Consumed
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4.4 • 330 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and “master of contemporary romance, with heroes so hot they set the pages on fire” (Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author), a steamy romantic suspense novel about arson investigator, Anne Ashburn, who is consumed by her troubled past, her family’s scorched legacy, and her current case: chasing a deadly killer.
Anne Ashburn is a woman consumed…
Strong-willed and brash, Anne relished the thrill of fighting fires. But when one risky decision at a warehouse scene changes her life forever, she must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.
Despite the desire to move on, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for all the adrenaline-fueled buzz she left behind. She doesn’t believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for a job again—until a string of suspicious fires endangers the lives of her former colleagues.
Danny McGuire is the best fireman in the city but in the midst of a personal meltdown. He’s taking risks like never before thanks to a reckless death wish—until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. Passion flares between them—not for the first time—but as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist marks her as the next victim in this firestorm of a novel.
With heart-pounding suspense and sizzling romance, Consumed is a compulsively readable novel that “you won’t be able to put down” (USA TODAY).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The prolific Ward is best known for the bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood paranormal romances, so that might be why this first-responder thriller is marketed as romance, but its true heritage is gritty TV dramas. Characters have sex, but there's nothing like a romantic story arc. Anne Ashburn is the only female firefighter in her New Brunswick, Mass., station. She's the daughter and sister of firefighters, but she despises her family and won't admit her continuing attraction to Daniel "Dannyboy" Maguire, the station's bad boy and her recent one-night stand. Sexual angst becomes moot when a catastrophic fire ends Anne's career and sends Danny into a PTSD spiral. Refashioning herself as an arson investigator, Anne discovers that the fire has suspicious links to others. Meanwhile, her former colleagues won't let her leave Danny in the past. There's a lot of explicit injury, trash talk ("Amy, don't be codependent. It makes your ass look big"), bad behavior excused because it's done by the good guys, and sneering at "the Instagram set" and other caricatures of weak, whiny liberal elites. For readers who consider "Do your department a favor and just put a bullet in your head" to be pithy advice for a suicidal lover, Ward's facility with topical one-liners will make this a hit, but readers seeking actual romance would do well to avoid it.
Customer Reviews
Consumed
Mystery, action, investigations, a Little romance, great book
Compelling
Great exciting read, easy to get invested in the characters
Consumed
I’m now a J.R Ward diehard fan. I was in love with the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, but this was a masterpiece. I love her powerful female and male leads. She is a consummate storyteller and her gift for depth in characters and erotica is unparalleled.