Will their second chance burn hot enough to singe away the past? Only in this Dynasties: Seven Sins novel from USA TODAY bestselling author Janice Maynard! The prodigal playboy is back and nothing is the same… …except the attraction that still sizzles between Jake Lowell and the woman he left behind. But the globe-trotting bachelor is in for a surprise! Nikki Reardon is now a mother–to … Nikki Reardon is now a mother–to the daughter he never knew. He once blamed Nikki for the fall of his iconic family…now he can’t resist her. Will their slow burn spark a second chance or burn down all they hold dear?
From Harlequin Desire: Luxury, scandal, desire–welcome to the lives of the American elite.
A DYNASTIES NOVEL
Is passion the only path to redemption?
EXPERIENCE SEVEN SINS
Book 1: Ruthless Pride by Naima Simone
Book 2: Forbidden Lust by Karen Booth
Book 3: Insatiable Hunger by Yahrah St. John
Book 4: Hidden Ambition by Jules Bennett
Book 5: Reckless Envy by Joss Wood
Book 6: Untamed Passion by Cat Schield
Book 7: Slow Burn by Janice Maynard
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I’m finding it hard to put into words how wonderful this book is. The hero and heroine went through an ordeal together as young adults that upended their world and destroyed their budding romance. Ten years later, after a chance encounter, they briefly hooked up and then went their separate ways again. When Nikki found out she was pregnant, she hid the fact from Jake, knowing his globe-trotting lifestyle wasn’t conducive to fatherhood.
When a family crisis brings them back together again, Jake learns about his four-year-old daughter and wants a place in her life. Can Nikki trust that he won’t abandon her again? Can they find a way to build a future as a family?
The emotion in this story is deep and palpable, yet understated. These are two mature characters working together to figure out how to do what’s best for their daughter, while managing the damage from their past. The sexual tension is high, and the love scenes steamy, but this is primarily a character-driven story about learning to forgive, and moving forward with your life after tragedy.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.
Good book. It is the last in the series, and even though I haven’t read the others (yet), I felt that I knew what was happening. Fifteen years earlier, both Jake’s and Nikki’s fathers were accomplices in embezzling from their company. Nikki’s father died while fleeing from the police, and Jake’s father disappeared. The ensuing scandal ruined the lives of many people, including Jake and Nikki. They had been high school sweethearts, and Jake broke her heart when he left.
Nikki and her mother were left with nothing after her father’s death. Several years were very hard as they adjusted to their new circumstances. Five years ago, Nikki ran into Jake in Atlantic City, where they had an intense night together before Jake disappeared again.
Jake’s method of coping was to flee the country. He hasn’t been home in fifteen years and only recently reconnected with his brothers. Their father has been captured, and they plan to attend the court proceedings. Jake gets the shock of his life when he finds out he’s the father of a four-year-old girl.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Nikki and Jake. He is knocked for a loop when he finds out about Emma. While he wants to do right by her, he has no plans to stick around. Nikki is wary of Jake’s intentions and is reluctant to trust that him. Protective of her daughter, she doesn’t want Emma to grow to love Jake, only to have him disappear from her life. Complicating matters is the intense attraction between Jake and Nikki. Their chemistry is explosive, but Jake has a hard time dealing with the feelings that come along with it.
I liked Jake, but there were times I wanted to shake him. He’s great with Emma and wants to be a good father. He also believes that he isn’t capable of the commitment needed because he ran away before. He yearns to have something more with Nikki but is afraid of the strength of his feelings. When he tries to half-ass his relationship with Nikki, she rightfully blasts him for being unwilling to take a chance.
I liked Nikki. She has come a long way since her days as a spoiled teenager. She is strong and resilient, and protective of her daughter and mother. Her worry over whether to trust Jake was understandable considering her experience with him. I liked that she was willing to give him a chance to get to know Emma. Though Nikki tried to protect her heart, she soon realized that she had never stopped loving him. Because of that, she refused to accept anything less than his love in return.
It took facing his mother and brothers, admitting his mistakes, and finally confronting his father for Jake to let go of the past. I loved his big moment at the end as, in an emotional scene with Nikki, he finally shared the feelings he’d been running from.
Son come back to see formerly dead dad. Ex-girlfriend has a secret.
This book as a lot in it: prodigal son returns, father back from the dead, surprise baby and more. Loved the story and the back and forth between the main two!
These two have a past that was marred with scandal and tragedy. Their fathers had taken a lot of money from the people of the town they grew up in and the families were left to clean up the mess. Jake left and traveled the world and lived life on his own and became rich in his own right. While his twin brother took over the business that their fathers had abandoned. Nikki and her mother moved to a nearby town to live. About 10 years later, Jake ran into Nikki in Atlantic City. They spent a passionate night together. They didn’t see or contact each other until 5 years later when he returned home. He was surprised to learn he had a little girl. Read to see how they navigate through the maze of emotions on both sides. The SLOW BURN was ignited in a major way! I LOVED THIS BOOK. Well written and totally entertaining!
examining the trust you have/don’t have of your family and living through the consiquences can be very tough – and then finding out you have an unknown daughter too – so much like real life when reading it – and a rough road to their final HEA I read a paperback copy.
