Too Hot To Handle Sizzles

I married into an Italian Catholic family. They are in fact as enmeshed as the stereotypes suggest, filled with Momma's boys, traditional expectations, big family events centered on food, huge holidays and children running underfoot. It is great in an overwhelming sort of way. I was drawn to this series because it featured an Italian family but I adore this series because the author really got what it means to be a part of an Italian family. No one takes their family more seriously than the Italians.

Take a minute to tell me about your (Italian or otherwise) family. Are you drawn to books that have your heritage embedded into the story? COMMENT BELOW.

Gotta go! I'm off to pack for our annual family weekend at the lake. And Momma P doesn't like it when anyone is late... ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Too Hot To Handle
The Giovanni Clan, Book One
Doris O'Connor

BLURB
When firefighter Alex Giovanni returns to his old neighborhood to fulfill family obligations, he is reunited with the woman inhabiting his dreams. The sexy siren ran out on him after one explosive night many years ago. Hiding behind her sensible clothes she portrays the perfect image of Miss Prim and Proper and Alex vows to unlock the passionate woman he remembers. Mixing business with pleasure has never been so much fun.
Kitty Jenkins’ orderly life gets turned upside down when Alex walks into her school. Their passion filled night four years ago has left her with a secret that threatens to tear them apart. Giving into Alex is out of the question, regardless of how much her body craves his touch.
When secrets spill and disaster strikes, can their passion turn into love?

REVIEW
Hot, sweet and an emotional read, and as complex as any true Italian family. Too Hot To Handle is not the typical girl meets boy/ girl hates boy/ girl falls for boy scenario. The engaging storyline takes readers through the course of four years and involves less-than-perfect characters – I could not put the book down.  This couple is the true example of love through adversity.

But to get to that point, I had to overlook the clichéd title and the hokey cover. Be warned: what is inside is better than the package. This is clearly a case of not judging a book by its cover!

The emotional elements of this book compelled me to flip the pages faster. Alex is a deliciously sexy firefighter who meets Kitty in a bar far from home for a one-night stand. Fast-forward years later when Alex stumbles upon Kitty on a work assignment and the two are intertwined more than he can first understand. Kitty has a pragmatic side so opposite her naughty girl image from when they met years before; and Alex is drawn to both. Their relationship twists and turns with some fires of their own along the way.

The complex family environment adds to the story. Detailed characterization gives readers realistic descriptions with no expectation that we will like everyone we meet in the series. While some of the secondary characters are endearing, the author is confident enough to allow readers to meet characters sure to rub us the wrong way. This only added to the story.

Too Hot To Handle is a sizzling tale sure to please.

RATING: 5 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries 
This book was given to us by the publisher... many thanks.