All Fired Up

Ashes & Dust #1

by Jenn Burke

Once bitten. Twice burned. Forever bonded.

Don’t miss this riveting and romantic spin-off series from Jenn Burke, author of Not Dead Yet.

Paranormals are dying. All over the city, with no explanation and only one thing in common: their magic is missing.

Vampire and private investigator Evan Fournier isn’t supposed to be taking on paranormal cases, but when the murderer hits close to home, he agrees to look into it. The last thing he expects is to become a target himself—and then to become irrevocably bonded to the man who just tried to kill him.

With his memory gone and his soul bonded to a stranger, former firefighter Colin Zhang wants to be anywhere else. He doesn’t have a damn clue why he just tried to kill Evan, and he didn’t even know about magic until just now. The sooner he can get back to his real life, the better.

But every time either of them tries to leave, pure agony stops them short. Forced to work with Evan or suffer the consequences, Colin must excavate the secrets buried in his missing memories while battling two rising threats: the conspiracy behind the murder, and his mutual attraction to the bond mate he never wanted.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Vampires, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Urban Fantasy

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

Jenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she was a preteen reading about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love. Now that she’s an author, she couldn’t be happier to bring adventure, romance, and sexy times to her readers.

Jenn is the author of a number of paranormal and science fiction romance titles, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (authored with Kelly Jensen) and her newest series, Ashes & Dust, a spin-off of her fan-favorite Not Dead Yet series.

She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.

Jenn is represented by Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency.

Reviews

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

Jenn Burke does it again with All Fired Up, an offshoot book from the Not Dead Yet series. All Fired Up was exciting, fun, and brimming with potential.

I'm a huge fan of Jenn Burke, and I was devastated when her excellent Not Dead Yet series ended. Thank goodness she decided to carry the torch and continue the world in All Fired Up.

First of all, and I hate to say this, but I think you have to read the entire Not Dead Yet series to have a clue about what's going on in this book. This isn't an offshoot series where you can jump right in, I'm afraid. Even for me, it took a few chapters for me to remember all of the details from the first books and orient myself. However, once I got into the groove I could NOT put this book down. I read it all night last night, and I have #noregrets.

I think this story is category romance, but almost the beginning of a romance. The two MCs have a long way to go with each other, and I'm excited to see them grow and develop as a couple. I like series with the same MCs, and I'm read to keep reading on with this couple (is the next book here yet???).

While the romance was enough to satisfy me, where this book really shown was in the plot. I read a LOT of paranormal romance, and for me to read something fairly new, well, now that's impressive. I feel like Jenn Burke has the writing chops to write PNR and keep it feeling fresh and interesting and keep readers on the edge of their seats, and that was the best part of all. I needed to read more and find the resolution, and that was an extremely exciting feeling for a jaded reader like me.

Bravo to Jenn Burke for another job extremely well done. I'll be happy reading this series, and offshoots from it, for years to come.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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[Simone - on indefinite hiatus - · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook = ***4.5 Stars***
Story = ***4 Stars***

Did I ever mention I love forced close proximity? *waggles eyebrows*

Sooo, make that the paranormal-y kind? Even better. *cheshire cat smile*

I'm being honest here, though. The way the Not Dead Series ended, I was miffed that Evan didn't get to be with a certain someone else, but I couldn't be happier about Colin. You do remember, that the little sadist in me has a thing for tortured heroes, right? And tortured he is. They both are. Sooo, double for the win... 😉

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best paranormal read I've read in a while. Highly recommend.

[Cat the bookworm (semi hiatus ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not as good as the original series “Not dead yet” 🤷‍♀️

It was… ok. No idea why it didn’t work as well for me. Maybe one part of my problem with it was that I missed Greg Boudreaux’ narration. Tim Paige did a good job, but… well, the narration is not as good as the one on the original series.

I sense a pattern there 😅

Same goes for Evan, whom I’m really happy to see forming a bond to Colin/Red.

It all takes place a few years after the Wes and Hudson got married. Evan is… ok, but still mourning Iscander (no idea if it’s written like that - I’ve only listened to the audiobooks 🤷‍♀️). At one point, Wes and Hudson leave to look after Hudson’s brother in London, leaving Evan with the PI business - and strict instructions to NOT take any paranormal cases.

You can guess how well that’s going 😅

During the case Evan definitely did NOT take and go to investigate undercover, he meets a taciturn, mysterious stranger who smells like smoke and cinnamon: Red aka Colin, who turns out to be so much more than it seemed at first sight.

I’ll try and keep the review free of spoilers, after all, the mystery part is one of the things this author does really well, the only thing I’ll reveal is that Colin’s last memory is from when he entered a burning house in the 90s - so on top of a very slow relationship building (and the mystery ofc) we have the part where someone has to deal with all the changes that happened in the last 30ish years. I always love that trope 🥰

Still, despite having all the ingredients I love, I don’t like at as much as the original series. Evan isn’t Wes, and I had a harder time rooting for him, even though I like him.

