in burn, chloe anderson can't seem to avoid being a suspect for arson. she has motive and opportunity, and circumstantial evidence all points her way, and even worse, her past makes her look even guiltier. there's no hard proof though. and she's not sharing her secrets.

considering everything she is mixed up in, you'd think that ryan monroe would know better than to risk his career. after all, he's a firefighter and is looking to join the arson investigation team. but he can't seem to stay away from chloe. and the more involved he gets, the more certain he is that she has nothing to do with the fires.

as chloe and ryan get closer they share more and more of themselves with each other. watching them open up and figure out that they can truly trust in each other and trust in what they feel makes for a great read.

**burn will publish on may 1, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (select suspense) in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. But...it was hard to believe that Chloe wouldn't start being concerned about going places by herself as she continually ends up being in or near arson fires. All she had to avoid was the area her business was trying to restore. It was a bit longer than I expected.

I love a good firefighter story, but I believe Ms. Altieri has penned more than just a good one in this first book of her Romance in Ridgeport series. Indeed, this story was an astounding and thrilling read from start to finish and deliciously hot in more ways than one in the scorching sex scenes, the delectable hero, and the raging fires that pose a danger to Chloe. The way this story started had me on the edge-of-my-seat with worry for Chloe. Will she be held accountable for the fire? Will her boss expose her past, especially when it could make her more of a suspect than a witness in the investigator's eyes?

Both the main characters were compelling due to their back stories, especially since both have suffered tragedies in the past, which causes Chloe to wonder who she can trust and makes Ryan protective as they discover bits and pieces about each other's pasts. Will Chloe realize that Ryan is nothing like her ex before it's too late? Will the heroine find a way to finally be free of her ex? Moreover, Chloe is strong and brave in everything she does, especially by standing up to her ex when it comes to his threats and intimidation. I also liked that she did her best to push Ryan out of her life, because she was worried about him. Yet, at the same time, I'm glad that the hero didn't give up on her, because she needed someone on her side the more dangerous things became for her. While Ryan, he was a wonderful hero and so were the men of the Fire Station he worked with. I could understand why they were giving him advice to be cautious about getting involved with Chloe, yet I liked that he went against the advice because he believed she was innocent. I also liked how protective the hero was of Chloe and how he was so adamant of her innocence, especially when it seemed everyone was believing she was guilty in causing the fires.

Overall, Ms. Altieri has penned a fantastic romantic suspense in this book where the amount of romance and suspense was the perfect combination and kept me entertained from start to finish along with the characters back stories and the obstacles these two face to achieve their happy ever after. The way this story ended had me concerned for one of the main characters. Would they escape the danger? However, I liked how everything worked out for Chloe and Ryan and the surprise the hero had for the heroine. Since they deserve all the happiness in the world after all that they've been through in the past. I would recommend Burn by Dawn Altieri, if you enjoy romantic suspense, the sexy protector trope or books by authors Avery Flynn, Cindy Skaggs or Tessa Bailey.

I enjoyed book. It was a romantic suspense. Chloe is being set up for arson. She meets Ryan in bar after being questioned repeatedly. Ryan is a firefighter, and he is attracted to Chloe, but he is worried that she might have committed arson, but in his gut he does not think she did, even though there is evidence. Chloe, also has to deal with her ex who is a jerk, and had abused her, but he is her boss, and he has a secret on Chloe, that he is blackmailing her with, and he really thinks she did it. Ryan and Chloe, do give in to attraction, and then secrets do come out. What are they? You have to read to find out.

2.5 Stars

This book had the potential to be more. So much more. There is a good amount of angst and trying to figure out who could have been behind it keeps you on your toes. The author writes well and she keeps the story going without any hitch or anything. Add in a sexy firefighter and you are in heaven. Ryan is a fantastic Hero. There are twists and turns to the story.

Yet. The damsel in distress trope doesn’t always work. Here it did and it didn’t. There was so much push and pull between the main characters and well I guess there has to be to a certain extent but our heroine Chloe is a person of interest and Ryan’s boss is working the case and Ryan is also hoping to become a fire investigator. He puts his job on the line for a woman that he has known for a week he is an all-in kind of guy. He’s falling in love yet it still niggles him because she could be the arsonist. I felt like screaming get Reed from the BAU he’ll sort this shite right out.

Chloe also has her demons to fight and I stopped counting the amount of times she said that is a bad idea to date another man and that Ryan isn’t for her. It got tiresome after a while. Chloe as a heroine could have been depicted as stronger with more backbone. There were times where she was meek and then times where she came across as the heroine I wanted her to be.