Vernon Lowell founder and CEO of Black Crescent Hedge Fund, and his best friend and company CFO, Everett Reardon, stole millions from their clients.
This is the finale where we will get the long-awaited answers to who Joshua appoints to be the next CEO, what/who is actually the reason for the embezzlement of the funds from Black Crescent that Vernon who is the father of Joshua, Jake and Oliver who disappeared 15 years ago. Nikki Reardon’s father along with Vernon embezzled funds from Black Crescent and Nikki’s father attempt to escape but he is killed in a car crash. The embezzlement caused a lot of family drama and harm to many families.
Jake is town for his twin Joshua’s wedding and finds out that his father is now in jail and requesting his presences. He also finds out that he is father to Nikki Reardon’s 4-year-old daughter Emma. Jake and Nikki were building a relationship but it all ended with the embezzlement. Jake sees Nikki in Vegas and they have a one-night stand, Nikki never informs Jake nor does she inform Jake’s brother Joshua that she is pregnant during or after the birth of her daughter Emma.
Jake so wants a relationship with Nikki and his daughter Emma but he is dealing with so much and to top it off Joshua wants him to step in as the new CEO of Black Crescent Hedge Fund. To find out answers pick up your copy today.
This is a great end to the long-awaited disappearance of Vernon. I so enjoyed this this series.
This was the last book in this seven books series. Having read the first, I knew a bit about the dynasty of the Lowells, so I was not completely in the dark. It was a good book, the characters were very wel written, some steamy scenes as well were also very good. It was a great story about a man, a confirmed globetrotting bachelor, going back to his roots- but as he had always been on the run- he is very scared of commitment. Going back to his hometown, he discovers he has a daughter and there is her mother- the girl/woman he has ever loved. And the attraction that still sizzles between Jake Lowell and the woman he left behind. Can he overcome his fears and can he and Nikki have a future together?
Slow Burn by Janice Maynard is the seventh and final book in Harlequin Desire’s Dynasties: Seven Sins series. This standalone book brings home prodigal son Jake Lowell to attend the court proceedings of his father who disappeared fifteen years ago. Jake also needs to make amends with his family that he abandoned all those years ago trying to escape the pain caused by his father. Upon his return, he learns that he is a father to Nikki Reardon’s daughter. Nikki and Jake go back many years as family friends, high school sweethearts and eventually a one-night stand. Will their slow burn for each other amount to anything more? Nikki hopes so, but is afraid that Jake will always be a globe-trotting bachelor who runs when any problem arises.
4 1/2 STARS!
With the dramatic conclusion of the Dynasties: Seven Sins series, Janice Maynard brings the prodigal Lowell son home to confront the past … and the daughter he didn’t know he had! With book seven in the highly emotional series we get some closure on the Black Crescent scandal as Vernon has to face his accusers once and for all. I loved the series as a whole, but would have liked a little epilogue to tie up lose ends of punishment, etc.
Jake Lowell is a complex character. He seems like a nice enough guy, but his indecision of how to address the daughter he didn’t know he had is a bit wishy washy for my liking.
I loved Nikki’s character. She’s strong and loyal to a tee, and even though she still loves Jake, she’s willing to sacrifice herself to make sure he can be happy with his decisions.
I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who loves drama with your romance. You will get more out of each book if you read them in order so you aren’t missing bits and pieces of the scandal.
What an amazing ending to this series.
Ms. Maynard has such a way with wayward heroes and second chance romance. And she even upped the swoon factor with a secret baby thrown in!
Tying everything back to the couple that started the series by including Josh & Sophie’s wedding was a great bonus.
Slow Burn, a Dynasties novel, is the story of Jake Lowell and Nikki Reardon. While their story is plagued by the scandal of both their father’s, who were business partners, and has the makings of a suspenseful story, the outcome is predictable. I am a long time fan of Janice Maynard and her books, but this one missed the mark for me. The story begins when Jake returns home after he finds out his father, whom he presumed was dead, is caught and brought to justice for the embezzlement scandal from 15 years earlier. What Jake finds out shortly after his return home, is that he has a child from a one night stand he had 5 years ago with Nikki. He wants to be honorable and do right by his daughter and Nikki is initially reluctant. The story takes on a few twists and turns to get to the happy ending for both Jake and Nikki. Love wins! Still a good read, but just didn’t quite grab my interest as some of Janice’s earlier writing and the creativity of those story lines. This is a quick read that will most likely meet your romance requirements and allow you to get to know some of the characters from this new seven sins series.
The story of Nikki and Jake pulled me in from the first page. These lifelong friends and high school sweet hearts are torn apart by family betrayal. The pain causes each to make different life choices. Ten years later they have a chance meeting which leads to a one night stand. Now Jake is coming home for his brothers wedding and more. Nikki is about to change his world with the news that he is the father of her daughter. Will their child bring them back together or is the past to painful? This book was one of my favorites by this author. I like the strong female characters of Nikki, her mother and even her daughter. I highly recommend this book. I had not read the other books in this series, but this book peaked my interest in reading the others.
