The heat was spectacular….

If air could shimmer with desire, than that is what you would see between Molly and Wyatt. Add in sparky one-liners, snappy come-backs, deep emotion, love and family – well, you have this story, this series, in a reader’s delight nutshell. It really was spectacular…

Secrets. Wyatt had always been the aloof one in the Dempsey family but secrets he held close for years meant he was in a whole heap of trouble right now. His family was up in arms and Molly was right in the middle of it, as irresistible as ever. Molly was, in essence, starting over. Recovering from a ‘knock you sideways’ blow that hit personally and professionally, she was starting over. And she wasn’t sure Wyatt was in her future plans…

Hollywood superstar met (former) Marine/take charge firefighter. If you could bottle the chemistry between these two the fireworks would be gold as it spilled over the dialogue and these pages like molten lava. They made me laugh, they made me happy for them. They reminded me how love and tight family should be no matter the problem or the joy. This author made me feel every word of it, making it an amazing, high on the re-read shelf, read!

I received this book a few years ago from Netgalley but forgot to do the review. This story opens with an actress and a Marine meeting in a hotel lobby, bar every night and roll playing before going up to the room for some very hot sex. That is if they could make it out of the elevator. The story jumps ahead now where Wyatt is now a firefighter with Chicago Fire Department and has gotten injured. He is being assigned to a movie site as a technical adviser. Molly who was the hot Hollywood actress is working at overcoming a divorce where her ex-husband released nude pictures of her over the internet. Now wanting to make a comeback and remake herself she is doing a picture about a female firefighter. It just so happens that Molly and Wyatt have a history together and people feel it for the moment they meet. Yes, he remembers her and from here the story takes off. With his adopted family the Dempsey’s adding to the mix along with a niece that he did not know about. To wonder if the two of them could be together. Until after he offers and she leaves for Hollywood. Will she look at other ways to make it work or will this be the end of it for them. Read this wonderful book.

OMG!!! What a way to wrap on an amazing series. Quiet, sexy Wyatt as been a bit of a mystery since the suites began and now we get to see him in all his Dempsey glory! Molly and Wyatt had a secret affair years ago and now they are back in each other's lives. Meader has crafted a series full of strong characters, deep emotion, and super steamy sexy times. Don't miss this one!!!

I’m so sad to see the Hot In Chicago series end, but I felt like Kate Meader wrapped up the whole series nicely in Sparking the Fire. We got to see a lot of the “Fighting Dempsey” clan and their significant others in this book and for a very special reason and the somewhat standoffish and brooding Wyatt found love as well. I enjoyed this book a lot for the many family scenes and while I was happy that Wyatt not only made peace with his standing within the family that he found the woman he wanted to spend his life with, I will say I had a bit of a problem with the romance in this book. I just didn’t feel the emotional connection between the two main characters that I’ve come to expect in Ms. Meader’s books and at times I felt the relationship was really one sided with Wyatt giving all the time and Molly taking and taking; this bothered me on Wyatt’s behalf and I was a bit disappointed in that part of the book. Despite that, Sparking the Fire was fast paced, entertaining, fun and sexy and I would not have missed it for anything.

Recovering from an injury that has him on medical leave, Wyatt Fox is “voluntold” he will be the consult on a firefighter movie that centers around his squad and namely his sister Alex. Figuring out he can keep an eye on the vultures from Hollywood and protect his sister and his family all at the same time appeals to Wyatt, but so does the fact that Molly Cade, a blast from his past, will soon be back in his town.

After a year of heartache, embarrassment and exhaustion Molly Cade is ready to prove to the world she is more than the ex-wife of a mega star or the woman in the racy private photos that were displayed for the world to see during her divorce. Producing and starring in a movie about the kick-a$$ female Chicago firefighter that captured the heart of the city’s mayor is the perfect role, but getting the Dempsey clan to let her tell the real story is another matter until she realizes her consultant from the fire station is someone she has intimate knowledge about, but she refuses to get involved with any man at this point in time because proving her credibility is the only thing on her mind.

