Early Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

 

Burn for Me
(Hidden Legacy #1)
Ilona Andrews
Release: October 28, 2014
Links Goodreads Amazon

Summary: #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire…

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Review: The world of Burn for Me is really a lot like our world but instead of corporations, its greatest powers are the Houses, families ruled by powerful magic users. Each House is controlled by its eldest Prime, the highest level of magic user. The Houses control armies, battle for territory  and marry for power, much like the aristocracies of old. The majority of people don't belong to a House, but feel their influence nonetheless.

Nevada Baylor is a private investigator with an unusual magical ability. She can tell when people are lying. She's kept her talent hidden since childhood for fear the military or the Houses will force her to work for them. Nevada's magic ability is useful to her as an investigator, but she's never really developed it and doesn't have any magic training. She couldn't exactly take a class when she's trying to keep her talent hidden. (She's a lot like Kate Daniels in that sense.) She doesn't really know how strong she is or the extent of her abilities, though I got the sense her parents knew more and never told her. I'm curious how that will play out in the rest of the series and I have some suspicions.

Adam Pierce is a Prime pyrokinetic, a notorious bad boy and would-be revolutionary. When he's caught on camera robbing a bank and killing a security guard, his House hires investigators to bring him in. They pass the job on to Nevada and because they own the mortgage on her family business, she can't refuse even though she knows she's in over her head.

Nevada gets some unexpected assistance from Connor "Mad" Rogan, a Prime telekinetic with the power to level cities. He's also looking for Adam because Adam's accomplice, Rogan's cousin, is missing. Nevada and Rogan get off on the wrong foot when he kidnaps her to get information on Adam, but eventually they realize their best chance of finding him is to work together. Once Nevada and Rogan start investigating, the action really picks up. There are more robberies and the plot seems to be much bigger than just Adam. I was completely enthralled in the story and could not put it down. It also has really interesting mythology and great sexual tension.

Another thing I love about this book is Nevada's family. It's a huge part of her life and her motivations and it's full of badass women. Her grandmother builds custom tanks. Her mother is a former military sniper and constantly threatens to shoot people (and means it.) I think they're the reason she's able to resist Rogan's alpha male mojo as much as she does.

Despite what it says on the cover, Burn for Me is not exactly a romance. It certainly has some romantic elements. The characters have great sexual chemistry and talk about it just as much as a typical romance couple, but there's no HEA at the end of the book. It's more like a To Be Continued. But ultimately, I don't really care what you call it other than awesome. I can't wait for the next Hidden Legacy book!


Recommended for fans of: The Kate Daniels series, alpha bad boys and strong heroines

This review is based on an ARC I won on Twitter.

    

5  stars