Flirting with Fire (Hot in Chicago, #1)

by Kate Meader

Savvy PR guru Kinsey Taylor has always defined herself by her career, not her gender. That is, until she moved from San Francisco to Chicago to be with her fiancé who thought she wasn't taking her "job" of supporting him in his high-powered career seriously enough-and promptly dumped her for a more supportive and "feminine" nurse. Now, as the new assistant press secretary to Chicago's dynamic mayor, she's determined to keep her eye on the prize: no time to feel inferior because she's a strong, kick-ass woman, and certainly no time for men.

But that all changes when she meets Luke Almeida, a firefighter as searingly sexy as he is quick-tempered. He's also the second oldest of the Firefightin' Dempseys, a family of foster siblings who have committed their lives to the service-if Luke's antics don't get him fired first. When Luke goes one step too far and gets into a bar brawl with the Chicago Police Department, Kinsey marches into Luke's firehouse and lays down the law on orders from the mayor. But at Engine Co. 6, Luke Almeida is the law. And he's not about to let Kinsey make the rules.

• ISBN10: 1476785902
• ISBN13: 9781476785905
• Publish Date: 26 March 2015 (first published 24 March 2015)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I always enjoy a Kate Meader romance. I loved both couplings in the book, but my problem was that there were two. I would have liked it better had Meader focused on one couple at a time, because each deserved the full focus of the story. Despite that, I liked getting to know the Dempsey family, and look forward to reading more of their tales.

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[EBookObsessed]

I gave this story a 3 1/2 star rating. This was another of those books where the main characters were just okay but it was the secondary characters that really caught my interest. I have a copy of the next book and the two novellas and I plan on reading them was well. Younger sister Alex caught my attention, as well as “Baby Thor” brother Gage.

Kinsey Taylor knows a lot about PR but not so much about romance. A native Californian, Kinsey moved to Chicago to support her fiance when he took a position as head of surgery at Northwest Hospital. Kinsey left a prominent position and took a significant pay cut to support her soon-to-be husband and was devastated to be dumped just weeks after moving. After ten years together, you think she would have been more upset to be dumped by the man she planned to marry, but she is more upset that she compromised her own career in support of his and it still wasn’t enough of a sacrifice to be considered “supporting.”

But Kinsey plans to make the most of her new position with the Mayor of Chicago, at least until she decides what she wants to do next — make a name for herself in Chicago or return home to California. As the new man on the Mayor’s team, Kinsey is still suffering under the burden of fluff work but her current assignment might have change that. The men from the Fire Department and Police Departments recently became the newest YouTube sensations when they got into a brawl at a bar and it was watched over a millions times. Kinsey will be responsible to show that CFD and CPD can play nice together for the good of Chicago.

Fireman Luke Almeida, one of the Dempsey Clan, has no desire to make nice with the detective. These two hate each other and Luke would rather face the disciplinary committee than shake and make nice for the Mayor’s cameras. At least until Kinsey explains that if Luke doesn’t cooperate, the Mayor will have no problem removing him from the department. All the Dempsey’s work out of Engine Company 6 and Luke needs to be here to look out for his brothers and sister.

Luke will have no choice but to play nice with the Mayor’s PR princess. As Luke and Kinsey work together and get to know each other, they find it harder and harder to separate work from pleasure but will crossing the line with Luke put Kinsey’s new job in jeopardy?

THOUGHTS:
The story of Kinsey and Luke wasn’t a bad read. There were moments where there was a real spark between the two but I did have issues with the way each character behaved at times.

I liked the idea of the close family of adopted children, although it would be easier to believe six gorgeous children all muscled and built for work as firemen if they came from the same parents. I could understand that all the children would want to follow in the footsteps of the father figure that took them in and raised them, but that all the children from different parents all turned out to be gorgeous and built seems more an impossibility. None of the boys was scrawny with glasses? A computer geek vs. firefighter? The only girl, Alex, was beautiful and also wanted to be a firefighter?

Rolling with that flaw, what drew me in here more than Luke and Kinsey was the siblings. I liked Alexandra who was a strong female character although her temper gets her in as much trouble as big brother, Luke. Alex is the focus of the second book and I am uncertain of her love interest, the Mayor of Chicago, because he was definitely sexist, whether it was toward female firefighters in general or his reactions were just Alex, we don’t know yet. I did like Alex enough to check out the next story.

