Flirting with Fire” by Kate Meader

original post at http://ramblingfromthischick.blogspot...
“Flirting with Fire” by Kate Meader was the first story I have read by this author. At first the story was ok and I was lukewarm about it (no pun intended). But the more I read the more interested I became in the story and finally I could not put it down.

So not only was it my first time reading Kate Meader but it was my first time reading a M/M story, although only a subplot in the story. Also it was the first time I read about such diverse characters, it was very refreshing. Also, the hero and the heroine were not the main focus for me but I did enjoy them.

As I mentioned before at first I was not really loving the story. When the story starts Kinsey Taylor is at the Chicago Fire Department at Engine 6 with the specific purpose of reimaging in Luke Almeida. Kinsey is originally from California but after her fiancé leaves her. So, I really enjoyed both Luke and Taylor, BUT and this is a huge BUT. My ultra-pet-peeve when I read a romance is when the authors don’t stink to their characters personalities. It drives me crazy. I almost stopped reading this story because of it. Taylor is great. She is tough as nails, has her insecurities, just like any normal person, but the minute she is around Luke she loses herself. She goes from hot to cold so often and the same for Luke. They have this “I like you and am attracted to you and I’m going crazy but I don’t want you, until I see you again and I want you.” Ok, now that my rant is over. Once I was able to put this aside the secondary characters made this story for me. So Taylor works for the City of Chicago and it’s her job to change the “bad boy image” of the firehouse. The Mayor, Elli, has asked her to reform the image of Luke and his Engine house because they have developed a very wild image, this is thanks to the bar fights, etc. Needless to say Luke is a little resistant. His family is the Dempsey’s.

The Dempsey’s took in Luke and his foster siblings. They are all different and from different ethnicities and backgrounds. The secondary characters really made me interested in the story. I really enjoyed reading about Gage, Luke’s foster brother and fellow firefighter. I thought his romance with Brady was very good. The author has a novella out in August about these two characters and I can’t wait to see how she unravels their story. Cage was a great character and I’m looking forward to seeing him get his happily-ever-after with the very complex Brady.

The other secondary character that I loved was Alexandra Dempsey. Unlike Luke and Gage the Dempsey’s legally adopted her. She is fantastic. She is the only female at the firehouse and she can definitely hold her own. Her love interest is Eli Cooper. Eli was such a difficult character to like. I could not believe some of the things that he said and came out of his mouth! Alex and Elli had incredible chemistry, I’m hooked on what the author plans to do to them!

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book and if the hero and heroine had been more sturdy it would have been a five star read. I highly recommend this story, really enjoyed it and am counting down the days until August so we can see what Gage and Brady go through. Never looked forward to a novella before but I definitely am now. Plus, I’m sure Alex and Elli will be an incredible read.