REVIEW: Open Liner by Katherine McIntyre (Alchemy Ink #1)

OPEN LINER

Alchemy Ink - Book One

by Katherine McIntyre

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Review

A meddling (kind of) ex-girlfriend and her brother. A sexy firefighter brother.

August is a bit of a hot dating mess. Quick to ‘ship, unbeknownst to the people he’s dating, he finds himself at the other end of a breakup.

On this occasion, the aftermath results in Drake rushing into his apartment to put out a fire while returning his belongings for his sister.

And then one thing after another, a lot of stress about how Drake’s sister will react, they form a beautiful friendship and romance.

They are both lovely characters, and their story was a lot of fun.

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Synopsis

The firefighter who saves August from a kitchen grease fire happens to be hot, single…and his ex-girlfriend’s brother.

August

When Serena dumps me, I barely have time to process before a sexy firefighter busts into my kitchen. Mostly because of the grease fire, but damn, he snags my attention at once. Then I find out he’s Serena’s brother. And the hits keep coming, because my parents drop the news that they’re moving down South. I’m about to be utterly alone, and I’m tempted to move too.

Drake

I’m in a rut. Work is fine, but I’m just floating through it. Meanwhile, my siblings are out there changing the world. So when the fire chief asks me to come up with a new idea for our charity event, I jump in feet-first with a charity concert. Of course, the one person who can help me is the gorgeous tattoo artist my sister used to date.

Turns out, we get along too well. So well that I can’t stop thinking about him naked. So well that I want to spend every spare second with him.

Except he’s not looking to stay, and I can’t hurt my sister by crossing that line.

About Katherine McIntyre

I split my time writing stories with snark and heart, working with amazing authors to edit their manuscripts into shape, and working on clients as a massage therapist.

In my free time, I’m usually going on adventures with my husband, daughter, and friends or diving into a good book and curling up with the cats. I’m an Aries-Taurus cusp–which to any astrology buffs should tell you plenty. If you’re more into Myers-Briggs, I’m an ENFJ.

I’ve always wanted to heal and help, probably why I fell into massage and teaching yoga. And that shows through in my writing too–I ended up falling for romance as my primary genre because I adore the intricacies of human relationships and watching how love and affection can really help people heal from their wounds and grow.

I’m huge into family and community, which is probably why you find either family or found-family stories in almost every one of my books. The way people come together is inspiring, and I’ve got an overflowing love for the way people take care of each other. Those relationships are just as important as the romantic ones to me, and I love highlighting them in my work.

The biggest thing you’ll probably see in my work is hope. That’s not to say I can’t write sad situations or difficulties–our lives and stories are woven with them. But that’s never going to be the takeaway from my work, how the world is broken and trying to wear you down. I’m a realist, so I’m not blind to the tragedy and sadness out there, but I want to live in the hearts of people who care, who show compassion to one another, and prove that we humans can get something right. I want to explore how even though we’ve all got the ability to fuck up, we can overcome our mistakes and rise triumphant.

So there it is, folks–that’s me.

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