Book Review & Excerpt: Fired Up // by Mary Connealy

Book Name // Fired Up (Trouble in Texas, Book 2)
Author // Mary Connealy
Published // 2013 Bethany House

Review //

Fired Up is book #2 in the Trouble in Texas series by Mary Connealy. I always enjoy Mary's books (my favorite series by her is The Kincaid Brides series) because she brings her stories to life with her quirky, realistic characters and the trouble they often get themselves into. She writes in such a way that, when you finish each book, you miss the characters and wish you could keep reading about them.

Fired Up is about Glynna Greer, a twice-widowed woman who came west as a mail-order bride and has had bad luck with husbands. She's decided to be an independent woman and support herself and her two children by opening a diner in this town full of men. The problem? She can't cook. She's pretty, though, so the men still pay to come by for burnt biscuits, bitter coffee, and blackened roast and business is booming.

Dare Riker is the town's doctor (though he doesn't seem to think so) and is trying to figure out who is trying to kill him and why they seem so bent on doing so. Between that, doctoring, and trying to win Glynna and her children, he's keeping himself pretty busy.

What I enjoyed about this book:

• I enjoyed watching Glynna's children, Janet and Paul, grow throughout the story. As children who have never had a godly man in their lives, they take a bit of time to open up, heal, and begin to trust Dare. Seeing them move from a place of fear to a place where they can love and give love is beautiful.
• The camaraderie and trust Dare shares with his friends from the war is incredible. I enjoyed hearing their stories about life in Andersonville.  
• Dare and Glynna's romance is sweet and persistent, despite the obstacles they face along the way.
• Watching the mystery unfold was thoroughly entertaining and not entirely predictable. I found that I had my guess about who the criminal was, but I wasn't entirely sure until nearly the end of the story.

What I didn't enjoy about this book:

• There was one editing error that I found. On page 141, the book says, "Lana felt a surge of relief to see that knife out of Lana's hand..." and in one or two other places in the story, I felt that sections could have been edited differently so the story would have flowed better.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for Mary's fans and historical fiction fans. I did not love the book as entirely as I normally do Mary's books, but it is still a wonderful story and I did enjoy it. I fell in love with Glynna, Dare, and the children and found myself wanting to read more about them after I finished the book.

You can read the first two chapters of Fired Up here and you can purchase your own copy of Fired Up here. Enjoy! =)





Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. My review and opinions are truthful and entirely my own.