits (for lack of a better word) throws him out of the apartment they've been sharing for the past six years. He crashes on the paramedics' couch at the fire department, and that's where Alex, one of the paramedics, finds him and offers him a place to stay. Alex has had a crush on Troy ever since they started working together, but he's not looking for a relationship, and most certainly not with a guy on the rebound. While they're figuring out their feelings there's also Sammy's fate to consider, the homeless kid Troy saved from a fire, and there seems to be an arsonist at work as well. 

I loved the setting and loved both Alex and Troy. Both their backstories were interesting and worked for me. I also really liked them together. 

What didn't work for me was most of all the pacing. Everything just happens way too fast, and especially towards the end it just stretched my disbelief too far. I also felt the three different storylines didn't mesh very well. I appreciate authors wanting to tell more than just a love story, but while the Sammy plotline might have worked (it felt a little clumsy but I would've been okay with that alone) the arsonist part felt tacked on and the showdown took me by surprise, and not in a good way. It also didn't really seem to serve any purpose and so it just felt odd. 

I still had fun reading this, and the writing itself was solid. The steamy parts felt a little too rushed to be really steamy, but I prefer that over drawn out sex scenes. I think this book had a lot of potential, and I enjoyed it enough to want to check out more of the author's work. 

I'd recommend this to people looking for a light read; the reading equivalent of cookies. While not quite satiating definitely still delicious and sometimes that's just what you're in the mood for.

I do not usually pick up books about the LGBTQIA genre, but the title caught my eye. It starts out fine, and exciting to read about saving the boy in the burning building. After that though, the language of the main character, a little whinny and overly thinking everything got on my nerves. Sadly, could not finish this, and skimmed instead.