Ellie Reads All the Books: Firefighters

Review: Sparking the Fire by Kate Meader

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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

Blurb

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…

Review

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.

Purchase links: KI NDLE | NOOK | IBOOKS | KOBO

Contemporary Romance

Review: Controlled Burn by Shannon Stacey

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Title: Controlled Burn (Boston Fire #2)
Author: Shannon Stacey
Date of publication: 24 Nov 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 3 stars

Synopsis

Rick Gullotti lives the good life. He fights fires, dates beautiful women—though none long enough so they cast wistful glances at jewelry stores—and has great friends. And thanks to helping out the elderly couple who own his building, his rent is low. But when concerns about their health lead him to contact their only son, his life starts getting away from him.

Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston, but her father—who happens to be her boss—dispatches her to deal with the grandparents she's never met. She's unprepared for the frigid winter, loving relatives who aren't the monsters she's been led to believe, and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.

At first, Jessica is determined to get back to her comfortable life as quickly as possible. All she has to do is talk her grandparents into selling their monstrosity of a house and moving to a retirement community. But she underestimates Rick's dedication—and his considerable charm. Nobody's taking advantage of his friends on his watch, even if that makes the tempting southern California girl with the long legs his adversary. Unfortunately for them both, the only thing more urgent than the matter at hand is their sizzling chemistry, and it's quickly becoming too strong to resist.

Mini Review

I'm a fan of Ms Stacey's Kowalski family series - sweet, sexy romances with great side characters and family/friends atmosphere.

I was excited to try her new series and while this book was nice, it didn't wowed me. I expected a lot more of the story and felt disappointed in the ending.

This is a tender, somewhat tame love story of Rick, a firefighter in his late thirties who is already starting to think of settling down and Jessica, a corporate woman, who dreams of belonging and having a family (not just husband and kids but rather, more than a distant father). They meet when she turns out to be the granddaughter of his landlords, a girl they didn't know existed.

It's a slow burn romance and the main conflict is based on the fear of both Rick and Jessica that the other having ulterior motives, trying to cheat Jessica's grandparents of their house.

The plot is not particularly complicated - there is some action, some drama, very law level angst but not real pull or chemistry for me. I didn't find the story very compelling and a lot of it required too much suspended belief for a contemporary romance novel.

On the other hand, I liked the mature characters and how they acted their age, they knew who they were and were comfortable with themselves. They went into the relationship with open eyes, there were not lies and misunderstandings, just working out of the issues between them.

The ending is my biggest niggle with this story. It's a HEA of sorts but it felt like things were left in the middle of nowhere. It's no secret I love a good epilogue, but even without one, I want to story to feel complete, even it the characters get just a HFN ending.

Purchase links: Amazon | iBooks |B&N | Kobo