Title: Hot to the Touch
Series: Hot in Chicago Rookies #3
Author: Kate Meader
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/Forced Proximity
Release Date: August 22, 2023
The next book in the Hot in Chicago Rookies series features playboy firefighter, Sam Killian!
I might be a rookie Chicago firefighter, but I’m on top of the world. I’ve just earned my spot on Rescue Squad at legendary Engine 6, can get all the action I want both in and out of the bedroom, and am possessed of an enviable sneaker collection. Nothing can harsh my vibe except her—Cassandra Ferguson, my brother’s sister-in-law, or as I affectionately label her: the blister-in-law. Ever since I met her, she’s looked down her perky little nose at me, never mind that I’m a good foot taller. Apparently, I offended her with a few risqué jokes and an offer for a fun, no-strings night—crimes that have relegated me to lower than dirt in St. Cassandra’s eyes.
These days we’re at a stalemate. Don’t get along, can’t get along. Only when tragedy strikes, we have no choice but to put our animosity aside for the sake of our hurting niece and nephew, who need us now more than ever. As co-guardians, Cassie and I are enemy combatants in an uneasy truce, flailing around in a no-man’s land of grief and lust, forced to work as a team.
Thing is, when Cassie and I team up—when we really work together—the results are explosive. In a sexy way. In an amazing way. Maybe … in every way. But with stakes this high, we can’t get it wrong.
Even though it feels so, so right.
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/190148971-hot-to-the-touch
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Review:
Phew–what an ending to the Hot in Chicago Rookies series!
Hot to the Touch starts out with an emotional punch–we’re actually introduced to the siblings who will shortly afterwards die on the page, leaving Sam and Cass to be guardians to their grieving niece and nephew. Be prepared, because it’s hard to read that bit.
I thought Ms Meader did a fabulous job of showing her characters as they learned to navigate their loss, all while figuring out how to become instant co-parents with someone they didn’t exactly get along with before. Readers of the series might remember Sam as a fairly cocky firefighter with a certain reputation–well, that reputation has been his defining characteristic for years, as far as Cass is concerned. The two of them just don’t get along, but they’re going to have to for the sake of their new charges.
Of course it turns out that there has always been more to Sam than his rotating door of dates, and there is more going on beneath Cass’s surface than just her “St. Cassandra” persona. Watching them as they learn to see the real Sam and Cass beneath all their outward defenses was lovely; seeing them fall in love as they did so was even lovelier.
There’s the requisite amount of steam here too, once they progress to that stage, and throughout the book there were so many LOL moments too that I lost count. Most of my highlights in the book are ones that made me snicker, just because I loved the language Ms Meader used. Like this thought that Sam has while in a more serious conversation with his coworker besties and fellow series MCs, Jude ( Down in Flames ) and Abby ( Up in Smoke ).
She [Abby] sounds so wounded, like I gave her the recipe to the male psyche secret sauce then told her she couldn’t slather it on her man-burger.
Then there’s the epilogue, which like so many other little moments in this book had me tearing up while reading. So, so sweet, and an absolutely fitting ending to this series. So while I’m sorry to be saying goodbye to Engine 6 and its crew, I can’t wait to see where Ms Meader is going to take us next!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
ALSO AVAILABLE:
#1 Up in Smoke
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#2 Down in Flames
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About the author:
Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, fire hose, or a hockey stick, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with big-hearted guys and strong heroines – and heroes – who can match their men quip for quip.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: http://katemeader.com
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