Burn

Spine Ridge University #0.5

by Clarissa Wild

Thrown out onto the streets by her mother after a surprise pregnancy, Emilia's life has been full of hardship and turmoil. But when she's about to give up on life itself, a dangerously handsome stranger saves her from despair and brings her into his home to show her how to take back control ... And how to burn for him. BURN is dark mafia romance prelude novella to SICK BOYS. Contains disturbing content that might not be suitable for all readers.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Smut, Crime, Novella

72 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 2023

About the author

**NOTE FOR LIBRARIANS: please check with me before making any changes - I generally make all necessary changes and updates myself. :)**

--- I generally do NOT check my messages on Goodreads, so if you want to contact me, please do so on my website: https://www.clarissawild.com/contact --

Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author with ASD, who was born and raised in the Netherlands. She loves to write Dark Romance and Contemporary Romance novels featuring dangerous men and feisty women. Her other loves include her hilarious husband, her cutie pie son, her two crazy but cute dogs, and her adorable kitties. In her free time, she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, playing video games, and cooking up some delicious meals.

Check out my books: https://geni.us/clarissabooks

Join my reader group on Facebook:
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Reviews

[Lyana]

Fast paced novella. Did enjoy the story, but could be a little bit longer.

Did not rate it, because I find it very difficult with short novellas.

[Katie]

This is a prelude to Sick Boys, it's not necessary to read but it was still enjoyable.

I haven't rated it as it was only 57 pages but it was fun.

[Ryn Meagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review 📚Burn by Clarissa Wild

This is a dark, gritty, and unapologetically intense romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It’s a story that dives into the shadows of obsession, betrayal, and the tangled mess of emotions that come with a deeply toxic family dynamic.

One of the standout elements of *Burn* is how Wild manages to balance the emotional turmoil with sharp writing and compelling pacing. The dark themes are handled with precision, making it clear that this isn’t just a romance—it’s a deep dive into the darker side of desire and what happens when love becomes an obsession.

I am guessing that this prelude is a requirement for the next three books and there’s reasons for these two characters but my goodness this was a nice quick ride!

If you’re a fan of dark romances that aren’t afraid to explore the messy, dangerous sides of love and effed up families meet Miss Clarissa Wild.

[Briana smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this was such an amazing novella!!! now I'm excited to start Sick Boys😈

[jordyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so so so good for a novella, clarissa never lets me down😮‍💨

I found myself so invested in these characters and then suddenly the book just ended🥲 I loved another glimpse back into this universe and couldn’t not give 5/5

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so I can’t wait to get into Sick Boys 😍

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
CW: abortion (off page), blood non consent
I was disappointed by this novella. I’ve read Clarissa Wild’s books before (the Spine Ridge U series that come after this novella) and I know her writing is better than this.
If this was my introduction to Clarissa Wild, I don’t know if I’d want to continue with the series. The writing was terrible - the entire story was extremely fast-paced (even for a novella). This could have been so much better if it was longer.

[Adele Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★☆

As part of the Spine Ridge University Series, this book a prelude novella to Sick Boys and gives you an insight into Penelope’s parents.

“ 𝖳𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝖻𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖺 𝗌𝗎𝗋𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗀𝗇𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗒， 𝖤𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗂𝖺𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖿𝗎𝗅𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗆𝗈𝗂𝗅．
𝖠𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝗂𝗆”

Just like the rest of the series, I absolutely loved this little novella as I’d always wondered about Penelope’s family during sick boys and this gives you a huge insight of the family business. These books are dark and twisty but are PERFECT for those who love dark romance and don’t mind a lot of 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I would have loved more of this book and more about the parents!
𝐀𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬... 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.

[Love.thebookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Burn- Clarissa Wild

I don’t really get what this has to do with the spine ridge series!

As much as I wanted to like it I just couldn’t, he picks her up off the street and less than a day later they are madly in love… yeah I can’t love that trope.

I love Clarissa Wild but this little Novella wasn’t for me.

[TinyVenusAfterDark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dark and Gripping Prelude to Spine Ridge University

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heat Level: 🔥🔥
📚E-BOOK📚



As a prequel to the Spine Ridge University series, *Burn* by Clarissa Wild delivers a raw and unapologetically dark introduction to the twisted minds and gritty world I came to love in the main series. Shockingly, I didn’t even know this short novella existed until recently, months after I had devoured the rest of the series!

At just around an hour’s read, *Burn* offers a powerful glimpse into Emilia’s grim reality and her fateful encounter with a dangerously enigmatic stranger. True to Clarissa Wild’s signature style, this novella unapologetically dives into the depths of human depravity, setting the stage for the chaos and intrigue of the books to come.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I admire Wild’s ability to craft such intense and emotionally charged stories. Her writing pulls you in with vivid characters, bold plots, and a dash of madness that’s impossible to resist. If you’re still on the fence about diving into the dark and seductive world of Spine Ridge U, *Burn* is the perfect introduction to convince you.

