Review: Fired Up by Mary Connealy

About the book:

Fired Up by Mary Connealy

Trouble in Texas: Book 2

Bethany House

Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment, which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.

Glynna Greer came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation. Now her husband, Flint, is dead, and she's determined to care for her son and daughter on her own. She wants to believe Dare Riker is as decent as he seems, but she's terrified to lock herself into another marriage. She plans to support her small family by opening a diner—never mind that cooking is not her greatest talent. The men in Broken Wheel, Texas, are so desperate for home cooking that they seem willing to overlook dried-out beef and blackened biscuits.

Glynna can't help but notice that danger follows Dare wherever he goes. There's the avalanche. And then the fire. But things really get out of hand when someone plunges a knife from Glynna's diner into Dare's back. Are Flint's cronies still plotting revenge? Is Glynna's son engaged in a misguided attempt to protect his mother? Is a shadowy outsider still enraged over past injustices? And can Dare survive long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance on love?

My review:

Between house fires, a very angry young boy and one truly crazy cook with a penchant for sharp knives, Dare Riker is wondering how he will make it out of this alive. Glynna Greer is newly freed from a disastrous marriage and plans on providing for herself and her children by taking ownership of the local diner. The only problem is she can’t cook worth a lick. When the sparks start to fly will these two be able to stand the heat?

Fired Up is the second book in Mary Connealy’s Trouble in Texas series and my favorite so far. The story picks up pretty much where the first one left off and my favorite characters are back for round two. Including Vince, the no nonsense lawyer, and Jonas, the priest who’s not always as heavenly as one might expect. A wonderful new character makes her debut as well and she promises to bring plenty of laughs and one raging headache for Vince. That character is Tina Cahill, Jonas ‘fat, bald, sister he hasn’t seen in years.

Dare and Glynna were my favorite characters in Swept Away and they did not disappoint this time around. Glynna has been through two terrible marriages and the effects are starting to show in her children through her son’s uncontrollable anger towards anything male and her daughter’s too timid silence. Glynna is a fantastic mother who is always trying to put her children first while struggling to still maintain the newfound control of her life. She quickly climbed her way to the spot of my favorite character with her humor and her fear of undercooking anything.

Although this book can be read as a standalone I would suggest reading the series in order to get the full effect of the story.

 ***I received a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own***