Title: Sparking the Fire (Hot in Chicago #3)
Author: Kate Meader
Date of publication: 27 Sept 2016
Genre/themes: Contemporary romance, firefighters, Hollywood

Author's links: Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter
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My rating: 3.5 Stars

Actor Molly Cade, America’s fallen sweetheart, finally has her shot at a Hollywood comeback with a dramatic new role as a tough-as-nails firefighter that promises to propel her back to the big time and restore her self-respect.

Wyatt Fox, resident daredevil at Engine Co. 6, needs a low-key job to keep him busy while he recovers from his latest rescue stunt. Consulting on a local movie shoot should add just enough spark to his day. Especially when in struts Molly Cade: the woman who worked his heart over good, and then left him in the Windy City dust.

Their story is straight out of a script: irrepressible, spunky heroine meets taciturn, smoldering hero. But these two refuse to be typecast, and when the embers of an old love are stoked, someone is bound to get burned…

This is my first book by this author. It's book 4 in the series and reading the previous ones can probably make the enjoyment of this one even bigger, but I quite liked it just the same.

It is a very lively, fast-paced romance with a great cast of supporting characters. The prologue was stunning - sizzling hot and mysterious, the perfect lead into what is to come in terms of romance in this story.

I have to admit that Hollywood romances don't always work for me. Often I find them too far fetched to feel real/plausible. This one had some of that, but it was mostly fun, and sexy with just a touch of drama. And it had Wyatt, who was such a joy to read - alpha, broody and silent, simply irresistible.

Molly was interesting too, she came off as independent and strong, but at the same time she often acts like a diva - spoiled and demanding, careless of what other people's needs and desires. 

What started as playful and carefree five years ago, became much more serious and meaningful for both characters at the present moment. Yet, it was nearly impossible for them to actually be together and all the drama ensued. It was good that they loyal (and absolutely hilarious) friends and siblings interfered to 'help' them.

On the plus side, I loved the romance and the strong chemistry between Wyatt and Molly, the way they tried to resist the attraction between them in order not the hurt the other one, and the way they succumbed to their desires and made their relationship work and be beneficial for everybody.

On the flip side, I have to say that some of the jokes fell flat and sometimes I felt the writing dissolved in a colloquial style that did not fit the story. Some overused cliches took away some of my enjoyment of the story but overall, it was rather good, very sexy contemporary romance.