I read the blurb for this book and thought it might satisfy my need for a hot romance. This is a first-time author for me. 

In Ravaged, Miriam has sworn off athletes, but she has one huge problem -- she's in love with her best friend, Jordan who happens to be a sexy, tatted up basketball player.  

And Jordan -- he's in love with his best friend, too. Easy - peasy!

From the first pages, it's clear this is going to be story of these two figuring out what is important to them. I think that was one of the problems I had with this story - there weren't any real surprises here.

When Jordan encourages Miriam to go out with his recently widowed teammate, I wasn't sure if it was misguided or downright mean for him to do this. In any case, it was guaranteed to cause the conflict in the story. 

There were some aspects outside of the love story that I enjoyed. Miriam has a secret life as a graphic novelist and that was an interesting part of the story. The family business she's involved with also could have had more page time as it was a unique aspect to the story.

Overall, Ravaged was a predictable romance. I had a bit of trouble connecting with Jordan, partly because the cover of this book was in conflict with how I envisioned the character. The couples do get very steamy which saved the story for me, so if that's what you are looking for, Ravaged could be a good fit for you.

RAVAGED is the second instalment in Naima Simone’s contemporary, adult BURNED, INC erotic, romance series. This is twenty-seven year old, BURNED executive and graphic artist Miriam Nelson, and thirty year old, NBA star Jordan Ransom’s story line. RAVAGED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Jordan and Miriam) RAVAGED follows the friends to lovers relationship between twenty-seven year old, BURNED executive and graphic artist Miriam Nelson, and thirty year old, NBA star Jordan Ransom. Miriam Nelson and her siblings Levi and Zora own BURNED, Inc, (Breaking Up, Reversing Nuptials, Evading Disasters), a professional break up service that does the ‘breaking up’ for their clients but Miriam is tired of the business, and wants to commit to working full-time on her secret career. Needless to say, no one knows about Miriam’s professional persona as a graphic designer, an anime artist with her own set of graphic comics but it is Miriam’s attraction to her best friend Jordan that fuels the fires of most of her stories, stories in which she and Jordan are the leading stars. Jordan Ransom is an all-star NBA player who has been sidelined with an injury, giving Jordan time to consider what and who he wants in his life. Having fallen in love with his best friend Miriam, Jordan knows Miriam doesn’t do relationships, and their one and only one-night stand left a small tear in Jordan’s heart. When Jordan’s teammate and widower Daniel Granger expresses an interest in Miriam Nelson, Jordan steps aside, only to realize he may have made the biggest mistake of his life. What ensues is the ongoing but struggling friendship between Miriam and Jordan, and the potential fall-out when both Miriam and Jordan refuse to admit they have feelings for one another.

The relationship between Miriam and Jordan is a best friends to lovers romance in which Jordan watches from the sidelines as his fellow teammate and NBA star Daniel Granger makes a play for our story line heroine. Miriam knows that hurting Daniel is the last thing she ever wanted to do but Miriam loves somebody else, somebody she knows better than anyone else. The $ex scenes are limited but intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are reintroduced to Miriam’s siblings: Levi, Zora, and Zora’s boyfriend / attorney Cyrus (Heated #1), as well as their parents Reginald and Monica Nelson; Jordan’s mother Grace , his estranged father Michael, and fellow NBA teammate/widower Daniel Granger.

RAVAGED is a story of family and friendships, honesty and heart break, acceptance and love. The premise is impassioned and engrossing but predictable ; the characters are animated, sassy and spirited; the romance is passionate.


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I enjoyed this book. I warn you; it's going to have you feeling plenty of feels and lots of emotions. Miriam and Jordan were quite a pair of characters. I found myself going from shipping them so hard to desperately wanting to shake them. Still, I thought they made a wonderful couple, and I really wanted them to be together because it really felt like they were meant to be. It is a process though, and a journey with many ups and downs. All I've got to say is the struggle is real.

Very steamy read! Loved every minute! I enjoyed the character interaction and story line. First book I have read from this author and will be reading more in the future.

