I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Burn
by
Maya Banks
in eBook edition that was published by Berkley on August 6, 2013 and has 353 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Sweet Surrender, Colters' Woman, Sweet Persuasion, Sweet Seduction, In Bed with a Highlander, Darkest Hour, Seduction of a Highland Lass, Colters' Lady, No Place to Run, Men Out of Uniform, Red-Hot Summer, Never Love a Highlander, Brazen, Sweet Temptation, Whispers in the Dark, "Colters' Wife", Colters' Promise, Echoes at Dawn, Undone By Her Tender Touch, Four Play, Cherished, The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress, Never Seduce a Scot, Highlander Most Wanted, "Softly at Sunrise", Shades of Gray, Rush, Fever, Forged in Steele, Colters' Daughter, Colters' Gift, Be With Me, When Day Breaks, After the Storm, Taking It All, Keep Me Safe, Darkest Before Dawn, Enticed by His Forgotten Lover, Sweet Possession, Sweet Addiction
Third in the Breathless erotic romance series and revolving around three friends who operate a hotel business. The couple focus is on Ash McIntyre and Josie Carlysle.
My Take
Well, on the plus side, this particular installment in the Breathless Trilogy has risen all the way up to mundane. Ash does insta-love with the artist, Josie, and none of it rings true. It reads like high school for the twenty-somethings.
Maybe it’s a Dom thing and I don’t get it, but Ash’s approach in the park put me off. He’s so damn pushy!
It’s all tell and no show — a good example of what not to do. It’s dull, boring, and…yawn…clichéd. Oh, my family’s awful because… Oh, yeah, my family’s awful because…yawn…
The soap opera continues with Ash’s confession about he, Jace, and Bethany in Fever, 2.
There’s Ash’s speaking style too. I don’t remember him being so staccato-like and abrupt in his sentences in the earlier books. Am I misremembering??
I do like that Ash is such a touchy-feely guy, that he never wants her to put distance between them if they have a problem. That he wants to hold her when they talk.
Okay, I get why Josie is upset with Ash, and why she couldn’t sit down and talk to him about how it makes her feel…? Instead Banks stirs the pot and cliché, cliché cliché…followed by yet more cliché with the beating. Yawn…
I do love what Ash does to make it up to Josie. It’s so sweet…and most artists’ dream come true.
The Story
Ash McIntyre is feeling lonely now that his best friends — especially his menage partner! — are too heavily involved with their significant others. That restlessness may be what caused him to notice Josie’s diamond collar. Make that instant assessment and turn his life around.
Just to keep things interesting, the family is also experiencing a breakdown.
The Characters
Josie Carlysle is a free-spirited artist struggling to sell her work, helping to pay her expenses with a line of jewelry, and playing sub on the side. Michael Cooper is the wanna-be Dom in her life.
Ash McIntyre is ruthless when it comes to business or family and very dominant in bed. He (and his best friends) are successful with their hotel business, HCM Global Resorts. Eleanor is his receptionist. Brittany is his younger sister with a failed marriage with Robert Hanover behind her. Grandpa made his fortune early, and the family hasn’t had to work a day. And they viciously resent Ash’s success. William and Elizabeth are his painful parents.
His best friends, Gabe Hamilton and Jace Crestwell, are absorbed in their own ladies — Mia Crestwell (Rush, 1) and Gabe and Mia’s wedding, and Jace’s very permanent relationship with Bethany, his fiancée (Fever). Jack Kingston is Bethany’s foster brother and seems to be doing okay with his rehab.
Brandon is a bouncer at Vibe and Caroline’s boyfriend, er, fiancé. Kai Wellington owns Vibe and has his own insta-love thang. Chessy, Caroline, Gina, and Trish are Mia and Bethany’s friends.
Mr. Downing runs the art gallery where he hasn’t been selling Josie’s artwork. Detectives Starks and Clinton investigate the murder.
Charles Willis was an investor Gabe dropped in Rush after his actions with Mia.
The Cover and Title
The cover has the same clean simplicity as the previous two except in red against a white background. It’s a sense of smoke, of silk chiffon swirling and twirling around a champagne glass and a handle.
The title is how Ash feels about Josie. It’s a Burn.
