Taking a much-needed break from her demanding publicist job, Imani returns to her hometown for the summer to aid her grandmother during knee surgery recovery and support her best friend Kate during her pregnancy…the only problem? Being home means being in the same town as her two night stand, Zander Matthews, whom she ghosted. Right from the get-go, Zander proves hard to avoid…in fact, despite Imani’s half-hearted protests that she wants to remain in the friendzone, Zander has a plan to get Imani to give him a second chance (and a first date). But, just as Imani is starting to let go and open-up with Zander, tragedy strikes, which causes Imani to question the compatibility of Zander’s “live in the moment” lifestyle and her own endlessly scheduled lifestyle.
All Fired Up is a delightful second chance, opposites attract, small-town romantic comedy. In addition to fans of How Sweet It Is, All Fired Up would be perfect for fans of the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese, the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert, the Hot and Hammered trilogy by Tessa Bailey, and the Written in the Stars trilogy by Alexandria Bellefleur. The novel deals with themes such as change versus tradition, order and chaos, companionship, escapism, identity, family, love and heartbreak, loss, tragedy, work-life balance, mental health, overcoming past trauma, and war. In my opinion, the morals of this story are to take care of your mental health and to trust your heart.
All Fired Up is a companion novel to How Sweet It Is and whilst it’s not necessary to have read How Sweet It Is prior, I would definitely recommend it as it would significantly improve your reading experience. All Fired Up takes place about a year or two after How Sweet It Is and focuses on Drake Matthew’s publicist and Kate Sweet’s best friend, Imani, and Drake’s younger brother, Zander. Having recently enjoyed How Sweet It Is, I loved how the plot seamlessly flowed from Drake and Kate’s story to Imani and Zander’s story in All Fired Up. Furthermore, I appreciated that Imani and Zander had already been previously introduced and I was delighted that Drake and Kate continued to play prominent roles in All Fired Up (I love getting to see how my favourite characters’ stories continue post happily ever after). I also need to compliment Dylan Newton’s writing, especially of my favourite scene—Imani and Zander’s memorable hot air balloon ride, which is depicted in the book’s cover art, and Newton’s writing was so realistic, detailed, and well thought out, I felt like I was actually in the hot air balloon with Imani and Zander.
Honestly, there wasn’t much about this book that I didn’t like. One minor flaw was that I felt like there was too much of the “will they, won’t they” trope as, despite constantly spending time together and obviously being attracted to each other, it took a long time before Imani decided to give Zander a second chance. I also felt like the birth scene depicted towards the end of the book was a tad too graphic for my tastes.
Overall, I found All Fired Up to be a unique, romantic, and engaging read that I would highly recommend to fellow romance readers. I am very much looking forward to book three starring Zander and Drake’s brother Ryker’s story (which is expected in summer 2023)!
All Fired Up is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local boosktore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
After one wild night together, two complete opposites plan to stay firmly in the friend zone, but life has other plans in this delightful romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez.
As a successful book publicist, Imani Lewis works night and day to promote her authors. It’s her dream job, but she’s become a total workaholic. So when her grandmother invites her to stay for the summer as she recovers from surgery, Imani happily agrees. But being back in the same small town as her one-night stand may not be quite the relaxing break she envisioned…
Zander Matthews wakes up every day determined to enjoy the present because he knows from his time in the Marines that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. But he’s never gotten over the beautiful woman who blew through town a year ago, then disappeared. And he doesn’t want to be hurt again. So they agree to a deal: he’ll help Imani fix up her grandmother’s house as long as they stay firmly in the friend zone.
Whether it’s repairing tiles in his ceramics studio, dodging nosy neighbors, or soothing the most obnoxious parrot ever, Zander never fails to make Imani laugh. And soon their friendly banter is turning ever flirtier. But since Imani’s stay is temporary and Zander can’t be tied to anything beyond the most tenuous plans, will she be able to handle it when things get all fired up?
