Release Blitz + Review: "Up in Smoke" by Kate Meader

I'm delighted to participate in the release blitz celebrating "Up in Smoke" by Kate Meader, book #1 of the Hot in Chicago Rookies series. It's a spinoff of the Hot in Chicago series and features appearances from previous characters, but reads as a complete standalone.

Abby Sullivan and her friends Sam and Jude have just graduated from the Chicago Fire Department's training academy and are about to begin working as full-time firefighter candidates. After a night of celebration with her friends, Abby decides to head home early, stopping at her favorite diner for pie along the way. Single dad Roman Rossi has just ordered the last piece, but after he sees Abby's disappointment, he's happy to share it with her. They hit it off and Roman ends up walking Abby home; they exchange phone numbers and a hot kiss, but not their real names, before going their separate ways. They're shocked to see each other again a few days later, when Abby reports for her first day on the job and learns that Roman is her new lieutenant. There are rules against dating direct reports which make a romantic relationship between them impossible. Besides, Abby has enough to deal with as the daughter of Chicago's first female firefighter, who died on the job when Abby was only six years old. She doesn't need a reputation as the rookie who dated her lieutenant on top of that. Unfortunately, the sparks between Roman and Abby are too powerful to ignore, and they can't seem to stop them from igniting. Will they be able to put out the blaze or will both of their careers go up in flames?
 

This book gave me all the feels! I loved how cute and flirty Roman and Abby were when they first met. They had so much chemistry, and their banter throughout the book was a ton of fun. It wasn't easy for them to find a way to be together, both because of their complicated work situation and the baggage from their pasts, but they managed to make it work in the end, and I loved cheering them on to their HEA. I also enjoyed Roman's relationships with his adorable daughter, Lena, and twin sister, Chiara. She managed to hold on to her sense of humor even while dealing with the heartbreak of an impending divorce, and it just made me love her even more. I hope Chiara will get a story of her own in the future. 

 

I highly recommend "Up in Smoke" for all contemporary romance fans and look forward to whatever Kate Meader writes next. 

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.

About "Up in Smoke"

Lives are on the line at Engine 6 … and so are hearts.

Newly-minted firefighter Abby Sullivan is exactly where she wants to be: Chicago Fire Department’s Engine 6, the station where her mom blazed a trail as one of the first female firefighters in the city. The first to fall in the line of duty, too. All Abby wants is to succeed, but that’s a tough proposition when people only see a feel-good story, a token woman failing at a man’s job, or the princess in need of protection. And the man tasked with watching her six?

Lieutenant Roman Rossi, the one person she can’t let close.

Having the daughter of his boss and nemesis under his wing shouldn’t be a problem for Roman—he’s a professional and can treat her like any other firefighter rookie. Except she happens to be the gorgeous woman he once shared a slice of cherry pie with, followed by the hottest, sweetest, most pulse-pounding kiss of his life. He didn’t know her name but he had planned to find out.

Now Roman knows exactly who Abby is: a threat to his self-control more dangerous than a five-alarm blaze. Lust has no place in the firehouse, and a distraction like Abby with her electric blue eyes, waves of flame-red hair, and freckles Roman wants to map with his tongue, is one he can ill afford.

Because one wrong move … and it could all go up in smoke.

Up in Smoke is the first in the brand new Hot in Chicago Rookies series about firefighters navigating the trials of new jobs and sizzling romances as they find their place in the world and the love of a lifetime.