3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐💫
I enjoyed reading All Fired Up, just not quite as much as How Sweet It Is.
This one was cute, fun, and charming, but that special spark was missing from the romance for me, and I didn't quite fully fall in love along with them.
Still, I'm definitely interested to see what may come next from this series.


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*Complimentary copy for review provided by Forever Romance. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.

I was very excited about this title, but I have had difficulty getting into the book. I have currently marked as DNF, but will be reattempting in the future as I am a mood reader. However, from what I did read I really enjoyed. I think the main problem for me was the book didn’t instantly hook me and I felt like I was having to work a bit to get started on this story. I am excited to try this book when I am in a different headspace and will be updating my review.

Such a cute story! I loved the characters in this book! I loved their story and the development. I really felt connected with them. I really hope we get more from this series soon!

Imani and Zander had a one-night stand after her best friend’s and his brother’s wedding. When Imani comes back to town to care for her grandmother, they agree to be just friends.

I liked this better than How Sweet It Is, and I’m looking forward to reading book #3!

Another delightful read from Dylan Newton! This sweet romance follows Imani and Zander, the best friend and brother of the How Sweet It Is MCs. Those characters appear throughout All Fired Up, but it can still be read and enjoyed as a stand alone. Imani is a fabulous heroine and the book is a great combo of sweet and spicy.

The sequel to How Sweet It Is was one that was on my TBR immediately after I learned it would exist. I liked this a lot but I didn’t love it the way I loved the first.

Hello,

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title.

While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

Laura

4.5 stars
Loved this one!! I read How Sweet it Is and really liked that one but I can’t tell which one I like more!

I always love the dual POV and getting into Zander’s head was my favorite. He was amazing! Gentle and sweet with a hard Marine exterior. His banter with Imani and his brothers was great and I loved that he did something different like owning a pottery studio.

Gigi was freaking HILARIOUS! All her one off comments made me laugh out loud and THAT BIRD. HA.

The only hangup was Imani. She was judgemental and just thought when someone else didn’t have the same view of life was just doing something wrong which I didn’t like. I also thought the ending was too rushed and some things were left unfinished!

I cannot wait to read Rykers story next!!

All fired Up is a standalone novel that is connected to How Sweet It Is.
I ended up liking this one more than the other one. I found the characters in this one much more likable too.

I really like the way the author wrote about mental health issues. I think it was done with great care.

Overall the book was cute and had everything you’d want in a romcom.
I look forward to the next one.

While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t read How Sweet It Is so I feel like I missed out on the beginning of the love story. I understand this was marketed as a stand along, and while I suppose it is, I wish there some more introduction to the characters. Otherwise it was a cute quick read.

Overall, this was a fun read. I didn't enjoy it as much as How Sweet It Is, but it was nice to get Imani and Zander's story.

I thought they both had good character development by the end, and their journeys to get there were full of laughs, tears, heartfelt moments, good chemistry, and slow burn tension. I liked how they let the relationship slowly develop, even though they'd already had their weekend tryst earlier on.

Imani's grandmother was a solid side character, and her shenanigans and one-liners were great. And the added silliness of Lancelot the parrot were fun, too.

Good for fans of: one night stand to lovers; slow burn; grand gestures; character growth; and quirky pets and fun side characters.

I enjoyed this book even though it was predictable. It was a sweet story filled with warmth, humor & swoon-worthy romance. The opposites-attract banter going on between Zander & Imani was fun.

When book publicist, Imani's 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 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.

All Fired Up just didn’t work for me. The writing was clunky and uncomfortable, the characters were one-dimensional and off-putting, and there are a shocking number of homophobic jokes for a book being published in this day and age. A total miss for me.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked How Sweet It Is so I was excited for this sequel. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. While I liked both characters individually, I just didn't feel their chemistry. I actually started reading this about a year ago and made it about 35% in before stopping, which I never do. I picked it back up a few days ago and I remembered why I put it down - it just didn't hold my attention that well. It's a cute story and a nice light-hearted escape but I just found myself not too invested in the story.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

All Fired Up is a charming romance exists in the same world as How Sweet It Is, this time following Zander (Drakes Brother) and Imani. While it did read well as a stand-alone, Drake and Kate are both prominent characters in this story and I feel like having read their love story first would have added a lot to this book!

