From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series comes a brand-new novel about arson investigator, Ann 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… By her bitter family legacy, by her scorched career as a firefighter, by her obsession … firefighter, by her obsession with department bad-boy Danny McGuire, and by a new case that pits her against a fiery killer.
Strong-willed Anne was fearless and loved the thrill of fighting fires, pushing herself to be the best. But when one risky decision at a warehouse fire changes her life forever, Anne must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.
Shattered and demoralized, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for the adrenaline-fueled life she left behind. She doesn’t believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for her job again–until she encounters a string of suspicious fires setting her beloved city ablaze.
Danny McGuire is a premiere fireman, best in the county, but in the midst of a personal meltdown. Danny is taking risks like never before and seems to have a death wish until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. But Danny may be more than a distraction, and as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist begins to target her.
From the creator of the bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood, get ready for a new band of brothers. And a firestorm.
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J.R. Ward did it again with another great book. I really didn’t know what to expect. The story was so tragic and inspiring. I love all her books that I’ve read.
Can’t wait for the next book in the series!
Absolutely loved this book!
I have a ton of friends that swear by Ward’s BDB series. It wasn’t a series I connected with, but when there is such a beloved author, you sometimes want to give them another shot, yeah? I’ve been eyeing The Bourbon Kings series, but when Consumed popped up I thought it sounded exciting.
The base story line of Consumed is enjoyable. Let me start with that. You have two firefighters that barely live through an incredibly traumatic and life altering event. BIG, life changing event. Huge. It not only affects their day to day lives but it forever changes their personal relationship. This struggle and dynamic is the part of Consumed I liked.
It’s maybe the only part.
What I didn’t like was the complete lack of character development or individuality. It’s written in a way where you get three points of view but all the characters dialogues and musings sound exactly the same. It’s as if the narrator is a really strong personality and the characters all take on that voice. I struggled hard with that. I’m a character reader before I’m a story reader, so this just felt wrong to me.
Another thing I didn’t really love was there was a bit too much cliche’d drama added in that I didn’t think needed to be there. That huge bit I spoke about earlier (and it’s root cause) should have been enough to carry the story, in my opinion. Plus, some of that added drama led me to actually not like the characters. I already wasn’t connecting with them but then they just all seemed like assholes, too. The dog is the only character I ended up actually caring about.
Then there was this thing…and I don’t know if this is Ward’s style with everything or if it’s a one off, but I didn’t like it. There is so much of this:
‘she phoenix’d-from-the-ashes’
‘bad-luck-hole-in-one’
‘ah-hell-no-that’s-my-little-brother’
‘low-man-on-the-ladder’
‘used-to-be-necessary’
‘two stories of vacated-long-ago’
‘over-and-done-with-the-sun’
This is a very small, few examples. The book is riddled with these and with strange pop culture references and analogies. It was very distracting. Again, if this had been ONE single character, I’d get it more but that’s not the case.
What I know is that I struggled too much.
I loved this new direction of book from JR Ward. Not paranormal anything, but still grabbed me and finished it so fast!
You are on the edge of your seat for this one. A strong, realistic heroine that is intelligent and strong willed and a passionate, direct hero that goes for what he wants. With some surprising and shocking moments that keep you reading through the night, you will be consumed by fire with this read.
I really enjoyed the romance, mystery and firefighting details in this book. I am a Black Dagger Brotherhood fan so I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this, however, I enjoyed it so much that I went back and read the prequel, The Wedding From Hell.
I am looking forward to reading more books in J.R, Ward’s Firefighter series.
Great start to a series series, I really enjoyed this book. Interesting characters, entertaining story line, drama and romance..it’s a rocky road after the incident. It’s an emotional read and the story rather unique, no pussy footing around circumstances. Well written and highly entertaining.
#librarybook
Consumed is the first book in the exciting new contemporary series featuring firefighters from J.R. Ward. I honestly can say it was a roller coaster ride from start to finish and I enjoyed the ride immensely.
Anne Ashburn and Danny McGuire are both such strong characters. They each are so strong in their own right, I worried there would be no give and take when it came to them, but they also each had their weaknesses, that helped to balance them out. Ward threw a major curveball into both character’s lives in the beginning of this book and I found myself being unable to put down the book so I could find out where she would take us on this wild ride.
There was plenty of chemistry between Anne and Danny, and while I really enjoyed the romance between them, I was totally and completely pulled in by the mystery of the serial arsonist. I had in my mind who was behind part of it, and was totally blown away when I found out I was so off base. I love when a writer keeps me guessing and Ward did an amazing job with keeping the reader guessing in Consumed.
I feel like Consumed was just the set up for a new series of books from J.R. Ward and have to say I’d be pretty excited to get another series of books from Ward. I adore her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which is a paranormal/urban fantasy series. I have enjoyed her contemporary books in the past and am excited to see where she takes all the characters from Consumed in future books.
Rating: 4 Stars (B+)
Review copy provided by publisher
I’m a huge fan of Back Dagger Brotherhood. That series is more fantasy. This book was very realistic. A bit slow at the beginning, but once into the story and characters, I found it very compelling. Did not realize that fire fighters also had many demons to overcome in the line of duty.
I enjoyed getting the full story to Consumed.
Anne and Danny wow what a power couple this is.
They both are total opposites yet they are a powerhouse together.
