Fire Me Up

by Kimberly Kincaid

January 27, 2015 · Zebra

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This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by Shoppermom. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Long Contemporary category.

Here is Shoppermom's review:

This was my first time reading Kimberly Kincaid, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the book. Fire Me Up is a quick moving story about two passionate young people determined to follow through on their self-appointed paths of duty. The book held my attention and kept me wanting more – not to that crazy point where you try to hold the book with one hand while you squeeze the toothpaste onto the toothbrush with the other – but definitely enough to keep me up longer than I wanted and to sneak the book out during down moments at work. The romance was hot and there was just enough of a mystery to really keep the story moving.

Adrian, our hero, is a chef who defines himself through his relationship with cooking, and the descriptions of his food prep and passion for different dishes were beautifully conveyed, certainly making this “throw whatever together” cook feel more than a bit inadequate. Adrian is, naturally, big, strong, and gorgeous, and though hampered by a broken arm throughout much of the story, he is nevertheless quite . . . skillful at expressing himself physically.

Adrian falls reluctantly in love with Teagan, an EMT, who HATES the idea of spending time in a kitchen. They’re both dragging around a lot of emotional baggage, though, so neither one wants anything to do with a real relationship. Adrian’s on probation for a crime he didn’t commit, and Teagan is guiltily dealing with her father’s failing health and is still unsettled by her mother’s long-ago desertion. Their hesitant relationship is moving fairly quickly from simmer to boil when a sinister loan shark attempts to blackmail Teagan’s dad and take over his family restaurant.

The plot was entertaining and fairly credible, and I’ve already looked up and ordered the next book in the series that revolves around Jesse, one of the secondary characters. Adrian and Teagan were both sympathetic characters, and their dialog was quick moving and believable.

Only one line occasionally jarred the flow: “Let me take care of you.” Both hero and heroine are described repeatedly as fiercely independent people unused to needing or accepting help, so when they both use the line more than once at different points in the story, it rang a little off-key. On the positive side, the story contained none of the annoying roadblocks so common in romance: Adrian and Teagan did indeed have to battle their own demons before allowing joy into their lives but didn’t drag the story down with misunderstandings and half-truths.

The end of the book contained recipes mentioned in the story, and I’m actually eager to try one of them (I’m sure most readers would immediately go for “Adrian’s Pulled Pork Sliders,” but it was “Jesse’s Not-Your-Average Cole Slaw” that caught my eye). The book ended with an excerpt from All Wrapped Up, which looks equally inviting. All in all, Fire Me Up was a quick paced contemporary romance with lots of sizzle and characters with whom I enjoyed spending a day, or at least a good meal!