Review: #Burn by Devon McCormack
SYNOPSIS:
DAX:
My job is putting out fires–PR fires, that is. Partner in one of the most prestigious PR firms in Hollywood, I’ve lived most of my life helping others stay in the spotlight but keeping as far away from it myself as humanly possible.
Enter Jace Kruse.
#HottieFirefighter is the hashtag everyone is using for the overnight Insta-star who made headlines when a pic of him with a pooch he saved from a runaway vehicle went viral. Doesn’t have anything to do with my life until a major potential client shows interest in an endorsement deal with the internet sensation, and Jace becomes my ticket to stomping the ass of one of my company’s fiercest competitors.
Problem is: Jace isn’t swayed by dreams of fame and fortune. He prefers his down-to-earth life in Fever Falls and has turned down every company who’s approached him to leech off his recently acquired celebrity status.
But where others have failed, I’m confident I can succeed. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s persuading. And after a few encounters with Jace, the easy-go-lucky, ever-charming, sexy-as-hell, and surprisingly #topcurious firefighter has me persuading him about more than signing on for an endorsement deal.
He may be good at putting out fires, but Jace sure knows how to start them in the bedroom…and then in my heart. However, between his rising star power and the intensity of my feelings, I know where this inferno is leading, and if we don’t put it out soon, someone’s gonna get burned.
REVIEW:
I didn’t fall in love with this story like I was hoping I would. I have previously read Devon McCormack’s collaborative work with Riley Hart and really enjoyed the stories. Yet, this is my first Devon McCormack solo book and I have to say it left me feeling meh.
I think the biggest issue I had with the story line was that the whole relationship between Jace and Dax literally came out of nowhere. And it was a whole lot of insta-love/insta-lust. The story starts with Jace being pursued with endless PR and endorsement deals, all which he rejected. But Dax shows up and suddenly Jace not only wants to accept the deal but he also is interested in Dax? It all felt very sudden and clunky, and I was left feeling whiplash from the rapid personality changes.
As the story progresses it is clear that both Jace and Dax have bagagge. Jace is still reeling from the death of someone he was close to and Dax has mommy issues with a capital M. Honestly, I didn’t like how Dax’s drama played out. There was an attempt at a redemption arc here but in all actuality, I never forgave his mother and thought he should have cut her loose.
While Dax and Jace seemed to have plenty of sexual chemistry and steamed up the bedroom, they never really seemed to connect on a deeper level and by the time secrets were being shared, it was too little to late. It was almost as if Devon struggled to find the right times for these characters to have tender moments and as a result, the story lacked finesse and fluidity.
This caused me to never truly emotionally invest in the main couple. As a result I found myself wondering why the story was dragging on for 40 chapters. By the end of the book, I was far more interested in a handful of secondary characters than I ever was interested in Jace or Dax. That being said, I will give another Devon McCormack book a go and hopefully, I have a better experience with it.
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