JAMIEParker Hoffstraeder is gorgeous, cocky, and totally irrational. He also broke my heart when he left town eleven years, four months, and twenty-eight days ago.Not that I’m counting. I don’t mind admitting it: I was young. I got burned. I learned my lesson.But the guy swaggers back into O’Leary like he owns the damn place and suddenly I’m expected to welcome him to my town — to my life — like … welcome him to my town — to my life — like nothing’s changed?
Yeah, that I mind.
It’s only a matter of time until he’s gone again. And there’s no way I’ll give him a chance to take another piece of me when he goes.
PARKER
Jameson Burke is the most arrogant, infuriating human on the planet. He’s also taller, broader, and impossibly hotter than he was before I left town.
But, whatever. It’s fine. I can handle it.
Coming back to O’Leary was supposed to be like coming home. I hadn’t realized that there’s no statute of limitations on how long your first love and former best friend is allowed to hate your guts, or how much bad luck can befall a person in a short time.
But, I can handle that, too… or at least pretend to.
When Jamie and I are thrown together in a blizzard, though, everything changes in the space of one single, scorching night. Suddenly, I’m dreaming of a future I can’t have, and he’s stuck in a past he can’t let go. It feels like we’re playing with fire…
And this time I’m the one who’s gonna burn.
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Like most, I’ve been dying for Jameson and Parker’s story. I always knew there was something there and I’m glad Ms Archer gave us The Fire.
The Fire is a best friend to enemies to sort of friends with benefits to lovers.
I enjoyed the banter between the MCs, however the miscommunication frustrated me.
Being forced together by a snow storm, Jameson and Parker can’t deny the magnetism between them, but the unwillingness to discuss the reason for their breakup left me pulling my hair out.
If you love small town series and Love in O’Leary is definitely the series for you. It is well written and the characters engaging.
Although part of a series, The Fire can be read as a standalone, but best read after the other books as previous couple make appearances and references are made to previous events.
Each book in the Love in O’Leary series has been better than the one before and the first one was pretty damn good to start with so that gives you an idea of how good this series really is. May Archer creates characters that are imperfect but loveable, ones that I just want to shake or kick in the butt to get them moving the right way – which is part of the fun.
I want to visit O’Leary to meet the characters that live there. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t overshadow the main storyline, they enhance it. With The Fire, I was crying, then laughing, then laughing while crying. I didn’t want to put it down until Jamie and Parker came to their senses, which of course they did, with lots of push-pull, shouting and crying – and that was just me reading it!
You could read this one as a standalone, but don’t cheat yourself like that. Start at the beginning. *I received an arc of this book.*
* AUDIOBOOK REVIEW *
Good story, the voice was not my favourite
I liked the story even though I’m not a big fan of second chances. The storyline progresses nicely to a happy ending and the things get clearer for them both throughout the story.
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Good dialogues
Well described characters that’s developed in to realistic personalities
I like that the town is so inclusive and the author has created a world I definitely want to revisit
Good chemistry between Jamie and Parker from the beginning
Narrator:
He reads with passion and has clear pronunciation but the voice is in my opinion not my favourite and at times I feel like he gets to enthusiastic
4 stars overall
4.5 stars
Heat Level: 4
The angst, miscommunication and passion! Oh my, The Fire indeed!
The fire, the passion, the angst, good lord! This was an intense, highly charged ride! These two have a complex past and continue to let the past dictate their present. The have basically been in love with each other since they were teens and through disastrous and frustrating miscommunication they fight their connection so much so they appear to hate each other! This was one of those books were I wanted to strangle the characters and tell them to just talk to each other! There is so much back and forth, angst and passion, love and hate in this book that could have been solved or avoided by just being honest but then I guess it wouldn’t be such a gripping, frustratingly steamy read!
I loved these two together then they were honest and I liked how they ended up fighting for each other. The community rallying around them at the end was also so wonderful to see. I really enjoyed this ride and really do just Love O’Leary!!
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I’ve been looking forward to this book, and I am not disappointed.
This second chance/enemies to lovers romance takes a bumpy road to its destination. There were times that I wanted to jerk both Jamie and Parker up by their short hairs and tell them what was what. The author put me smack dab in the middle of their lives and made me watch while they went through all of the emotions as they dealt with a painful past that cannot change, the present that is fraught with tension and confusion, and a murky future that, if left to their own devices, would be empty and lonely for the both of them.
Cue in a fate that sends a perfectly timed blizzard their way. Forced into each other’s company, they have an uninterrupted chance to stop and see, really see, what is right in front of them. The chance for more. The chance to forgive and move on. The chance to have that most special someone back in their lives and to have an even deeper, stronger love to share for the rest of their days.
