The Fire in You by J. Lynn: Review


Posted December 1, 2016 in review Tags: , , ,

The Fire in You by J. Lynn: ReviewFire in You by J. Lynn
Pages: 360
two-half-flames

Series: Wait for You #6
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Also by this author: Fall with Me (Wait for You, #4)
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From the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout writing as J.Lynn, comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…
Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.
She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.
Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the past sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

The Wait for You series was one of the first new adult series I discovered when I really got back into reading. I loved Avery and Cam so much! Then came Jase and Teresa (<3) and then sweet, wonderful Calla! Then I got to meet nerdy Roxy! Finally, the story of Stephanie and the one night stand. I will say that Stephanie’s story has been my least favorite so I was apprehensive when grabbing Fire in You. Have I built this series up too much in my head? Am I now doomed to be disappointed?!? Is that BT Urrela on the cover?? Swoon….

Fire in You is the final book in the series and gives us the story of Brock and Jillian, whom we have gotten peeks at since about book 3. I will say I was curious about these two characters from their first introduction. Brock is a (now retired) MMA fighter and Jillian is helping to run her family’s marital arts academy…where Brock is as well. The story is told entirely from Jillian’s POV and her story is heartbreaking. Young girl who is so in love with a guy who treats her like a sister. Everyone saw that Jillian was in love with Brock. Everyone saw that Brock wasn’t interested in Jillian, but was happy to keep her around to help him when he needed it. Then he meets his future fiancé on a night that changes Jillian’s life. The book starts 6 years after this event and Armentrount reveals pieces of it via flashbacks. I’m not gonna lie, I struggled with Brock. I struggled with how easily Jillian seemed to remove blame from Brock. I struggled with how manipulative Jillian’s family could be. I wanted Jillian to tell Brock to go to effing hell, bitch slap her parents for putting her in the situation without warning, and find someone who would love her. I didn’t get my wish 🙁

Brock…ugh. I wanted to like him. I really did! There would be points in the story where I warmed to him. Then, he would say something that was seemingly not that big of a deal, but I felt it was just another way he was manipulating Jillian. Jillian is obviously confused and stressed over the entire situation of him returning to her life, and by all appearances, he is kind of toying with her. How is she suppose to know if he really wants her or if he is just trying to get their friendship back? Brock knew what had happened to her and how her life was different after the accident, so his unclear behavior just infuriated me.

I kept thinking back to book 1 in the series with Cam and Avery. What I loved about Cam was that there was never any confusion in his behavior. He was patient with Avery, but he didn’t leave her wondering if he had feelings for her. I want my BBFs to do that. Let the heroine know she is wanted and that he will do whatever it takes, be that being patient, being a friend first, or pushing for more. Brock is so infuriating.

Also, as many of you know I have a supreme love for all books that show mental health issues in a positive light. But, I also LOVE books with characters that have a disability. In Fire in You, Jillian is deaf in one ear. I actually cried a bit when she would talk about this because I absolutely felt everything she did. The overwhelming need to avoid certain situations, the embarrassment, the anxiety. There is something so beautiful about finding such a deep kinship with a character. Jillian’s right ear is her deaf ear where mine is my left ear but still… The climax in the end…its EVERYTHING I had been thinking. It was every reason I doubted Brock. However, it was a bit anti-climatic overall…

Full disclosure though: I stayed up until 2 am reading because I was so invested. As much as I was angry with Brock, I couldn’t stop because Armentrount has created such a compelling story. These books remind me why some authors make it BIG. I read hundreds of books a year. Many of them I find enjoyable, but few really hook me the way Fire in You did. It reminds me that the reason some authors become NYT best sellers is because they write better stories. It has nothing to do with publishers vs. indies or any of that. Well crafted stories build readers and over time, that readership grows if you nurture it. Consistently churning out stories that are just plain better than what is out there is what creates best sellers. Its like playing in the NBA. Lots of kids grow up wishing they could do it, but the bottom line is, you have to have an amazing talent. You can do all you can to attempt to improve your game, but you still have to be the best of the best. Lots of people want to be writers. They know how to write, but that doesn’t mean that what they write is as good as everyone else out there. (Wow, I have really gone off on a tangent here haven’t I??)

Ok, so 5 stars for Armentrout, but only 4 stars for this book. Because as much as I love her writing, I do not like her character Brock.

  • POV: 1st
  • Tears: I did tear up a few times
  • Trope: second chance
  • Triggers: none
  • Series/Standalone: standalone (characters from previous books make appearances but you don’t have to have read their stories to understand The Fire In You)
  • Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
  • HEA: View Spoiler »
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All Played out by Cora Carmack, Downed by Jen Frederick, Lick by Kylie Scott…then you will probably like Fire in You!

