In the Fire by Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels

Title: In the Fire
Series: In the Kitchen #2
Author: Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (296 pages)
Publisher: Carina Press (3 Nov 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Blurb: Because the way to a man’s heart…

Eight years ago, the world was their oyster. Until, that is, competing chefs Ethan Martin and James Lassiter’s hot and heavy relationship fizzled after Jamie left for an internship in Paris. Even though Jamie’s career has taken off since his return to the States, with his own television show and a lot of fame, his feelings for Ethan have never quite gone away.

Ethan’s culinary career has developed more slowly, but he’s almost saved enough to buy the restaurant where he works and re-open it as his dream spot, Bistro 30. If only he could get the sexy chef who loved him and left him out of his mind.

But when someone starts sabotaging the restaurant and a fire threatens to take away everything Ethan holds dear, his only option is to rely on Jamie for help. Back in close quarters, the two men will have to find a way to work through their past if they hope to save the restaurant and their future.

See how Ethan and Jamie’s romance began in In the Raw

ISBN: 9781426899225

Product Link: http://ebooks.carinapress.com/B7247C3A-0EFD-44BC-9856-A9004C56E9C8/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=A3657930-5395-4100-9D03-38A37BAAFCC4

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is book 2 in Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels’ In the Kitchen series. You really should read book 1 first, though I reckon you’ll be able to get away with skipping it if you really must. However, In the Fire is a fantastic addition to the series and like book 1, had been engrossed from the get go.

Once again we are following young chefs Ethan and Jamie and are set eight years after we left them at the airport in Seattle when Jamie was off to study in France. Of course, you will read to find out the events that have led to the guys being separated after a rather harsh break up, though really to me it was all a bit odd, but hey, I’ll suspend my disbelief for this.

So the guys are almost thirty years old. Jamie is a famous TV chef and often travels with his best friend he met in France and manager, Trevor. Ethan is head chef at a restaurant where he started some sort of apprenticeship at the end of the previous book. At this point he has gone as far as to being the manager and set to take over when the owner retires.

Once again we are revisiting the fact that both these guys suck at communicating with each other. Ethan is still a hot head and Jamie is still fiercely independent though both guys have been miserable without each other in the intervening years. I still absolutely adore Ethan, even though he is a grumpy, surly guy, he has a heart of gold. I just want to hug him!! 😉

We get a quick appearance from a few minor characters we met before. Ethan’s sister Claire isn’t as prominent as she was before, but she is still brilliant and I absolutely adore her. I would go as far to say that I would read an MF romance if only to see her get her HEA. There are also a couple a chefs from the first book, which appear more human now that Ethan and Jamie have graduated culinary school and these teachers are now their colleagues.

Two new characters we are introduced to are Trevor, Jamie’s BFF and Tyler, a young guy who had been kicked out of home and taken in by Ethan. Tyler is adorable, he’s been framed as Ethan’s unofficial little brother and has an amazing heart. I find Trevor’s character rather interesting because of how he was written. The authors could have made Trevor an outright villain in the story, but instead he is just another guy pining away for the unattainable and guilty of his own foolish mistakes.

I loved this just as much as I loved the first book, although I will go on record to say that this made me a bit emotional when I realised what had happened to the guys between the end of book 1 and the start of book 2. Just like book 1 there is a lot of fighting and miscommunication, but it is totally worth read every word!
Right… now for book 3… Trevor and Tyler’s story!

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *