In their first adult romance, England delivers a scorcher.

One fights fires. The other sets them (for scientific reasons). They share a best friend. That best friend is impulsive and flaky, and now she wants to move to Fiji–and give up her 800k+ social media following.

What better way to get acquainted with the bestie your bestie made while you were out of state for grad school than to team up and try to stop her from making a huge mistake? Especially when you're in love with shared bestie and always have been, but have thus far been too afraid to admit your feelings?

But oh wait, new bestie is super hot, and things are getting complicated...

The pros:
-England has that way of writing a breezy, compulsively-readable romance that I can only compare to Courtney Milan–the problems aren't always light, but that sense of moving through the story is.
-While the characters on paper are very "opposites attract," in reality they work together very well.
-🔥 sex scenes.
-not equating "found family" with having a friend group.

The cons:
-use of the word "clean" for sexual health status, although I acknowledge the absolutely lack of replacement we have that works so succinctly.
-...that's really it. I do think the friends might've been given a little more page time as individuals, but everyone's doing SOMETHING mysterious, so hopefully we'll get another book or three about them.

Disclaimer: I know the author casually from our time in librarianship.

All Fired Up is a very cute sapphic romance! Two opposite-personality main characters come together in this quick read!

Overall, this was a fun, light-hearted romance with a lot of spice that I think many romance readers will enjoy! It read pretty quickly and kept my attention. I liked both of the main characters along with Skylar, but I think some of the other side characters could have been developed a little more. The ending left a little bit to be desired for me. There were a few plot points (Skylar's car, Willow's secret, etc.) that either weren't circled back to at the end or were just left opened ended, which I didn't love.

All Fired Up is a sweet queer romance following Nic, a fire scientist, and Kira, a firefighter. This book has plenty of fire and spice! Also filled with found family, you’ll see them overcome challenges and fears with their tight knit group of friends by their side. You’ll see both Nic and Kirra move on from self sabotage and come into self acceptance, no longer letting their thoughts and feelings hold them back from the lives they both need and deserve. They find each other while learning how to find themselves.

Ahhhhhhh, this book is fire! Pun intended! This is a really enjoyable chaotic romance novel with endearing main characters and not much angst. This is the perfect sweet book to read when life feels like it isn't going according to plan.

This was by far one of the cutest sapphic novels I have ever read.

The idea of a friend group coming together for one big hurrah with 2 of the members truly meeting and connecting is such a niche trope that I couldn’t even imagine myself, but one that I totally fell in love with. Though the cast of characters is on the heavier side I felt that all of them were unique and were never left out, both plot wise and general development. You can easily tell how different everyone is and why the group works the way it does.

The communication was absolutely top tier. I loved the openness and just the realness of it, not to mention the super hot consent too. I’m just saying now that sapphic novels will always have top tier spice scenes. This book made me well aware of that, and I might have read the scenes more than once… oops. Thankfully!!!! We also get a HEA which is giving all the warm and cuddly feelings.

Thank you, HTP, for the early copy!

Unfortunately, “All Fired Up” didn’t heat up enough to my liking. I thought I would enjoy it since it features many of my favorite tropes (forced proximity, opposites attract, found family, etc.) but it just didn’t click.

The main characters felt underdeveloped. Every time it seemed like they might learn from their mistakes, they would just repeat the same patterns. While they had chemistry, I often had to reread parts of the steamier scenes to figure out what was happening—there were moments where clothing items mysteriously reappeared after supposedly being removed.

I only finished this because I wanted to see what happened to their friends. However, if you love secret relationships and STEM romances, this might still work for you! I’d recommend checking out other reviews since many readers enjoyed this one.

In "All Fired Up" we follow the stories of Nic and Kira, with each chapter switching perspectives between the characters. For two characters who were clearly made for each other, it was fantastic to see how realistic their journeys were to figure it out themselves. Each character tackles challenges that are so relatable and make them feel very well-developed. Seeing one of the characters struggle and work on breaking the cycle of feeling unworthy and another work on honestly communicating boundaries, all while seeking enthusiastic consent with each other was so important. Also, having a book where the queer characters just get to be queer and the drama is centered on other things is always a treat. There isn't any hand-holding or justifying people's identities. As such, this book felt like it was written for the LGBTQ+ community with found family, a nonbinary character who never has to correct others' use of their pronouns, disaster lesbians and a lot of inside jokes that go with that trope,. and recognizing everyone's humanity, no matter where they are in their journey. This book is a wonderful peek into a tight group of amazing folks and I hope there will be more to come that focus on the supporting characters, if we're lucky enough to get more books from this author.

cool and fun romance read that I really liked. both MCs were very cool and the setting was nice. 5s tars. tysm for the arc.

There’s lots of fire in this book & it is not just from Nic & Kira’s jobs.

