Part of Series
Three years ago Liam O'Neil's wife Kitty died leaving him to raise their young sons by himself, though he gets help from his caring beloved family. In New York he meets firefighter Sophie Tyler at his family owned Bailey's Irish Pub, and to his amazement and shock he is attracted to the beautiful strawberry blonde. Sophie reciprocates his allure. However, with 9/11 still fresh after another anniversary, Liam fears dating Sophie because he rationalizes his sons could not cope with her dangerous occupation if something tragic should happen to her. Sophie has her own 9/11 memory that interferes with her seeing any man. Yet they begin seeing each other until a deadly serial arsonist sets booby-trapped fires to kill firefighters; Liam and Sophie begin to reconsider their relationship. This is an enjoyable second chance at love romantic suspense thriller. The story line is action-packed in terms of the arsonist subplot and filled with angst re the relationship between Liam and Sophie. Although Taking the Heat stands alone, with the O'Neil family playing major roles, reading the previous tales (see Close to You and Someone to Believe In) enhances the experience. Once again Kathryn Shay pays homage to the brave firefighters. Harriet Klausner “Shay writes an emotion-packed story that presents a realistic view of the romantic and social problems faced by female firefighters. With angst and some hot sex, this dramatic tale also has a nice touch of humor. It will be more enjoyable if one is already familiar with Shay's previous stories, and it's not a story that's an escape from reality.” RT Book Reviews “Taking the Heat is an emotional roller coaster ride that hits so many real life issues facing career women in today's world. As each O'Neil book comes out, I find myself drawn more and more into their world. I'll be waiting very impatiently for the last two brothers' books.” Joyfully Reviewed Amazon Customers “I enjoyed the milieu of a fire department—-it was great to experience something all-new and interesting there. It was also fascinating having the difficulties of spouses dealing with a loved one's dangerous job brought to the page.” “Taking The Heat is another exceptional story of the O'Neil family. Sophie and Liam's journey isn't an easy one but it’s real, heartfelt and deeply moving. Kathryn Shay's characters feel like friends you want to get to know. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.”
Author
Kathryn Shay is a lifelong writer. At fifteen, she penned her first 'romance,' a short story about a female newspaper reporter in New York City and her fight to make a name for herself in a world of male journalists - and with one hardheaded editor in particular. Looking back, Kathryn says she should have known then that writing was in her future. But as so often happens, fate sent her detouring down another path. Fully intending to pursue her dream of big city lights and success in the literary world, Kathryn took every creative writing class available at the small private women's college she attended in upstate New York. Instead, other dreams took precedence. She met and subsequently married a wonderful guy who'd attended a neighboring school, then completed her practice teaching, a requirement for the education degree she never intended to use. But says Kathryn, "I fell in love with teaching the first day I was up in front of a class, and knew I was meant to do that." Kathryn went on to build a successful career in the New York state school system, thoroughly enjoying her work with adolescents. But by the early 1990s, she'd again made room in her life for writing. It was then that she submitted her first manuscript to publishers and agents. Despite enduring two years of rejections, she persevered. And on a snowy December afternoon in 1994, Kathryn Shay sold her first book to Harlequin Superromance. Since that first sale, Kathryn has written twenty-one books for Harlequin, nine mainstream contemporary romances for the Berkley Publishing Group, and two online novellas, which Berkley then published in traditional print format. Kathryn has become known for her powerful characterizations - readers say they feel they know the people in her books - and her heart-wrenching, emotional writing (her favorite comments are that fans cried while reading her books or stayed up late to finish them). In testament to her skill, the author has won five RT BookClub Magazine Reviewers Choice Awards, three Holt Medallions, two Desert Quill Awards, the Golden Leaf Award, and several online accolades. Even in light of her writing success, that initial love of teaching never wavered for Kathryn. She finished out her teaching career in 2004, retiring from the same school where her career began. These days, she lives in upstate New York with her husband and two children. "My life is very full," she reports, "but very happy. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to pursue and achieve my dreams."
