Title: Fire Me Up
Series: Deacons of Bourbon Street #2
Author: Rachael Johns
Genre: Contemporary Romance, MC
Published: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Random House – Loveswept
My Rating: 4 stars
Source: NetGalley
Cover Description:
Travis “Cash” Sinclair values only two things from his days with the Deacons of Bourbon Street: his prized Harley Davidson and the man who gave it to him. But now Priest Lombard is gone, and Cash has inherited the Deacons’ clubhouse—not to mentions its unexpected tenant. She’s exactly the type of woman he tries to avoid: all incense and art, with a sharp tongue that promises trouble. So why does Cash want to push aside those flowing skirts and lose himself between her legs?
Billie Taylor fled a bad marriage to start a new life among the grit and glamour of the French Quarter. She refuses to let another man distract her from her dreams, especially an outlaw biker with nothing to offer except hot sex and an eviction notice. Cash is dangerous, with an untamed streak he tries desperately to conceal. He drives Billie wild, sending her too close to the edge for her own good. And she won’t fall under his spell—or into his bed—without a fight.
Read on for my thoughts on Fire Me Up. No true spoilers, promise.
I am enjoying the Deacons of Bourbon Street series, a motorcycle club series written by various authors. Each author creates one former club members story from when they were in New Orleans before Katrina changed everything and during the time their club president, Priest, has sent his lieutenants to the four winds with orders not to return until he said to. Each has returned to New Orleans for Priest’s funeral and the reading of his will. His accident – which looks nothing like an accident to the men of the Deacons of Bourbon Street continues to be the mystery that runs through the entire series.
Travis or as he was known in the club, Cash had no desire to be back in New Orleans. Here he’d been abandoned by his family only to be brought into another, stronger, tighter family – the Deacons of Bourbon Street. Only to have the man he looked up to toss him out into the wind once more. He still didn’t understand why that was necessary. But, hell, he’d taken his dismissal and turned his anger into the fire that had built his business – that business that allowed him to wear fine suits not off the rack. So far from the angry young man he’d been when Priest had taken him under his wing. Damn, he didn’t want to be back here and as soon as he could convince the other guys to sell the properties that Priest had left them he’d be gone with the wind once again.
Billie has escaped to the French Quarter from a controlling ex-husband. Hopefully Australia was far enough away to outrun his reach and the echoes of his abusive mind games. Bille has set up her art gallery in the building that once was the Deacon’s clubhouse. She makes her home here as well, so this spot is extremely important to her. It’s where her dream took flight, where she’s proven to herself that she can make it on her own, on her terms, doing what she loves. No man will ever tell Billie what to do again.
Billie is going to have a fight on her hands, because a handsome, arrogant former club member now owns the building – and he wants her and her art gallery out so he can sell the property. Just like that, with a snap of his fingers this ass intends to destroy her dream – it is not gonna happen.
The fire between Travis and Billie is apparent from the start. She may not act like a spitfire, but her stubborn determination to keep the home and dream that she’s worked so hard for is a force to be reckoned with. Their romance may have started off rocky, but each is hiding a completely different personality from the other. When they open doors to their real selves, that’s when the flames start burning.
As the former club members begin to question Priest’s death, that mystery gets deeper. Billie and Travis are so good together. Once they get past the aggressive start that Travis forced on them, it was delightful to see them find the parts that were missing in each other. There is nothing in the world as sexy or loving as knowing that your man (or woman) has your back, complete confidence in you and as long as your independence doesn’t take you away from them… it’s all good.
Fire Me Up was a great addition to this series, bringing in more information and more players. I’m looking forward to the next novel in this series. I love a good mystery as well as a hot love story. Deacons of Bourbon Street is giving me both – a win-win for a romance reader. I highly recommend Fire Me Up for anyone who loves motorcycle club romances, a good mystery or just simply a good, solid love story.
*I received an e-ARC of Fire Me Up from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*
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