I don’t always love a dual POV, but it definitely worked here. The mid-20s are generally a chaotic and challenging time of figuring out who you are and what you want to do with your life. Even for Kira who knows she wanted to stay in firefighting, had challenges that she had to overcome with personal growth in this book!

It was a perfect blend of spicy, found family, and romance… with a sprinkling of tarot! The shifting of the relationships - not just the romantic ones - brought another great element to the book. Friendships can shift and change and this book focuses not just on the new, exciting, and spicy romance — but those support systems to. It also left a very nice door open for more books in this universe with the tidbits about all the friends in the last chapters !

This was a fun read. The antics were hilarious, emotions high, and probably one of the best uses of a tarot reading I’ve read in a while. I wanted a little more towards the end with the emotional revelations, but I still enjoyed what occurred. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

All Fired Up by M.K. England is a sapphic new adult romance that highlights the importance of found family, living life for you not the expectations others set forth for you, and facing feelings head on. Both main characters, Kira and Nic, find themselves struggling with their path in life. Nic had left her friend group and found family to attend grad school on the other side of the country. Once she completes her degree, she heads home, expecting to find everything just as she had left it in Seattle. What she wasn’t expecting was her best friend to have a new best friend; enter Kira. Kira is the newest member of the friend group, a firefighter, and her own biggest critic. The two girls join together as partners in crime to stop their shared best friend, Skylar, from jetting off to Fiji to start a new life without them. Once they get to plotting, things really begin to take off between the two.

Overall, I loved the book. It was near impossible to put down. The dynamic between Nic and Kira was perfect. From their jobs being two sides of the same coin (Nic being a pyrologist and Kira being a firefighter) to their opposite personalities. Nic is reserved, introverted, and far too relatable on my end. Kira, on the other hand, has a confidence about her that Nic was lacking. She was a badass and went after what she wanted, even when the powers that be tried to keep her down. They complimented each other exceptionally.

I would have liked to see more of the friend group and their dynamics. Despite this, with the short amount of time the group was on the page, it was clear this story lends itself to the possibility of a series.

CW: alcohol consumption; death of a parent, troubled parental relationships, burning building, misogynistic comments

Thank you to Netgalley and Canary Street Press for gifting me this e-book in exchange for an honest review. All Fired Up will be released on April 29th, 2025.

This is such a cute romcom sapphic read!

Nic is back in Seattle, WA to finally act on her crush for friend Skylar only to find out that Skylar is moving! All the way to Fiji too! While she has been gone, Skylar has found an another close friend, Kira. Nic and Kira strike up a friendship in order to complete operation Keep Skylar in Seattle. However, when a professional pyro and a firefighter team up, sparks are sure to fly!

Newfound friends to lovers, Nic and Kira’s friendship is so natural. More than just a romance book, this book explores topics of found family and letting go of relationships that do not serve you.

With excellent pacing and characters that are easy to connect to, this story pulled me in. I couldn’t put the book down. Even though some of the plot is predictable, there are some twists I didn’t see coming! I have a feeling there will be sequels that focus on Nic and Kira’s Seattle friend group because some mysterious facts are noted about their friends that are setting up for a story focused on each friend. Like what is Willow doing in the woods she keeps disappearing to?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! It was so much more than just a romance. I loved that it was about a 27 year old struggling with abandonment issues and highlighted how hard your mid to late twenties can be. I don’t think it’s talked enough about the time after college and grad school, how hard that transition can be to becoming a “real adult”. Going from what Skylar said “school being easy for her because of deadlines and rules were set by others.” hit me hard.

I loved the mental health aspect of the book too.

I did think that the whole engagement was super fast and I’m not sure how I feel about it. With all the immense changes, I feel like waiting to make big decisions like that is fine. They both already made a bunch of life changing decisions in the last 6 months.

When Nic fled across the country to go to graduate school, she was also running from her feelings for her best friend, Skylar. She comes back to Seattle two years later to a bright pink, glittery box - an elaborate invitation - and immediately assumes the worst. Kira, a firefighter desperate for a promotion in the neighborhood she grew up in and newer to the friend group, is terrified of what Skylar’s announcement and plans mean. She and Nic put their heads together to scheme up ways to make their best friend realize she needs to stay right there with them as emotions flare and relationships grow.

This is a great romance for someone who loves an over the top and slightly cheesy angle, which, unfortunately, is just not me. There are heavy emotional conversations and a lot of miscommunication between everyone in this large friend group. There are secrets and reveals. Frankly, some crazy decisions get made here and they had me absolutely ranting to a friend who had no idea what on earth I was going on about.

All Fired Up is both funny and heartfelt, but at least the first quarter of it was far too melodramatic for me. Honest to god, Nic stares at and waxes poetic about the box on her doorstep for what felt like ages right at the top of this book. That’s not the kind of story I’m normally sticking around for, but the dramatics mellowed out a degree not long after. I’ve enjoyed England’s writing in the past (I was obsessed with their YA sci-fi The Disasters when it came out in 2018) so I was glad that eventually that’s what All Fired up settled into as well. England’s prose is comfortable and fun and often reminded me of Ali Hazelwood’s romances (which I do enjoy, but recognize are divisive).

