Fired Up by Mary Connealy

Fired Up by Mary Connealy is book #2 in the Trouble in Texas series.  I reviewed the first book called Swept Away here.

About the book:
Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment, which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.

Glynna Greer came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation. Now her husband, Flint, is dead, and she's determined to care for her son and daughter on her own. She wants to believe Dare Riker is as decent as he seems, but she's terrified to lock herself into another marriage. She plans to support her small family by opening a diner--never mind that cooking is not her greatest talent. The men in Broken Wheel, Texas, are so desperate for home cooking that they seem willing to overlook dried-out beef and blackened biscuits.

Glynna can't help but notice that danger follows Dare wherever he goes. There's the avalanche. And then the fire. But things really get out of hand when someone plunges a knife from Glynna's diner into Dare's back. Are Flint's cronies still plotting revenge? Is Glynna's son engaged in a misguided attempt to protect his mother? Is a shadowy outsider still enraged over past injustices? And can Dare survive long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance on love?

My thoughts:I have read several books by Mary Connealy.  This one felt like it took me longer to really get into the story and enjoy the storyline compared to other books. 

I enjoyed reading more about the characters from the first book.  I felt bad for Glynna's son Paul who was obviously deeply hurt by the men his mother had been married to previously.  This gave him a negative feeling toward all men and led to him having many issues including anger.  I thought it was interesting how Dare decided he didn't want to be a doctor anymore but no one would accept this from him.  I do look forward to seeing what happens with these characters in the next book of the series. 

It was a pretty predictable story I thought with a few surprises here and there.  It was an enjoyable read but not my favorite of this author. 

This book was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. 
Have a day of blessings!