Loved this book, written by one of my favorite authors. This story is at the top of my “best reads” list. There is mystery, intrigue, tragic drama, romance and steam. It is a detour from the Brotherhood drama and I think a much needed relief. This book centers around firefighters, big city corruption and personal drama and loss. The bad guy was a surprise, which doesn’t happen often for me. There is the potential for a series here and I hope there will be more of this story in the future. Excellent. Looking forward to the next.

I just had the pleasure of reading the super intense, super sexy Consumed by J.R. Ward. This was a perfect weekend book, and I finished it this morning, skirting all of my typical obligations in order to discover the (VERY SATISFYING) ending.

Anne Ashburn is an incredibly fearless firefighter and all-around badass who puts her life on the line daily in the line of duty. She holds her own against the group of guys in her firefighting company, 499, and enjoys a good reputation among everyone. The daughter of a legendary fireman and the sister of the current fire chief, it seems Anne’s life couldn’t be more ideal…. Up until one fateful night, that is, when Anne’s life is permanently altered. Grappling with this life-changing night, a new dangerous career, and trying to avoid ALL the complications from Mr.-Hottest-Fire-Hero, Danny McGuire, Anne definitely has her work cut out for her. Not to mention there seems to be a killer arsonist on the loose…

I cannot tell you how intense this book was! J.R. Ward obviously did a ton of research on firefighters and their intense job because I felt like I was right with them when they went out on calls. The detail and vivid language was awesome and sucked me in from the first page. This book had it all- action, thrill, romance and then some. I loved the ending and did NOT see the twist coming at the end. I definitely couldn’t put this down and you won’t be able to either.

4 out of 5 Stars for Consumed by J.R. Ward, which will be released on my birthday, October 9th, 2018! Available for Pre-order on Amazon now.

I was so excited to be granted an arc of this book. I love all of JR Ward’s other books. I wanted to love this one just as much. It just fell flat for me. There were things that didn’t necessarily flow with the story, and the ending felt rushed.

This was my first JR Ward book, and I’m in LOVE.

Not only was the writing and humor on point, but the story was relatable. Ward writes about trauma and how it affects the body and mind in a way that grabs you by the throat and walks out the door with you in one hand while it rips out your heart in another. The firemen in this book are broken and feel so real that I expect to find them at my local firehouse.

Of course, the love scenes were hot, as well! Show up for the love scenes but stay for the magnificent writing.

This was one of the best books I have read in a while! When the Black Dagger Brotherhood books initially came out I read them all. This is even better. Real people you can relate to. Excellent mystery and suspense. Kept me guessing until the last chapter who was responsible. From the horrific ashes, the flame of love survives. Can't say enough positive things about this one!

Any Chicago Fire fans out there? If yes, you should read this book. If not still read the book. But I found myself picturing Taylor Kinney a la Kelly Severide as leading hottie Daniel “Dannyboy” Maguire. Pardon the bad fire puns but this book was hot. I was intrigued by the firefighter culture and felt the technical aspects were well researched. The character Anne Ashburn was very compelling and pretty badass. Ive heard this will be a series and look forward to see where it goes.

I'm a huge fan of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, so I couldn't wait to read this one! As always, J.R. Ward has presented us with complicated characters that the reader just needs to know more about. The beginning scene throws you forcibly into the story, in a very good way. And then you get to go through a wild journey with Anne and Danny as they work through their individual issues, and navigate each other. Another great thing about Ward's writing is the character development of all the side characters that you know will be main characters in the upcoming books of the series. I'm definitely looking forward to see where this series goes, and what J.R. Ward will throw at us next!

I'm going to give it a 5 because I honestly liked it a lot and loved most of it. We have a strong heroine, which is not uncommon with JR Ward, she doesn't do annoying weak heroines but some of them have actually annoyed me a bit, but not Anne, I really liked her. We also have a strong very macho hero (Danny) but at the same time a bit broken and reckless. Of course it is because of what he is forced to do to save our heroine and with good reason he is so broken. I would have been traumatized for the rest of my life as well. I really liked the story and the romance was awesome, the sex was very steamy and kinda perfect, didn't have to skim any of it. The mystery and suspense was also great, we end up learning that the villain was someone so totally unexpected and I actually felt a bit sad about what happened.
I can't wait to see who is next in this series, I'm thinking is Tom, or hoping I guess. I really liked his character. We do have quite a few interesting characters in the story so I am thinking we will see them all have a HEA, maybe?
I also have to say that even though this is not paranormal it does still have the same feel as her other books, the guys are all very strong and macho and kinda talk like the Brothers. Same writing style so even if there is nothing paranormal about it I'm sure many of the BDB fans will love this series.
Definitely recommend!

I love, love, love the BDB but until Consumed that was all I had read of her other series. I was not sure what to expect. JR surprised me for sure! I just could not put this book down! I sped through it in three days and that is not my norm at all!

This is the first in a new series so JR had to take some time world building and introducing all the characters. She wrote a strong, independent, female lead with serious real life problems. Anne Ashburn is someone who takes what life throws at her as just another thing to overcome. Her journey is intense, fueled by fire and will have you guessing until the end.

Danny McGuire is every woman’s hottest firefighter fantasy bad boy come to life but he’s got a secret and he must come to terms with his own regrets, ghosts and fires.

The cast of secondary characters were intriguing in their own right and you can see that some were introduced to help you get to know them better and will have their own book later in the series. The issues they are each dealing with can make you hurt but I can’t wait to see where she takes all of them. I am really looking forward to more from this series!

I think I may need to read the rest of her series now for sure!

