Burnt

by Jessie Bradford

At 17 Chase had his whole life figured out. He would grow old with his beautiful girlfriend Lexi and make a living working with his best friends Ryder and Janelle. Only fate didn’t like that idea. After a night gone wrong at an abandon house, he woke up a year later to find his whole world had changed. Lexi was gone and more than half of his body was burned leaving him feeling alone and like a monster. Keeping to their promise Ryder and Janelle stood by him and pushed him to follow at least part of their dreams. Now a few years later Chase had made his mark on the city of Flint Michigan. He was the most sought architect while Ryder handled all the construction and Janelle was the PA. Chase stayed in the shadows until the day he accompanied his co-workers to meet the Drakes. Anyone who was anyone wanted to work with Mr. Drake, so they jumped at the chance. That was until he found out exactly who the Drakes were and a blast from the past came back to set fire to his already charred heart.

151 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2016

Reviews

[Michelle Cecelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! Story line was so captivating. The twists and turns. Loved every second of this book

[Nicole Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

We finished Burnt by Jessie Bradford, and we rated it ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!

I thought the story was good, but everything felt SO fast-paced. There were also some relationships between the characters that I didn’t fully understand, and then at the end, something was explained that supposedly happened but it was never actually shown or written into the story. I honestly feel like that should have been an actual scene because it would have made the ending and the characters’ actions make so much more sense.

If you’re looking for a short first love story about two people finding their way back to each other, you might enjoy this book! 💕

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story hooked me from the very first line. Chase’s journey from tragedy to success is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and the way the past comes roaring back into his life kept me turning the pages. I loved the mix of emotional depth, small town grit, and the slow burn tension between the characters. It’s the kind of book you read in one sitting because you have to know what happens next.

[Faith📖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left me in pieces! This is very well one of my favorite books now!

[Marla Josephs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 Star, Performance 5 star
I'm torn on this one so I will just lay it out there.
Good: It grabbed me from the beginning.
It kept me in suspense wondering what I was missing, or what was going to happen.
I was entertained.
Drama, intrigue, suspense.
Loved Janelle as she seemed to be the only one who didn't need to take up permanent residence on the couch of a very qualified shrink.
Actually loved the characters and their roles.
I would read this author again.
D.C. Cole's performance was amazing, as always.

Other things that I can't seem to label easily:
Sometimes I felt confused, like the scenes weren't fleshed out, connected, or things weren't explained. This wasn't to the extreme however.
At times I wondered what was the point of certain things and I never really got the answer.
I really liked all of the characters, even the way the "bad guy" character was written and portrayed, but yet a lot was not explained to understand "why?"
The ending. The ending reminded me of a joke my sister told me years ago about "The purple flower". In essence you are totally into this story and being built up and up trying to figure out what the purple flower is and why people are reacting this way, but you never find out.
Lastly, Audible listed this in teen?! And, this is not the fault of the author or narrator but it is NOT a teen book. And, that threw me.
Overall, I would recommend it and enjoyed it, but would warn the listener about the above so that you know what to expect. It has all the elements but is not your normal HEA.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

What started out and pretty interesting left me in a pretty strange place. I picked up this audiobook because DC Cole is the narrator, and his narrations have introduced me to some good authors. When reading the summary of this book, I thought it was going to be similar to a modern day Beauty and the Beast. Chase, at 17, was caught in a fire. Lexi his girlfriend could not deal the tragedy of that day, and when he wasn't waking up from his coma, she left him. Circumstances brought them back together and now we have the second chance romance, she the beauty, he completely scarred. Of course, we root for this couple. But this story line is skewed to take a different path. Lexi is married, Chase is in business with his high school friends, and the series of events that takes place just seems to be unbelievable. Chase and Lexi are likable characters along with Ryder and Janelle, their high school friends. The characters are well developed and the story is definitely interesting...til the end. A total shock for me which has left me kind of not liking it.

DC Cole brings this story to life for me, from the time of the fire, the reconnecting of Lexi and Chase and the erotic scenes, he can bring the movie to your mind. His performance was flawless.