Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: Should Our Hearts Catch Fire
SERIES: Who We Are #2
AUTHOR: Amithia Raine
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 370 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2024
BLURB:
Ellis has been looking for something for as long as he can remember. It was never important, though. There’ve been expectations and rules laid out for him since he was born.
It doesn’t matter his dad isn’t here anymore to remind him how inadequate he is compared to his big brother; not as smart, not as driven, not as talented. Never good enough. The only thing he’s good for is being a cash-cow and ironing out other people’s messes—like having to take over the family business because brother dear somehow managed to lose all his memories. Just great.
But that’s his life.
At least until the day he wanders into a local café with a stupid name and the world’s strangest barista. Gabriel is a force of nature, confusing as hell and, worst of all, makes Ellis feel things he has no business feeling.
Ellis swears to never go back, but something about that place keeps drawing him in. Every time he steps in there, he feels more like himself. A little more alive and far less lost.
He has no idea what he’s looking for, but sometimes, when he’s in Gabriel’s shop, it feels like he might have found it.
REVIEW:
Grumpy Ellis is such an amazing man! I really liked him in book one, how he supported Dawson, believed him and looked out for him with Cal, how he took Cal’s place at the company trying to sort things out.
In this book, he doesn’t disappoint: he’s loyal, caring even if he’s not affectionate and he tries to mend his relationship with his brother.
Gabriel is amazing too: he got me curious about his mojo in book one and I’m glad the author didn’t just use magic as an explanation for everything. Gabriel’s power is of course a big deal for him but it doesn’t overwhelm the book or solve everyone’s problems.
The story starts in the middle of the previous one: Dawson has taken Cal home from the hospital and they just adopted Donuts. It was really nice to see the events of Should The Sky Fall through another POV, especially Cal’s heart attack and his revelation.
I really liked how the author handled Ellis’ bisexual awakening: it was slow and considerate and I appreciated Ellis and Jordan’s talk very much.
The sex scenes reflect Ellis’ fear about being not good enough but they were also very emotional.
What prevented me from giving a higher rate:
As I said, I loved the emotional part of the sex scenes but they were a little too long.
I didn’t like some of the side characters like Amanda (who was working with Ellis for a couple of weeks and already making sex jokes and meddling into his sex life with no boundaries at all) and Carrie, Gabriel’s mom (too much invasive).
Lastly, there’s a veil of sadness in Ellis’ story that didn’t go completely away. I look forward to the bonus scene hoping it will bring him some closure.
Overall, I loved this story because I’m very fond of this little family, it was so good to see Cal and Dawson again.
I hope all of them will be present in the next book as well: Ash is a firecracker and Kieran is mad at everyone, I’m so curious about how their story will turn out.
Recommended.
RATING: 
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