A review by iamivan91tx
Fighting Fire: Finding Focus Book 3 by Jiffy Kate

emotional inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Back when I read Finding Focus, I wasn’t aware the book was part of a series. It wraps up Dani’s and Micah’s story neatly. It wasn’t until 2020 that I decided to revisit the book. That’s when I found out there are three sequels. Book two is Deacon’s and Cami’s story. I wanted to continue reading about Dani and Micah, so I jumped forward to Fighting Fire. This book is Micah’s more than Dani’s, as the chapters hint. In Dani’s story, the chapter titles had a camera adorning them. This one has a glass with liquid and an ice cube. If you’ll remember, Micah co-owns two restaurants with his older brother Deacon. One is called Pockets, and it’s in French Settlement. The other is Grinders, located in Baton Rouge. Fighting Fire starts after a big tragedy.

This book reveals that Micah’s biggest dream is to open his own restaurant. Pockets and Grinders don’t count because he opened them with Deacon. Micah yearns to strike out on his own. He gets the opportunity when an old acquaintance shows up with an offer. She’s Alex Collins, who owns a building in the French Quarter in New Orleans. That’s just where Micah most wants to have his restaurant. There’s no love lost between the Landrys and Alex, though. Unlike Dani, Alex is a selfish opportunist. She’s also implied to be a spoiled rich girl who relies on Daddy to put out her fires.

Micah decides to partner with Alex despite his misgivings and his family’s vehement disapproval. Micah reasons that he’d be fifty before he could afford to buy a building like Alex’s by himself. Dani supports him, because of course she would. She’s a good person, and she loves her boyfriend. Dani wants to see Micah succeed. She’s extremely wary of Alex, though. The latter makes no secret that she wants Micah for herself. Dani is most apprehensive because her former boyfriend cheated on her.

After Micah signs a contract with Alex, it drives a wedge between him and Deacon. The latter is furious when he learns about the partnership. Micah had no idea why Deacon was so averse to him partnering with Alex. To be honest, neither did I. Deacon’s reaction seemed way too strong for it to be about worry that Micah would fall in Alex’s net. Either Deacon seriously despises Alex, or he’s secretly jealous of Micah. Whatever the reason, the two are at odds with each other for most of the book.

Micah’s determination to have his restaurant puts strain in his relationship with Dani, too. He starts paying less attention to her as time passes. Micah loves Dani with all his heart, but the restaurant becomes his priority. Not even Alex can put him off. She turns out to be a really unpleasant, incompetent rich girl. Alex barely lifts a finger to get the restaurant up and running. Micah does the hard work while Alex just buys things.

Although this is Micah’s book, Dani also gets several chapters written in her POV. She’s still a freelance photographer. Dani works various gigs throughout Louisiana. The job gives her flexibility to set her own hours and avoid artists’ block. It also lets Dani go away when she needs time to herself. Although Dani lived in New York for years, she’s a southern small-town girl by origin. Dani loves being in Louisiana, mainly French Settlement and Baton Rouge. It also means she’s closer to her best friend, Piper Grey. The latter shows up a few times throughout the book. It’s mostly when Landry family reunions take place.

Fighting Fire was a great ending to Dani and Micah’s love story. Those characters grew on me when I first read Finding Focus. I wish I’d known sooner that there was a new book. Sheridan Reed and the Landry family are amazing characters. I liked Piper Grey as well, and she’s even more interesting now. Piper has her own book, so that’s my next read.

My rating: ★★★★ 1/2

4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!