The Perfect Match

Title: THE PERFECT MATCH
Author: Susan May Warren
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
December 2008 (reissue)
ISBN: 978-1-4143-1385-6
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Ellie Karlson has something to prove. And now she has landed her almost-dream-job of being interim fire chief in the small town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. She arrived just in time to arrive on the scene of a structure fire where the volunteer fire-fighters are trying to save a family of five trapped in the burning house. As Ellie watches, one of the fire fighters gets blown right off the ladder, landing at her feet.

Dan Matthews is the town pastor and a volunteer firefighter. He is heartbroken when one of his parishioner’s homes catches on fire and frantically tries to save them, putting desperation ahead of safety. He isn’t prepared to land at the feet of a beautiful woman who can only be a dream come true for him.

The dream turns into more of a nightmare as Ellie turns out to be anything but the sweet-tempered woman he’d imagined. Instead, Ellie is a fireball, spunky, and argumentive. But someone is out to destroy Ellie’s dreams of being the new permanent fire chief—as the town as more structure fires in a month than it had in all the previous years. Who is out to get Ellie? Could it be Dan, who’d made it more than clear that he wanted her out of the firehouse? Or could it be one of the other firefighters, none of which react well to having a female boss?

THE PERFCT MATCH is the third book in Ms. Warren’s Deep Haven series, but it easily stands alone. I read this book when it first came out in 2004, and it was a pleasure to get this book in a box to review again.

Ms. Warren’s writing style is very well developed, though I did find this book a bit more introspective, with not near the action as Ms. Warren’s more recent releases. Still, the story telling is excellent, with characters that could almost be real, a setting that one can see, and realistic events. If you are looking for a good romance then definitely pick up THE PERFECT MATCH. $12.99. 324 pages.