So having rated the original series with 4 stars, I’ll go with 3 here, at least for book 1. But it definitely has potential for more!

[Jenn]

Great news, everyone! I just found out that the audiobook for ALL FIRED UP is releasing on the same day as the ebook. So cool! You can preorder it now on Amazon and Audible.

****

You can read Chapter One on my website at https://jennburke.com/books/all-fired....

And Joyfully Jay has an exclusive excerpt at https://joyfullyjay.com/2021/01/cover....

I can't wait for you all to reconnect with Evan and meet Colin!

[Gustaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!
Review to come!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Not Dead Yet, I truly love this series, so when I heard about a spin-off, (and it's Evan's story!) I was sold already!

That being said I really recommend reading Not Dead Yet first then starting Ashes & Dust and believe me you won't regret it.

In All Fired Up we see how Evan is doing after the events of Graveyard Shift. We all know things aren't easy but he is trying his best. Wes and Hud had to leave town and asked Evan to decline new paranormal cases until they get back, but when someone close to Evan asked him for help he couldn't deny it, especially when paranormals were dying in a mysterious and horrible way. While investigating Evan found someone who'd change his life after almost killing him.

This someone is Colin and my heart aches for him, honestly he needs a break and he needs to chill for a hundred years.
I loved seeing how Evan and Colin got closer. Evan liked Colin's looks at first sight, there's no denying but they truly connected and that is the most important thing. They are too soft, they can heal and support each other so I'm excited to see how things will develop between them.

I was dying to know what was going on, especially who was behind the "main incident" thing and what was their actual purpose, also what was Colin's role in all of it.

Jenn Burke managed to make me love another of her series! Her characters are so lovable, it's impossible not to adopt them all and wish to protect them from everything. Evan is one of my favorites since Not Dead Yet and here, I just loved him more, but my heart is big and I also loved Colin a lot, can't wait for the next book!

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.7〜3 stars. Let me just say that I actually pre-ordered this book, which is saying something because I’ve only ever done that one other time (Mastering the Flames by S.J. Himes⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). However, it pains me to say it but after finishing this I can say, I was sadly thoroughly disappointed. I’m a bit too annoyed to go into detail right now & I’m not sure if I will read the next one... actually, in all honesty, with how I feel right now, I won’t be. Also, the narration wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Evan x Colin = 🙅🏻‍♀️for me

🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've given this a B+ at AAR, so 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed Jenn Burke’s Not Dead Yet series of paranormal romances and was delighted when I learned she was planning a follow-up series which would focus on ‘baby vamp’ Evan Fournier.  Evan was a troubled young man living with depression (and not doing so well) when we first met him and circumstances led to his becoming  the one of the members of the found family formed by Wes and Hudson over the course of the trilogy.  All Fired Up – book one in the Ashes & Dust series – opens around five years later and finds Evan – older, wiser and more confident in himself - in a much better place, having worked hard to get his life on track and learned to ask for and accept help when he needs it.

Evan works as a private investigator for Caballero Investigations, the firm set up by Wes and Hudson in Give Up the Ghost. Although all the employees are paranormals, the firm takes ‘regular’ cases as well as ones involving the supernatural, but when Wes and Hudson have to travel to London at short notice due to a family emergency, Hud makes it very clear to Evan that under no circumstances is he to take on any paranormal investigations while they’re gone.  Not because he doesn’t trust Evan or to handle them, but because those are the cases that tend to go sideways quickly – and Hud is a bit (!) of a control freak and very protective of those he cares about.

But when Dr. Anika Kozlow - a witch and Evan’s doctor and therapist – comes to see him, clearly very upset, and talking about a patient who recently died under suspicious circumstances, Evan knows he won’t be able to sit this one out.  Called to visit a patient who had recently returned from a retreat for paranormals, Dr. Kozlow was shocked to see a literal shell of the woman she’d known.

“When I saw her, she wasn’t there.  I mean, her body was.  She was sitting in the recliner, breathing, he eyes open, but they were… empty.”

A diagnostic spell confirmed Anika’s suspicions:

“When I said she was empty, I wasn’t exaggerating.  Her magic – her soul – was gone.”

And she’s since discovered that several of the patients she referred to the retreat have died in the same way.

Evan decides to check himself into the Rising Sun Retreat to see what he can find out.  Everything seems above board at first; the location is great, the staff are kind and he falls in with a group of friendly fellow patients who show him the ropes.  But there’s one staff member who makes him feel uneasy, a man known only as Red – because of the red tips in his hair (which, incidentally, are nowhere to be seen on the front cover!) – a member of staff so quiet, controlled and emotionless that he’s almost robotic.  He’s pretty creepy and Evan is suspicious - but before he can find out much more, he comes dangerously close to becoming the soul-sucker’s next victim.

