I didn’t want to be this man. I never wanted to be like my father.I just wanted to be loved by him. Accepted. That’s how this happened, that’s how I became this person. Too many years of listening, too many years craving his approval. His words burned into my mind.And now I crave things the world says I shouldn’t.I open doors that should remain closed. I cross lines meant to be straight and … meant to be straight and narrow. But they’ll understand, they’ll see just like I did.
This is the right way of things. The way it’s meant to be.
And whether I have his name or not, at least I’ve finally become the perfect son.
more
Oh my goodness this WOW!! Bryden I don’t know what to say about this man. I don’t know if he was more twisted then Pater but oh my goodness this guy he really show me all the mayhem he can bring in his twisted way of loving.
I waited to start reading this story because I’d paid heed to the warning at the beginning. But I kept finding my way back to it, thinking I would read it in snippets. I was halfway through the book before I HAD to take a break (silly humans expecting dinner) but throughout the meal prep, my mind kept going back to the story. I couldn’t get it out of my head. This story. This series. Has been described like a train wreck. But it’s more than that. You are on the track. You hear the train. You can see it come barreling toward you and all you have to do is step off, but you can’t. Instead, you take a step closer to the train. This book. This series. Embrace the train wreck. It’s that good. This story comes with warnings. You need to heed them.
Oh damn what a book. This book sucked me in from start to finish I didn’t want it to end.
Well Jennifer has gone above and beyond on the creep scale in this book as all Bryden wants is for his family to love him and to show love for each other, because he doesn’t want them to go without love like he had to it’s just the special kind of way he goes about it.
This was definitely a tripping wild ride straight into a lovefest of incest, but damn was it a good story.
The Perfect Son.
Bryden wants nothing more than to be the perfect son. The perfect father, the perfect … everything. What got me about Bryden is that he loves his entire family equally, and very deeply. He never wants any of them to feel the way he felt as a child and will not abandon any of them by the wayside.
Is this a good thing?
Yes and no.
Yes, because it shows just how much he cares about his little family.
No, because he of how he goes about it.
If you’re brave enough to step into the Hell that Jennifer created, you will 100% not regret this decision. Sometimes, the strongest souls are forged from the fire, and Bryden’s flame burns with a passion that will consume his entire family. A fire built from love, longing, and the want to keep them all close to his heart.
This book just sucks you into the deep dark and depraved Inferno world and won’t let go. It’s so twisted and awful but you can’t look away, like a train wreck. This is my first venture into Inferno world and now I’m addicted. Trigger warnings- all of them- no kidding.
This is not a HEA at all. Believe what the author says.
Powerfully written this story makes you want to scrub your eyes out. The horror of a father with such a twisted idea of what parenting is terrifying. The knowledge that there are things like this actually happening makes you want to turn vigilante.
My heart was heavy reading this and I have to say I felt dirty. Reading this is like a trainwreck where you want to stop but you have to know what happens.
This is not for the faint of heart. Jennifer Bene is an extremely descriptive writer that you can feel the aura of the air in this off the grid home, the terror this family lives on day to day and the desire to make things better for each other.
I read and reviewed a copy of this book.
Burned was the absolute perfect title for this dark and heartbreaking story.
The darkness and depravity of the Inferno World continues. This book fits right into the Inferno World. The lives that are touched by the depraved Love of Bryden. Bryden is taught love by his father Luke who then throws him away so the love he shows his children Wesley and Ella is the only warped way he knows to show Love. The damage he and his wife Marilyn do to their children is immeasurable. The point where we end the chapter is so sad, you think you know what will happen but we don`t know. I loved the story , the plot and the characters you want to protect and the ones you hate with a passion. Thank you for the wonderful dark words.
Wow!!!!
Jennifer Bene really outdid her self with this novella, is intense, heartbreaking a page turner for sure. It sucked me in, even at times when I was like, what the hell!!! But so good.
There is a warning, so please read it at your own risk, is dark and taboo and it might make you cringe, but man is good!
Bryden, does what he thinks is good for his family, he wants everyone to feel loved, because he never felt it. But when is enough!
5 twisted stars
This book was incredible. Jennifer Bene is an amazing author and burned was no exception. 4 solid stars
A perfect family picture or not.
When I finished reading Inferno, I felt empty and broken, but nothing prepared myself for Burned.
Bryden wants nothing them perfection.
His childhood was everything a child not supposed to have, and everything he is giving to his family is dark, broken, but perfect in his way.
Never leaves the one he loves behind, hurts more them death.
I felt brave to read this book, and I’m trying to be bold and read the other books because I need some sort of “happy” ending of this chaos if there is any.
Jennifer has done a fantastic job to destroy my already broken heart with my consent and took me some time to write this review.
When an author gives you a heads up, you better listen.
All the Stars.
This is a hard review to write. What we think as a normal happy family is not what Bryden wants for his family. He wants to “love” each member equally. He is crazy and is making the kids crazy. There is not HEA and if you have trigger points this is not for you.
