Strike and Burn

Delivers on the intensity. May be too intense for some due to the subject matter but I thought it was handled well. Sensual romance.Highly recommend!

Calling all fans of Emily McIntire’s Never After series, I’d like to introduce you to Strike Madden and Honor Stone. The whole time I was reading this book I felt like I was in a crossover episode of Law and Order and Days of Our Lives. This book has it all, the drama, the secrets, the angst, and the out of left field plot lines that are the reasons you devour daytime tv.Honor’s just lost her twin sister, the only family she had left in the world, and she’s lost. So when she meets Strike - in a morgue no less - and feels an instant spark between them, the reader can already tell it’s bound to end up a raging inferno. And honestly, that's what these two are, a match made in fire, they are absolutely made for each other.This dual POV romance paints both Strike and Honor’s backstories alongside the present day. We learn Strike is as rich as he is enigmatic and Honor, well she’s a talented artist with a flare for spice. These two clearly have their own demons, but they find solace in each other. As they are drawn closer together, we start to see those demons come out to play and reader’s follow along with bated breath to see if they’ll be able to walk through fire and come out whole on the other side.This story is a bit on the darker side of romance. And while it is a Boss/Employee romance, please be aware that there are details of stalking, murder, and all the sordid details in between.

Here is a story where the build-up, sadly does not lead to a grand finale.It was an intriguing story with hints at dark romantic themes. Strike and Honor have these coincidental meetings that drive the story early on that may seem a little contrived, but are cute and full of banter. I thought let's see where this goes.I fell like it's a great concept and it tries, but somewhere it just fails to develop a true plot. The characters have tragic pasts but there wasn't enough character development for me to really get behind them to empathize. So I never really connected with them. Their almost insta-love after after their insta-hate for each other was like watching reality TV - questionable 😳. Is it real or scripted?!Overall, the book felt like it was written by two people. The flow the was off and it was lackluster. While there were bright moments of banter between characters that help move it along, it was a hard one to finish because it was just all over the place.

Honor Stone has had a tough life. And at one of her most miserable moments, she meets a gorgeous man in the morgue. Beautiful though he may be, she isn't interested in a man. When she reconnects later with Stone Madden he is so impressed by her art that he hires her to create art for his new erotic animation venture. Work becomes a sizzling mix of business and pleasure and when her sister's obsessive boyfriend re-enters her life they need to face the danger together.Strike and Burn is a dark, sexy romance. Readers who like tough billionaires and down on their luck heroines will enjoy this fast paced story. Some moments were a bit unbelievable and the plot wrapped up a bit too tidily but this was quick enjoyable read.3.5 starsThank you to Berkely and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this title.

I found this story a bit darker than my usual preference, but I enjoyed it overall. I appreciated the chemistry between the female and male main characters, although I felt their story was somewhat rushed and could have benefited from more details about their time together. The level of spice was moderate for me. Without giving anything away, I didn't particularly care for the locations where the spicy scenes occurred, but the characters had great chemistry. I felt a deep sadness for the female main character, but I was also shocked to discover what she had done in her past to break free from her circumstances. I also felt sadness for the MMC. His story is so haunting.