Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

IAndrews--Burn for Me

IAndrews--Burn for MeI’ve been eagerly awaiting Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews.  Ilona has been an auto-buy author for me since I fell in love with her Kate Daniels series. I was not a huge fan of the Edge series and Burn for Me is the start of a brand new series. So, I was kind of nervous. They billed it as more romance-based than Kate and I know Ilona says she has trouble writing “the feels”. I disagree, but hey.  So, final verdict? O.M.G. I loved! I promise you, Burn for Me will not disappoint and I really just want book 2 in my hands, like yesterday.

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile situation. 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 and wanting to 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.

Burn for Me felt a lot more like the writing style in the Kate Daniels world. To me, the flow of the story felt really seamless. It is paranormal/UF, so there is a LOT of world building to do. The balance between world building and action was just right.  Yes, there were slower parts: development of the world, character introductions, etc. Admittedly, these are the hardest parts of any book for me to wade through. It has to be done, though. Ilona does an outstanding job balancing action and development.  For me, when I look at the writing in Magic Bites compared to Burn for Me, the improvement is amazing. I barely made it through Magic Bites because I felt the pacing to be really sludgy. It was heavy on world building and light on action. Not so with Burn for MeThis is one of the reasons I love following an author’s career–you get to see just how much they improve.

I adore our heroine and hero. Nevada cracks me up. She’s humble about her abilities. She always downplays how smart she really is, how she takes care of her family. Without giving away any spoilers, I say she’s pretty clueless about her own capabilities.  She is also a huge smart arse, which is always a plus for me. Then we have Rogan.  He’s a walking dichotomy. He’s rich, powerful, dangerous and narcissistic. But, as you read on and see how he interacts with Nevada and others, you get a sense that under that hard outer shell is a man who is caring and has a sense of not only right and wrong but of morality.  For Rogan, there are lines that are not to be crossed, especially by those in power.  The chemistry between them is something you can cut with a knife, the sexual tension is so thick!  It’s kind of funny, Nevada’s grandmother sees an exchange between the two towards the end of the book and is all like “you need to go ahead and get a wedding dress” (not an exact quote).  As the reader, you can see where this is going (Kate and Curran fans, Nevada and Rogan will remind you of how Kate and Curran interacted when they first met) and it’s funny to see Nevada try and shake off her own desire and deny, deny, deny. Oh yeah, this relationship is gonna be FUN to watch grow.  I will give you a hint to one funny scene….red carnations ;).

All in all, I have totally fallen in book love with Nevada and Rogan. Burn for Me was outstanding and is just the latest example of why Ilona is on my auto-buy list.  I promise you will not be disappointed with Burn for Me if you’re a seasoned fan of Ilona.  If you’re new to Ilona Andrews, you’re sure to enjoy Burn for Me. There is a hint of romance (to come), lots of action and a cool paranormal world filled with magic. So, wait no longer, go and read already!

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.