This book was a delight! Strong-willed (and slight control freak) Imani takes a break from her hectic life in NYC to help both her best friend (Kate) prior to the birth of her first child and her grandmother (Gigi) prior to and following knee surgery. She is also back in the sphere of her two-night stand, her best friend’s brother-in-law, Zander.

Imani and Zander have a fire all their own and he’s been carrying a torch for her since she all but ghosted him last summer. He wants to date her but knows that she’ll need to take the lead when she’s ready. He helps her in so many ways and they both find what they’ve been seeking.

Let’s not forget to mention the hilarity that is Lancelot, Gigi’s pet parrot.

This book drops you off in what feels like the middle of the story, and I was confused for a lot of it. At times I didn't know who was who or what their history was. I just seemed like there was the opportunity to provide so much more details on these people and their history.

Overall, it's a pretty standard love story and once Imani and Zander got into their groove in the story, I liked it. But I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was who.

I have been looking forward to reading this since we were introduced to Zander Matthews in How Sweet It Is. And seeing him and Imani fall in love was even better than I could have expected!

Imani is a planner - she plans everything down to the second. Zander lives in the moment. But when the layers are peeled back on them both, you see that there’s more to them than meets the eye.

Zander helps Imani loosen up and live her life without the need for control. He grounds her. Settles her. Cares for her in his own Zander way. And she does the same for him.

I laughed. I cried. I swooned. Go pre-order this one if you haven’t already!

⭐️5/5
🔥2/5
🦜 swears like a sailor

CW/TW: death of parent, PTSD, mention of suicide, discussion of mental health (specifically bipolar disorder), survivor’s guilt

Thank you Netgalley and Forever pub for the eARC!

Imani Lewis and Zander Matthew's story had all the charm and calamity of Dylan Newton's first book (How Sweet It Is) but it added more layers of complexity and introspection.

I honestly breezed through this in just about two days because once i got started I had trouble leaving it for long. There was lots of action in this sleepy town and mega chemistry. I loved that Kate and Drake from book one were major players here but that the book was definitely a stand alone. Anyone can start at book two and feel completely at ease. The author used so much grace in how she covered some very heavy topics and gave the characters a way to move beyond them with levity while still holding them dear. Much like How Sweet It Is, there was a good amount of calamity and physical comedy that had me laughing out loud while also wondering if anyone was injured. Newton also managed to add a good amount of steamy and if nothing else this was a series of big romantic gestures that will make any romance reader swoon over Zander.

I appreciated the journey Imani's character took including how through her relationship with Zander and her grandmother, she was able to assess and shift both her personal and professional goals. This takes courage and strength and seeing her build those up enough to be able to make those decision was exciting and motivating. Zander had some very major growth as well but at his heart he was always this lovable, beautiful, cinnamon roll of a pining hero and I love everything about that for him. For all his faults, he was such a genuine caregiver that it was hard not to love him and root for him and his seemingly endless will to see others around him succeed before he finally gave himself a real shot.

I have so much to say but I think i'm veering into spoiling the story territory so ... I highly recommend this gem of a book to anyone who wants an uplighting, romantic comedy that will make you smile, laugh, cringe, and want to take a leap of your own.

My first book by the author and I loved it!! A cute romantic story that also touches on mental health and other associates issues. There were a lot of funny moments in the book too - a well written and well developed story!!!
**
Thank you to the Author, @netgalley and Forever / Grand Central Publishing for an Advance Reader Copy.
**

i didn't know that when i started reading this that it follows the side characters from How Sweet It Is (which i tried reading but unfortunately couldn't get into it).
but i also wanted to give the author a second chance with this small-town, opposites-attract, romantic comedy

sad to say that it just didn't work for me...

we have two people who already had a one night stand, still pining very much for each other but it got very repetitive with the "i like you but i can't, i want you but i can't".

and also my biggest peeve about this was how everyone talked about Zander. apparently he doesn't take anything seriously. we were never shown this apart from him making jokes...it actually miffed me off because i felt like he was the only one that even tried and showed commitment.
honestly it was only Gigi (Imani's grandma) that didn't have anything negative to say about him...

when the tension part hit, i felt that Imani was a real bishh and unnecessarily cruel towards poor Zander...he did so much for her and the little respect i had for her vanished... i guess she had her reasoning but it was still very much unnecessary

the first few chapters looked very promising but alas it didn't live up to my expectations. maybe i read more into the story than what it was but at this point it is what it is...
the ending was cute though but nothing too wow?

i did like Ryker's character but if I'll read his story, at this point, is a big (?)...

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

When I read How Sweet It Is I was hooked on Newton's work.
Her newest novel ALL FIRED UP was even better and I'm so excited I was able to read it.
This story will easily be a memorable one for me! It is such a fun read for the month of February.
This book is absolutely amazing. I genuinely smiled the whole time I was reading this!
Dylan Newton absolutely has a hit here!
This book has the depth that I've come to expect from her, and some perfectly written love scenes and moments that just make me hungry for more!
The romance developed at a good pace.
I really enjoyed the chemistry and build up between Imani and Zander.
Each chapter left you wanting more
Newton is a must watch author!

