When Nic, a firefighter, is reunited with her friends after moving back to Seattle, she is wary of Kira, a new addition to the group since Nic left for school. She definitely didn't expect to hit it off instantly with the fire science engineer. When their friend Skylar announces a hairbrained scheme that threatens to upset the balance of Nic's new life, The two team up. Nic and Kira will do anything to keep their friend Skylar (and mutual crush) from ruining her life by moving to Fiji on a whim. Along the way, they might start a fire they can't put out. Hot and spicy with enough plot to keep you interested- an excellent sapphic read.

All Fired Up by MK England (published April 29, 2025)

All fired up is an enticing, emotionally charged sapphic romance following the lives of a queer group of friends. For fans seeking a little sapphic tension and delicious spice, you’ve found THE book. Nic, a fire chemist, is left feeling directionless after grad school and finding out her longtime best friend Skylar will be moving to Fiji. Skylar’s an insightful character offering Nic the opportunity to reflect on her headstrong approach to life and ultimately is the catalyst for her growth. I appreciated the dynamic between these two queer friends, but the most exciting part was the tense, ignited romance between Nic and our new firefighter, Kira. The writing was straightforward, clear and the plot built us towards this red hot romance seamlessly between Kira and Nic.

Likewise, the audiobook was beautifully narrated with each character captured with a unique voice, intonation and inflection making the audiobook experience had me absorbed in this story. The narrator had an easy voice to listen to with compelling story telling. I would absolutely recommend listening to this audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequinn Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook. It was a wonderful listening experience and a delightful story.

#NetGalley #HarlequinnAudio #ARC #ALC #AllFiredUp #MKEngland #LGBTQIAP+ #SapphicBooks #SapphicRomance

A Solidly Okay Read: A Review of M.K. England's "All Fired Up"

I recently finished listening to M.K. England's "All Fired Up" audiobook via NetGalley, and while it kept me mildly entertained over the course of two busy days filled with cooking and cleaning, it's not a book that will be sticking with me for the long haul. Going in blind, I had no preconceived notions, making my experience purely based on the story itself.

"All Fired Up" proved to be a somewhat uneven experience. There were moments that genuinely landed, eliciting a laugh and sparking a flicker of hope that the story would truly take off. However, these moments were often followed by narrative choices that ultimately left me deflated. It felt like the story was constantly on the verge of something great, only to veer off down a less compelling path.

Ultimately, I felt like the story lacked a certain spark. Despite flashes of potential, it never truly ignited and remained somewhat stagnant throughout. While not a terrible listen, "All Fired Up" didn't manage to fully capture my attention or leave a lasting impression. It's a decent listen for when you need background entertainment, but don't expect to be blown away. 3 out of 5 stars.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where contemporary romance is popular.

Loved this cover, had to get this FF romance.

Nicole Wells returns to Seattle after grad school, ready to reconnect with friends and finally make a move on her longtime crush, Skylar. But when Skylar announces she's moving to Fiji, Nic teams up with Kira, a charming firefighter and new addition to their friend group, to stop her. Their plan quickly spirals into chaos, and while the mission to save Skylar falters, Nic finds herself drawn to Kira in unexpected ways. What starts as a rescue mission turns into something much more.

This was a cute, low-stakes read. I always love reading FF novels and seeing myself represented in these diverse friend groups. I thought the whole plot and things that drew our MCs together was great, and it felt like a nice one-off standalone palate cleanser.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this ALC!

This book was something I found myself glad I read, but not something I think I would think twice about. It had characters that were loveable, but I didn't connect as much with them as I would have liked.

I liked this book! I enjoyed listening to the audiobook! But I just didn’t love it.

I really liked the dual POV. I listened to the audiobook, and I loved the dual POV with two different narrators, whose voices were different enough that I never found myself confused as to which POV I was in. This is also, of COURSE, a credit to the author who managed to write in two different voices well.

There were things I didn’t love, though. The main one was that I remained totally unconvinced of Skylar as a character. The whole book, in some ways, revolved around her and relied on her characterization as an AMAZING best friend, which I just didn’t get. Starting mid-book, I found myself a little frustrated with just how « on the nose » this book is — it kind of slaps you in the face with it’s messages, rather than approaching in a more nuanced or complex fashion. This continued through the end, where I felt like everything wrapped up in far too neat a bow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was able to read this because of NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley. I liked this more than I thought I would. At the start of the book, Nicole is in love with Skylar, who is not the love interest of the book. Kira, the firefighter, is her love interest. I liked how the author transitioned that gap. They were both best friends of Skylar, and they got to know each other from trying to stop Skylar from moving. All in all, not my favourite genre or tropes, but I still enjoyed the book.

