BLOG TOUR: I Burned Down His House by Jessica Frances

Series: Love at Frist Crime Series

Genre: NA Romance/Suspense

Release Date: November 28, 2017

~Synopsis~

She burned his house down, so he lit a fire between them that she could never extinguish.

So, I burned his house down.

It was an accident.

I mean, technically, the dog did it.

Well, the dog helped me to do it.

Did I mention it was an accident?

When circumstances mean I suddenly have a new housemate,

A man who is my ultimate fantasy,

And my entire world is turned upside down by new friends,

And a dog who likes to get me into trouble,

I have to wonder how my life got so crazy.

Add in my neighbor, who is under investigation;

Some unfinished business from the past, which just won’t go away;

Interfering family, who don’t know when to stop;

And mixed signals, making me wonder if fantasies really can come true,

And you have my new, hectic, crazy life.

But, when things take a dangerous turn,

And lives are on the line,

Will we all make it through in one piece?

Or is everything destined to crumble down around us?

Who would have thought that burning down a house would change everything so much?

Then again, as some people say: there is nothing quite like love at first … crime.

GOODREADS

~Book Review~

4.25 Stars

Teagan Bevon has moved to a new city following her divorce. She only means to be neighborly when she checks on Karma the dog. Instead she sparks more than the flame she has for the dog’s owner, Joey Kim.

“I tend to go big when I do something accidentally.”

This is a lighthearted, strangers to friends to lovers story with a suspense angle that kept me engaged. The steam level is a bit low, but the characters were likable. 

While I was a little uncertain about Teagan’s bumblings in the beginning, she turned out to be a solid female lead. I appreciated that she recognized that she needed to work on herself and rebuild her life before jumping into her attraction to Joey. Plus she didn’t just brush aside Joey’s manwhore MO or give him an easy pass. She kept her wits about it, and I had a lot of respect for her for that.

“‘People don’t change overnight, and they don’t change a lifetime of choices in just a few weeks. I’m not willing to be some itch you want to scratch. I won’t be some experiment to see if you can commit.’”

Amen! 

There’s no insta-love here; the relationship is slow burn, but it’s clearly developed. Told via Tegan’s sole first person POV, I do wish there were some chapters from Joey. He was a laid back and likable guy, but I could have connected with him more if his POV was also shown. None the less, he came through as a romantic hero.

“‘I want you to be happy.  I want you to feel safe. And I want to give you as many orgasms as you’ll allow, for as long as we can keep doing this, because your cries while you come are the sweetest music to my ears.’”

This book is part of a standalone series. I haven’t read the previous ones, but I had no problem following it. The previous couples are supporting characters, and that worked well to build the friendship theme that’s also central.  In an otherwise upbeat story, there was one sad turn of events that brought things down in the end. I don’t think this casualty was necessary either, nor did it fit the mood of the tale. That aside, I enjoyed how this low angst stayed focused on the investigative plot and avoided misunderstanding and drama.

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~Excerpt~

Trying not to feel like a loser that I have Joey’s number memorized, I dial, hoping like hell he picks up. It has to be in the incredibly early hours of morning, so there is every chance, if he hasn’t come home yet, it’s because he’s out with someone and won’t answer.
After five, drawn-out, torturous rings, he finally picks up.
“What?” he grumbles. I can’t tell if I woke him up, or if he’s just annoyed to be disturbed.
“Hey, Joey, it’s Teagan—”
“Who?”
I pause, annoyed I’m so forgettable he can’t remember who he gave his house key to! “Teagan Bevon, the woman who lives next door?”
“Oh … Oh!” There is finally recognition in his voice. “Right. Look, Teags”—he sounds so distracted I don’t think he even noticed he gave me a nickname—“I’m kinda busy—”
“But—”
“—so I’ll just see you later—”
“Wait!” I cry out, afraid I will hear the dial tone any second.
“Actually, you probably won’t see me later. I’m going to be—”
“I BURNED YOUR HOUSE DOWN!” I scream into the phone and am finally met with silence. “Joey?” I whisper, fearful he already hung up.
“Can you repeat that for me?” he finally gasps out.
“I …” Now I feel nervous. “I … umm … I accidently”—I use too much emphasis on the word, making me sound extra guilty—“burned down your house.”
“Are you okay?”
My heart skips a beat. I just told this man that I burned down his house and his first thought is if I’m okay?
“Some smoke inhalation, but nothing serious. I’m so sorry about your things—”
“How about Karma?”
“Karma got out fine. She’s with the Glovers,” So … maybe she’s not okay. The almost ninety-year-old couple may not be quite at the same speed as Karma.
As he sighs in relief, my hands begin to shake again.
“Joey, I’m so sorry.”

Born and raised in South Australia, Jessica spends her days working in a bakery, afternoons catching up on lost sleep, and nights reading and writing. Writing has always been a passion of hers, however it wasn’t until recently that she decided to put pen to paper and make things official. 

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