I can see why this book worked for some and not for others unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me. There is also a lack of connection between the main characters and a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding between the two.

I won’t give up on this author as in my opinion she is an author to watch out for even if I'm not totally convinced of this book

3.5 Stars I liked reading Burn. I found the interaction between the characters and the storyline quite enjoyable and will read more by this author.

3.5 stars

an ok read

Something didn't work from me from the start. Something did not click. I struggled through 25 percent of it and then I finally gave up.

I enjoyed reading, Burn. It had a lot of action and romance. The only reason I gave it a 4 and not 5 stars is because in between the romance and action parts were a lot of slow filler stuff that could have been simplified. But a book worth reading for sure.

I loved this book! Chloe drew me in right from the beginning. She's definitely damaged by her tragic past and guards those secrets closely...but so is Ryan, the sexy fireman she meets when she least expects it. Ryan has demons of his own that he's hiding from Chloe, even as he wants her to trust him completely.

Complicating Chloe and Ryan's relationship is the fact that she's a person of interest in a series of exploding fires in buildings owned by her employer (and former boyfriend). As suspicious swirl around her, Ryan's acceptance into a master's level fire investigator program are jeopardized. However, Ryan refuses to back away from her.

Chloe is flawed and weak, but continues to reach for her inner strength as she faces horrific obstacles. Ryan hasn't trusted a woman in years because of what his former fiance did. As a result, there was quite a bit of push/pull in her relationship with Ryan. While it is a bit much, it makes complete sense within the story.

Romantic suspense fans will love this book and I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This story had so much potential that I am very disappointed to only be rating it three stars. However, I just couldn't get invested in these characters. While I could to some extent sympathize with where they had been (in terms of the inner demons they were both facing), I could not understand what kept them together other than lust for one another. I wish there had been more drama between them, for Pete's sake Ryan is ready to throw his career on the line because he "believes her", even when the evidence seems to stack up against her.

I will say that on a good note, the "who is really behind all of this" aspect of the story kept me guessing, and I was pleasantly surprised how it played out.

Overall, I believe this novel will still appeal to people who like flawed characters who help each other face their inner demons. I would read more from this author!

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

The conflict of interest is apparent from the start and it was what pulled me in at first: Ryan is part of the arson investigation and Chloe a person-of-interest, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking her out. The former is still hurting from his previous relationship and the latter is a timid, broken woman intimidated by her boss (who’s also an abusive ex-lover) but unable to get anywhere in the current situation though she seems in sore need of a fresh, new start.

I wasn’t entirely sure how things would go, but it felt as though you could see the train crash coming from a mile away, especially with a malicious ex-boss still to contend with and several potential suspects that should amp up the mystery and the action. The plot isn’t exactly heart-pounding, and ‘Burn’ reads more like a cross between slow burn drama (punt sort of intended) and some instances of suspense.

There’s some adage somewhere that claims love makes fools of us all. Not that I fully disagree, but this seemed particularly true of both Chloe and Ryan. The mutual attraction and the push-pull aside, there was a fair bit of struggle on my part to feel the connection between Ryan and Chloe, which fell flat as they put a foot in and then took it out—something that pretty much went on for nearly half the book. I couldn’t get emotionally invested in them when for a long while, all I could see was just skin-deep attraction, which wasn’t helped much by their reluctant dancing around each other as they couldn’t even decide whether they were going on a date or not.

Chloe comes from a history of childhood abuse and to some extent, her behaviour around men is understandably skittish and wary. But her passive-aggressive stance and inability to decide whether she wanted in or out—first she’s painfully shy with Ryan then accuses him of ulterior motives later—irked me somehow and made it difficult to sympathise with all that she was handling. The cynical part of me had little patience for Chloe's low self-esteem that had her questioning her own desirability and her constant trodden down state as though needing the affirmation that Ryan could give her, then doing a turnabout by acting solely to protect her own interests by pushing him away and deciding she was better off alone. The constant denial of how good they’d be together but couldn't, aided by the self-pity that was evident in Chloe and the indecision that plagued Ryan didn’t help contribute to the UST but simply drew out this stuttering relationship way longer than I’d hoped.

In this aspect, ‘Burn’ disappointed me, sad to say, but it’s also my preference for stronger, less naive heroines that’s showing up here. I liked that Chloe and Ryan were forced to face their own demons, but perhaps more for Ryan, who once again, needed to rush into a burning building with Chloe’s life at stake, while I would have loved to see some more spine in Chloe instead of the fear that always tended to overtake her when the going got tough. The story, even if it’s not quite for me, would definitely work for those who like the alpha protector-sort who will against all odds, overcome his fears to save his damsel in distress.