As a kid I attended a hot air balloon festival nearly every year, so I did really love the hot air balloon scene/festival! However, this love story felt like it was missing something to me. I didn’t dislike Imani and Zander, but All Fired Up doesn’t do anything new or exciting that I haven’t seen in similar books before. Overall a charming, relatively quick read!

I finished this one up last week after reading it on and off for like a month. I definitely enjoyed it, but it didn’t live up on the first one (How Sweet It Is) in my opinion. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Imani and Zander until the very end and felt like some of the problems in this story were unrealistic. The ending however was swoon worthy and completely made up for however I was feeling about the rest of the book!

I absolutely adored this book!!! I hadn't read the first one yet but own it and it is defiantly going to this top of my tbr!!!! I felt Zander and Imani were the perfect counter balance to each other!!! I couldn't get over their chemistry and steaminess (is that a word?). I also loved the layers to Zander as a main character. He was so laid back but misunderstood, the best combo in my mind. I cant wait for the next book because I am a simp for a set of grumpy hilarious brothers.

All Fired Up by Dylan Newton is absolutely adorable and I can't believe this is the first time I'm reading this author! Unfortunately, I didn't realize this was book 2 of a series, but I don't think it spoils anything since How Sweet It Is is Kate and Drake's story. You always know what is going to happen when you read a rom-com, much like watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, so I’m not worried about going back to that one now. This really was the sweetest story and I loved both Imani and Zander as well as all of the supporting cast. The talking African gray parrot was a nice touch and I loved the comedic elements having him around provided. This book wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be, but it definitely had its moments and I think the humor it DID have was in just the right places. There are a couple of moments towards the end that I had tears in my eyes, but thankfully it isn’t a sad book at its core. There is a little bit of steam which I wouldn’t really expect in a rom-com, but it wasn’t anything too crazy and fit with the rest of the story.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between Imani and Zander and not only was their relationship well captured but there are so many other relationships in the book that were really touching and charming. I especially loved the small-town feel of the story and Imani’s grandma Gigi will be the apple of every reader’s eye. And the fact that All Fired Up is a bookish book since Zander’s brother Drake is an author and Imani is a book publicist just made my heart happy. I listened to the audiobook, and I thought it was really good in this format, although there were a couple of issues when I listened to Emma Love narrate Imani. While I loved her voice and thought her performance overall was really good, something about her narration was a little off for me and I did hear some swallowing which I never enjoy. On the other hand, I really loved Max Lloyd-Jones for Zander so in general, I would definitely still recommend the audio. They were both pretty funny when it came to Lancelot’s (the parrot) parts, and it made me laugh so hard when they would narrate his speaking. If you are a fan of contemporary, small-town romances with some spice you should give All Fired Up a chance for sure.

Imani and Zander's story is a second chance romance where he fell first. They hooked up at a wedding before Imani left and didn't return for a year - but Zander never forgot about their night together. Imani is back in town because her grandmother needs surgery and Zander is determined to change her mind about giving him a chance. This story has mental health themes, growth and development, and the lengths people will go to for family.

Imani pushes back hard against Zander for a good portion of this book, really she gives it a strong effort. But they are very adorable as a couple and they both go through a very different journey in this book to get to their happy ever after.

The background characters really stole the show, like Imani's grandmother and the parrot. The hijinks that parrot caused was laugh out loud funny. I have to say I am even more excited for Ryker's book, I think it will end up being my favorite because he is really interesting to me as a character. To prepare you get more scenes with him in this book than in How Sweet It Is to set up the story line.

**Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

I really enjoyed How Sweet It Is, so I was delighted to receive a copy of All Fired Up by Dylan Newton. This opposites attract romance is a sweet read, and I'll look forward to reading more from Newton.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.