Reviewed by Maria Lokken

If you love firefighters, big families, and hot romance – get a nice tall glass of ice tea, a cozy chair and get ready for an exciting, romantic read. Taking the Heat by Kathryn Shay will make you yearn for love—all kinds of love — romantic, familial, and friends.

Taking the Heat, centers on the O’Neil family, four unbelievably handsome brothers and one beautiful sister who own Bailey’s Irish Pub. Each brother comes with his own unique personality and his own baggage. The primary focus is on Liam O’Neil, who is suffering from the loss of his wife, and the difficulty of raising two sons. Enter Sophie Tyler, one of New York’s finest. She’s a firefighter who wouldn’t dream of doing anything else for a living, even if that means rescuing 240 pound men out of burning buildings.

How can Liam seriously think about being in a relationship with a woman who could be killed when the next fire hits? Can he really put himself and his children through another loss? The plot poses a very real obstacle that almost seems impossible for the hero and heroine to resolve. There are no pat answers, there are not obvious twists and turns. Instead there are real people with real situations that must be worked through. The author doesn’t take the easy way out but still manages to give us our happy ending – nicely done!

While the relationship that develops between Liam and Sophie is at the heart of Taking the Heat, the author creates relationships between the entire family that will give the reader a warm, fuzzy, glowing feeling. Through all the ups and downs, this is a ‘feel good’ read.

She’s packed quite a few people into this book and sometimes I felt as though I needed a score card to keep track – but there’s plenty of material here for several sequels.

Enjoy!