There were some character development flaws, namely that hardly any of the characters felt fleshed out to any satisfying degree. They hovered around the corners of the narrative for the most part, their absences usually excused by jokes. Willow’s probably a witch so they’re out in the woods somewhere. Grace is in the middle of a work crunch. You know how it goes. They just could have been more than cardboard cut outs of characters. I’m also just not sure if all of the choices made with Skylar’s character were necessary or if they even make sense. It felt like more development was needed there.

Lastly, and this might just be an ARC problem that gets fixed before the publication date, but there are a lot of little continuity errors. Little things that should be picked up easily in an edit. There were the normal little line edit issues, but these felt a little larger than that and were worth noting as I’m unsure how many will get fixed and they’re the kind of issues that trip me up.

All Fired Up is a fun romance, though, and I’m always going to welcome more queer and STEM works onto my shelves. It’s a little zany for me personally, but I know plenty of people who look for this specific vibe and I’m glad to see this filling that niche. I’ll be looking forward to England’s future works as well.

All Fired Up is set to release on April 29, 2025!

{Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions here are my own.}

I really enjoyed this book! A well written romantic comedy that had me invested and engaged the whole time. I loved the firefighter/scientist troupe and thought that the main characters were well developed. I could see this book being the first in a series where we follow the story lines of other characters. I know that I would read the sequel!

I was really surprised by how much I liked this book. The flow was good, the pace was right, the banter is light but true. I literally just kept on reading and not realizing I was at the end.

The book is about Nic, who is a scientist for fire, and Kira, a firefighter. As Skylar, their mutual best friend introduced the two, she realized that Nic & Kira is the ying and the yang. Nic was pining for Skylar forever, Nic had sever attachment issue basically because of her own parents abandon and emotionally abused her, and she crave a connection so bad that she takes even the negative ones. Kira has the ghost of her dad to deal with, which she channels it to be her career goals.

I like how they got together by scheming on their best friend, Skylar. It brought them together, it shows how much alike and how smart they both are. I appreciated how they both have insecurities of their own, but it's about themselves not necessary about each other. The relationship, chemistry grew very organically, and it's lovely to see. Often times, for bi-characters, the queer person would have insecurities of what-ifs... none of that here. It just shows how true to themselves these characters are, and how loyal they are to their partners, which is nice to see illustrated and not blown up to be characterized. Also love their group of friends, though they seem aloof, but they are there to support.

Like I said, this is lovelier than I had anticipated, and a quick read. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

All Fired Up is the first book I've read by MK England & it definitely put them on my authors-to-watch list. England writes fantastic fiction for queer nerds & I am absolutely that demographic. And if you're also a queer nerd who loves reading about friends to lovers, messy sapphics, and found family then All Fired Up is the book for you.

Kira, the firefighter, is not here for your stereotypes or misogyny. She's strong, capable, & committed to the people in her life.

Nic, the pyro scientist, is in love with her best friend & struggling to find her place within her friend group after coming home from grad school.

The two make a duo of self-appointed saviors for a friend they are both certain is about to make a horrible decision with her life. I'd be more frustrated with the characters determination to avoid an honest conversation on the subject if they were more competent in their mission. But as it stands, they're so busy trying not to be attracted to each other that they miss the mark entirely. It makes for a pretty funny rom-com that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Also, there is a fantastic scene with a tarot card reading that I absolutely loved. I am a tarot reader myself & often find fictional depictions to be a bit hokey but this one felt exactly how I would read cards for people. Like a mini therapy session. It was awesome to find this bit of whimsy in a book with characters that are very much about science.

This one comes out April 28th, pre-order it now!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

M.K. England’s All Fired Up is a thrilling and heartfelt blend of action, humor, and personal growth. Following a group of misfit heroes navigating a high-stakes quest, the story delivers fast-paced adventure alongside themes of friendship, redemption, and finding one’s purpose. England’s witty prose and diverse, lovable characters shine, making this an engaging and uplifting read. A perfect pick for fans of adventurous tales with a lot of heart.

Before I get into my review I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of “All Fired Up”! A fire dynamics scientist and a firefighter become friends through a mutual friend, Skylar. Skylar, an irresponsible influencer announces she’s packing up her things and moving to Fiji.

Kira and Nic decide they cannot let this happen. The duo becomes very close as they try to find ways to keep Skylar in Seattle.

I absolutely loved Kira’s and Nic’s chemistry and energy. The quirky humor and the steamy romance were an amazing combination!

I had an absolutely amazing time reading this book and read it in one sitting! I cannot wait to check out more of M.K. England’s books!

Again, thank you NetGalley and HTP for this arc!