Review: All Fired Up

All Fired Up by Dylan Newton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Zander Matthews. 

Yep, she remembered him, all right. He was her first and only one-night stand. Well, technically, it was two nights, two mornings, and one long, glorious afternoon, nine months and twenty-five days ago. But who was counting? 

All Fired Up stars the youngest brother of the hero and best friend of the heroine from How Sweet It Is. I didn't read that first book but the author relays enough information, Imani and Zander had a two-night stand after the main couple's wedding, that I had a an idea of what happened between them. Both appear to have had feelings after their time together but Imani panicked and ghosted Zander, ignoring all his texts and calls. When Imani has to come back to the town everyone lives in to help her grandmother Gigi after she has knee surgery, there is no avoiding Zander as he's intertwined with her life now as her bestfriend's brother-in-law. 

“Look, I want to know if Imani Lewis is renting space in my head because she's 'the one' everyone says will someday appear, or if she's only intriguing because she ghosted me. 

I do think not reading the first book and enjoying that couple's romance did hurt my enjoyment of this, especially the first half. A good chunk of the beginning is about the gender reveal/baby shower of the past main character bestfriend, in fact, a lot of this book deals with her pregnancy, the reveal shower and delivery. I didn't really care about that character and wished the focus could have been more on Imani and Zander. I was also missing a little bit of those beginning romance feelings as they seem to have already developed those feelings from their two-night stand, I wish we could have gotten a prologue or some flashback scenes to see some of those two days. I'm not sure if those scenes were shown in the first book but that would probably help set the foundation for this one. 

“Will you go on a first date with me, Zander Matthews?”

Basically, Zander was in the Marines, been to war, and helped his middle brother recover from a war injury, which has taught him that life is fleeting and to live in the moment. He owns three ceramic stores (All Fired Up) but is known as the guy who doesn't make plans and keeps everything light and breezy, making some think he is irresponsible. Imani's mother had Bipolar Disorder and she lost her to a fire when candles burned down the apartment, this has caused Imani to be strict about always having a plan and keeping things structured so they don't get unmanageable, out of hand. Seems like opposites attract but Zander is pretty much all in with Imani right away and decides that he will let her set the pace and just constantly be doing things for her that she needs done or starts stressing about. It makes it kind of lopsided then with Zander constantly giving and Imani not sure she even wants to give him a chance. Imani constantly claims she wants to keep things just friends but then gets grumpy when Zander does that, even has a trying to keep the anger down jealous moment. These two never quite jived for me with their different vibes and even though the cover has a fun cartoon-y cover, there are some heavier topics in here, the bipolar disorder I mentioned along with death of parent, Imani's panic attacks, Zander and his brother's PTSD from war, and a fraught birthing scene. Imani's grandmother has a parrot that likes to curse (says b*tch a lot) that I think was supposed to lighten the mood but those antics didn't quite do it for me. The inside does make good on the cover's promise of hot air balloons, though, with a romantic date scene. 

If you read the first, you'd probably enjoy this more as the first book's couple has a strong showing in this and I missed some scenes of Imani and Zander's first two nights together that could have shown me those romantic feelings developing.

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Review: The Jade Temptress

The Jade Temptress by Jeannie Lin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.3 stars 

I buddy read this, for full comments and thoughts: Jade Temptress Buddy Read 

I'm going to tell you all now, get those bets in on Mingyu for my favorite lead in the Romancies awards. She's a powerhouse in this and I'd read this a million times over solely because of her. 

That blow had quieted her momentarily, but it did not silence her forever. Mingyu had never forgotten. 

I have some complaints and struggled with the ultimate way the murder mystery wrapped up, it felt really loose with some reveals and even though they were red-herrings some characters really faded away to the sides making the ending of the murder mystery feel really sedate. Xi Lun's character purpose really fell apart for me. 

The romance was restrained underlining emotion but the last 20% I spent wanting to wring Kaifeng's neck and some of the previous work done, especially by Mingyu felt ignored, which was really disappointing. 

But, that last 5%ish had my eyes watering because of how Mingyu and Kaifeng were together.

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80%

“I want Inspector Xi Lun,” she declared. “I want him destroyed.” 

YES!!!! Mingyu really is a powerhouse and I feel her inner rage-strength in this moment. There is no way flames didn't flare up behind her when she said this, lol. 