Fire in You

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excerpt bannerFrom Fire in You: 

Brock dropped his hand and walked inside, his head turning as his gaze swept over me. I closed the door.
“Nice socks,” he commented. “You know, it’s like you’re recognizing two seasons right now—summer and winter.”
I glanced down at myself. Oh crap! I’d forgotten I was wearing cotton sleep shorts paired with knee-high socks. And these were short shorts. Grateful that I was wearing a long cardigan over the shirt, I self-consciously tugged on the hem of my shorts while he looked around the apartment. I saw he had a little brown bag dangling from his fingertips.
“So,” I said, fiddling with the sleeves on my cardigan, “what did you bring me?”
“Oh, so now you’re curious about what’s in the bag?”
Crossing my arms, I stared at him while I hoped it wasn’t obvious that I wasn’t wearing a bra, because I could feel my nipples pressing against the shirt I wore.
Brock chuckled as he lifted the bag and reached inside, pulling out a small white carton. He then turned, spying the small kitchen. “So, how long have you lived here?”
“Um, I don’t know.” I watched him walk over to the island and place the carton and bag on it. “I think I moved in here about four years ago.”
“Nice place.” His gaze strayed to the stack of books on the other end of the island, and a fond smile appeared as he started to open the carton. “It’s safe here?”
“Yeah. There have never been any problems here.” I crept closer. “Most of the people who live here are married or work in D.C and commute.” My gaze dropped to his back. Did he ever get the large phoenix tattoo colored and filled in? I bet he did and it looked amazing. Then again, his back with all those ropey muscles always looked amazing. “So, where…where do you live now?”
“I bought a house outside of Shepherdstown,” he told me. “Got an amazing view of the river. You need to see it.”
I stopped walking, thinking his fiancée might not be too keen on that. Then again, I doubted she would see me as a threat.
Brock turned sideways, sliding the carton toward where I stood. I glanced over, and I stopped thinking when I saw what he’d brought.
“Glazed doughnuts,” Brock said. “Just glazed. Nothing weird hidden inside them. I know how much you used to hate biting into something and having no idea it’s filled with cream or fruit. They’re fresh, too. Picked them up at the bakery in Shepherdstown that makes them all day.”
I did hate biting into any food and having something unexpectedly squirt into my mouth. It was freaking gross, but I wasn’t focused on that aversion.
Sitting atop wax paper really were large glazed doughnuts.
It was so simple. Just glazed doughnuts. Nothing fancy or spectacular. But he remembered, and I didn’t know why that meant anything to me. I was sure serial killers remembered things about their victims, but I felt some of the tension easing out of my stiff muscles as I blinked back sudden hot tears.
Gah, I was so over-emotional. It was just doughnuts. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “That’s really nice.”
His gaze flew to mine, and I hastily lowered my chin, walking past him into the kitchen. “Jillian—”
“You’re eating one if I am,” I said, snatching several sheets off the paper-towel roll. God, I was such a damn mess, but I…I missed this—missed having someone in my life who knew me inside and out, because no one, no one knew me like Brock had. I turned around only when I was sure I didn’t look like I was seconds from exploding into tears, and went to the island, placing the towels on the counter. “I mean, I’m not going to eat three gigantic doughnuts.”
“Since when?”
A strangled laugh escaped me. “Well, I’m not seventeen anymore.”
“I can see that.”
A fine shiver coursed over my skin as I looked up. There was an intense, almost predatory glint to his stare, one I didn’t understand. And it suddenly struck me, really hit me, that after six years, Brock Mitchell was standing in my apartment, in my world, and I would never in a hundred years have expected this.
But there he was, larger than life itself, turning what was a roomy apartment into something that now felt entirely too small. He was one hundred percent grown man who was not just breathtaking to behold, but a walking legend in the world of mixed martial arts. More than that, though, he was a man who overcame such a terrible childhood, beating statistics and naysayers. Demolishing everyone’s doubt as he rose through the ranks, suffering a career-threatening injury to come back and win it all, over and over.
Brock had fire in him.
He always had.

About J. Lynn

J. Lynn is a pseudonym for Jennifer L. Armentrout.

http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/why...

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout/J. Lynn Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Jennifer would love to hear from you. If you have questions about any of her books, would like to set up an interview, book signing, etc, please use the email address below. Please check out each book/series individual page for more information about each title and the FAQ section.

For rights information on any of her titles, please contact Kevan Lyon from Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

If you are requesting an ARC please contact the publisher of that book.

To contact Jennifer directly, please email: jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

Samantha
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4 responses to “The Fire in You by J. Lynn: Review

  1. Great review, Samantha! I’m so sad to see this series end. I can understand some your thoughts on Brock and there were a couple instances early on where I felt he still kind of took advantage of Jillian but I guess it’s the genius of JLA because I totally got over it and was firmly on board midway through. My heart really ached for Jillian and I just loved how she pushed herself and was determined to take risks and get back the life she wanted. And getting little peeks at all the earlier couples… loved it!

  2. I have yet to even read this author and I can’t understand what the hold up is. Maybe I just don’t know where to start…any suggestions?

    • Ok, if you like YA/NA PNR, Start with her Lux series. If you want contemporary/New Adult romance, start with the Wait for You series. Both are amazing!

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