Thank you NetGalley!

This was such a great read!! I loved it!! The main characters were perfect! They have such a good friend group and the perfect amount of spice!

I listened to the audiobook of All Fired Up by M. K. England, which was narrated by Angel Pean and Kristen DiMercurio. I love both narrators, and while I wouldn't have thought to put them together on a project, it totally worked. They were well-balanced and, as always, gave great performances.

As for the story, it’s an adorable romcom full of self-discovery, found family, and a good bit of heat. Nicole—or Nic—has been in love with her college best friend Skylar for years. She’s been away at graduate school for fire dynamics, but has returned home to Seattle and the fold to find that Skylar’s planning a big (and, in everyone but Skylar’s eyes, reckless) move to Fiji. Nic teams up with Kira, a firefighter who Skylar met and brought into their friend group while she was away, to try to prevent what they see as a big mistake. The more time they spend together, though, the more obvious it becomes that the chemistry between them is...well, fire.

I loved how the relationship between Kira and Nic developed, and the discoveries they helped each other make as they went. Those self-discoveries are really the key to the story, and they’re handled smoothly without rushing things or bogging them down. I enjoyed the friend group, although I felt like they weren’t as fully developed as I would have liked. Skylar was a particularly interesting character, always underestimated by the people around her, and I would love to see a story focused on her. I give the audiobook a solid 4.5 stars, rounded up.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

I loved this! This book was so much fun. The main characters were perfect for each other which I adored. Also their queer friend group made me so happy. I loved all of them so much and wanted to be a part of that group so much. This also had several really good spicy scenes.

A sweet and fiery story about found family, letting go, and opening up to new kinds of love. If you think friends to lovers is silly (and that if they wanted to, they would!!!), this is absolutely the lesbian romcom for you. I loved the characters and was rooting for them!

Read if you like: Firefighter fantasies, close-knit friend groups, messy friends, and secret plots backfiring in a good way (no pun intended)

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with a copy of the book.

First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley as well as Harlequin and Harlequin Aduio/Canary Press for providing this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊

<b>⚝ Rating ⚝:</b> 4.75✩ / 5✩’s

<b>⚝ Review ⚝:</b> THEM. THEM. THEM!

And not just the two FMCs who I adored, but every single character in this book (minus the fire chief because absolutely not). Admittedly, I didn't know how I would feel about Skylar in the beginning, but I found I adored her as much as everyone else.

All Fired Up follows the 'misadventures' of Nic, who has just returned to Seattle from getting her Masters across the country, and Kira, a firefighter who, while Nic was away, was folded into the little friend group while Nic was away. Now the two are in the same city, with the same best friend (Skylar) the bombshell to end all bombshells: Skylar Clark, the social media influencer with a PhD, is dropping all social media and moving to Fiji indefinitely. Knowing all of Skylar's outlandish plans inevitably end in disaster, Nic and Kira team up to try and convince Skylar that leaving Seattle, giving up her career, and turning off the social media permanently, is a bad idea. Though Nic has ulterior motives: She has been in love with Skylar for years and is hoping this is her chance to finally have a shot at a relationship with her best friend.

But while Nic and Kira are (not so subtly) trying to deter Skylar from the move, sparks start flying between the two and Nic starts to realize that there may be more to her feelings about Skylar than she ever wanted to admit to herself.

Personally, I found this one of the most realistic and relatable RomComs I've ever read. All the characters melded so well together. There was the right amount of chemistry between everyone. Nic's lack of identity, while at times frustrating, was actually incredibly relatable. Most people do not enter adulthood with a complete understanding of who they are as an individual, on top of Nic never having a form of stable support until college, the need to fit a perceived set of ideations for what she should be for those around her to accept or be proud of her makes total sense. In contrast, Kira had a stable support system, and has always known what she wants: to make her (late) father proud as she does everything she can to climb the ranks within the Seattle Fire Department, only to have her requests for promotion be denied every time--exactly what her father told her would happen.

I loved how everything in this book was handled, from the delicate relationships, to the reality of moving back home, and especially the positive discussions about mental health and the importance of therapy. This was just such a fun and engaging read and I've spent the past *several* days still obsessing over Nic and Kira. This is one of the few RomComs that I would actually love to see work into a series, not necessarily following Nic and Kira, but any of the characters from their group of friends (no, seriously, this is me begging for stories about Skylar, Ian and Marco, Grace, or Willow. Really, I'm...I'm begging here.)

