Heat Exchange

Books, Coffee & Passion
Heat Exchange caught my eye since I saw its awesome cover. Then, I read the blurb and I just couldn't resist reading it. I'm a big fan of Chicago Fire (the tv show), so I was really excited about this series.
Lydia is a strong beautiful woman with strong ties to the firefighting community, her father was a firefighter, her brother Scotty is a firefighter and she was married to one too but things didn't quite work out in her marriage. She left Boston to get away from that community and to start a new life. She always felt the firefighter's loyalty to each other came first which made her come second in her father's priorities and of course in her ex husband's too. But she is very loyal and committed to her family, so when her sister needs time off from her job and her father needs Lydia to step in, she puts her new life on hold and returns to Boston to help her father with the pub he bought when he retired. Her sister, Ashley, is dealing with the possibility of a divorce, so Lydia feels she has to be there for Ashley especially because Danny, her brother in law, is also a firefighter and Lydia is certain that the firefighting community will side with Danny.
Aidan is Scotty's, Lydia's younger brother, best friend, he's sexy, strong, loyal, a really sweet guy and he has been attracted to Lydia since the first time he saw her. Lydia always kept him at arm's length but now Aidan is older, wiser, sexier and bolder...
‘I want to see you.'They were just words on the phone screen, but in her mind Lydia heard Aidan's deep voice saying them, and a chill went down her spine.‘Are you drunk texting me?'‘No. If I was drunk I would text that I want to...never mind. See? Not drunk.'”
There's a lot going on the first book of this series. I really liked the conflicts in it: the fact that Aidan is not only Scotty's best friend but also his firefighter partner and of course the brotherhood code stating that sisters are off limits, Aidan being younger than Lydia and all the issues both of them had with their respective families. Aidan often feels like he's betraying Scotty by getting involved with Lydia but he just can't resist his feelings for her. There were moments that Lydia's stubbornness was a little over the top but I really liked that she always admitted when she overreacted. The sub-plot (Ashley and Danny's story) stole a lot of my attention from the main couple and I really wished they had their own book. Heat Exchange is a great start for this series and I'm looking forward to read the second book!

“I came to apologize.”“Okay.”She crossed her arms. “Okay? That's it?”“No, that's not it. Okay, you came to apologize. So go ahead.”“I'm sorry.”He arched an eyebrow at her. “Hell of an apology.”“It's not easy being sincere when you're not wearing any pants.”