Heed the warning if you are a sensitive reader. And for those of my kind who are not sensitive brace yourself for one of the most incredible dark reads. This book has no boundaries and captivated me from the beginning. Bryden’s idea of family creates for an interesting read that left me turning pages and really enthralled with the family dynamics.
So little can be said of this read as I don’t want to give anything away but it was fantastic and quick
Black hole
This story is a one way trip down a dark rabbit hole with no Wonderland in sight.
Darker than dark, gripping, mesmerizing, tragic, taboo and mind twisting.
Brilliantly written in a warped and twisted way. Ms Bene you left me gutted. Heed the warnings.
I received a copy of this book fromt he publsher/author to review.
I didn’t want to be this man. I never want to be like my father. I just wanted to be love by him. Accepted. That’s how this happened, that’s how I became this person. Too many years of listening, too many years craving his approval. His words bruned into my mind. And now I crave things the world says I shouldn’t. I open doors that should remain closed. I cross lines meant to be straight and narrow. But they’ll understand, they’ll see just like I did. This is the right way of t hings. The way it’s meant to be. And whether I hae his name or not, at least I”ve finally become the perfect son.
Burned is Jennifer Bene’s contribution to the Inferno World that was created by Yolanda Olson. If you have read any of these book you know that they are terrribly taboo and not meant to be a dark love story or a happily ever after kind of read. Burned is the story of the family of Brayden, Marian and their children Ella and Wesley. They have been kept away by Brayden from the real world and Brayden wanted nothing more than to be his father’s son but he never accepted him or gave him his last name. That is why he is so determinded that his family be the perfect happy loving family and that they show their love to each other in the ways that he sees fit. I do not want to give much of this story away. You just need to read it and find out what happens to everyone. This book is not for the faint of heart and you need to heed the warning in the front of the book before you dive into it. I thought that Jennifer Bene did a fantastic job with this story and I am still spinning from the ending.
Burned by Jennifer Bene pretty much left my feels burned. Destroyed. OMG.
You read about Bryden who, for being a Greene, you must know didn’t have the best child hood. All he wanted was to feel love, and let his family feel love and treat them with all the same love – and not feel alone and abandon like he did. And by George that’s what he does. He shows his family love. He is determined by all cost. But does his family return the same values? ??
I was numb reading this and then I got to the end…my feels…poof…into flames and were done. This is not your good-times-ever-after read, but that’s what makes it another great collection to the Inferno World.
Five flames from me.
#EmotionallyBroken #InfernoWorld/Series
#Dark #TrueTaboo #ThePerfectSon
DREAMY’S REVIEW
Who knew that the Inferno Series would turn into a whole new world filled with such dark and twisted tales? I love it! Admittedly, I read Yolanda Olson’s Inferno a couple of days prior to this and to say I was consumed is an understatement!!
Does that say anything about me?
First and foremost, if you haven’t read the book I just mentioned, Inferno by Yolanda Olson, stop right here.
Do yourself a favor and get that book, devour it first, and then come back to this one. I promise you, it will enhance your reading experience. By reading that book, it will give you an understanding of this particular world and how it works.
And no, I’m not saying all books are the same, but it will mentally and emotionally prepare you for what’s to come. These books can be read as a standalone, but I highly, highly suggest reading that first! Now, onto my review 🙂
With that being said, Burned by Jennifer Bene really gutted me. It captivated my attention, grabbed hostage of my heart, and it promised to never, ever let go!
“I didn’t want to be this man. I never wanted to be my father.”
It’s been however long since I’ve finished Burned and let me tell you, I’ve read this book TWICE. Yes, you heard me correct, TWICE! I was utterly consumed and drawn by this read that wrecked me, gutted me, and damn near took a knife and stabbed me in the heart! Bene doesn’t sugarcoat a thing! She doesn’t put hearts and flowers into this story.
Burned is brutal, gutting, reeling, powerful, dark and twisted, intense, horrific, and extremely taboo.
“I want them all to be happy. I want them all to feel loved.”
And just like that, I felt part of Bryden, Marian, Ella, and Wesley’s lives. I felt everything they felt. I felt the unconditional love, the pain, the hurt, and the hate.
I wouldn’t say this is a romance novel, per say. But when I tell you it’s full and filled with love, IT IS. In its own fucked up way, it actually is. I felt it while reading.
Jennifer Bene is doing something absolutely right if she’s able to evoke this many emotions out of me after this read!! I’m still reeling, I’m still processing, and I’m still so in love with every aspect of Burned!
“You never play favorites with your family. You don’t abandon each other. You bring each other together…”
Just know that there there is NO HEA. If you have triggers, I beg you, really take into consideration this warning. This read is devastating and pitch black dark!
But if you are into taking risks and having an open mind, take a read and be ready to be absolutely sucked into this world! Bene really does an amazing job into staying true to this world AND this story of hers.