Forever,
Thank you for this eARC!

Dylan Newton has quickly established herself as an auto-buy romantic comedy author for me! This is her second book, and it brought the same wit, laughter and relatable feelings as her debut, How Sweet It is. All Fired Up focused on Imani Lewis and Zander Matthews. We have met both of these characters back in How Sweet It Is, so I already was looking forward to this character instalment. Imani's organized and scheduled life was relatable, and Zander's free and easy vibe was a wonderful juxtaposition. I loved seeing these characters grow together and their relationship felt legitimate. I did feel the conflict was a bit forced/rushed, but Newton definitely knows how to write an enjoyable and easy to read story!

I usually like books that host a grumpy male lead, but I appreciated Zander's demeanour and overt affection towards Imani. His gestures and actions were swoon-worthy, even when there wasn't an ulterior motive. He just genuinely was a nice guy. Imani's type A personality was relatable, and going through her own personal struggles as a reader felt legitimate and opened my eyes to survivor's guilt and the ptsd that follows.

Overall, a well written read that was entertaining, made me love, and of course made me feel. I absolutely CANNOT wait for Ryker's story next ! 2023 is a little too far away.

Well this was a perfect book to read on Valentine’s Day! Such an impossibly sweet love story, but with characters who are also facing some REAL issues, which I always appreciate. I love a well-developed character who isn’t perfect, but relatable as hell, and Imani and Zander definitely fit the bill. While Zander and Imani try to navigate their blooming relationship, they each have to face some hard truths about the way they live their lives. The reality is that neither one is as together as they appear, and throughout the course of the book, they learn to lean on each other for support and grounding.
This was my first Dylan Newton book, and after reading this one I’m desperate to go back and read Drake’s book ASAP!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Allow me to set the scene…

It’s the summer of 2021. I’ve just finished How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton. I’m clutching my Kindle to my chest like a big hug, shaking my head, and thinking, “I cannot wait for the next book.” But also, “I know it’ll be good, but there’s no way it’ll be as good as this one because this one is perfection.” (That’s right…I used the “p” word.)

Now, I’m not sure about this next part, but given my current state, I can only imagine Dylan Newton somehow heard my thoughts and said to herself, “I’m gonna make Lindsey eat her words.”

And now here I sit, chomping on my words like the bruschetta Zander didn’t get to eat because he signed up for a bachata class, not a bruschetta-making one (you’ll get that joke when you read the book).

All Fired Up is amazing. I want to tell you all the reasons why, but I’ll never do the book justice.

I love a good opposites attract story, but I love even more when the hero ropes me in right away. If you don’t start rooting for Zander by chapter 3, if he doesn’t make you laugh out loud within the first couple chapters, if you don’t look like the heart-eyed emoji every time you read one of his scenes, well, I’m not sure what to tell you.

But above all of this, I can’t speak enough about the mental health rep in the book. As someone who believes these kinds of stories need to be told, I very much appreciate the respect and authenticity with which Dylan Newton handles this topic.

All of this to say, this is a must-read, guys. You’ll smile, you’ll laugh, you might even cry, but you definitely won’t regret reading it.

In my pre-read review on Goodreads I wrote “I swear, I will melt if that man ever leans in a doorway or pushes up his sleeves'' and I am happy to report that he DID, in fact, lean against a doorjamb. No pushing up sleeves, but I’m still content.

How Sweet It Is was one of my absolute favourite reads of 2021, and I could not wait to read All Fired Up. I loved Zander when he was introduced in the first book, and was intrigued by Imani. I’m so disappointed that this wasn’t a 5/5 for me like HSII was. Both the story and Zander didn’t win me over like Drake & Kate did, as much as I wanted them to. I will expand on that in a moment but I do want to say that that being said, I think Dylan Newton is a wonderful author and despite not loving this book, I will not hesitate to read more by her.

I personally am not a fan of ‘sex first’ stories in books, or the ‘second chance’ trope. What I mean by this is that II have a hard time feeling a connection between the main characters when they have some kind of a past that happened off-page, prior to the book starting. But for some people, those are their favourite tropes. Just because it’s not mine doesn’t mean this won’t be perfect for someone else.

In regards to why I said Zander didn’t win me over, I didn’t get playboy kinda vibes from him initially, so I was surprised that that’s how he was more so described in All Fired Up. Imani even says he gives us ‘good-time-guy, dancing-through-life vibes’ and I guess that’s just not the type of character I enjoy reading about. His references to their hook up (and the potential of it happening again) weren’t something I enjoyed. I’m fine with sex in romance books (although full disclosure, I do prefer closed door romance to open door), I think with this book it just came down to the sex and references to having more sex happening before a relationship was developing. But again, that’s totally a personal preference. And I did really appreciate his growth throughout the book. Both his and Imani’s, honestly. I love seeing characters grow throughout their story, individually and together, and thought that it was really well done!