There was no doubting the fierce attraction or connection between Wyatt and Molly from the start, but in all honesty I felt their reasons for not being together to be a weak. Sure Molly’s life has been picked to pieces by the media, but what better way to stand up and let the world know you aren’t taking it lying down than to move on with your life, be in a healthy relationship, work hard on your next project and show them you are proud by holding your head up high? While Wyatt’s reasoning was a bit sounder, I still think it was weak because while he may be shy about the limelight his family is not, so at best he was putting a band-aid on the situation for a short time. If they had just met the situation head on, done an interview with a respectable journalist and owned it there wouldn’t have been half the turmoil.

I really liked getting to know Wyatt and admire him even more after getting his back story. Trying to erase the damage done by his biological father and live up to the expectations of his deceased big brother and the foster father that saved him made him the man he is, but my heart broke for him as for his reasoning of why he kept himself somewhat apart from his brothers and sister. I understood his reasoning for keeping the secret that comes out during this book, but I also think it made him realize that in doing so he hurt those that love him unconditionally. I loved watching him realize how much his family means to him and that without them life wouldn’t be worth living. His fierce protection of Molly and the obvious feelings he had for her just made him all the more attractive in my book.

Molly was one of those heroines I just had a hard time with; at times I would see flashes of someone I liked and could be friends with, but at other times she drove me crazy with her almost obsessive need to not allow anyone else in her life. I get that she was hurt, but I hate when people shut others out for the sins of another person. I felt like she was jerking Wyatt around for a lot of this book; he was good enough to have sex with, but not good enough for her to admit to a relationship with him. While she claimed not to be a diva, she had some pretty diva-like tendencies and for someone who did not want to be involved with Wyatt I felt she often stuck her nose in his business when it did not concern her.

The scenes where the whole Dempsey clan and their significant others were present were some of the best in this book. They gave us the closure we needed with all of these beloved characters and let us see that their lives are good, their relationships healthy and together they will always support each other.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but Hot In Chicago has been an excellent series and I am forever grateful for Ms. Meader for bringing these unique and engaging characters to life.

Great story about overcoming your differences and finding your HEA. Molly and Wyatt couldn't have been more different than each other, but managed work through it and find each other.

For some reason, this book didn't click for me. There was a alack "spark" between the main characters. I couldn't get into their story. I felt no connection.

Sorry this was a DNF for me. I could not connect with the characters or the authors writing. I'm taking this author off my TBR list. Thank you for the opportunity.

Loved Wyatt Fox so, so much!!! There was something really special about the reconnection between Wyatt and Molly. I loved the backstory of this pair and meeting up again the way that they did so many years later. So not only was this a firefighter story, but also a second chance romance. Totally win, win!! This story was full of laughter with all the siblings and heat between Wyatt and Molly! I love these Dempsey's for sure!!

I didn’t request this book, it just appeared in the download list, I am unsure of how it got there.

Once again Kate Meader knocks it out of the park with her hot Chicago firefighters!

Now why did I take so long to read this one? I guess it's because Sparking the Fire is the final Dempsey book and I just wanted to prolong this series as much as I could.

I really have nothing to say other than I love it. I love the chaos that is the Dempseys, their dynamic and banter, new additions to the family, and of course, Wyatt and Molly who heat up every page. I especially love how strong Molly is after everything she's been through, and how hardworking and determined she is to prove that she is more than a pretty face and some leaked nude photos. Elusive brother Wyatt also didn't disappoint; I already loved him from the glimpses we got of him in the previous books, and I love him even more now. He's got the strong Dempsey loyalty and protective streak, and I love how he's all heart despite his broodiness.

OK now I'm a little sad that we have no more Dempsey books but Kate's releasing a new book/series in August so at least there is something to soothe my soul.

3.5-4 stars

Wyatt Fox the former Marine and current firefighter spend an intense and very passionate week with the actress Molly Cade five years ago, neither have really forgotten each other and regret that it didn’t go further than just that week. Meeting now, when Molly is going to be playing the heroine in a movie that is about his sister’s love story and he gets to be the consultant is not something he wants.

Wyatt and Molly are really different from each other, he prefers the quite and loner lifestyle while Molly being a famous actress has to live her life in the limelight. Wyatt has a lot of insecurities that comes from his family history and hence feels like he doesn’t belong even with his siblings but he loves and protects them with all he has. Molly is dealing with her own problems with her now ex-husband and the media the photos that should have never been public. Seeing Molly again brings up feelings for Wyatt that he doesn’t really know how to deal with and neither does Molly.

