Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

More than three centuries ago, Nicholas Winters irrevocably altered his genetic makeup in an obsession fueled competition with alchemist and Arcane Society founder Sylvester Jones. Driven to control their psychic abilities, each man's decision has reverberated throughout the family line, rewarding some with powers beyond their wildest dreams, and cursing others to a life filled with madness and hallucinations.

Jack Winters, descendant of Nicholas, has been experiencing nightmares and blackouts—just the beginning, he believes—of the manifestation of the Winters family curse. The legend says that he must find the Burning Lamp or risk turning into a monster. But he can't do it alone; he needs the help of a woman with the gift to read the lamp's dreamlight.

Jack is convinced that private investigator Chloe Harper is that woman. Her talents for finding objects and accessing dream energy are what will save him, but their sudden and powerful sexual pull threatens to overwhelm them both. Danger surrounds them, and it doesn't take long for Chloe to pick up the trail of the missing lamp. And as they draw closer to the lamp, the raw power that dwells within it threatens to sweep them into a hurricane of psychic force.

Fired Up is the latest in the Arcane Society series. I think it may be the first book where a whole family has decided to stay away from society and away from Jones & Jones.  Staying away from Jones & Jones is harder and when Chloe learns one of her uncle’s works from them, she is horrified. Says the whole family would disapprove. It was funny. I am also pretty sure this is the first book that goes into the legend of Nicholas Winters, the enemy of the original Jones, the one who came up with the founder's formula that both enhances their power and drives them insane and that is now causing such problems (such delicious problems!) for Jones & Jones. No one has not read the previous Arcane Society can fully appreciate that, of course, but it doesn’t matter, because the book can stand alone. Most of it is explained, in a very natural, non-lecturing way.

The part I liked best was at the end when Chloe was kidnapped. She had to deal with a dying teenage boy, a doctor certain of his (erroneous) conclusions and being injected with the founder’s formula. It was here that we learn the founder’s formula works by opening dream energy to the waking mind, and that’s why it is unstable, because dream energy is inherently unstable.

There are hints of other legends, of the enemy leadership being involved with them. But best of all the current Jones got an assistant! This means nothing until you realize for the last half dozen books Jones had obviously needed an assistant and was resisting getting one. She walked in and told him she was going to be his assistant. Hilarious! I can only imagine what the background check will tell Jones.