Anne due to an accident in a fire lost the right to be a firefighter but that didn’t stop this woman she now still fights only she is a detective of sorts.
And what she begins to unravel will leave you speechless.
After the accident, Danny is taking more risks than normal and he is risking it all. Including losing Anne for good.
This was a fantastic story and I can not wait to see what the Author brings us next.
This story is preceded by two novellas that are important to read prior to starting this one. The backstories matter.
It’s been ten months since the fire that injured Anne Ashburn and ended her career as a firefighter with the New Brunswick 499 Engine Company. She’s now an arson investigator and trying to find her way down a different path. Danny Maguire is still chasing demons, trying to forget his role in saving Anne’s life in the fire but wielding the blow that ended her days as a firefighter. Both still have strong feelings for each other but are too far apart to close the distance easily.
I enjoyed this story as it is classic Ward with multilayered plots and intrigue, along with multiple points of view. I’m really glad I opted for the audio version as it has four narrators with distinctively different styles that helped me keep up with the main narratives. Anne is a complicated woman with family issues to further mess with her head. I love how her rescue dog factored into her healing as he provided a heartwarming element that was really needed. However, Danny is the character that has the brilliant design as he epitomizes all that can go wrong mentally with first responders and how those issues can manifest themselves in the psyche. At the same time, you can still see the honorable aspects of the man.
Anne’s first case was a doozie, culminating in a climax I never saw coming. This story was a good blend of action, romance, drama and mystery, just what I’ve come to expect from this author. I really liked each narrator, pleasantly surprised to hear the familiar Jim Frangione and Pete Simonelli who is a Sebastian York sound-alike! Not everything is resolved so there’s a continuing story arc (another Ward staple) to look forward to. I’m in for whatever books come next!
(I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review)
After reading the short books leading up to Consumed I was so excited to get my hands on this book! This is my first time reading a book by this author and I don’t know why I waited so long. This was the perfect start to a new series!
Anne is the daughter of a fallen firefighter and sister to Fire Chief. She is strong and fearless and loves her job.
Danny is a firefighter and has been trying to catch Anne’s eye. She is not looking to get involved with anyone. You can feel the strong attraction between these two they fight so hard to deny.
This book had so many things happen that I did not see coming. I really liked all the characters and story line. JR Ward pulled me in from page one and held me captive until the very end. I highly recommend this book.
A better than average JR Ward book. This story was strong from the first pages and retained interest through out. Ms. Ward did not get bogged down in her trademark clichés and references to current pop culture. She only took me out of the story once, when Danny used street speech that was not in character for him. Overall a good read.
I really enjoyed this book. I hope to read more spinoffs/sequels.
I am in the minority but I didn’t care for it. Didn’t feel connection between the characters. Didn’t find it believable.
I’m a Ward fan. I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood and the Fallen Angels series completely. I didnt like this book at all. I especially hated the heroine. The two stars are for Ward’s unique voice and storytelling. She lost 3 stars for all the characters — I hated Anne. Danny was boring. The two prequels should have been added to the book, without them the Consumed doesn’t make for a complete story. Can the Warden just stop with contemporary?!
After reading the blurb and the first look, I had to get the book. I love a book with a strong, realistic main female character. Not happy where she is now with her work life, she begins to track down for a serial arsonist who is setting her town on fire gradually. She becomes the target and everything becomes intense. Not to mention there’s a sexy firefighter she gets distracted with. I was happy with the plot of the story and that this isn’t one of your happily ever after kind of stories. The characters have flaws and each battling their own demons. There’s twists and turns all through the book and some good action in there as well that makes for a well rounded mystery read. However, I feel the romance was a bit heavy. Why can’t we have a strong willed female character without having to involve too much about her romantic life? I want to hear more about how she is going to take down this arsonist, not her romance struggles. I fell like this was a disservice to her as a female character. I don’t mind some romance but this being a mystery, it should have paid more attention to that aspect. Other than that, it was a good read and hoping for more in the next book!
I love this author! This book I loved! I loved the characters from the Wedding From Hell shorts from the beginning. I felt Danny’s pain from every one he lost to what he had to do to get Anne out of that building. Anne was a hard character, and we saw her view on life change because of her situation. Her character changed more through this book that you couldn’t help but cheer for her. I loved that Soot helped her soften, and appreciate those in her life. I sure didn’t see the ending coming. I can’t wait for more of these characters! I hope I am not the only one who wants Tom and the Mayor!
After reading the prequels, I knew I would be in for one heck of a ride with Consumed, but wow! Just wow! Waiting for Danny and Anne to finally open up to one another had me breathless with anticipation, and they totally delivered with a powder keg of flaming chemistry that had me clapping in delight! Even the twisting yarn of suspense Anne was caught up in with her arson investigation was captivating. However, it was the personal struggles of all the characters-Anne and Soot, the stray she rescues, Danny and his bottled up emotions, Moose with his completely unsuitable spouse Desandra-who is still a witch from you know where, even Anne’s brother Tom and her mom Nancy- that sucked me in a and sold me on the story. Their issues weren’t brushed under the rug, but laid out for dissection and had me viewing what first responders-and their families-deal with in a more appreciable light.
I loved the heck out of this book and am ready to reread it again it was that good! Anne and Danny have a HFN, but her arson investigation is still running, so we shall see where that ends up. I’m also hoping other characters get their own story and know who I’m rooting for next!