We met Miriam and Jordan in the first book, where her sister and his best friend got together. Miriam is the sassy sister, and I loved that this book focused less on their business (BURNED, where their team does the breaking up for clients). Jordan is a professional basketball player, and he's struggling with an injury. Miriam enjoys being part of the business with her siblings, but she has a secret side career that is really her passion.
Miriam feels like no one in her family really sees her, and Jordan struggles with abandonment issues stemming from his upbringing. Most of the book is both of them being desperately in love with the other, while sticking to being just friends after they had one night together. They struggle, and they had some conversations where you just wanted to yell at them to go for it.
I enjoyed this book more than the first. I wanted them to realize how good they could be together and stop being so afraid.

Ravaged (Burned Inc. Book 2) by Naima Simone is the second book in the Burned, Inc. series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is always nice to catch up with previous couples; Cyrus and Zora appear to be doing well! The same cannot be said about Miriam and Jordan; after a one-night stand, Miriam firmly and concisely placed Jordan in the best friend zone where he has reluctantly languished since. Due to a dysfunctional childhood and emotional trauma, Jordan has difficulty expressing his feelings and has abandonment issues. He has created a small support group but longs for Miriam to really SEE him. Miriam also has problems related to her upbringing and is commitment phobic. How will two people bridge the barriers to their love story? As usual Ms. Simone gives us an angsty story with plenty of heat and generous helping of romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC for an honest opinion!

Ravaged by Naima Simone is book 2 in the Burned, Inc series. Thanks to @netgalley for early access to this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. I did not read the first book as this was a standalone; that said, I may have liked the main characters in this one if I'd had more backstory.

✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Sports Romance
✔️ One Night Stand

This one was just ok for me (3⭐️). I liked the setup (friends dealing with their one night stand) and the angst that comes with both of them pining for each other but not wanting to ruin their friendship. However, the middle of the book lagged a little for me. I wasn't emotionally connected to either main character and found their banter over the top.

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️
Swoon 💕

I always wonder how the author always comes of with a short and love filled story. Even this book was just as amazing to read as her all the books.

JORDAN - The Male Character who appears to be really strong also has his own past which truly hurts him. In a few ways his way of forcing himself to stay away from Miriam was cute. He can't lose his best friend.

Miriam - The Female Lead is a beautiful woman who posses a lot of talents and keeps herself occupied in her work. She carries out a positive attitude and keeps everyone around her at ease. Her sassy talk made her sustain between Jordan and his friends

The best part is Miriam friend-zoning Jordan and refusing to accept her feelings.

Tropes:-
Basketball
Sunshine Heroine
Sportsman Hero
Friends to lovers
Contemporary romance

Even for someone like me who mostly avoids books with Hero as a sportsman this book was such an amazing read.

If you are looking for a slow burn sport romance filled with love then give this book a chance ☺️

Thanks to @netgalley and @naimasimoneauthor for giving me the ARC

This is my first time reading this author and it won't be the last! I absolutely loved her writing and can't wait to read more of her books.

"You are under my skin, entrenched in my heart, my soul."

Jordan Ransom and Miriam Nelson have become the best of friends after a hot, unforgettable one night stand. Miriam is not in the market for a committed relationship, and Jordan will have her any way he can have her in his life. However, when one of his good friends shows an interest in Miriam, Jordan uses it as an attempt to move on from the woman he loves but can never have.

"You're...everything. My Narnia."

Gah! This story was so good! Jordan was so damn gorgeous. I swooned hard over that dude. He only had good intentions, with a touch of self-preservation thrown in. He was sensitive, thoughtful, and a really great all-round guy who protected a vulnerable heart under his fun exterior. I wanted to give Miriam a good shake since she'd basically put them firmly in the friendzone, and it was obvious neither really wanted to be there. My heart hurt for Jordan's fears and sense of worth, although I could see why Miriam put such a barrier around her own heart. Her dysfunctional family and a bad experience had her running scared. They were both a little broken but I adored how the love, affection and respect they had for each other healed them. This story was filled with angst, tension, some seriously sexy passion, and left the reader on a fabulous high note!

I thoroughly, throughly enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that the couple had already done the deed and decided to be just friends after the fact. I also loved being privvy to Jordan's thoughts as well as Miriam. I'm not a fan of love triangles and I wanted to strangle Jordan when he wasn't truthful with his teammate but his heart was in the right place. It was delightful to catch up with Cyrus and Jordan I look forward to reading more stories centered around other players on Jordan's Team.