Firefighter Colin Zhang has absolutely no idea why he just tried to kill Evan;  the last thing he remembers is heading into a burning building to rescue someone who’d been trapped inside, and he’d rather be anywhere other than with a bunch of crazy people talking about magic and vampires and telling him it’s 2024.  It can’t be – the fire was just yesterday. In March 1990.

All Fired Up gets this new trilogy off to a great start.  The mystery is fast-paced, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and it hooked me in right from the beginning; but the big draw was getting to spend some more time with the characters I’d come to know and love from the earlier series, and to see Evan start down the road towards a well-earned HEA  – he’s been through some serious shit, and deserves to be happy.  Evan is a complex, well-rounded character and I liked his insightful and wryly down-to-earth narrative voice – a very clear contrast to Wes’ mercurial personality and deadpan snark.  Evan’s depression is realistically and sensitively portrayed; he’s fairly stable now, and although the old insecurities break through and threaten to throw him off balance from time to time, he’s very self-aware and determined not to fall back into the sort of downward spiral that almost broke him when he was younger.

I liked Colin and the way he’s already starting to fit in with Evan and his found family of supernatural beings – and an actual god – although he (Colin) isn’t particularly well fleshed-out as a character.  Still, this is only the first book of three, so there’s room for more development there – and perhaps the fact that I’ve got to know Evan already via the previous series makes for an unfair comparison.  I enjoyed the book very much, although a couple of issues brought my final grade down a bit. One is that Colin doesn’t freak out very much when he finds out he’s lost thirty-four years of his life – and not only that, but that he’s been used to – at the very least – do serious harm to a number of people throughout that time.  He seems to accept both those things too easily, which was a bit odd.  And in addition to having to come to terms with what he’d been forced to do and the fact that his old life is gone, Colin has to reconsider his sexual identity. Growing up at a time when AIDS was ravaging the gay community, he chose to deny the part of him that was attracted to men, but the realisation that things have changed considerably enables him to own the truth (that he’s attracted to men and women) and act on his attraction to Evan.  I appreciated the way this realisation is brought about – but it’s something else Colin seemed to adjust to a tad too quickly.

That said, however, they make a good couple and there’s some very real chemistry between them. Both of them have suffered the loss of loved ones and will have to find ways to move forward if they’re going to be together in any real sense, and I’m looking forward to seeing their relationship develop as the series progresses.

As in  Not Dead Yet , Ms. Burke sets an overarching plot in motion in this series opener.  The villain of All Fired Up gets their just desserts, but the Big Bad – the brains behind the plot to steal magic and souls from members of the paranormal community –is still out there, and will no doubt be back to cause more trouble in the following instalments.  With a sweet HFN for Colin and Evan – and the promise of more to come – All Fired Up is a terrific combination of page-turning mystery and tender romance, and is strongly recommended.

[Anniek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested this without knowing it's the start of a spin-off series, but luckily someone warned me to read the Not Dead Yet trilogy first! I'm glad I did and I'd recommend you do the same, because otherwise you'll get a lot of spoilers and it's just going to be less fun if you go in without knowing the characters already.

I practically inhaled the first trilogy and I did the same with this book, because these books are so fun and engaging! They're funny, they're romantic, they're suspenseful - they really give me so many feelings and it's been a while since I've found a series to get this invested in. I loved reading about my favourite baby vampire this time, although I guess he's not really a baby anymore!

[Ronie Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spin off done right! It could also be that...I didn't want to read the end of their family's plight. They lost so much in " Not Dead Yet". Hopefully their is comfort after all that tragedy.

[ElmoVsBibo2.0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I was excited that this book is a thing, I was also a little hesitant to pick it up. Although I always really liked Evan,I wasn't sure I liked him enough to read a whole book with him as the main character.
But I'm glad I did it. Yes, I do like Evan enough. And I didn't even wish for more Wes and Hudson time. The plot was just great as were the characters (old and new).
I want part 2 (I acutally already pre-ordered it :D).

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been so excited to read ALL FIRED UP because I loved Evan in the previous series, NOT DEAD YET, and it was so great to see him taking steps toward happiness, especially after the incredibly heartbreaking ending to the last series. If you plan on reading the NOT DEAD YET series then start there because this book will spoil big parts of that series.

Jenn Burke’s writing style just really pulls me in and keeps me wanting to read page after page. Evan isn't as self-deprecating a narrator as Wes was in the previous series because Evan is a bit more settled in his own skin, but that makes him no less interesting. And Evan still had some great small moments of humor that were interwoven perfectly with the mystery and romance.

Evan and Colin’s relationship was rocky at first and my heart was twinging for Evan after a few things Colin said or did, but I liked seeing how it changed and grew. Colin takes a little bit to get his head out of the sand but considering the circumstances, he was doing pretty good at accepting things. The foundation for more gets set up pretty well but it looks like we'll see a more concrete HEA in the future books, which I'm really looking forward to.