Fast paced riveting story about fire fighters, families and corruption.
A true edge of my seat page turner.
Anne and Danny are very realistic.
Their story is neither sweet nor romantic. It's real and gritty. As the first book of a new series I'm already hooked.

In one terrible fire, Anne Ashburn's career is taken away. She doesn't follow orders and gets trapped when a fire overtakes her. Danny Maguire is forced to amputate her hand that is caught between two beams, with an axe. After months of rehabilitation, Anne is now an inspector for the fire department while Danny continues to fight fires with the 419 house in New Brunswick. But Anne is on the trail of a fire bug who is setting fires all over New Brunswick and may have been responsible for the fire in which she lost her hand. Nice little romance, but a pretty small plot. Nice characters that needed more development. This is the first in a new series from the author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Shocking - This was my first ever J.R. Ward book.
I absolutely fell in love with these characters. I'm not sure that I've ever read a more intense start of a book. Definitely got my attention. There were parts of the story that lagged (just a bit) for me, but the flow from each POV kept it going.
The story line was incredible, however, I felt like this was more serial than series as the story abruptly ended and a lot was left hanging.

Anne is a female fire fighter, her brother, Tom, is the Fire Chief - a job her father held before he died. Danny, who had been intimate with Anne once, was on a fire call with her brigade. A lot of action occurred during this fire - amazing imagery by J R Ward - so realistic ! At the end of the fire, Anne had to have her hand axed off by Danny to save her from being trapped. She got out of the burning building before the foundation gave way, leaving Danny behind...

Searching through the wreckage for survivors, "Ropes", one of the fire fighters, heard his name called. It was Danny and he was near death. Danny made it through surgery but it was touch and go.

10 months later, Danny returns to his previous job at the fire house and Anne, being disabled, secures a job as a Fire Inspector. There is a lot of interesting friendship and family drama in-between, and Danny and Anne get together, again.

They love each other but will not admit it. Besides, Anne still feels strange about having an arm prosthesis.


In the course of Anne's new job, she learns that 6 fires had occurred within a confined area. She meets up with Charles Ripkin, the wealthy owner of these properties, and the adventure escalates!


Someone is after anyone challenging the possible arson. Anne is a prime target This brings Danny and her even closer until...


Stunning conclusion - I almost didn't see it coming! This book is a quick read and a MUST read! Recommend!


Many thanks to Gallery Books and NetGallery for such a great reading experience.

This was new for me, seeing another side to Ward and her writing style. The BDB is hard to top and to see the writing style is close to the same is a great thing. Ward can still set the scene and follow through with her characters. They are not lacking in character and there are a lot to get to know in this one. They seem hot and sexy and with lots of baggage. The sex scenes were very subdued compared to what I am used to reading from Ward. That could have used a little more oomph I think. Anne has issues and so does Danny. I did enjoy their story and would have liked a prologue and an epilogue maybe?? Still a good read for me. I can see some reviews saying they expected more from Ward and I can see that, but this still has more books coming out our way. I am sure it will just get better from here! It has to.

I received this ARC from the publisher via Net Galley at my request for an honest review. Thanks Net Galley!!

3.5 stars
I am a HUGE J.R. Ward fan! So, of course, I was excited to read a brand new series and genre (well new to me since I am used to her writing about vamps and the BDB)!

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed. I liked the strength behind Anne and the brotherhood between the firefighters. But, I also felt like Anne needed more sweetness to her. She had such a hard time expressing herself and most of the time I just felt bad for Danny.
I also felt like parts of this book were way underdeveloped and then we were also given things in the story that we really didn't need (which slowed down my desire to pick it back up). I think maybe this was to build up for a series/sequel- but I would have liked more story in this book so that I had a desire to read more in this series... if that makes sense. I also felt like the ending was extremely rushed. I guess I am used to the action in the Blackdagger brotherhood series, but I just wanted more action in this one.

Overall it was an okay read for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. Of course, I will keep reading books from this author because she is amazing.

Anne idolized her father and followed in his footsteps becoming a firefighter. After he died she found out he was no hero. While on a call, Anne gets trapped under some debris. Danny, her partner and friend, came in to get her. The only way to save her was to cut her hand off and he did. Getting her out he then is trapped and was in serious condition.
Months later Anne gets a job as a fire investigator and is making some powerful enemies. Danny is back on the job but is drinking a lot and carries the guilt of Anne’s amputation. When she gets a call one night from a friend wanting her to talk with Danny. He’s been in love with her for years but can’t bring himself to tell her.
The closer she gets to discovering who the arsonist is, the more danger she is in. Can they get past their differences or will someone tear them apart?
Such an awesome story! Mystery, suspense, sex, and hunky firefighters. Secrets come to light. A woman who after a tragedy, finds love and an strength that amazes all.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley *

I love J. R. Ward and her books are usually great, but I just didn’t connect with this book.

I liked the story line and wanted to love the characters, but I just never connected with them and the story just didn’t hook me. I am hoping that the second book in this series will be better for me.

the story is good, this is for adults, if you like suspense and betrayal you may like the story, this is about firefighters and what can go on I did admire Anne and Danny and what they had gone through and what they are going through

I loved this book! It is so different from the BDB series! This book has action from the very first page. It pulled me in and held on until I finished it. The characters were real and you could feel the emotions they were going through. It's a gift from the author who can write as if you are in it and not just reading about it. Kudos to J.R.!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written. It kept me guessing from the beginning and I seriously didn’t know who did what. Exactly my kind of book! Can’t wait for the next book in the series!