You Are My Fire, My One Desire

"Life is messy and unpredictable;
sometimes it's a punch in the gut, 
and sometimes it's so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes."

--Ann Aguirre, I Want It That Way

Genre: NA Contemporary

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Pages: 352

Publication Date: August 26th, 2014

Source: e-ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Goodreads Description

Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she's determined to make them come true—for her parents' sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

The Premise 

I love love LOVED that this story involved a single dad. Don't ask me why. I have no idea why this was such a turn-on for me but it's true. I think I like that a very unconventional type of love story was explored. Ty isn't your typical knight in shining armor but that is also what drew me to him while reading. It is not often that our hero has a 4 year old so basically falling in love comes complete with bonus Mommy title. Well, we all know it's more complicated than that but still. I loved this premise and story and reading about the intricacies of falling in love when a lot of other variables are in play.

The Chemistry 

The romance aspect of this story hits you hard in the gut. While it can easily be defined as insta-lovey, that isn't a deal breaker for a story for me. I don't mind insta-connections when done right and I think it was done right here. I'm not a full blown believer in love at first sight, however I do fully believe in an instant connection or attraction to somebody so I get Nadia's (well I don't GET IT because it hasn't happened to me but I digress) gut feeling towards Ty. When you meet the one you're supposed to be with I think it's possible to know right away in a sense. Now I'm getting all philosophical and it's way too early for that. ANYWAYS, what I'm trying to get at is their chemistry in unbelievably sexy and I was most in need of a fan while reading. Ty is the ginger of my dreams...sorry Prince Harry, you've been replaced.

The Hiccups 

Clearly Ty didn't plan on having a 4 year old kid in his twenties and all the other characters we meet also meet hiccups in their life plan along the way. I loved this. Life is messy and beautiful and never works out the way you planned but it is how we decide to deal with those road bumps that make us who we are. You ever hear that saying, 'If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plan.' I love that saying because it is so true. And I loved this aspect of the story. I think it portrayed real life in a way that wasn't easy but realistic.

The Conflict 

While we cannot have a book without conflict I had some issues with this one. Obviously, dating as a single parent is complicated in the very least. However, I found the reasoning behind the central problem of the story to be a bit weak. It felt like the situation they put themselves in was far more complicated and had much more chance for disaster than the alternative. I know this is vague but I'm not going to give away any spoilers. So read and we shall discuss.

General Admission

I really liked this book a lot. I could not put it down because the romance was sexy and I HAD to know what was going to happen to the characters. I'll definitely be picking up the next book. If you love New Adult contemporary or are thinking about trying out this genre, I really think you'll like this book! If