Wicked Burn

There's a reason it is said that the body's largest sex organ is the brain. Wicked Burn gave that muscle one thorough workout, even long after I finished the book. This book had some of the sexiest scenes I've ever read in an erotic novel, and it had a plot that tugged at my heart and brought me to tears a few times (tears of sadness and frustration). I loved this story because the author wrote a pair of compelling characters that made me feel for them and with them. I cried when Niall was sad, I was angry when Vic was angry, and the steamy encounters were written in a way that I won't soon forget the images or the words. I pick this book over Fifty Shades.



Niall finds herself in what would have been a bad situation after she tells her show more date, an arrogant co-worker, that she's not interested in taking things further when her sexy neighbor Vic comes to her rescue. He invites her to his place for a drink and surprisingly she accepts. Though they're neighbors, they haven't formally met until before, but that hasn't stopped them from being very aware of one another. The lust between them spikes almost instantly, and they share a night of the most passionate sex that rocks their worlds. Though he can't seem to get enough of her, he's also wary. Surely a woman so beautiful will only flip him inside out and leave him raw and jaded, just like his ex-fiance. Vic goes from sensual to cold in a heartbeat and back again, and his mood swings leave Niall feeling a little panicked and dejected. Over the next few days they're thrown together and continue with their no-strings attached sexual interludes. She welcomes feeling alive for the first time in three years, and Vic apparently thinks the more he has her, the sooner he'll get her out of his system. Of course things become more complicated the longer they come together. Niall is harboring a secret she doesn't want exposed, and feelings slowly begin to stir in Vic, though he tries to push them away. Is he projecting his past hurt onto her, and will Niall be able to get over her past and move on, possibly with Vic?

I vacillated between loving and hating Vic throughout the story. He's dominating, arrogant, moody, jaded, but when he turns up the heat, be prepared to burn. In the beginning he comes across as a shameless, selfish jerk who is just using Niall as a means to satisfy his needs while remaining completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. For a playwright, he doesn't seem to do well with words in his personal life. If he had one redeeming quality, at east he was always honest. Ms.Kery does a great job of showing the conflicts of his thoughts versus his actions.

Niall comes across as very fragile and desperate to "normal". While she enjoys Vic, his domineering ways both excite her and confuse her. She has a few moments when she seems to forget about her deeper problems and just goes with what feels right in the moment. Those few glimpses of how she could be felt real. When her secret is finally revealed, the real drama begins as do the tears.

There were a few situations that I didn't like, and I couldn't fathom why they played out the way they did. Two incidents which I won't name - I felt she let him off the hook too easily. The other one was the entire portion on his ranch. I couldn't make sense of her actions and why she waited so long to tell him the truth. I didn't think so many weeks of drama was entirely necessary. I'm not a huge fan of exaggerated miscommunication between the H/H, but the story still delivered in the end. Now I'm just dying to know what happened long after the dust had settled. Sadly there was no epilogue or a future take of sorts. Considering everything she had lost three years prior, I'd have loved to read whether she ever regained some of that with Vic. A beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time. show less

I ended up staying up WAY past my bedtime to finish "Wicked Burn" by Beth Kery. It was worth every yawn I suffered through today! I just intended to read a few chapters, but the author sucked me in with her wickedly hot love scenes and emotional story.

Niall has been existing, but not living, for the last several years. The violent death of her child changed her world in almost every way. It's taken all her strength to just get through each day...and the nightmares don't help. When she's saved by her sexy neighbor from an overly amorous date, the sparks fly and the next thing Niall knows they're burning up the sheets. But Niall is keeping some pretty harsh secrets, and as the sex becomes a relationship, she's terrified of what her lover show more might do when he finds out.

Vic is a successful writer. He doesn't have a problem getting women...temporarily and on his terms. He's noticed his sexy neighbor even though she's not his type, but on her, even her pearls turn him on. And when the attraction explodes into the hottest affair he's ever had, Vic slowly realizes this might be what he'd given up on finding. Of course, the one thing Vic can't stand is a liar or a cheat.