What interested me more than Alex was brother, Gage, and his story. Gage has always known he was homosexual and he is very confident in his attractiveness to others. He can have any man he desires but his hormones go into overdrive when he meets quiet and surly restaurant owner, Brady Smith. Gage wants nothing but to become Brady’s play toy but he can’t get a good read on whether Brady has any interest. Gage is frustrated and yet obsessed and drooling over Brady. Brady runs hot and cold and is definitely hiding some issues which may have something to do with his many scars and his time in Afghanistan. We are not 100 percent sure what is the deal with Brady. I have yet to reach the point of reading a M/M romance but have several series hinting at one going on with the secondary characters and all of them I want these men to have their HEA. I wasn’t certain if we were going to get a actual story on Gage and Brady and I know the third book will be big brother Wyatt, but after checking once again with Goodread it appears that a novella, Melting Point, came out in August (which I must have missed) and I am going to Amazon right now to grab a copy.

While the Kinsey and Luke story was not grabbing my interest, their siblings definitely were. I would say that you definitely want to read this story, if only to get to know vivacious brother Gage and his surly love interest.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Coffee dates with Flirting with Fire

• First Date: Our tale begins when we meet Kinsey Taylor a PR guru working for the mayor of Chicago. She is walking into a Firehouse right into the lockers wearing a pair of Jimmy Choo heels and mentally questioning (despite the terrific sale) why folks wear these painful things. Right away, I like her. She is on a mission to find Luke Almeida a firefighter who caused a PR nightmare for the city when he slugged one of Chicago’s finest at an afterhours bar. She has been tasked with fixing things. I love Kinsey’s snark and the chemistry between her and Luke has me giggling. Their banter mixes annoyance, anger and sizzling attraction. My friends this could get interesting.


• Second date: I love strong, intelligent and competitive woman. Despite the shitty reasons for this Callie girl to be in Chicago and a few hang-ups from the fallout she is polished, thinks about all parties involved and dang if she doesn’t like our boy Luke. I love sibling stories and Meader made my heart melt with her unruly Dempsey family. Luke is not the oldest, Wy is but Luke is the one that takes care of the others. By nature he is a fixer and his promise to his father only boosts his determination to protect and care for them. From his tats to his curly long dark eyelashes, Luke will make you swoon. He is invested in the community and his backstory will pull at your heartstrings. Luke and Kinsey work together to fix the PR nightmare and get him reinstated. The banter and slow building heat made their interactions a blast. We also get side-stories involving Luke’s sister, Alexandra, and his sexy confidently homosexual brother Gage, as he pursues a reluctant local chef. The Mayor and Alex have a little something brewing me thinks and I am curious.


• Third date: Now that the PR project is completed things can finally heat up between Kinsley and Luke and oh baby. These are both strong characters and the heat is off the charts, but Meader gives us tenderness too. Each giving the other something that has been missing. Ah, dang things were going so well and BAM enter miscommunication, fears and airplanes. Things get a little bumpy but I closed this book with a smile. I was given a lovely epilogue as a parting gift. One of the things I liked was that despite the short span of the actual romance Meader gave us a realistic wrap-up. I am eager for more stories regarding the Dempsey’s and this fine Chicago Firehouse.

Copy provided by publisher/Xoxpert This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Cocktails and Books]

I didn't know what I was getting into when I started FLIRTING WITH FIRE, but I have to say, I'm a new fan of Kate Meader. She can create some pretty fantastic men that can make you swoon with their looks and their dirty mouths!

Luke and Kinsey have chemistry from the moment they meet and you can almost feel that in the pages of the book. Whether they are fighting through verbal barbs, giving each other the stink eye or checking each other out, it's all foreplay for them and shows just how explosive their chemistry is. They're each gun shy about relationships and try to play off their feelings towards one another as something casual, but with chemistry like theirs, nothing can be casual and feelings are going to engage fairly quickly. It's all about how they choose to deal with those building feelings that makes Luke and Kinsey a couple you fall for and want that HEA for.

Luke's family, the Dempsey's, are integral to the storyline (and series). Kate Meader gives us a wide range of characters to fall for. As a secondary storyline, we get to see baby brother Gage chase after a very resistant local chef. There's also a little something with little sister Alexandra and the Chicago mayor Kinsey worked for. I have my fingers crossed that we get to see HEA for these two characters, in addition to the others as the Hot in Chicago series continues.

This was my first Kate Meader book and it definitely won't be the last. The characters and storylines she creates have depth and certainly grab you right away. She's definitely an author I recommend.