The author lets you feel the emotions; whether it be love, pain, anger, disillusionment, or any of the myriad of emotions associated with her characters falling in love and losing that love. This book has all the feels. She uses humor and snark, along with the little bit of silliness to lighten what would otherwise be a heavy read. And the sexy times? Mmmmm, good stuff.
I came to care about these guys, especially Parker. He had an honest reaction to the pain that Jamie inflicted all those years ago, and for him to be willing to resurrect that friendship makes him even more lovable. After Jamie got over himself enough to see what was real, I came to care for him also.
I enjoyed reuniting with characters from previous books and seeing how their relationships are going. I also like that the author does not have chronological books in this series, that they all occur in their own time while other books’ actions are still happening. I enjoy that because life does not allow you to stop and watch someone else live their life while yours is on hold. It’s all muddled up at the same time. It’s kind of messy. It makes it more real to me.
I do love how the author gives HEA’s. She makes them work for it, but they appreciate it all the more for the work they had to do.
I look forward to more from this author.
After an absence of 10 years, Parker returns to O’Leary and finds that his former best friend/first love Jamie seems to hate his guts… after a devastating fire which burns Parker’s restaurant to the ground, he decides to walk away from O’Leary, and Jamie’s loathing, once and for all… but a blizzard unexpectedly gives him a second chance to reconnect with Jamie and finally figure it out… will they be able to be honest with themselves and each other and decide what they really want and need from each other? May Archer’s “Love in O’Leary” series is nothing short of addicting… the secondary characters, the town, but especially the MEN… like a certain popular snack food, you cannot indulge in just one – you must have ALL of the stories…. THE FIRE, like each book in the series, has all of the feels, a great story, lots of steam, and amazing characters you will love and even perhaps fall in love with…. It gets my highest recommendation!
Parker and Jamie… what to tell about them?
They’re two stubborn mules, they don’t communicate and they make assumptions about what the other wants or thinks… but they’re so meant to be together, so obviously (to anyone but them) in love and so deserving of happiness, that in the end nothing can keep them apart.
I loved this second chances story: Parker and Jamie were together in high school, and have been separated for more than eleven years. Their reunion is not immediately easy, but through trials and errors (many!) they will get their HEA.
I am completely in love with this series, and I already have my heart set on a few characters which I would love to get the story of..
I love snowstorms and this story made me love them even more.
We knew Parker and Jaime had a past. We also knew they had a future if these 2 stubborn men could work through that past. I was NOT disappointed in how their story turned out and am kinda sad that it’s over. I don’t believe it’s the end of O’Leary but our build up of these 2 is no longer in the background.
This was my favorite book of the series! We’ve seen Jamie and Parker circle each other for the previous 3 books and we knew they had a history, but this book shared more about that as they fought their way back to each other. Super enjoyable!
We head back to O’Leary and finally get Jamie and Parkers story. I love that we get both sides and understand why the did what they did 11plus years ago. A great second chance love story
May Archer takes us on another great journey to an idyllic town full of quirky and interesting characters, a bit of drama and lots of love. This time it’s a very well developed second chance story with two funny MCs full of unique treats that make the reader like them from the start, in all their imperfection.
May Archer is a master of creating interesting people we meet in interesting stories and The Fire is not an exception to that rule. Strong 4,5 stars for this one.
Good story and characters but I felt it bogged down about 80 percent through like the author wanted to build the drama and suspense by keeping the reader in a holding pattern of introspection and self examination. For me that did not work and I had to push through but was rewarded with an upbeat, fun ending. Loved bar owner Parker’s parents; they provided some good comic relief as did the heroes’ competitive spirit in the kitchen.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Parker has been back in town for a minute now, but he’s about to leave. His bar burned down and the insurance investigator is taking forever to come to a conclusion, and Parker’s out of money and a place to live. So he heads out. Unfortunately, he decides to leave when a storm hits, and he’s stuck. Even more unfortunate (or maybe FORTUNATE), his rescuer is his ex, Jamie. Will this be a gateway to a second chance for them?
Sigh…these two frustrated me beyond belief. Their miscommunication was so ridiculous! They could have been together, happily in love, if they had simply talked back then. But, I give them a pass because, as the saying goes, they were young and dumb. Now that they’re adults, though…they still didn’t communicate that well until an ex forced the issue. Sigh again…but, ultimately, I liked the story and Parker and Jamie so I think 4 stars is fair because the story is sweet, sexy and as second chance romances go, this one is pretty great.
ARC via LesCourt ARC Team.