Hot To the Touch (Hot in Chicago Rookies 3) by Kate Meader-review tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 22, 2023

I might be a rookie Chicago firefighter, but I’m on top of the world. I’ve just earned my spot on Rescue Squad at legendary Engine 6, can get all the action I want both in and out of the bedroom, and am possessed of an enviable sneaker collection. Nothing can harsh my vibe except her—Cassandra Ferguson, my brother’s sister-in-law, or as I affectionately label her: the blister-in-law. Ever since I met her, she’s looked down her perky little nose at me, never mind that I’m a good foot taller. Apparently, I offended her with a few risqué jokes and an offer for a fun, no-strings night—crimes that have relegated me to lower than dirt in St. Cassandra’s eyes.

These days we’re at a stalemate. Don’t get along, can’t get along. Only when tragedy strikes, we have no choice but to put our animosity aside for the sake of our hurting niece and nephew, who need us now more than ever. As co-guardians, Cassie and I are enemy combatants in an uneasy truce, flailing around in a no-man’s land of grief and lust, forced to work as a team.

Thing is, when Cassie and I team up—when we really work together—the results are explosive. In a sexy way. In an amazing way. Maybe … in every way. But with stakes this high, we can’t get it wrong.

Even though it feels so, so right.

••••

REVIEW:HOT TO THE TOUCH is the third instalment in Kate Meader’s contemporary, adult HOT IN CHICAGO ROOKIES erotic, romance series-a spin off from the author’s HOT IN CHICAGO series. This is Chicago firefighter Sam Killian, and financial advisor Cassandra ‘Cass’ Ferguson’s story line. HOT TO THE TOUCH can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Sam and Cass) HOT TO THE TOUCH follows in the aftermath of a tragedy that finds Sam and Cass co-parenting/co-guardians to their respective niece and nephew. Cass’s sister was married to Sam’s brother but an accident left their children orphans, in the care of our story line couple but Sam and Cass have butted heads for as long as they can remember, and forced to co-parent two young children places demands on our couple including a decision about where to live or move on with their lives. Sam and his family all live in Chicago but Cass’s life is in New York, a life that is quickly falling apart. What ensues is the building but contemptuous relationship between Sam and Cass, and the potential fall-out as Cass must decide between a life in New York, or a life in Chicago with a family she loves.

The world building focuses on survival and moving forward. Sam’s reputation as a man-wh*re precedes his introduction to our story line heroine, a reputation that Cass is unwilling to forget. As Sam and Cass must journey together for the sake of the children, friends and relatives as willing to help when the going gets tough.

The relationship between Cass and Sam is a frenemies to lovers, forced proximity in which Cass struggles with Sam’s reputation, and the copious number of women that were once in his life. Sam’s entire life and family live in Chicago but Cass has no one left but the children who no longer have parents to love. As Cass and Sam work together for the sake of the children, they will quickly discover that living together as a family means putting aside past animosities for the sake of everyone involved. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative.

HOT TO THE TOUCH is a story of loss and grief, family and friendships, forgiveness and acceptance, love and understanding. The premise is heart breaking and emotional; the romance Is seductive and passionate; the characters are struggling yet determined and dynamic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Up in Smoke
Down in Flames

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.