Five burning and dreamy stars:
Leave your moral compass behind when you crack the cover…
Taboo is a genre that is one of three things; your go-to for reading material (or at least something you regularly enjoy), an acquired taste that you occasionally indulge in when the mood strikes you, or it is something that is just not your thing, and leaves you feeling squicky as if covered in a slimy film when you accidentally come across it.
So if you fall in the third category, heed the author’s warnings and do *not* go past the cover page of this book.
Burned is taboo. Almost from word one it is a story which is clearly meant to push boundaries and buttons. There’s a family, there’s sex, and not to give away any spoilers, but I’m pretty sure from just those two items of information you can connect the dots as to what the taboo here may be. Or you’ll think you understand, except that the author takes you on a twisted journey in this story where you think the one dot that should connect to A to B actually goes to D, and then back to B before sliding to C. Our two main protagonists are Wesley and Ella, a brother and sister duo and not of the porn trope brother – step-sister variety. They are part of a family. A very dysfunctional family. A seriously, terribly, disturbingly dysfunctional family. Because of Amazon reviewing standards (and to avoid spoilers too), nothing further can be said.
Rather than go on about *what* this story is about, let’s talk about *how* this story made me feel. This is a disturbing piece of fiction about a disturbing man and his family. By any metric of ‘normalcy’ in the first dozen paragraphs I should have been going “Oh hell no!” and shutting the cover. But this is the disturbing thing…
I didn’t.
I kept reading, and—to be fair—I did spend a fair amount of time going “Oh my God, I can’t believe this…” along with “Why am I still reading this?” However, each of those instances was answered by a voice inside me that said, “Because it’s good.” and, even more unsettling, especially as the book went on, with “Because you like this.”
And I did.
Mostly it’s because the language and flow of the story kept me sucked in, even as the story got ever-more uncomfortable. And it did. This story is unflinching. It does not pull back away from the subject matter, even at its deepest and darkest moments. There are no cutaways here, no fades to black. You are subjected to what is happening to all these characters in a brutally clear, almost clinical fashion. And it’s probably because of that, because it does not let you hide from the horror of what is happening by letting you create the worst of it as your own theater-of-the-mind, that it works. No. Every depraved action is laid before you in words that make you see what is happening, feel what these people are being subjected to. Sure, this is a dark, intense, taboo story, filled with all sorts of debauched scenes, but don’t let *that* stop you. Assuming you heed the author’s warnings, turn that moral compass over for a moment so you can’t see the direction pointer pin-wheeling out of control as you continue from wicked scene to wicked scene, perhaps you’ll surprise yourself as it taps into some of the deeper, darker recesses of your soul and enjoy it.
Or not. But you’ll never know until…
This is a heartwrenching dark and devastating tragedy. Written so well that it’s enthralling till the very end, which is not a HEA. It will make you cringe and cry, but need to know how it will end. Another fascinating book by Jennifer Bene.
F**k me sideways, what the ever loving hell did I just read?
I read all the warnings, fully heading the author repeatedly saying this was dark and hopeless. And boy did this take me to the darkest, most depraved depths of hell. I knew going in that this wouldn’t totally be my kind of read, but I also adore Ms Bene so much that, despite that fact, I had to read this. It very much makes it difficult for me to rate the book though. I’ve settled on four stars quite simply because I felt the story flowed, the characters were well crafted and had personality, there was some good world building and background detail and the writing is of a high standard.
Burned is a no-holds-barred and no happiness whatsoever type of read, just in case you didn’t know. There is NO romance, NO happiness and NO satisfactory bad guy getting their just deserts. And until you’ve read one of these types of books you can’t be sure whether or not you will like it. What I will say is that I did enjoy this much more than the original Inferno books. It just felt like it had a little more direction and reason. I also like that the ending, whilst totally a Debby Downer of a conclusion, felt like a hopeless hope. Believe me that will make more sense if and when you’ve read the book!
Bryden is a loathsome man and whilst his actions are not reasonable or acceptable, I could almost understand the ‘why’ of it. Marian was much more of a monster to me, she knew the truth, she knew right from wrong, she knew better. To allow, condone and participate in those acts made her much more of a monster in my eyes. It takes a talented author to craft truly believable, hateful and despicable characters.
My only criticism, which was also true of the original Inferno book, is that there is no explanation of how the family is funded. Bryden goes grocery shopping and I didn’t get the impression that they were self sufficient. Whilst that information wasn’t vital to the story, it was something that I made me ponder and pulled me from the story at one point.
The connection between Ella and Wesley, despite the way Bryden tried to pervert it, gave my poor little soul something good to cling to. It was what allowed me to connect to the story and ‘enjoy’ it, though I’m not sure how appropriate a description enjoy is. They gave each other strength, comfort and ultimately a choice. It was a tiny sliver of grey amidst the pitch black.