The way mental health, PTSD, and & death of a parent was handled in this book was great. I wasn’t as young as Imani or Zander when I lost my dad, but their conversations about it really resonated with me. I also appreciated the way Amira’s depression was mentioned. I’ve used the phrase ‘go dark’ before myself, so to see that written in this book made me pause for a moment. I really appreciated it, and thought it was well written.

As mentioned earlier, I really liked how the main characters grew throughout the story, which made for a really satisfying end for me. I liked the way the book wrapped up, for them personally and as a couple. They were two really different people who were able to figure out what would really make them happy, and I love that.

I absolutely cannot wait for Ryker's story. I loved that we saw more of him, and what he went through, in this book. I really do love that this series followed 3 brothers. I feel like you don’t see books with companion novels that follows men too often, and I loved that this is following brothers so that the characters a reader has gotten to know and love is shown again. It’s a fun little update, like an extended epilogue. Drake & Kate’s storyline in this book was lovely and so very them.

I know this turned into a rather long review, so if you read the entire thing, you rock. Thank you to Forever & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

When I saw that Dylan Newton was offering to read All Fired Up during Valentine’s weekend, I knew this would put me in the perfect mood for the holiday. This book was the perfect amount of romance and comedy while also showing the challenges that Imani and Zander faced.

3.5 stars

Cute as expected!

You know you're going to get a cute book with Dylan Newton, so I went in this book hoping for the cuteness to just hit me in the face, and it did!

I loved the first book and how it was revolved around Halloween! This book is a little heavier and it focuses on Imani, Drake's publicist and Kate's best friend, and Zander, Drake's younger brother. Imani and Zander hooked up during Drake and Kate's wedding and Imani left afterwards and didn't message again. Now that Kate is pregnant, Imani wants to remain friends with Zander while Zander wants to further explore the chemistry between them.

Zander is the fun-loving sunshine character that is constantly joking in this book, and he is a true delight! 🙌 I really enjoyed his character and how creative and sweet he was throughout the book! He's also a ceramic artist which is so cool?! I love that job for a character! I love any job that is art related honestly!🎨

I'm really excited for Ryker's story coming next year! I feel like his book might be a bit heavier, but the love story will be epic and I just can't wait!

I think it's always important that a romance novel should acknowledge a subject that can teach readers about it, and in this book's case, the subject that was commented on was mental health and bipolar disorder where a character's mother had it. Before this book, I had some minimal knowledge on the subject, so getting to learn about it and understand it was very important to me. The book also touched on PTSD and how it can come from different forms and events, but have the same effect. Newton did a wonderful job in writing about these subjects in All Fired Up!

Reason for 3.5 - the chemistry between the characters just didn't do it for me and it got a bit boring at times throughout the book, but this is all personal preference!! It's basically a slow burn romance, so if you like those, you're golden!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for the earc in return for an earc.

This book seems super cute and like the perfect light romance!!! I think if you love the show Hart of Dixie, this book was made for you. I unfortunately wasn’t able to get into it because a big trigger for me is mention of vomit, and that was the first sentence. Maybe at a different point I would be able to get passed that and enjoy but it wasn’t right for me now!!

All Fired Up by Dylan Newton is a great contemporary romance that kept me coming back for more. I enjoyed this one.

I really loved Ms. Newton’s previous book, How Sweet It Is, so I knew I had to read her newest creation. I thoroughly enjoyed this one as well.

Imani Lewis and Zander Matthews are brought back together again after a “one night stand” ignited their lives in the past. Both are reintroduced to one another with their own pasts, imperfections, and positive attributes. Both compliment one another perfectly, only not everyone in the pairing can admit this at first. Both seem to bring out the best in one another, and I really liked following along as the relationship progressed, altered, and improved. The author’s ability to balance some of the serious subject matter with the lighter fare worked well.

I really enjoyed the plot, pacing, and the ending.

Another great read from Ms. Newton that I highly recommend.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/17/22.

Zander is a artist and Imani is a publicist. 9 months ago they had a two-night stand at Imani’s best friend friends, and Zander’s older brother's wedding, to which Imani ghosted Zander after and left his heart bruised. Now Imani is back for the summer to help her grandmother recover from surgery, and Zander is determined to find out if they still have a shot at starting a relationship.

There is nothing I love more than a man who knows what he wants and is persistent on getting it; enters Zander Matthews *swoon*.
An adorable romance between two opposites at completely different stages of their lives, and the story of how they work through their challenges to get on the same path.
I LOVED Zander’s happy, light-hearted attitude which perfectly complimented Imani’s excessive planning and ‘checklist’ lifestyle. The perfect balance for each other.
The gorgeous cover of the hot air balloon is perfect as it replicates a scene from their first date.
The way Zander did everything and more just to be around Imani had me in love since the first page and when he went up and beyond to fix his financials and stabilize his business because he understood stability is what Imani needed was *chefs’ kiss*

However, the book is written in the third person, and while I love some good pop culture references, the use of TikTok and N95 masks definitely threw me off a little *cries in covid*

All in all, this was a spectacular romance book that I ate up in one sitting!!