One minor complaint I do have is why didn't they rely on Wes’s god powers to help out more with this case? I understand the issues with Wes being in London with Hudson and that Evan wanted to prove himself but there were a few instances where Wes could have fixed something in like two minutes. Also, why did they keep answering their phones when they knew it was a source of magical manipulation?! It seemed like Evan would have been smart enough to not make this mistake.

**ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Content Warning: homophobic parents; past struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts; periodic grief over the death of a partner; on page suicide of a side character

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Connected Series:
1. Not Dead Yet
2. Ashes & Dust

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated for audio review.

4.5 stars

Read Kris’ audio review in its entirety here.

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.25 stars

All Fired Up is the first book in Jenn Burke’s new Ashes and Dust series. The story is a direct spin off of her wonderful Not Dead Yet trilogy and moves us to a new set of main characters with Evan and Colin. I adored the original series and Evan was such a fascinating character there, so I was thrilled to hear that Burke was giving him a series of his own. While I think this will most appeal to those who have read the first books and are familiar with the original story and this group of engaging characters, I think there is enough backstory on Evan and the rest of the group to make this work as a starting point (just be aware that this story will spoil some key plot points of the original trilogy).

This book jumps us about five years in the future from the end of Graveyard Shift (it is 2024). I think the time jump works well because it gives Evan some time to come into his own as a private investigator, as well as for the group to settle in the aftermath of some of the intense events of the past books. Burke cleverly finds a good reason for Wes and Hudson to be out of town for most of the book in order to give Evan his time to shine.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Athira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evan's book is here and it's everything I hoped for and more!!!! This is the first book in the spinoff series from Not Dead Yet trilogy and I would highly recommend reading All Fired Up after that series. This is set up 6 years after the last book.

I was a bit angry at the end of the third book and thought I wasn't going to pick this up, but who am I kidding?? It is absolutely amazing and I love Evan and Colin so so much!!!!

I felt so much for Colin, for all he has gone through and I'm so glad he's found Evan. It's incredible to see the slow progress of their relationship and I can't wait for more in the upcoming books. I always like it when it's the same couple in a series as we get a lot of relationship development.

The writing just pulls you in and then there's suspense, investigation and vampires, witches and shifters, everything I love! Also the found family aspect is top-tier and I'm so glad we got to see Wes and Hudson, Lexi, and Priya. Also Jet is so dangerously powerful and I adore it. Please step on me.

Highly recommend it and I'm really looking forward to the next book!

*ARC provided by the author via Gay Romance Review Tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

[Roberta Blablanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 stars

When Jenn Burke announced plans for Evan's story, an undignified squeal was heard around the world. Well, not really, but I was beyond excited.

I was surprised by how much time had passed between Graveyard Shift (the last book of the Not Dead yet series where Evan was a major side character) and All Fired Up, but it made sense as the story progressed. I was glad to see Evan in a better place, mentally, from where we last left him. Major props to Burke for the excellent depression rep. Evan still has his low moments, but now he has to the tools to better manage his depression. I was satisfied with how The Big Upset from Graveyard Shift was addressed. I don't want to risk any spoilers, but not making the aftermath of The Big Upset the sole focus of Ethan's character felt very genuine to this spinoff.

It was interesting to see Wes and Hudson and their group of friends through Evan's eyes. His perspective makes me want to reread (for the fourth or fifth time) the Not Dead Yet series. I enjoyed Colin's backstory and am ready for more of him. While I wouldn't have necessarily chosen him as Evan's love interest and wanted more chemistry between the two, I have faith that my feelings will change as the series progresses.

***Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this only because I was reading it in the middle of a long-ass book slump. I already love the characters and the setting from the Not Dead Yet series, and the mystery was interesting, but I was so very not in the mood for reading so my enjoyment was half of what it should have been. Rating it 4 stars because it's not the book's fault I'm in a slump and I'm pretty sure it would have been a 4 stars read out of slump.

[Rachel Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm SO happy to see Evan's story and read about him finding a much, much-deserved HEA!

This is a spin-off of her Not Dead Yet series, and I HIGHLY recommend reading that trilogy first, as this one picks up several years after that ends and characters are still dealing with the repercussions of what happened at the end of the triology.
⠀
I love that we are back in this world she created - with shifters, vampires, gods, mystery and romance. Jenn writes so well and I am so, so happy to be getting Evan’s story! And I’m happy to see some of Wes and Hudson and the whole gang. This series has a great found family element to it with the group of friends that Wes and Hud gathered during their trilogy.

I really loved Evan and Colin together, although it's definitely early days for them yet. I find that what Colin has had to endure, and getting thrown essentially into the future for him, very interesting. I really can't wait to read more about them getting to know each other better.

Can't wait for the next book in this series!

[Lori S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this story took a bit longer for the set up than I liked, I did enjoy seeing things from Evan's POV. He's not as good at capturing people's personalities as Wes is, but he's got his own skills worth exploring. His observations about Wes and his chaotic style is spot on, for instance.