There is honestly only one thing I wish was explored more and that is the chemistry side of what Nic did, particularly, the material she showed Kira as a possible, more flame retardant material for firefighter uniforms. I felt like that had so much potential for adding to their relationship, but it was mentioned I believe only once and then dropped. Instead, it felt like the remainder of commentary on Nic's career was just her setting anything and everything on fire.

<b>⚝ Audio/Narrator⚝:</b> The two narrators for All Fired Up, Angel Pean and Kristen DiMercurio, were *perfect*. 10/10, no notes. But seriously, these two matched each other's energies so well that there were times they were narrating for characters other than the two FMCs where they genuinely sounded exactly the same, in the best way as the two voices for the FMCs themselves were so distinct and easy to tell apart. I can't believe I haven't heard from these two before (but I have several books they have narrated on my TBR).

<b>⚝ Representation ⚝: </b> Bisexual, Lesbian, Nonbinary, Queer, Gay, 'confused straight' (yes, this is an important designation in this book)

<b>⚝ TWs ⚝: </b> Fire/Burning building, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol

My monthly reading breakdown for May will be posted to TikTok, IG, and Threads the first week of June.

I loved the audio! This was such a fiery (iykyk 🤭) romance, but with so much depth and complexity for every single character. I would LOVE for this to be a series so we can follow the friend group. There is so much beautiful queer representation and an incredible example of found family. The cover is so deceiving, but in a good way lol I need y’all to read this one. The audiobook was 10/10.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this 🎧 ARC.

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read!

all right, this book was delightful; I loved the characters, the contrast between them, and the way their love story unfolded. Also the full cast of characters?! so fun!!!

rep: all queer cast

spice: several vivid sex scenes

🧯🔥🚒❤️‍🔥🚨

It’s getting hot in here 🥵

This book was FIRE 🔥 (pun intended ofc) The main characters, the supporting characters, the plot lines…it was all so good !! Nic and Kira had amazing chemistry (warning for the spicy scenes: contents very hot) and I love an opposite attracts moment, so the firefighter vs firestarter pairing cracked me up.

Also shoutout to the narrators! I thought they were each were a perfect fit for their respective characters, and did a great job reading for them!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!! 🫶🏼

This is a cute romance! I appreciated that there were 2 narrators for the audiobook, it helped clearly define the different perspectives.
I have to be honest, I was looking for at least a couple actual fire fighting scenes. But, that clearly wasn't the focus based on the synopsis so I couldn't be too disappointed. I also think that some of the relationship development went faster than I'd expect, but with that the spicy scenes were fun and abundant.
Definitely a fun read/listen overall.

All Fired Up is steamy story about two fire-loving queer women trying to prevent their shared best friend from doing something stupid.

I think for me the relationships in the book felt very rushed. Kira and Nic didn't know each other for more than a few days before snuggling on the couch and venting, and the drop from Skylar happened just halfway through the book. It never even seemed like Nic actually liked Skylar at all. Their relationship went from 0-100 so quickly that I had a hard time believing it, and besides Skylar, the other friends didn't feel super relevant to the plot. I did enjoy the two main characters and am glad they had actually fun and fulfilling careers that were important and part of their personality. And I really liked Skylar's character and how complex she was, I would have liked to see more about her.

A couple pet peeves - I hate when books mention "mysteries" and then never divulge them (Willa), it drives me crazy. And when someone goes to a couple therapy sessions and then is magically ready for a relationship.

All in all, it was an alright book, but the climax left something to be desired because of how fast the book moved. 3.5 stars

4.5⭐️ 3🌶️ 5🎧

- FF
- Fire Fighter & Fire Starter (she’s a scientist it’s cool)
- Conspirators to Friends to Lovers
- “Let’s Keep it Casual”
- Found Family
- One Bed

I loved this book! It was so much fun with lovable characters and amazing spice.

This book had all the banter, humor and ridiculously complicated shenanigans I love in a romcom. Nic and Kira are both best friends with Skylar. Nic has a not so secret crush on Skylar and Kira had a not so secret crush on Nic. In fact the only people not aware of the crushes are Nic and Kira. So when the two of them team up to save Skylar from her latest scheme, I knew I was in for a fun time.

I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of angst when Kira learned about Nic’s crush on Skylar. Maybe it is because it was so obvious that they belonged together.

I also loved the complexity of the characters. Nic had some pretty significant insecurities when it came to friends and family because of her childhood and I loved seeing her work through them. Kira has been fighting an uphill battle with the (fictional) Seattle Fire Department, finding it hard as a queer woman to advance within the department. Both of them had to do some pretty serious self reflection to see what it was they really wanted in life and what made them happy.

I absolutely loved the audiobook! Angel Pean and Kristen DiMercurio did a fabulous job brining Kira and Nic to life.