Review: Burn for Me

BURN FOR ME
Hidden Legacy #1
Ilona Andrews
Urban Fantasy
384 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

MY THOUGHTS
Burn For Me is everything readers have long come to expect from the writing team of Ilona Andrews, time in the beginning spent setting the world up so that we have our feet firmly beneath us before yanking our hearts into the mix thanks to a set of fun and multifaceted characters. The fairly extensive setup of world and story in the beginning, while appreciated, does make for a slightly slower start, but as always, before long we find ourselves in all sorts of dangerous situations alongside Nevada as she fights for her business, her life and her family. Things get even more interesting when Nevada finds herself paired with Mad Rogan, and once he enters the picture, the tension between them ensures we can’t put this first installment down until we’ve seen it all the way through.

Nevada is a woman with the perfect amount of attitude–feisty and in possession of a sharp wit she puts to good use, but not so exaggerated in those areas as to push us away rather than draw us in. Her relationship with her family is a highlight, her love for them clear from page one, but what really makes the entire lot of them shine are the moments of irritation or silliness that so often accompany familial relationships when all parties live in close proximity. They bicker and pick at one another in the most relatable, hilarious way possible, luring us into their world with their genuineness and the obvious affection that exists between them. Nevada’s trigger-happy mother and bad boy-loving grandmother lead the way, bringing a smile to our faces whenever they appear on page and providing a touch of comedic relief just when we need it most.

In addition to a family we can't wait to return to in the next installment, Burn For Me also gives us a romantic relationship positively thrumming with sexual tension. The dance between Nevada and Mad Rogan doesn’t start until about a hundred pages in, but we are more than fairly rewarded for our patience when the immense force of both their personalities finally collides. Despite Rogan’s staggering power and intimidating reputation, Nevada goes toe to toe with him without flinching, refusing to be strong-armed into doing what he wants when he wants it, and repeatedly rebuffing advances every woman around her would happily die surrendering to. Though she’s not a game player in the traditional romantic sense given she's as honest as they come about every aspect of herself, she and Mad Rogan play their own game nonetheless, one they both know they’re playing and one that is all the more entertaining for us because of it.

Overall, Burn For Me is a fantastic start to the Hidden Legacy series, full of action, humor, and a romance that is all about the delicious build-up rather than the pay off. It’s clear things between Nevada and Rogan are just beginning, and we can’t help but smile as we think about the merry chase on which we're sure to be led as their story progresses.

Rating: 4.5/5  

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.