I do wish Ms. Burke had spent a bit more time on explaining about what Phoenixes are in the context of her universe and just what they are. By the same token, I would have liked more character development for Colin, the Phoenix in question, but there are two more books in the series, so I can wait. This is a guy who's been yanked out of his own time and place through no agency of his own, so he's got some catching up to do. The last time he was aware of the world was in 1990 when he's basically kidnapped out of his life and turned into a magical siphon for an evil witch and his boss.

Looking forward to the next story featuring this pairing!

[Dumbledore11214 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once bitten. Twice burned. Forever bonded.

Don’t miss this riveting and romantic spin-off series from Jenn Burke, author of Not Dead Yet.

Paranormals are dying. All over the city, with no explanation and only one thing in common: their magic is missing.

Vampire and private investigator Evan Fournier isn’t supposed to be taking on paranormal cases, but when the murderer hits close to home, he agrees to look into it. The last thing he expects is to become a target himself—and then to become irrevocably bonded to the man who just tried to kill him.

With his memory gone and his soul bonded to a stranger, former firefighter Colin Zhang wants to be anywhere else. He doesn’t have a damn clue why he just tried to kill Evan, and he didn’t even know about magic until just now. The sooner he can get back to his real life, the better.

But every time either of them tries to leave, pure agony stops them short. Forced to work with Evan or suffer the consequences, Colin must excavate the secrets buried in his missing memories while battling two rising threats: the conspiracy behind the murder, and his mutual attraction to the bond mate he never wanted.


Review.

I learned of the existence of this book because somebody at my favorite m/m group mentioned. I enjoyed the first trilogy in this series ( Not dead yet), so I eagerly clicked on this book. This is sequel/spinoff from the original books and as blurb tells you Ethan is now front and center of the narrative. You don't really need to read the first trilogy in order to understand the events in this story, but I highly highly recommend you read it in order to understand the characters, because their little band ( family, really) had been through hell and back and the events in "Not dead yet" influenced the main characters.

Five years passed from the events of the last book. The year is now 2024. I have to admit I wondered why the author chose that specific time ( only three years in the future but still in the future ) and I suspect ( pure speculation, I did not ask the author about it) that it is because she did not want to write about the world with Covid in it and chose a plausible time frame where Covid could be gone. Or maybe I am completely off base and she decided that 2024 is a good year to place this story in just because she liked the number or whatever reason.


At the beginning of the book Ethan is working an assignment for their agency and when he comes home he learns that Wes and Hunter need to go to London because of Hunter's brother serious health emergency. I thought it was an excellent way to get Wes and Hunter "out of commission" so to speak because what they are dealing with is something super serious and health of the loved one is really the only time these two would not rush in to help out with whatever case their friends/ chosen family members are working. And even within this scenario at some point Wes and Hunter do come back once to help out when they are badly needed . As I said, I liked how the author chose to "temporarily disperse" of them and let Ethan take center stage and other members of the gang help out of course .

Ethan's therapist Anika comes to them with the serious problem and despite Hunter's order not to take on paranormal cases while they are gone, Ethan cannot say no to her for many reasons . As a result he goes undercover to the retreat for paranormals . Ethan goes undercover as himself, as very real patient managing his depression.

I got an impression that in some ways being there even helped Ethan a bit.

"At breakfast, I socialized with Janie and the rest of the Trivial Pursuit crew (though tonight’s game was Life). It was clear they understood I wasn’t quite myself—they included me in their conversation and trash-talking, but gently. I appreciated their care. As messed up as I felt, it was nice to be among people who got it. Lexi, Wes, Hudson... they all did their best to understand, but none of them knew what I was going through with my mental illness.

After I was done with my breakfast, I walked over to the main building and begged off my session with Dr. Ueda with the excuse that I was feeling delicate from the day before. Not a lie, which was the best sort of lie. She approved of my request for a quiet day and told me she’d have my lunch delivered to my yurt.”


In other ways Ethan's stay at the retreat also turned quite deadly which he both expected and not. At the retreat Ethan meets Colin. I cannot tell you how he meets Colin or what exactly Colin was doing at the retreat, but since the blurb tells you that Colin tried to kill Ethan, I will not deny it and let you read details yourself :-).

I really liked Colin's character and since it is pretty clear that he is going to be Ethan's love interest from the blurb, I think it is not a spoiler that he is a good guy, but man he has issues. Issues which were forced upon him of course, but that does not make it any easier to deal with it. Blurb does talk about the bond Colin and Ethan end up in after their um stay at the retreat, I will not talk about the details of the bond, but let me be clear that right now at least the bond is as far as from my most disliked version of it.

The "you are my soulmate, we are bonded forever and let's live happily ever after " is so not my favorite trope. No, bond or not, Colin and Ethan are just starting their relationship and while Colin is not opposed to starting *something* he is initially very reluctant to even think about it and I thought that his reasons were convincing. It made sense to me within this book and if we still have more books coming, it also makes sense that the relationship will be developing further in the next books.

However if you ask me whether I saw the developing chemistry between these two, my answer will be absolutely I did. Your mileage may differ of course.