Give it a shot—you won’t regret it!

[Kirstin Rocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌹Review🌹
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Burn by Clarissa Wild
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💋 Tropes
-
🤰🏻Pregnancy
❤️‍🔥Age gap
🗣️ Multiple POV's
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🚨 Triggers🚨
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Prostitution
Abortion
Bondage
Murder
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3 1/2⭐ 2 🌶️ read for me
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📚 Summary
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Emilia finds out she is pregnant and her mother immediately kicks her out. Vincenzo Ricci sees her in the pouring rain and decides to help. He wants to protect her and love her. She wants to be loved without needing to give anything in return.
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🔥This book was still good for a short story. Really the only negative I have is that I feel these two could have used a bigger book. Not by much but the insta, insta love was too unbelievable for me. I do like that we were given even this much as a prelude to Sick Boys for the background on the FMC parents.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this after I have already read the Spine Ridge University series including the 1st book in the legacies of Spine Ridge last year. I don't know what took me so long to read this haha.
This was a fast paced novella about Penelope's parents, FMC of Sick Boys the first book in Spine Ridge, and how they met.
I loved seeing their story and how their intense love came to be. Emilia had a rocky life until she met Vincenzo and showed her she deserved a life of love and happiness.
I am so glad to see how they met because I loved her parents in Sick Boys and was so curious about how they met.
A must read. I feel like it doesn't have to be read before Sick Boys.

[Deena Deranleau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindle Edition
3 1/2 stars

As usual, I find it hard to rate novellas because they’re too short. Emilia lives a tough life with her mom. When her mom finds out Emilia is pregnant, she kicks her out of the house. In enters her savior, Vincenzo who finds her drenched in an alleyway, crying. He is a good looking wealthy mobster who runs things differently than most. He gives her a place to stay & they fall in love. He helps her get revenge on those that hurt her most.

[Meri Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a friend link me to something for one of the later Spine Ridge University books so it got me poking around a little and in exploring I found this. So I decided to try it before dipping into the full novels.

Interesting little read - and it made me pick up the first book, Sick Boys, so definitely doing something right.

[Norah (Studying) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick novella of the spine ridge university series. It’s a prequel before Sick boys which I havent read yet.
This novella definitely wants to make me pick up Sick Boys which I’ll do pretty soon.

But other than that I don’t have much to say about this. Like most novellas this is very short so I didn’t connect with the story that much but it was a fine novella. I enjoyed reading it.

[GiGi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trash. Entertaining trash.
This could've used some (more) editing. The writing isn't great but let's be honest, you didn't pick this for the writing.

Read this for a friend. Find you a friend like me, who reads whatever depraved book you suggest so you can read it vicariously and not get traumatized.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this novella! 💜
I wish we had more of their story as well as all the other parents’. 🤭
It’d be interesting to read and feel where they all came from. 📖
Short and fast-paced, but lovable and memorable 😌
The undeniable chemistry in the spice and feelings and touching? Chef’s kiss 💋
As I said before, I loved this short novella! 🫶🏼

[Laylabaylabooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very fast pace and you literally fly trough it.
I would have loved it more if it was longer and the story had some more detail. But as usual anything miss clarissa wild wrights is good.

[Marissa Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short, but I loved it! It took me a minute to register the last name but I figured it out rather quickly! I love Clarissa’s books so of course I read it! I would love for another book about them!!

[♡victoria♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️½

I read this after reading Sick Boys and I thought it was pretty bad. I wasn't impressed with the writing and it was extremely fast paced, even for a novella. I think I could've skipped this one.

[Gabriela Mália · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was rather fast paced, even for a novella, but it's excusable. I don't think it was necessary, but it was alright, I suppose. It felt a little repetitive at times, but I liked Vincenzo, so.
Diving into book 1 right now.

[Spencer Reisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately sucked me in and I couldn't put it down

[Cecile Sousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful read. I will absolutely read everything and anything Clarissa Wild puts out !!! I wanted more !!

[Raeshel Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story piecing things left unsaid about her mom and dad.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start off with a TW...unwanted pregnancy and what can be done to make it disappear

Otherwise, a very fast paced spicy intro for the series!

[Trude · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️
A short prelude to the Spine Ridge University series where we get to meet Penelope’s parents and see how they ended up together.

[Arwen Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMGGG PEN’S PARENTS 😍💞

[JESSICA HENEISEN MEANS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This b9ok was amazing. Filled with so much emotion in such a short story. It had the spice but it also had all the feels! I cried a little while reading it and that's saying something for me.

[Jenna ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there was more to this story! But I love it for a novella.

[Libby Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good quick read, if you are in a reading slump I recommend reading this to get out of it ❤️❤️