Cover Image: Consumed

Consumed

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Member Reviews

This author is the queen of passion. You cannot go wrong with her books and this was absolutely enthralling. Spicy and fast paced, this was amazing.

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Se puede decir que soy fan de la Ward y de su saga La hermandad de la daga negra, así que, sí, me leo hasta el papel de la compra si lo ha escrito ella. En cuanto a esta novela, sencillamente me ha encantado! Es más madura, profunda y seria que su saga de vampiros, pero igualmente destila a la Ward. Deseando leer el segundo libro.

I've never read anything by Ward so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was intrigued by the firefighter premise as I don't think I've ever read anything similar previously. Particularly considering the protagonist was female. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters and just couldn't get into the story. Nonetheless, I appreciate that this was a female-driven narrative.

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Reading this, I was reminded why I stopped with the Black Daggerhood series somewhere around the sixth book. The repetition. Lingers everywhere. Just waiting to strike.
In all seriousness, though, I did enjoy this book, it just wasn't my favorite of J.R.Ward. I feel like she glossed over a few things, could have added a bit more depth and...character in general to her secondary characters (there were many and I can't for the life of me distinguish between them) BUT Ward just knows how to draw her readers in and keep them entertained throughout the entire novel.

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Consumed is an exciting engrossing read. If you watch and enjoy Chicago Fire or Station 19 you’ll love this, it has all the drama, great characters, tension, romance and a mystery thriller.
Main characters Anne and Danny are both firefighters, when Anne has to leave (no spoilers) she becomes a fire investigator, and here we have the mystery thriller part. Danny, unable to get past what happened with Anne is in self destruct mode, loving Anne but unable to express his feelings.
As this story progresses we learn more of the secondary characters integral to this story.
I loved this book, a real page turner, one I didn’t want to end and hopefully there will be another in this series, I’m rooting for Anne’s brother to be the next main character.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

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I usually like Ms Ward's book but this one wasn't my cup of tea.
I couldn't connect to the characters and the book fell flat.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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JR Ward is one of my favorite authors, and one of my favorite series is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. That being said, Consumed is the first in a new series by JR Ward about firefighters, and it is HOT! Ward keeps the same writing style and brute strength of her vampires and places it into a world of fire. Anne is a tough woman who faces a tragedy during the beginning of the book that takes away her dreams of firefighting. Danny is a fellow firefight, and he also has a hard time dealing with what happened to Anne. Together, they must face adversity from within and from an unknown arsonist who is targeting Anne. If you love Jr Ward, strong men, and/or firefighters, you will be “consumed” by this read!

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I started out reading the blackdagger brotherhood books and loved the way that Ward would tell a story. It was steamy and exciting but you felt you could connect with these otherwordly characters. Unfortunately, I found that lacking in this book. I didn't feel the chemistry in quite the same way, it all felt a bit backdraft-y. I did read all the way through and it was a good story but left me feeling the way that Patricia Cornwell and Janet Evanovich books have. Telling similar stories to those before in what feels a bit of a churning out way. I am probably wrong as this is a big divertment from the BDB books, I would imagine these are characters that had to be written about. I totally understand that feeling, but I was a little disappointed. (I admit, I know that I shall buy more J. R. Ward books again as I do usually love the style but perhaps not in this series).

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Absolutely awesome. I devoured this in one sitting, literally couldnt put it down. Anne and Danny are fantastic lead characters they are both so strong and fiery yet so human and realistic in their interactions and reactions. I loved the winding twists of the story as i got a hang on who i thought it was then was quickly proved wrong. J. R ward is not just a fantastic paranormal writer but can a weave a truly brilliant romantic suspense that ticks all the right boxes.

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There is a big fire and Anne is in the midst of it, trying to get free and out of the house. When she finally does, with a lot of help of Danny, he colleague and lover, there is a big price to pay. This opening scene was really intense and set the pace of the book. Anne, driven and gutsy, trying to put her life back together and Danny, living big, trying to forget the pain of the past month, making a pair I wanted to see ha happy ending. Wanted to be together and beat the odds.. Twist in the plot, hot sex, lovable characters, what more does a story need to be amazing? I loved it and hope to read more about the firefighters.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book!

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Danny and Anne are 2 sides to the same coin. Never happier than when facing danger, adrenaline junkies. But Anne feels herself sidelined into arson investigation. But the arsonist now taking centre stage is willing to give her all the excitement she can handle!

Unlike many of his brethren, Danny wants more than a hosebunny. With Anne he could see the glimmer of more but when the accident involving them both happened, they took different paths. But brought together once more Danny is determined to keep Anne with him this time.