“He backed away, his expression filled with horror. “I’m done. I’m so done. Can you knock me out again? Please? Put me back where you found me? Something?” It had to be the bond that pushed me around the front of the car, to put my hands on Colin’s shoulders and pull him into an embrace. Had to be, because it made no sense that I would be hugging him otherwise. I wasn’t even sure I liked him. He was brash, annoying, and more than a little crude at times. Unrefined and unapologetic about it. The complete opposite of Iskander in so many ways.”

Blurb tells you that Colin is missing huge chunk of his memories. Well, yes, but memories are not the only thing he is missing .

Also, kudos to author for introducing a very fun twist on well known paranormal being in this book. I really liked it.


Same as the original book I thought the writer managed to balance romance and paranormal action really well. There was also some humor in the dialogue even if the book overall is not very funny, so I appreciated that.

Grade: B but only because nothing really was resolved in this book and I reserve my judgment to see how the mystery/suspense/action story will end and what is in store for romance.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Fired Up is a follow-up series to Burke's excellent Not Dead Yet trilogy (if you haven't read that one, well, what are you waiting for?!) featuring Evan Fournier, Hudson's vampire 'baby brother' (well, Hudson is Evan's sire, but I can't think of Hudson as Evan's father!). While I honestly couldn't remember much from the previous books (because yes, I forget things easily, not the books' fault), I think I noted that Evan needed his own happy ending after the event that happened in Graveyard Shift. With this series, I'm sure he will 🙂

Anyway, the story is like this, while Wes and Hudson are going to London, Evan takes responsibility of their investigation agency. Evan is NOT supposed to take paranormal cases, but when Anika (who have helped Evan with his depression especially after the death of Iskander), how could Evan says no? So Evan goes undercover to a retreat to find out why the retreat guests lose their magic after they come back home, gets into a whole of trouble, and find himself being bonded to a stranger. A stranger who well, apparently, died in 1990!

The investigation to that mystery was good. I mean, I finished this in almost one sitting (I stop only because I have to work and then to sleep) because it was pretty engaging until the end!.

I really LOVED how Burke added a phoenix! character to this series. I enjoy having more unusual mythical creatures in urban fantasy, in addition to the usual suspects of shifters, vampires, and witches. I also love that Burke added the complication of Colin's identity, and I can imagine the next two books will be deliciously addressing the progress of Evan and Colin's relationship.

The other members of the original gang are here too, of course: Wes, Hudson, Lexi... and I wonder how the appearance of Hudson's brother who ended up staying with them will effect everyone, especially Hudson's niece Priya (whom, oh, have a demon inside of her!)

All in all, a GOOD start of a new trilogy. Bring me the next book, please...





The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

[Courtney Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to more

Ever since the, um, events of the Not Dead Yet trilogy, I’ve been hoping Evan would somehow find a happy ending. This book takes place about five years or so after the last one in the trilogy, and while there are obviously more books coming and not everything is resolved, it’s definitely got him in a better place. It grabbed my attention and I read it in a day.

Spin-offs can be tricky if you haven’t read the original series they’re based off of. In this case, while I think you COULD read it without having read Not Dead Yet, I feel you’d understand the characters and world in general better if you did. Besides, they’re freaking awesome (especially in audio), so it’s not like it’s a hardship. 😋

[Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Amy Aislin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great start to the new Ashes & Dust series by Jenn Burke. I adored Evan in the Not Dead Yet series, and I'm thrilled that he's finally getting his own HEA.

All Fired Up is written with Jenn's trademark humour and fun with more than one mystery thrown in that all get tied together by the end. Jenn has a writing style that I really click with. But not only that, Jenn has added a new mythological creature and added diversity rep in the form Colin's questioning sexuality and Evan's depression. Every piece of the story fit so well together. The only thing that didn't quite work for me was the chemistry between Evan and Colin, but I think that's because this is the first in a series, and Evan and Colin don't "meet" until quite a ways into the book, so there wasn't time to develop it fully. It's something I think will be rectified in future books when Evan and Colin are (hopefully) given more page time together.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Not Dead Yet series, but would I re-read it? Probably not. It was entertaining, and included genuinely swoony moments, but ultimately - for me - it wasn't all that memorable. In fact, when I started this new off-shoot series I had a hard time remembering who was who in the series. And my friends, therein lies the problem.

All Fired Up returns to the Not Dead Yet universe; unfortunately, by the end of Graveyard Shift, I felt like Jenn Burke's world-building included way too many IMPORTANT secondary characters. I hate being confused when I'm reading a novel or a series, and I don't like feeling like I need to take notes to keep up. TBH, it was super obvious the author planned to revisit this world in a spin-off series; it felt like she just kept introducing possible lead characters so she'd have lots of options.

Witches, shifters, Gods, vampires - basically if you exist in the paranormal world you made an appearance - and a complex, overarching plot featuring our principal characters, made for information overload; it was exhausting one too many times. So while I liked the principal characters (Wes and Hudson), I always felt cheated when the story pivoted away from them to one of these other, less compelling, secondary characters. Much of the time it was all too, too much to keep track of.