“Slow Burn” is the final book in the ‘Sevin Sins Dynasty’ series by Janice Maynard. It can be a read alone, but I highly recommend books 1-6 in the series. It has taken Jake Lowell 15 years to return home, but 5 years ago he reconnected with Nikki Reardon (a high school crush), and their dalliance had a lasting consequence. There is SO much to this story, and it is one of my favorites, that it should be read. Not giving out too many spoilers to the book because I picked it up in the morning and read it straight through. Loved it.
Written as the finale, book 7 of 7, I read Slow Burn as a standalone and now I really want to go back and read the rest of the series. Janice Maynard has a writing style that is well suited for the type of romance that I like to read. I found the way everything was wrapped up in this novel very interesting and it kept me quickly turning the pages. I enjoyed the strength of the heroine, Nikki, as well as her mother and the other women in the story. The hero in this book, Jake, has a lot of issues to work through but is trying to move forward after the devastating last 15 years. Some pieces of his life seem to finally be headed in the right direction as the finale of the story unfolds ( no spoilers ). Of course, as a true Harlequin Desire, I liked the way the attraction between these once high school sweethearts, Nikki and Jake, heated up every time they are together. A great afternoon escape, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Jake is back home and he finds out he is a father.
This story is great, loved the characters. The storyline.
Awesome read.
Nikki Reardon grew up in a rich world where she had the best of everything. Then fifteen years ago that life was shattered when her father died in a car crash while being chased by the police. Her father and his business partner were going to be charged with taking the money from their business, Black Crescent Hedge Fund, and running off with it. Her dad’s partner, Vernon Lowell disappeared. The result of this fiasco was that Nikki and her mother lost everything and left town. They managed food and shelter but there was no money for much else. Five years ago Nikki ran into her high school sweetheart, Jake Lowell, the son of Vernon Lowell. Jake left home at about the same time Nikki and her mom did because of the Lowell/Reardon crime and this unexpected run-in which happened in Atlantic City, NJ ended up in a one-night-stand. Jake was gone when Nikki woke up the next morning in their hotel room. He ran again. This time when Jake returned after roaming the world the past fifteen years Nikki wasn’t sure how to react. When Jake knocked on her door he already knew about their four-year-old daughter Emma. Now what?
Jake Lowell was devastated by the criminal actions of his father. The media notoriety got to him and he ran. He traveled the world and while doing so ran a successful day trading business for himself. He never planned to return home to Falling Brook but his twin brother Josh called him with the news their father wasn’t dead as it was presumed but had been found and was extradited back to the USA for trial. So now Jake has returned home for Josh’s wedding and his father’s trial. The news he is the father of a four-year-old little girl knocked him for a loop. He has never forgotten Nikki and for sure the attraction is still there. He has a major decision to make now.
Slow Burn by Janice Maynard is the seventh book in the Harlequin series, Dynasties: Seven Sins. This story is filled with passion and has some super hot sex scenes. The chemistry between Nikki and Jake is explosive. The problem Jake has was that he had to face his fears and accept certain truths before he was ready to accept he loved Nikki. Nikki had to find it in her heart to trust Jake and believe he would make the right choices. Their little girl Emma is a real cutie. All the characters are very likable and the storyline flowed well. The conflict was well-spelled-out and the resolution quite satisfying.
READING PROGRESS
Slow Burn is the much anticipated finale in the Seven Sins series. Jacob Lowery returns home after 15 years of being away and is he in for a surprise. Not only has his father who disappeared and was thought dead for those 15 years reappeared but he discovers that he is a father. Nikki Reardon was his high school crush and the two reconnected 5 years prior to his return home and had a daughter Emma. Jacob has to decide what his future will entail with Nikki and Emma. He is home for his twin Josh’s wedding and to help Josh find a successor for the CEO he is leaving. Josh tires to convince Jacob that he would be perfect for the position. Jacob does a lot of soul searching and fights a lot of demons! Seeing how he deals with his father’s reappearance and the damage it caused 15 years prior is played out fabulously in the book. This is a great book watching the two of them as they fight their feelings and Jacob realizes that being a father, husband and CEO may be something he wants.
Slow Burn is the seventh book in Harlequin Desire’s Dynasties: Seven Sins series. Nikki Reardon and Jake Lowell had known each other since childhood. They fell in love and then their worlds came crashing down when their fathers stole money from many of the town’s residents.
Fifteen years later they meet up again in their hometown. Five years earlier they had a one nightstand that had consequences. Now, Jake has returned home to celebrate his brother’s upcoming wedding and see the father that ruined his life get his comeuppance.
When Jake discovers he fathered a child, his world is thrown upside down. He doesn’t believe he is father material. Nikki, on the other hand, wants him to know his daughter although she questions whether he will stay or run again.
Will Jake confront his father and decide he has a future with Nikki and his daughter? Will Nikki find it in her heart to forgive Jake?
Slow Burn is a wonderful read. I enjoyed seeing Nikki and her mother get the closure they needed on the why’s behind her father’s role in the scandal. I wish Jake would have interacted more with his daughter, though. I received an advance copy of this book which I chose to read and review.