This book had me hooked from the very first page and I couldn't put it down. This book was full of spice, steamy, banter, chemistry and attraction.

Thank you @netgalley the publisher and the author for the advanced copy of Ravaged. Ravaged is available now in paperback and KU.

I was excited to continue the Burned series with Miriam’s story. I usually love the sweet slow burn that is a friends to lovers novel, however this one fell flat. Very flat.

In Ravaged we follow Miriam and Jordan. Miriam is Zora’s younger sister and Jordan is Cyrus’ best friend. We met them all in book one.

The thing that put me off this book was Miriam’s insistence that she ‘doesn’t do athletes’. (Jordan is a pro basketball player). The fact that she doesn’t do athletes doesn’t stop her from getting down and dirty with Jordan… but it’s just one night and doesn’t mean anything because, did I mention Miriam DOESN’T DO ATHLETES.
Meanwhile both Jordan and Miriam are so in love with each other. So in love in fact that he sets her up with one of his teammates 🙄 the miscommunication trope does my head in.

Take out 100 pages of Miriam NOT doing athletes and this book would have been great. Once the realisation that she actually DOES do athletes (78% of the way through the book) the story got good 😉🔥🌶 and then it ended 🤷🏼‍♀️

avaged by Naima Simone slowly creeps in your heart with the brilliant humor, blinding hot passion and heartaching feels. Miriam and Jordan took me through all the swoony, confusing, sinful and beautiful stages of love!

Miriam is the woman with many talents. She is not only the partner of BURNED Inc with her siblings..she is also secretly creating the popular graphic novel Ravaged Lands. Celebrity basketball player Jordan Ransom has serious feels for her but after one spontaneous night of passion, Miriam has friendzoned him though she also has deep feels for him. She is just refusing to accept it.


It is my first Naima Simone book and I loved her writing style. It was poetic and sharp and a very unique storytelling. Three cheers for a heroine who is not only sexy but has the sharp brains to match. She is super smart and has an enviable academic career. But she has joined the business because she wanted to blend. She has sharp tongue, sassy attitude and fierce personality but she hides a lot of vulnerability and uncertainty behind the mask. She has been hurt and idea of love makes her want to run. And Jordan Ransom is hard to resist. Now he is what I call a perfect book boyfriend. Charismatic, enigmatic, confident, drop dead gorgeous..and yet unusually reserved and hesitant when it comes to Miriam. And it almost cost him everything. But like any good man, he managed to win her heart. They became great friends and stayed so even after that one steamy night. And that friendship is so precious. They tease and taunt each other but they stood by each other through thick and thin. Miriam felt seen and loved and understood with Jordan and he definitely played the role of devoted ,doting, supportive ,caring and possessive man very well. I wanted to kill them for being so stubborn but the slow burn just intensified their connection. And when I slow burn..it is like the slowest slow burn book I read recently and yet it captivated me.

Ps Idk why Goodreads is showing the review for Audible. I received e ARC from Netgalley and Montlake.

First of all, let me admit to being a bit nervous reading this one. While I ended up liking the first book in the series, Heated, I did struggle with it early on. And as much as I love Naima Simone (and I do), it just wasn't my favorite. When added to the blurb here, I was apprehensive and might have put off reading it longer than I should have. As it turns out, I really enjoyed Ravaged, and my apprehension was all for naught. Yes, this one is angstier than my usual fare—especially with Daniel's added backstory putting him squarely in the "this guy needs a HEA ASAP" category—but in the end, I found myself compelled to come back to it in the hopes of seeing how it would all play out.

Now, that's not to say this book was perfect, because it was not. I definitely wanted to give Miriam a piece of my mind at times and Jordan's inability to admit to anyone what was really going on hit my heart a little too hard (see above re: Daniel) at times. Communication is key, people!

Together, those two pieces of this otherwise well-paced and well-written story could have derailed my reading experience, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Why, you ask? Because they were outweighed by all the good. Which included, but are not limited to:
✓ Miriam's secret career
✓ Jordan's unwavering support
✓ The banter and nerdy references
✓ Sibling support and love
✓ All the steaminess

In the end, a good addition to the series, and another book that proves Simone is a talented, engaging author. I look forward to Levi's book next!