All Fired Up suffers from the same problem. Already one too many characters to keep track of, one too many paranormal traits to remember, and not enough thrills or chills. It's overstuffed in the not good way. The character and world building suffers as a result.

But returning to my initial thoughts. You need to remember the Not Dead Yet series and characters because when All Fired Up kicks off, the author assumes you do. You know who Evan is, right? He's the baby vamp created by Hudson in the first Not Dead Yet novel. Uh oh. Don't know Hudson? You're screwed. J/k. But for real. You should also remember their friends (and their paranormal backgrounds): Wes and Hudson; Lexi, Sam and Priya; Evan's fellow baby vamps; and the circumstances that led to the death of the man/shifter Evan loved for a short time. All of these 'beings' helped make him the man/vampire he is when this story begins (recovering from depression), and all of them eventually play pivotal roles in this story. So, if you don't remember a lot about these characters (me), you're on the struggle bus at the start. And a little bit in the middle. And whenever Priya or Sam appear.

Anyway, when the story begins, Wes (now a God) and Hudson (a vampire and Evan's sire), are headed to London to visit Hudson's sick brother (also Priya's dad). Before they leave Evan in charge of their detective agency, Hudson warns him to stay away from paranormal investigations when they're gone. Apparently, those investigations are trash fires and only Wes and Hudson (le sigh) have the power to keep them from becoming total shitshows.

Well, obviously, Evan takes on a paranormal case. Because, duh.

At the behest of his therapist, he winds up at a retreat where it appears paranormals are losing their magical souls. Once there, he meets his soul mate when the guy tries to suck his soul out of him. Hold up. Let me backtrack a bit.

Evan is undercover when a guy nicknamed "Red" (because of the red tips on his hair) tries to suck his magical soul out. And since Red is the only Asian in this story and the cover features a male model of Asian descent (where are the tips??!!) savvy romance readers already know Red/cover model guy must somehow wind up in a relationship with Evan (the other guy on the cover). I mean, he’s on the cover! Again, WHERE ARE THE TIPS??!! IT’S HIS FREAKING NICKNAME!!!

Anywho, Red ultimately fails at the soul sucking thing, and then flails because Oh, Snap! Apparently he died 30 years ago? And didn’t know it? And he smells like fire and cinnamon?! and only his new bond with Evan snaps him out of the time warp. But why is he a soul sucker? Why doesn't he remember becoming a soul sucker? Why hasn't he aged? Who's running this soul sucking enterprise? So many questions! Fortunately, Evan takes him home to the village/fairytale paranormal home he shares with all the paranormals who populate this story so they can figure out what the hell is going on. Just go with it.

So anyway, that's the premise of the story in a nutshell.

Along the way we get all the friends bonding over their shared attempts to find out why and how Colin (the not-so-Red tipped dude on the cover) started sucking out magical souls. Evan struggles with his depression and its genesis (that he thinks he ruins everything and nobody wants him), and Colin sorta struggles with the how and why of his magic and coping with the loss of 30 years and his sexuality. I say sorta, because Colin doesn't actually seem to struggle very much at all. But Evan does. Burke does a deep dive into depression and its origins with her characterization of Evan, and it’s a powerful representation of this horrible mental illness. {Burke's depiction of depression and its effects on Evan's life are the strongest parts of this novel.} There is a lot of self-reflection, short cameos from Wes and Hudson, Lexi being a badass nearly all of the time and convenient plot twists and revelations.

Honestly, why is this story about Evan? When is it Lexi’s turn?

I don't want you to think I didn't enjoy this novel. I did. Fans of Ms. Burke will probably love it. I just wasn't a super fan of the Not Dead Yet series, and this one is...erm....kinda too slow? I didn't find the thrills and chills all that thrilling or chilling, and the romance is meh - which for me is the very biggest problem. Evan and Colin barely spend any time together and I had a hard time buying into their soul mate love story. It's all a bit too instalust WITHOUT NEARLY ENOUGH LUSTING. I mean, if the sex was crazy good, that would be one thing...But this story doesn't even really have that. Hmmm. I just wasn't feeling the love this time out and the novel isn’t very romantic. Or suspensy, TBH.

Okay, and back to the cover. I mean where are the freaking RED tips? Burke’s cover images feature the principal characters front and center; they never seem to match up with the men of my imagination. And then nicknaming a character after the red tips of his hair and featuring a cover model without the tips is a MAJOR COVER FAIL. He’s asian. That’s about all this person and this character have in common.

Also. I don't remember Sam. Who is she?

Recommended with reservations and one of the biggest is that you need to read the (better so far) Not Dead Yet series first.

[Sibil · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and to the Editor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was my first book by this author and this is also the first book in this series so it was a pretty good starting point. But this is a companion series to the Not Dead Yet series and now I have to go back and read that too, because the characters are pretty unique and I need more!