Jade Temptress Buddy Read

Reading Update: Page 1

 

It's Friday! 🎉 

Having some lunch and then settling in with my weekend reading. They had a one-night stand a year ago and are now going to fix up a house together. But they're totally going to keep it friend zone. For real. Totally. 

(Lucky for us, I just bet that doesn't happen 😉) 

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

All Fired Up by Dylan Newton pre-order (May 17th) link

Asian Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps w/ Mango Slaw recipe

65%

Old or young, homely or beautiful, every woman in the quarter was taught to strive for the same goal. Harmony was what Auntie had called it, but it wasn’t peace. It was silence. Feel whatever you needed to feel, but bury it deep. On the surface, there must be tranquility, gaiety and beauty. Such was the façade of the pleasure quarter. Mingyu had become so adept at being pleasing.

but it wasn't peace. It was silence. 

Gawd, this scene. Mingyu's quiet desperation is heating up. 

Maybe current issues had this scene hitting hard but, ooof, Mingyu wanting to say to hell with silence.

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Review: The Hanged Man's Tale

The Hanged Man's Tale by Gerald Jay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Dangling from the steel beam, the dead body must have appeared as an eerie vision. Hanging upside down. The ankle swaying at the end of a rope. 

Second in the Inspector Mazarelle Mystery series, The Hanged Man's Tale, has our Commandant Paul Mazarelle getting a promotion to join the Brigade Criminelle, which are the top 100 detectives in France. Along with his Lt. Jeannot and detail man Maurice, they are assigned to a murder case that had the body displayed hanging upside down in a tunnel and a hanged man tarot card in his jacket pocket. The victim turns out to be a former a police officer currently working as a PI. When everyone around Mazarelle wants the easy win with pinning the case on a Mafia Romani man, Mazarelle doesn't like how everything is adding up and soon begins to unravel a tangled web of far-right white supremacists, dirty cops, and newspapers paying for inside information to cases. 

On the third floor the plaque on the wall announced La Brigade Criminelle with its thistle emblem and motto: “Qui s'y frotte s'y pique.” Meaning, as they say, “If you play with fire, you might get burned.” 

I didn't read the first in the series but as this is more of a police procedural, focus more on the following and working the clues of the case, I didn't have a problem jumping in here. I did think the beginning felt jumbled with sentences trying to pack in numerous characters, setting the scene, and police organization names and structures. Around 30% the story evens out as the introductions are out of the way and we follow Mazarelle around. I felt like I did get to know Mazarelle, his wife dying of cancer, the numerous mentions of how big he is, and his general outlook on life, but, even as the lead, he's didn't become a character I necessarily grew to care about, the police procedural and solving the mystery are the stars of the story, so I can't say I'd be enticed to follow the character on another murder mystery. 

Still, it was becoming clear---someone was messing with his investigation. 

Definitely. 

But who? And why? 

When the story starts, it's from the pov of a character named Max, who has been radicalized and is setting up to assassinate the president of France, he fails when Mazarelle catches him and then dies when he tries to escape during transport after his arrest. The story then moves a few weeks into the future and the new murder case of the hanged man starts and you have to keep Max in the back of your mind until much later when his thread comes back into play. The threads I mentioned of far-right, dirty cops, and murder are credibly put together by Mazarelle and I liked how some of the connections were written out but I did think that the murderer/s was a bit sensational, mostly because the tone of story and Mazarelle's character was more grainy, low-key. The murderer/s story does give it a pop of lurid thriller but not sure it completely sat right in the overall tone of story. The guilty and innocent aren't obvious right away and side-characters come and go to muck about but Mazarelle shifts through it all, while surviving his own attempted murder. If you like police procedurals set in France, then the solving of a hanged man murder and all the tangled threads it brings together would be a good way to spend the afternoon.

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45%

“Are we truly supposed to forget?” he asked quietly. 

There was no need to mention what he spoke of. “I haven’t forgotten.” 

“Then it did happen.” He reached for her, but went no farther than the edge of her sleeve. He let the silk slip along his fingertips before releasing it. 

Mingyu followed his every movement with her eyes.

More comments and quotes:  Jade Temptress Buddy Read

(You'll get to read my conspiracy theory!)

