All Fired up by Kate Meader Series: Hot in the Kitchen #2
Published by Forever, Grand Central Publishing on 1 October 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Her sweetest mistake . . .
Cool as a Chicago winter, private events planner Cara DeLuca is a model of self-control . . . until she meets the one temptation she can't resist: Shane Doyle. The sexy, Irish pastry chef is too hot, too sure, too young, and after a crazy night in Vegas-her new husband. While at first Cara wants nothing more than a way out of her sham marriage to Shane, she soon finds that beneath his farm boy demeanor lies a man who can match her drive, both in and out of the bedroom. How can the wrong guy feel so deliciously right?
. . . Tastes so, so good
Shane has carefully structured his career and life around one goal: connecting with the family that doesn't know he exists. Marrying a woman with more issues than a magazine stand wasn't part of the plan, but melting Cara's icy exterior is so worth the detour. Now as the annulment date nears and long-buried secrets are revealed, Shane will have to fight for the one thing guaranteeing the perfect life he craves . . . the current Mrs. Shane Doyle.
*I received a free ARC of All Fired Up from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
Oh, WOW! All Fired Up is an awesome contemporary romance, with characters that are worth to get to know, some of them a past the readers will need tissues to read about, and some wonderful hotness.
All the necessary ingredients for a great story are included in All Fired Up. There are some very hot men, some wonderful, but outwardly bitchy women, food, romance, friendship and Italian family members. Cara seems to be quite off-putting and cold to everyone around her, whereas Shane is open, smiling and warm. Nobody thinks they have anything in common – not even themselves.
However, they have a lot more in common than they care to admit, and All Fired Up lets the readers share it all. The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. Both reading good books and eating good food are among my favorite things, so a good story that features restaurants, chefs and pastry-chefs as well as romance is a sure win. And when the characters are multi-layered and easy to get – even when I don’t necessarily agree with them – things are even better!
All Fired Up also has its fair share of humor, and as Cara opened up more, I got to really love her dry wit, and the way she actually wasn’t even all that used to laughing anymore. Shane, with his dimples and easy-going ways hid his sadness behind a big smile, but Cara was usually able to see through that, making her feel drawn to him as she sensed the same kind of darkness in him as she felt in herself.
Some fun twists and turns, a lot of heartache and of course both hope and friendship, too made All Fired Up a wonderful contemporary story with a strong-minded career woman and a pastry-chef who had no qualms about going after what he wanted. I also appreciated that the characters were more mature than those in some of the other books I have read lately, and Cara was older than Shane – which was another nice change!
If you enjoy characters that are able to see past themselves, who can grow and learn how to be a little different than how they have been in the past, all the while staying true to themselves, you should definitely pick up All Fired Up! I know I’ll be checking out other books from the Hot in the Kitchen series, because even the side characters intrigued me enough to make me want more about them. And they were not card-board characters at all, but rather well fleshed out and interesting enough to deserve their own stories.
That they needed to talk was the under-fucking-statement of the century.
They were meant to find each other. Two creatures buffeted like corks in a cruel and unfeeling sea. She smiled to herself at that thought – she’d always had a knack for melodrama.
A woman who was holding on th the ledge by her impeccably manicured fingernails could hardly be expected to provide adequate care and sustenance for a helpless parcel fo humanity. Her hips were made for Prada, not for childbearing.
“I’m not really in the market for a girlfriend,” he said, keeping his eyes focused on Sylvia, though they itched to gaze in another direction entirely. “Why ever not? A healthy young man like you?” Sylvia leaned over, flashing a scary expanse of wrinkly bosom.
She cocked her head. “Lili thinks I should take advantage of all you have to offer.” “I always liked that girl.”
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Lexxie, All Fired Up sounds exactly like the type of story I enjoy. Hmm, why am I not surprised?!? 😉 The characters sound amazing and I like that they can ‘see past themselves’ and grow over the course of the story. And I like that they are more mature. 😉 *oof* Sorry, that was me hefting this book onto Mt TBR, dear. I’m fine…don’t worry. *ha*
Happy Birthday, my friend!! I hope your day is spectacular despite being stuck in meetings. I hope you get to eat some good food and read from a good book…if only for a short while. 🙂 **BIG HUGS**
It’s funny how that works, Brandee… I enjoy a book, and then you just kind of feel like you would as well 😉
Thanks for the b-day wishes. I had a long, tiring but very interesting day, I’ll tell you all about it 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend, my dear! *BIG HUGS*
This sounds like such a fun read. I like romances that involves chefs and food. I think I am just a sucker for reading about a romantic meal! 😉
LOL yeah, the romantic meal is one thing, but there is also the whole preparation of the food, the anticipation of what comes next…
Thanks for stopping by, Pamela.
The humor and their growth in this one makes it sound good!
It’s the kind of contemporary romance I really enjoy, Brandi.
Thanks for stopping by.
This sounds great Lexx! I love to cook and bake, and this sounds like areas that would be perfect for me! Well developed characters are a must in any great story! I love that this one had a great romance, friends, and family!
Me, too, Lindy! And when characters love to cook and bake too, it’s so nice to read about them, it added a layer to the story.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I have been looking at this book but I love the sound of it, that they can get past themselves as well as dry humour you’ve got me just moved right up my list
I love dry humour, and I also enjoy some nice hotness 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Chris.