Up in Smoke (A Hot in Chicago Rookies Novel)

4.5 Stars This book kicked off what already sounds like a winner series by Kate Meader. This book was right up my alley with a single dad. Roman might not feel like it, but he is rocking the single dad status. You can tell just by how is daughter is confident in his love and her confidence to be her true self. There are many bumps in the road for our couple. One major one is Roman is Abby's CO at the firehouse. Did I mention she's also a rookie fresh on the job? Abby feels like she has so much to prove not just for her gender, but to live up to her mom's legacy. I loved all the inside jokes Abby and Roman have with one another especially the cherry pie. They have burning hot chemistry. This book gave me everything; heart, heat, and humor. The characters are great and pulled me right into the book. I really liked the camaraderie at the firehouse. You know that they each other's backs.

UP IN SMOKE is the first instalment in Kate Meader’s contemporary, adult HOT IN CHICAGO ROOKIES erotic, firefighter romance series-a spin off from the author’s HOT IN CHICAGO series. This is twenty six year old, paramedic and rookie firefighter Abby Sullivan, and thirty-two year old, single father and firefighter Lt. Roman Rossi’s story line. There is a slight cross-over with the author’s Rookie Rebels series. Told from dual first person perspectives (Abby and Roman) UP IN SMOKE follows the forbidden relationship between twenty six year old paramedic and rookie firefighter Abby Sullivan, and thirty-two year old single father and firefighter Lt. Roman Rossi. Roman had no idea the woman he met at an all night diner would be the newest rookie on Engine 6. Starting a relationship with someone under his command is all kinds of wrong but the palpable sexual attraction and burn could not be contained. As a rookie Abby Sullivan is continuously stepping out side of the line but it doesn’t help when someone is reporting Abby’s every move to the Chicago Fire Commissioner, a man Abby knows only too well. As Abby and Roman try to keep their relationship on the down low, someone is waiting in the wings to destroy our story line couple. What ensues is the building but secret relationship and romance between Abby and Roman, and the potential fall-out when a dangerous fire finds Abby going against orders to save the man with whom she is falling in love. Abby Sullivan knows the reality of life as a firefighter having grown up in a house with firefighting parents but Abby’s reality is about to crowd out her chances at Engine 6 when an over protective parent curtails Abby’s career as a successful firefighter. Roman Rossi is a single father who landed in Chicago after a disastrous marriage and career in New York City. Roman never set out to fall for Abby Sullivan but the heart wanted something more from out story line heroine. The relationship between Abby and Roman begins as co-workers. Roman is Abby’s immediate superior, and as such their relationship is off limits unless reported to HR. Abby struggles with the possibility of her relationship with Roman seen as improper or sleeping her way to the top, and in this, Abby is constantly pushing away Roman Rossi, when in her heart, she wants nothing more than to claim Roman as her own. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and intense without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text. We are introduced to Abby’s fellow rookies: Jude Torres, and Sam Killian; fellow firefighters Danny Acosta, Luke Almeida, Paul Wozniak, Alexandra Dempsey-Cooper, Commissioner Chuck Sullivan, as well as Roman’s sister Chiara, and his eleven year old daughter Lena. Jude’s story is next. UP IN SMOKE is a story of family, friendships, relationships and love; a story of struggle and trust, grief and loss, acceptance and forgiveness. The premise is captivating,engaging and emotional; the romance is seductive and steamy; the characters are charismatic, strong, determined and energetic.

5 Star Review of Up In Smoke (Hot In Chicago Rookies #1) by Kate Meader From the first chapter, Kate Meader drew me in and had my captivated by the story she wove in her latest series Hot in Chicago Rookies. This is rookie Abby Sullivan and single dad, Lieutenant Roman Rossi’s story and one that ticked all the boxes for me. The writing was strong with characters that are easy to relate to and whose story you cannot help but be drawn to. There was equal amounts of steam and heart; Ms. Meader isn’t afraid to write about characters who are flawed, human if you will. From the first chapter when they met over a piece of Cherry Pie there was a connection between them that only got stronger. After a passionate night, neither expect to see one another again but fate often works in mysterious ways and when Abby reports for duty at her assigned station house she is shocked to learn that Roman is her LT. The banter between these two was witty but it is the development of their relationship that added soul to this story; I loved the relationship that Roman has with his sister and daughter. The secondary characters were entertaining and I cannot wait to read more in this series.