Reading Update: Page 1

 

If "I tried" were a taco😂. It's taco Tuesday but also a Tuesday 🙅‍♀️ 

Going to cheer for this Inspector to catch the serial killer and lose myself in some mystery and enjoying the freedom to read.

The Hanged Man's Tale by Gerald Jay purchase link

Slow Cooker Honey Lime Shredded Chicken recipe

Reading Update: 15%

“Why did you spare me that night?” she asked him now. 

Oh my god, Yes! We finally get a peek at what went down between Mingyu and Kaifeng in the last book. 

Also, yes, because I have great enabler friends, I'm buddy reading this already, lol. 

If want to join or follow along:  The Jade Temptress Buddy Read comments

Review: Never a Duke

Never a Duke by Grace Burrowes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

But Lady Rosalind had sought him out because his native language was Cockney and his home shire was the stews. 

We first met Ned when he was a boy in Newgate, helping Quinn Wentworth (My One and Only Duke) survive. If you've read the previous six books in the series, you've seen Quinn and the whole Wentworth family adopt Ned, give him the family name, and have him work up to manager at the Wentworth bank. As this is closing out the Rogues to Riches series, about the Wentworth family, I'm not sure new readers would want to jump in here. The family members all make appearances and have their own separate scenes, usually discussing Ned, readers of the series will enjoy this last look at the family but I can see newbies missing a lot of family dynamics and feeling lost or bored. I enjoyed this last look at the Wentworth family growing, healing, and coming together. 

“[...] Is that why you kissed me, because I exchanged some small talk with her and his loathsome lordship?” 

“Because you put her in her place,” Rosalind said, “because you got even with Lindy for me, because I can ask you to escort me, and because you read stories to little girls and pine over their lost affections, and because...” Rosalind fell silent, appalled that tears were threatening. 

The story starts right away with Ned getting a letter from a mysterious woman asking for him to meet in the park. When he shows up, he sees Lady Rosalind Kinwood, an earl's daughter known for being a bit of a termagant in the ton. She claims her lady's maid is missing and she is worried for her. Ned is in the ton's world, he's invited to events but not truly accepted, with his background gossiped about, Rosalind thinks he's the perfect person to help her search for her maid. Right away, from their first meeting, Rosalind and Ned have that delicate reach and retreat, spark, and yearning for what's behind that glimpse of something more relationship that Burrowes' is so good at. This couple is never loud but have that quiet, underneath those words, emotions are burning quality that make them a subtle treat to read. 

As she pulled off her gloves and hauled him closer, her last rational thought was that maybe with Ned Wentworth, she could have more of celebration, and much, much less settling. 

The mystery and search is threaded throughout the story, I liked at how at 14% we get a scene with the missing women, as the investigation goes on they find more lady's maids and companions are missing, so the reader is let in a little more of the mystery. This is not quick paced, the searching for the women might feel a little slow at times as the Wentworth family and Ned go through some growing pains with where adult Ned fits in now and the romance between Rosalind and Ned is given soft, tender time through carriage rides and picnics to grow. Around 50% there is already marriage talk between these two but the search for the women and Rosalind's bad tempered father and brothers work to keep the two apart. 

He kissed her gloved fingers, and some of the bleakness left his eyes. “You are a marvel, Rosalind Kinwood. A blazing, beautiful marvel.” 

You'll feel for Ned when he holds himself a bit apart from the Wentworth family as he can't quite shed the adopted kid feeling and see how Rosalind shares his feelings of feeling apart as she lost her mother young and her father and brothers move from ignoring her, sending her away, using her, and picking on her. I thought the ending, with the reveal and wrap-up of the mystery felt a bit too quick and with the way it was tied with certain characters came off somewhat slapdash. I also felt this with reveals about Ned's family, there were some big emotional moments that were way too rushed and if we're not getting a series spin-off set in Australia, I'll feel even more disappointed in what the point of it all was. Overall, though, I'm so happy Ned got his happily ever after and a heartfelt talk with Quinn that had him more settled in the Wentworth family. This had a kissing scene that made my eyes want to water, a soft vibe with gentle banter and flirting, and a late kidnapping for a touch of danger. I'll miss the Wentworth family but enjoyed this last look at them.

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