Burn (Breathless #3)  by Maya Banks – a review

Book 3 in the Breathless Trilogy

About the book: Release Date August 6, 2013

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Ash, Jace, and Gabe: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Ash, it’s the woman who changes everything he’s ever known about dominance and desire…

When it comes to sex, Ash McIntyre has always explored his wilder side—extreme and uncompromising. He demands control. And he prefers women who want it like that. Even the women he’s shared with his best friend, Jace.

But Jace is involved with a woman he has no intention of sharing. And now even Gabe has settled into a relationship with a woman who gives him everything he needs, leaving Ash feeling restless and unfulfilled.

Then Ash meets Josie, who seems immune to his charms and his wealth. Intrigued, he begins a relentless pursuit, determined she won’t be the one who got away. He never imagined the one woman to tell him no would be the only woman who’d ever drive him to the edge of desire.

Review:

Ash has given his best friends and business partners, Jace and Gabe hell over falling in love and settling down. After all, their motto for years has been play hard and live free. And he had no plans in giving up on their mantra. Oh, but fate has different plans for Ash….

Burn begins with a chance, albeit brief, encounter between Ash and Josie in the park. Josie is there sketching and Ash just needed a breath of fresh air. And, what a breath he got. After their initial encounter, Ash becomes obsessed with finding out all that he can about Josie and the man she belongs to. Because when Ash wants something, he stops at nothing to get it.

Josie is a bit of a free spirit. She is an artist and jewelry designer and doesn’t do the regular nine to five. She has broken it off with her boyfriend and has fallen on hard times. Her art isn’t selling and she has to make her rent. Little did she know that her trip to the pawn shop would be life-changing. Once she heads back to the pawn shop to buy back her mother’s jewelry, she discovers that it has been purchased by someone and there is no way to get it back. Until she leaves the shop and runs into Ash, who immediately tells her he’ll give her back her jewelry……..for a price. Dinner. She is apprehensive, but will do anything to get the only thing of her mother’s she has left, and to get to know a bit more about the man before her.

Once they meet for dinner, Ash lays it on the line. He wants her to be his in every way. Josie finds his offer intriguing and knows that she will be his, but asks for a few days to wrap her head around the idea. They part ways, with her telling him she’ll be in touch in a couple of days with her decision. However, when Ash doesn’t hear from her in several days, he sets out to find her. And, what he finds leaves him cold. Seems Josie’s ex wasn’t happy about her dumping him and he physically attacked her. Ash packs her up immediately and takes her to his apartment, where he takes care of her and doesn’t rush her into anything. He gives her that one night, because the next? She will be his.

They embark on their relationship and they are both happier than they could have ever imagined. They fall into a routine that suits them both. Josie’s art is selling and she feels that she can take care of herself, if need be. Even though Ash would never allow it, she has a sense of independence and starts to fall in love with him, and he with her. She’s introduced to his friends, Gabe & Mia, and Jace & Bethany, and loves how close they all are. She can finally imagine a long term relationship with Ash, until she discovers what she thinks is a betrayal that sends her reeling. And, when she confronts Ash and goes back to her old apartment, they are both devastated. Only they had no idea of the events that would play out. An old threat returns and the actions taken against Josie not only threaten her being with Ash, but threaten her very life…..

I liked the first book in this trilogy, Rush. I loved the second book, Fever. I absolutely ADORED Burn! I knew that Ash’s would be my favorite. He is estranged from his family and had made his own way and his own fortune. Something that his family did not like. He was always the laid back, easy going one of the trio. But, I just knew that there was more beneath the surface. God, I love it when I’m right!! Even though he and Josie’s relationship developed quickly, it worked. I loved them together. The “old threat” that returned?? I DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING!! And, it affected them all, in one way or another. Of course they closed ranks and took care of business. Some of the best scenes in all three books are the girls’ nights out. Seriously!! The books are worth reading, if only for those scenes alone! They are hysterical and so much fun to read. I have my fingers crossed that Maya Banks will at least do a novella that lets us check in on this trio and their wives to see how things are going. The worst part of this being the third book of the trilogy? It’s over…………. Well done, Maya Banks. Very well done.

Reviewed by Vickie M.