A lot of angst with this story, it appears early and often. Once Jordan and Miriam stop the tap dancing around each other and get past the friend zone, wow! Miriam is one complex woman, and I enjoyed getting to know her.

I love the writing style of this author and will grab any book of hers I can.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

This was a fun book. The dynamic between Miriam and Jordan was great - their chemistry really worked for me and there was a really sexy vibe to the whole book. I’d say that was this books biggest strength; the heat feels really high and I was just anxious for most of the book for them to act on the feelings they clearly had for one another.

When I focused on the actual romantic element of the book then I really enjoyed it, but I did have some issues. I found some of the geeky references a bit grating and I wanted the author to stop referring to Jordan physically being like a viking - it was fine the first time but after a while I just found it overdone.

I also wasn’t really keen on a lot of the external drama. The plot involving Jordan’s teammate, Daniel, didn’t work for me - it felt uncomfortable and I felt really bad for his character. Neither Miriam nor Jordan’s responses to that situation made sense to me and it was hard to root for either of them putting such a vulnerable character in that position. I also personally didn’t find that the drama involving both Miriam and Jordan’s respective parents fit very well into the book.

Overall I just felt a bit lukewarm to the book. There were a lot of good ideas, and I did enjoy reading it, but I think the external drama and plots could have been dialed down way more. Still, this was fun in parts and if you’re looking for a sexy friends-to-lovers romance with a lot of sexual tension then this would probably work for you. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Absent parent, toxic relationship with parents, death of a spouse (side character, in past), references to traffic collisions, intimate partner violence (in past, side character), on-page sex, unprotected sex.

*3.5 stars*

I liked Jordan and Miriam from book 1 and their book didn't disappoint. Jordan, a superstar basketballer has been pining for Miriam with whom he had a 1 night stand months before. Miriam however had firmly put him in the friend zone after. Things come to a head when one of Jordan's friends likes Miriam too and stuff ensues...

I really like both of our protagonists. I enjoyed their friendship, and kept screaming at them to just talk and start their relationship because it was so obvious that they deeply cared for each other in ways other than pure friendship.

The little things I didn't like include how long it took them to get together, how Miriam's issue didn't totally gel with who I felt she had grown up to become, and eventually the 3rd act breakup felt unnecessary. Overall though, I enjoyed this a lot. And phew, the steam was hot.
I am just glad I only saw their awful, awful parents once.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC.

Miriam is a lot like me when I was her age, hiding her real self as she lives her life. Loving someone with them thinking you're just friends is horrible but life has a way of working, sometimes better than we thought it could. A cute rom-com of friends to lovers and as a first time reader of Ms. Simone, I will be looking for other books of hers to read.

4 1/2 STARS!

A decadently tempting friends to lovers story with all of the angst and feels rolled into one delightful read! I loved this second book in Naima Simone's BURNED Inc series even more than the first and the only thing I really wanted to see developed a bit more was his NBA world which fell a little to the wayside behind Miriam's secret life. I loved their story and am looking forward to seeing what is in store for Levi.

Miriam is the family brainiac and has let herself become comfortable in business with her brother and sister, but what no one knows is the secret desire she has in life and how far she's come towards achieving it.

Jordan is a sweetheart and I loved watching his love for Miriam outshine just about everything for him.

I recommend this book as well as the rest of the series to anyone that likes a fresh business concept revolving around a close knit group of siblings who are thriving despite the turmoil of life around them.

Miriam is smarter than her peers which at times has her feeling isolated. She decided to become partners with her siblings in the business they created partially to work with them and partially so that others didn’t have to repeat the experience from her past which still affects her. She and Jordan shared a steamy night, but she decided that they were destined to be friends only in large part because of his career.

Jordan is a professional basketball player who is in love with Miriam but is willing to accept whatever relationship she will give him. He only wants her to be happy which is why he sets her up with his fellow teammate which will force both of them to finally face their feelings for each and decide if some risks are worth the reward.

Both Miriam and Jordan have difficult pasts but have handled it differently. The chemistry between them is intense but it was the way they supported and shared all their deepest secrets and feelings with each other that made their relationship so special.