A whole bunch of the hottest monogamous sex you'll read interspersed with a poignant story that may bring a few tears. Sure, the hero and heroine jump into bed, but there's actually a plot advancing reason for it. And at times I was frustrated with the heroine, but I can't begin to imagine the horrors she's faced and the lack of support she received from her family. And there were times I didn't like Vic too much either, but again, 'screw me once, to hell with you...screw me twice, to hell with me!' could pretty much be his motto. I don't want to give too much away, but I think fans of emotional erotica will definitely enjoy this one. show less

I started losing interest about halfway through this story. I had a hard time connecting with Vic and Niall as a couple. I thought Vic was crude and forceful in the bedroom, and not in a good way. It was just so rough all of the time; I really wondered how Niall could enjoy it. Vic wasn't apologetic about his bedroom behavior. He said he tried to change for a woman before and it didn't work.

Niall had her own issues to deal with, plus she wasn't certain where she really stood with Vic and I think that was part of the communication breakdown between them. She seemed a bit too meek as well.

The pacing regarding Niall's past was too slow and by the time all was revealed, I didn't care anymore. The big misunderstanding annoyed me as well. show more I'm not a fan of this plot device. If it's not handled well, it drags on and causes huge amounts of frustration for the reader. Usually, all it takes is a simple conversation to resolve the issue(s). But, if it were that easy, there wouldn't be much of a story.

I've read a couple of Kery's work before and liked them, but I don't feel the same for this one. I have a couple of her other books in my TBR pile. I hope they're better. show less

The story itself was compelling, with Niall's past and her working through it enough to move on with her life. Unfortunately there were two things that kept me from liking the story more... One was there was too little plot and way too much sex. I mean, I get it. They have a good sex life. I feel like we can skip a few scenes in order to have more room for the harder emotional issues that were happening. The other thing was the ending... I felt like there were several rather unresolved issues still left out there and the abrupt ending left no room for exploring those. I'm not a huge fan of epilogues, but one would have been nice here. Probably going to avoid this author in the future. First read the serial series (I still don't show more understand that formatting choice) and now this which is her highest rated piece. show less

Vic Savian is a famous playwright. He has noticed his beautiful neighbour, Niall Chandler, but until he rescues her from an overly amorous date, he's never spoken to her. Well things change in a hurry after that night!! Niall acts totally out of character for her and they spend a wild night doing the wild thing!! As a result, Niall comes out of a long freeze she has been in due to a terrible tragedy she suffered. At first their relationship is primarily a sexual one and Vic tends to shy away from wanting to know about the demons that seem to haunt Niall. As they draw closer though, he wants to know more about what she is hiding, but she still isn't ready to bare her soul. When Vic does find out what Niall has been hiding, he is show more devastated and turns away from her. Niall, though heartbroken, is willing to leave it at that for a while. But she knows what she has lost and later is ready to explain things to Vic, but by that time he doesn't want to hear.

I really enjoyed this book - despite my frequent blushes. At heart, this is a romance and I love all things romance. I did have a few reservations though - not enough to detract me from reading and enjoying Wicked Burn and not enough to keep from getting her next release. The thing that kind of bothered me was about Vic, a very dominant kind of guy - very explicit in what he wants from Niall. Which in itself was fine - example the tie her up scenes. But I would have liked to see Niall get dominant back at him. She just took everything he said and did without a "wait a minute - now it's MY turn!" I really would have liked to see this kind of scene, specially after he let her back into his life. As it was, I found her a wee bit of a doormat.

I enjoyed the characters. Vic was a bit overbearing at times - but boy could he do the dirty talk! And Niall was also interesting despite her slight doormat tendencies where Vic was concerned. And I'm very intrigued by her next book, Daring Time - a time travel/ghost story. I have it on my calendar for May. show less

Very erotic and powerful story that had me totally engaged throughout. I just wish they let a bit more everyday life seep into their sexual relationship sooner. In the hallway late one night Vic helps out his neighbor Niall (female) and their uninhibited passion flames to life.

fizzled just a tiny bit at the end but otherwise a hot sexy contemporary.