House on Fire (Ashes & Dust #2)
by Jenn Burke
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MM
Blurb:
He’s done fighting his attraction to the sexy vampire…To say former firefighter Colin Zhang is struggling to accept his new life would be a vast understatement. He’s bound to a vampire he didn’t choose, living in a house filled with creatures better left to the imagination—there’s a lot to resent. As much as he tries, he doesn’t resent Evan—far from it. But he needs to know that what he feels is real and that requires breaking their bond. No matter the cost.
Vampire private investigator Evan Fournier is more than willing to explore his connection with Colin, but the crisis at hand keeps getting in the way. Their bond makes it dangerous for them to be apart, so he’s forced to put the other man at risk while he investigates the latest in a series of murders. If he doesn’t find the killer soon, the paranormal community will seek retribution on all humans, not just the guilty ones.
As the tensions escalate, Evan and Colin find solace in each other and their growing attraction. But if their bond is broken, attraction—even love—might not be enough to keep them safe.
My Review
I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager to dive into book 2. I am happy to say book 2 is just as good. There’s plenty going on, a new mystery to solve and their romance deepens. There are also new things they have to deal with and some great twists and turns.
This series Ashes & Dust is a spin-off series from the Not Yet Dead Series and it’s a joy returning to this world again. It follows a lot of the same characters as the first series, but now with a different focus. It feels very comfortable returning to this world and spending time with characters I already know and some new ones as well.
I like the way the author weaves the plots for these books, there often are multiple things going on and it’s exciting reading the book and figuring out where the plot lines go. This book had some interesting twists and turns again. One of the big plot lines of this book seems to get resolved by the end, although who knows if it stays that way, but some of the smaller plot lines are left open and I am really curious to see how those progress in the next book. It definitely kept my attention and I was excited to see how things play out. I also like the non-violent solution to one of the things they have to deal with.
I like reading about Evan, he’s a likable characters. We also get to see some of his mental health struggles and I thought he felt like a real character. I like seeing how he interacts with Colin, although I wish he didn’t feel so afraid of losing Colin if they no longer share a bond. As a reader it was clear to me that they need the bond broken for their romance to really work, but on the other hand I thought that it made sense why Evan was afraid. He loved Colin and didn’t want to lose him. It also bothered me how Colin didn’t discuss a certain thing with Evan. They both definitely have their issues and struggles they have to deal with, it makes them feel human.
I enjoy reading about their romance. It’s clear Evan is a bit more invested so far, but I liked how Hudson points out that Colin does trust Evan, he just shows it in more subtle ways. I liked seeing Colin become a bit more comfortable with their romance in this book. And it was great to see their relationship deepen, although I am still waiting for their romance to deepen even more as in parts of this book it still felt like there was some distance between them. There is a development at the end of the book and while I am not a fan of it, I do hope this will be what deepens their romance even more.
To summarize: House on Fire is a great sequel and it was great returning to this world. There is a lot going on in this book and the plot was interesting. The main plot line gets resolved, but some sub plot lines are left open and I am really curious to see how those will play out. Evan and Colin’s romance is great to read about and I like seeing their relationship develop in this book, I do feel that it still can deepen a bit more and I hope to see that in the next book. The ending has a big reveal as well as the sub plot lines that are left open and it makes me really look forward to book 3!
That’s great that you enjoyed this one so much. It does sound good.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Book Review: Heart of Stone by Cynthia Eden
It was a great read 🙂
Ahhh, and another series I really want to read, but have to wait for a bit. 🙂 I’m glad book two was as strong as the first and had you really into their relationship as much as the mystery.
Sophia Rose recently posted…The Christmas Wish by Sharon Sala
I would definitely recommend this one. I think you read her first series already from which this one’s a spin off?