"Falling in love with you was the easiest thing I've ever done. Falling is easy. Staying that way is hard. but I've been choosing hard all my life, so why the hell would the life I make with the woman who completes me be any different? I love you like a madman. You're the air I breathe, my next heartbeat, and I'm never letting go."

I loved them together, Molly brought out Wyatt’s feelings to the surface instead of him just keeping everything inside which he tends to do. I also enjoyed their banter, it made for quite a few laughs on my end. They saw each other for who they were really were instead of the mask that they both presented to the world, they also made each other crazy. Also it’s Kate Meader, so the scorching chemistry between the couple is a given and with the added slow burn makes it all the more interesting.

It was great seeing the other couples from the series making cameos as well, just a nice treat to the fans of the series. I can’t wait to see what Kate Meader writes next, it was as always a pleasure reading her books.

Review Published on Blog~ Oct 2016

As an avid reader, how did I possibly miss reading the 'Hot in Chicago' series? "Sparking the Fire" is the first one that I read, and just wow! The story had depth with an intensity and a completeness in the telling of a really good romance. After a hookup five years previous, Wyatt and Molly find themselves meeting again in much different circumstances. Wyatt's quiet broodiness and strong convictions of family was just the perfect companion for Molly. She may be strong and feisty, but Molly needs help, with Wyatt and family stepping up to provide just what she needs. It was a long journey for their HEA, but well worth the wait. There is so much richness to this story, and while this is a stand alone book, I look forward to going back and reading the series from the start. I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery/Pocket Books for gifting me "Sparking the Fire" and asking for my honest opinion. This is mine. 4.5 Stars!

Flames came off the pages right from the first chapter when a chaste woman reading Shakespeare is exchanging glances with a smoking Marine sipping Coke. When he finishes her Shakespeare quote for her, I was a goner – but then they adjourned to the hotel elevator and I was well and truly snared. This book seems to have it all: beautiful sexy woman, scorching hot man, all with sizzling chemistry. The strong cast of characters and scintillating dialogue are just the cherry on top. The first chapter is only a short interlude in time of no-holds-barred sex and creative role playing while both are heading toward their own individual future. Now, five years later, life has gone full circle, ready to bring them back together again. Molly Cade, who has reached the pinnacle of fame and touched the depth of shame, is ready to reincarnate herself as a successful producer by telling a story of love and empowerment embodied by a famous Chicago firefighter.
Wyatt has now left the Marines and is a firefighter with Chicago Fire Station 6. He’s brother to Alex and one of the Dempseys who Molly wants to feature in her movie. Assigned to the movie crew as an expert consultant while recuperating from an injury, the years roll back for these two as the embers of their prior meetings burst into flame. I hope you all enjoy the dry, tongue-in-cheek humor and sexual innuendo that passes for conversation between these two as much as I did.
It’s not non-stop sex between these two. Wyatt’s family provides the perfect foil to add emotional intensity to the story. Roni, Wyatt’s deceased brother’s surprise teenage daughter, makes an entrance to the family scene with all the usual teenage angst and attitude that is typical of girls of that certain age. Poor Wyatt has a hard time balancing his need to keep a low profile so he can remain in his niece’s life with his desire to beat his chest and declare his relationship with Molly to her pesky exes and other stalker fans.
This is a fun and light-hearted romance as Molly and Wyatt tryst and role play in hotels and the back seat of his vintage Camaro and in general sneak around his family like teenagers.

This book has so many Alpha males and Females and i totally loved it. A wild week for one former Marine and the unknown up and coming actress leaves such a lasting impression that five years later the sparks are still flying. When Lieutenant Wyatt Fox is injured while working. He becomes the the newest Chicago Fire Department consult for an eight week film project. The project brings him face to face with his fling from five years ago Molly Cade.

Molly has become America’s sweetheart and because of the tough year she has; she is determined to find herself again. The sexy Mr Fox is not what she had in mind. Wyatt has his own reasons for taking the consulting job. He is protecting his family or so he tells himself. Yet when these two come together what they once had flares to life and this time they are taking a chance on each other despite the obstacles on their way.

So with a very entertaining family, secrets and paparazzi involved in almost every aspect of their life is it any wonder drama will ensue. This book is hilarious at times and endearing in so many ways it’s a must read and i am glad i read it.