5 STARS ✮ KATE MEADER ✮ SPARKING THE FIRE

Sparking The Fire

Hot in Chicago #3

by

Kate Meader

Kate Meader is fast becoming a favorite of mine. This is the second book I've read by this author and I'm completely captivated by her easy humorous writing style. I wish I had more time, I'd lock myself up and go on a Kate Meader reading spree.

Five years ago a man and a woman had one week of anonymous sexual bliss that left both of them with a whole lot of regret that it didn't go any further...but they both had places to be, things to do and the stars just didn't align so they both thought of the other as the one that got away. 

She wore that dress, was the barometer by which he had measured every woman in the last five years, and she had the 411 on cars? Someone up there hated his guts.

Molly Cade's star rose fast in Hollywood when she met her now ex-husband. And it fell just as fast after nude pics of her leaked and caused a scandal. With this new movie about a woman in a male dominated profession she wants to rise back up into the elite of Tinseltown. The one thing that would make her movie perfect is having Alexandra Dempsey's point of view since she is the person it is actually about. Having done her research she knows she has to go through the Dempseys from Chicago who have a reputation of being fiercely protective of their family. 

Former Marine, now firefighter Wyatt Fox, the silent and broody Dempsey, has received an assignment by his cap which he doesn't look forward to. His expertise is needed for a Hollywood movie about a female firefighter in Chicago. He'd rather be doing his job but his last gig left him with a sore shoulder. That this movie is supposed to be based on his sister's story doesn't really entice him either. At least that's what he is telling himself. 

That was the problem with magnets. Attraction wasn't a choice.

When Molly is introduced to the hunky, beautiful guy who is supposed to be her tech consultant on set she immediately recognizes the hot Marine she met five years ago and had a week of sexual bliss with.

"Hey, do you guys...know each other?"

"Depends on your definition of know."

"We had some mutual interests once," Wyatt said, a pagan gleam in those blue gray eyes. "Bars. Shakespeare." Sexy pause. "Elevators."

Molly stands for everything Wyatt tries to avoid. He is a loner and the Dempsey who stays in the shadows, protecting what's his, and fiercely so, from the sidelines. He is deeply private, a straight shooter and bossy. He has always felt he didn't belong, like the odd one in the boisterous Dempsey bunch.
This feeling of inadequacy comes from his family history and is the reason for him to give the stage to his siblings.  Even though he doesn't show it he cares deeply and it was a pleasure to see how Molly enabled him to bring his feelings to the forefront. The flirty side of him and his dry wit are delicious because they often come out unexpectedly.

"You planning to glare me into orgasm, Marine?"
"I don't glare. I smolder."

Molly is a sassy, smart young actress, burned by the media and her ex. She knows that her and Wyatt's lives don't mix. The reality of it and the constant reminder by the media make her regret a little that she can't be the private person he would need and deserve. Wyatt knows exactly what Molly needs as long as his caveman doesn't surface. Then all bets are off.

The banter between these two is hilarious and delicious - I have marked so many quotes on my Kindle. It's a trademark of Kate Meader that she knows how to write amazingly witty and clever dialogues. She also puts her stamp on the chemistry between her main protagonists, which is explosive and will leave your ovaries in a tangle. Molly and Wyatt's love story is a slow burn but once they ignite...holy sh...

"Babe, you deserve better than a quick fumble.
"She scoffed. "Quick? Ha! You are slower than a snail on top of a turtle. I've never met a guy who takes his time like you do"

I loved Molly and Wyatt together, they completed each other, loved how they tore each other's walls down, little by little. The diva 'tude doesn't faze this hunk of a firefighter and since it isn't over the top it didn't keep me from liking Molly. But the star of this book? Definitely Wyatt.

All the characters, main and secondary, are really well fleshed out. The side cast is pretty amazing and I'm going to read Ms. Meader's backlist as soon as I have room for it. Gage is my favorite and it doesn't hurt that he is gay!

There is no question that this author can write. I'm a huge fan. 

"Falling in love with you was the easiest thing I've ever done. Falling is easy. Staying that way is hard. but I've been choosing hard all my life, so why the hell would the life I make with the woman who completes me be any different? I love you like a madman. You're the air I breathe, my next heartbeat, and I'm never letting go."