Sure, this book focuses on Evan and Colin, (more on them later) but they have an amazing found family around them, and they all are interesting characters. All of them are caring and sweet, but some of them seem pretty unique. We have a God and a Vampire Sire (and how cool that sounds??) that intrigued me to no end, and they are the MCs to the main series. So obviously I need to go back and read that, right? I mean, I need to know more about Wes, and about his relationship with Hudson!
But, as I was saying before, Evan and Colin are our MC and they are sweet and interesting and resourceful. I loved Evan’s voice since the story is in 1st person and it is Evan’s POV.

So, interesting characters and a well-developed “found family” trope (and I really love this trope) with a mystery and some action. It is good, right? But there is one thing more that I have to underline in there.
Mental health representation. Our MC suffers from depression. And we get to see how he lives with that and how his family supports him. And we get to see other mental health issues in there. And I think that the author did a pretty good job with it all. Both in representing the issues and in showing us some good support nets. I really appreciated this part, and I am looking forward to the sequels to see what she would do next. But this was really important, and I have to say again that she really did a good job with it!

[Rosabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the world depends on this private investigators, then the world is fucked, because this guys were bad at their jobs. 🤣🤣🤣

It's a short story and the characters were sweet, but I swear to God every step I kept thinking: oh don't go there, don't do that, you're gonna get caught like a dumbass, DON'T ANSWER THE FUCKING PHONE!!!

As you can see, the criminal aspect was really questionable and the love was insta, I didn't feel the connection, one day I hate u, the next I love u? Nope, not for me. 😄😄

[Emalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for my honest opinion

I loved, LOVED this book. I really loved Evan in the Not Yet Dead series, which All Fired Up is a sequel to. In fact, I was a bit mad about what Jenn Burke did at the end of the third book, so I’m really glad that Evan finally has his own series 🙂

I have read the Not Yet Dead series multiple times by now and I still love it so it was no surprise to me that I also loved All Fired Up and will also loved the next books that are going to be in this series. I also really like Jenn Burke’s writing style. Also vampires and private investigators are so up my alley. The combination of my two favourite things can only result in a good book 🙂

The Ashes & Dust series plays a few years in the future, they are already in the year 2024. Normally I’m not a big fan of time jumps but in this case it makes total sense and is even appropriate.

(Sidenote: Am I the only one or does the number 2024 just look weird? lol I’m still getting used to writing 2021 and if I’m really honest I just put 2019 on a paper last week, so… oops)

I really felt for Colin, poor guy. I won’t say more about Colin and his character development because that’s a really big spoiler. I definitely can’t wait to see Evan’s and Colin’s relationship progression though. Those two will make me swoon so much, I know it.

Also I really, really hope there will be an audiobook of this, preferably also read be Greg Boudreaux because I love his voice.

The only thing that I didn’t like was my inability to read slower. Why do I consume books in such a speed? I guess the only thing I can do, is reread this book again right now. The biggest problem with reading an ARC is that the next book is even farther away than if you get a book on the normal release date. Book two (according to Amazon) will be titled House on Fire and will be available in November…. November!! That’s eight freaking month. Who do I need to bribe to get it earlier and does that person accept german chocolate? LOL

Rating: 5 stars

[R.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Goodness. I loved this book. I am already a huge Jenn Burke fan, and I love this *spin off* with special appearances from Wes and Hudson (le sigh).

Evan and Colin are perfect together - loved them so much - and the story is creepily good.

Highly recommended.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to see Evan come into his own, and interesting to see a new magical creature as part of the mix of this paranormal world created by one of my favourite Canadian authors, Jenn Burke. I started this one, then realized I needed to do a reread 'stat' of the Not Dead Yet series, then went back to this with all the characters fresh in my mind, ready for the start of the spinoff series.

This book starts 5 years after the end of the first series, so we get some cameos from immortal God Wes and vampire Hudson but it's really about the vampire Evan becoming his own man, learning to deal with his depression, and ready to solve his own mystery - that of souls that are being taken without permission at a 'retreat'. Upon investigation (by posing as a client), Evan discovers that Colin, a former firefighter who disappeared in a fire has been under a spell for 3 decades and retrieving souls for the villain of the story. It turns out Colin is a phoenix (a conduit for magical energy), and has no memory of the past 30 odd years, not to mention having to deal with the paranormal characters he now finds himself involved with (after almost killing Evan). Colin also came of age during the AIDS crisis and has hidden his bisexual feelings, until he discovers he has feelings for Evan (who, though grieving a relationship that never had the chance to develop, is ready to move on).

This is the first story in a trilogy so along with the suspense and action there is a happy for now ending for Evan and Colin with more to come in the next book. The author does a great job of creating an interesting paranormal world, as well as telling an overall story arc to keep the reader wanting to read more. It was great to see some of the familiar characters but also to spend time with new ones, and I've no doubt there will be more to come.

A copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley.