Twenty-four-year old barista Belle Jamison dreams of a better job and a decent love life. Until a crazy scientist spikes her mocha latte! Suddenly Belle can wield the four elements- earth, wind, fire and water- with only a thought. Coffee too hot? No problem. Hair in need of a blow-dry? Done.
Gorgeous government agent Rome Masters has been sent to neutralize Belle. But he's not the only one after her. Together they must outrun the rogue agents on their trail and find a way to control her powers. There's just one problem: the sparks Belle and Rome generate are even hotter than the ones flying from her eyes- and with her future on the line, now is the worst possible time to fall in love....
(Summary from the back of the book.)
Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter is the first book in her Tales of an Extra Ordinary Girl series. It is about Belle Jamison. She is a "coffee wench" at Utopia Cafe and does any other jobs she can get her hands on, while trying not to get fired. She's not very good at the not getting fired part unfortunately. She supports herself and her father who is in an assisted living center due to heart problems. She finds her life to be very unsatisfying and wants something exciting to happen...be careful what you wish for.
On the same day that she manages to talk her way out or losing her job, yet again, a man in a lab coat comes rushing out from the building across the street. Next thing you know her latte has been spiked with a mystery fluid which proceeds to make Belle ridiculously sick. She ends up passing out on her floor going in and out of conscienceness. When she wakes up there is a man standing there in her apartment.
He tells her that she drank a formula that was made to give someone control over the elements. Also, that his name is Rome, yummy! He is majorly sexy, but very menacing when he wants to be, luckily Belle does indeed have some nice new superpowers. Even though he was sent to neutralize her, he decides he want her help instead, and in return he'll help her. It's not only his boss after her, there are a lot worse people in the world that want to experiment on those with powers, and Belle now has some major power. So, Rome will help her control it so that she doesn't kill herself or anyone else, but as she learns to control her powers more, her and Rome get closer, and he is one sexy man!
Then, there's all the secondary characters. Tanner, who comes into the story in a very entertaining way, is awesome. He had me laughing so many times throughout the book. There are also some people from Rome's life who make things interesting, but I don't want to spoil anything for you.
I really wasn't sure if I would like this book when I first started it. I usually love Gena Showalter. Her The Lords of the Underworld series is wonderful so I figured I'd give something else of hers a try. At the beginning of the book, Belle got on my freaking nerves! I really wasn't sure if I would be able to finish it. Once Rome came into the picture, though, everything changed. Their interaction was awesome. The dialogue was hilarious and then all of the physical chemistry...Rome is just damn yummy ok, I can't think of another word. Gena sure can right some hotness into her books!
So, read this book, and I would read it soon because on February 1st the sequel Twice as Hot will be released and I can't wait to check it out!
Well, I take that back, I just looked on amazon.com and the mass market paperback will be available on January 26!
Tales of an Extra Ordinary Girl series:
1. Playing with Fire
2. Twice as Hot
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