Review & Giveaway: Hope Ignites by Jaci Burton

Hope Ignites (Hope #2) by Jaci Burton
Publisher: Jove
Publication date: March 25th 2014
My rating: 4 stars 
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble


 

Logan McCormack likes his isolated life on the ranch, until a movie crew starts filming there. When actress Desiree Jenkins blows into his life, she wrecks it harder than the Oklahoma winds with her brutal honesty and soft touch. Des knows this is a temporary stay, but she loves the open freedom of the land, and for the first time in her life, Des feels like she might have found a place she can call home, with a man she might be falling in love with. But Logan’s heart is tougher than the soil beneath them—can she convince him that they belong together?

My Thoughts:

Hope Ignites is the second story in the Hope series, and like the first one, it’s a winning combination of romance, small town charm, and characters that burrow into your heart. Hope Ignites centers on Logan, Luke’s (from the first book) oldest brother.

Logan has rented out a portion of his forty-five thousand acre cattle ranch to a movie shoot.  Logan could care less about movies or stars and so when he runs into Desiree, the gorgeous Hollywood actress starring in the film, he doesn’t go out of his way to be welcoming.  Still, he can’t deny the mutual attraction that simmers under the surface, but he has no intention of getting involved with a movie star.  High maintenance is so not his style.  Yet, Desiree surprises him with her friendly and straightforward personality. She doesn’t put on airs and seems to genuinely love the ranch and country life, but she’s only around for the movie shoot and then she’ll be gone.

Desiree is becoming more disillusioned with the movie business, and wants more from life that just moving from one movie location to the next.  She wouldn’t mind cutting back on films, and finding a nice quite place away from Hollywood to settle down in. The small town of Hope seems to tick many boxes, and big time bonus, it has Logan the sexy-as-hell cowboy rancher! Win! She’s drawn to this taciturn man, and wouldn’t mind seeing what makes him tick:

She liked this man. He might be a little on the quiet side, but underneath? There was a fierce storm brewing in Logan McCormack. And she’d like to be in the middle of that when it burst.

I’m always attracted to small town romances they seem to have interesting secondary characters and an old fashioned, country setting that I wished I lived in. Hope Ignites fit the bill perfectly.  Plus, most of the story takes place on a gorgeous cattle ranch, which is another one of my fantasy home locations. Of course, I always picture a smoking hot cowboy, like Logan, being part of this whole fantasy scenario! What?!  Let a girl dream, already!  I enjoyed the whole movie star aspect to the story and it was interesting to see how crazy Desiree’s life could be. Being involved with Logan and his normal life, with normal genuine people was just what Desiree needed.

Both Logan and Desiree were easy to love.  They had a mature look on life and love, and this story was mostly free of frustrating non-communication issues. Desiree was an outgoing, straight talker, and not afraid to say exactly what she wants. I liked that she wasn’t into playing games and that quality was perfect for Logan. 

Logan fit my dream cowboy/rancher type. Every time I think of a hot guy in cowboy boots and hat sitting atop a horse, I swoon a bit. He was moody, broody, and not much of a conversationalist, but the words he said held weight.  He was a no BS kind of guy, not impressed by show or status, but also a guy who loved his brothers and his surrogate mother and father, Martha and Ben fiercely, and would do anything for the ones he cared about. While the romance was low on angst is was high in heat!

Des’s world exploded as soon as Logan’s mouth met hers. He wasn’t gentle. There was no finesse in this kiss, no artful, choreographed slow exploration. There was just a hungry passion of melding lips and searching tongues. 

Desiree seems to be his perfect match but Logan, but old insecurities creep in from his side, and cause him to hold back. He doesn’t want to make the same mistake his father made by getting involved with a woman who hated ranch life, and became resentful later.  She also wasn’t much of a mother and left without a second glance back when his father died, leaving emotional scars on all three of the boys.

The ending was a little rushed, but I loved how it turned out, and I know I see Logan and Desiree in the next book as secondary characters, so I can live with that. It was lovely to “see” Luke and Emma going strong, and lending support and friendship our couple. I can’t wait for the next book in the series, Hope Burns, which sounds a bit more angsty.   

 

Connect with Jaci Burton:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 The lovely people at Penguin have generously provided a Paperback copy of Hope Ignites to one of our lucky readers. The giveaway is for US residents only. Entrants must be 18 years or older.  Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

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