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Release Day Review: MELTING POINT by Kate Meader (Hot in Chicago #1.5)

To help tide you over until Alex’s book comes out… 😉

Melting Point
by Kate Meader

Things are heating up at Engine Co. 6 in this original e-novella from Kate Meader’s sizzling Hot in Chicago series! Superhot playboy firefighter Gage Simpson has one particular man on his mind: Brady Smith, a recalcitrant, moody chef who makes Gage melt from the inside out. Features a sexy sneak preview of Playing with Fire!

Firefighter Gage Simpson has it all: the job of his dreams, the family of his heart, and no shortage of hot guys lining up to share his bed. “Fun and easy” is his motto—and it’s kept him sunny through a painful upbringing and steered him away from trouble. But when trouble comes knocking in the form of a sexy, scarred, tattooed chef with a harrowing past and zero communication skills, Gage can’t help but be drawn to the flame.

Brady Smith isn’t fun. And easy isn’t in his vocabulary. When cocky Gage swaggers into his restaurant kitchen, the former Marine-turned-five-star-chef is blindsided by the firefighter’s beauty. Then confused that this golden guy with the sparkling blue eyes and the body of a god might be interested in him. As desire flares and temperatures rise, Gage and Brady will have to figure out if the heat between them is just a temporary flash—or the beginning of something real.

 

Review:

At last, Baby Thor gets a book!

Gage and Brady met in book one,  Flirting with Fire when Mayor Eli Cooper, Brady’s former second-in-command in the Marines, casually (or is it?) introduces the two during a trip to Brady’s kitchen in Chicago’s hottest new restaurant. The two both felt an attraction–one which Gage was more than happy to act upon–but the chef’s relationship issues have brick walls around them that are approximately a mile high.

And topped with razor-sharp barbed wire.

So…the scarred, brooding, and near-silent loner chef and the golden and vivacious, uber-confident and loquacious fireman–can you say opposites attract? Poor Gage had to wait for his own novella to find out how and why Brady managed to be so resistant to his charms (…or is he?), but Ms. Meader made it so worth the wait.

I loved seeing beyond Gage’s public persona to the guy underneath–how he manages to stay so upbeat and positive on the outside when so much of his childhood was a real and total nightmare is amazing. He oozes self-confidence (his t-shirt in the first scene reads Firefighter. Because BADASS isn’t a proper job title) and draws people to him like a moth to flame, but inside he’s got just as many insecurities as the next person, if not more.

He made me–like Brady–positively melt.

But Brady wasn’t going to make starting a relationship between the two easy–of course not–note the aforementioned issues.

Brady brought back more than scars from the Afghan prison where he and Eli were held captive. He’s closed off, antisocial, has major control issues, and doesn’t like to be touched.

But there’s Gage. All wanting to be close and up in his space. Not to mention shirtless and sweaty up on that billboard Brady accidentally on purpose drives past every chance he gets. (And that billboard gets Brady into big trouble–and leads to a super-hot scene. LOL–I loved that part!)

Can Brady let down his walls and let Gage in? And will Gage be brave enough to share his own dark secrets with him?

And the big question: just who is going to “Han-Fucking-Solo-in Empire” whom in the end?

You’ll have to read Melting Point to find out…and you’ll be very glad you did!

Melting Point would probably work fine as a standalone, but reading Flirting first definitely gives you a more complete picture. Heck, since Beck and Darcy are finally back from their extended trip, why not start right from the beginning with Rekindle the Flame? 😉

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

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