Lots of twists and turns and an ending...well I did not see that happening!

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Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for a copy of this book.

This is the first JR Ward that I've read without there being anything vampiric and otherwordly, and I must say she pulls it off.

It's hot, action packed and full of wonderful characters and I look forward to reading more in the series.

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Consumed is the first book in a new, contemporary series by the amazing J.R. Ward. I absolutely loved the Black Dagger Brotherhood novels and knew I had to give this series a go. I don't usually read contemporary novels but I am so glad I did.
Anne is a kick ass heroine, yes she has had her fair share of troubles but she doesn't let anything hold her back. She is absolutely fearless and the romance between her and Danny was believable and sweet and steamy! Obviously in a romance you know the couple are going to get together but I liked how this couple was made to work for it.
J.R. Ward's writing is just as good and although there were no vampires, it didnt matter. I loved this book :)

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I love the Black Dagger series by this Author ………… this book is a new departure but maintains the same high standards .
The Author pairs a strong , stubborn alpha male with an equally strong stubborn woman .
Sparks fly from the beginning , and not just literally …. the attraction is fierce . Anne however is resistance , Danny has a reputation as a ladies man which leaves her cold .
It takes a warehouse fire where they are trapped to force a life changing decision ………… a decision that will change things for them both .
I loved this book - it pulls at your emotions , showing that with love and courage you can survive anything .
The characters and worldbuilding where excellent giving life to the story .
I look forward to the next in what seems to be the start of a new series .


I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my own honest review

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Consumed is the first book in a new series J.R. Ward. An author famous for her paranormal Black Dagger Brotherhood series but this is a contemporary story about firefighters and centres around Station 499. Danny Maguire is, in the eyes of his colleagues, the best fireman in the business even though the rules go out the window when it comes to his job. He’s nursing a soul deep pain after the lose of both his twin brother & his best friend in separate fires and the guilt he feels causes him to take risks above and beyond the call of duty. Anne Ashburn comes from a family of fire fighters. Her father had died on the job and her brother Tom is the current fire chief leaving her with a lot to live up to. She’s had a thing for Danny that was reciprocated since she first laid eyes on him and, finally, a few weeks ago after a wedding they gave into their feelings. Since then they’ve been tiptoeing around each other, flirting with subtle touches, both of them seemingly unsure whether or not to take the next step. That decision is taken out of their hands when, on a shout, Anne breaks protocol and splits from her partner inside the burning warehouse. The events that follow will have disastrous consequences for everyone involved and change Anne’s life forever.

Six months later Anne is trying to rebuild her life, forging a new career for herself as a fire inspector but she’s only going through the motions, mourning all she has lost. She has little interest in her job until her first job involves a suspicious fire at a warehouse. She soon starts to spot similarities between other fires including the one that nearly claimed her life and realises she is after an arsonist. She has little contact with her former colleagues including Danny but her investigation will soon change all that. Danny meanwhile seems to have developed a death wish as a result of Anne’s accident. He doesn’t seem to care if he lives or dies until one day he goes too far and ends up suspended until he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation. Seeing Anne again makes him realise just what he wants and he’s ready to fight for her but during the course of her investigation Anne has upset some dangerous people who will stop at nothing to protect their interests an so, with the arsonist hunting her will disaster strike again?

The first part of this book was action-packed and the descriptions of the fire scenes were so vivid I could almost see them play out in my head like a film. I can honestly say that I never saw who the arsonist was although with hindsight the clues are there and although it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger there are still some unanswered questions that hopefully will be covered in the next book. The second half though was more emotional. We find out what had made Anne the way she was. Why she was so distant with her mother and brother. She had spent her life trying to gain the approval of her ‘hero’ father and live up to what she thought his expectations would be even though she had found out shortly after his death that everything she believed about him was an illusion and he had feet of clay. She seemed to blame her mother for his actions and despised her for this. It was only as an adult and being forced into a situation where she had to spend time with her mother that she realises she is really another victim. All in all I enjoyed this book. The characters came across as real people with all their frailties and weaknesses instead of being the usual heroic stereotypes where nothing has any long lasting effect on them. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it releases.

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I liked this story and even the three short stories that the author published before this one mostly because is really totally different from the bacl dagger brotherhood that I quit reading ages ago. I don't know if I will keep on reading this series because mostly I am fed up with series but it was still a nice reading.

Thanks netgalley for the preview!

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I loved reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which is why I had high hopes for this one. I had trouble with finishing the book because there was a lot going on between the couple-Anne and Danny-and the secondary characters.

I still loved the pairing, though there wasn't much romance or sex as there was in the Black Dagger series. My interest is definitely piqued by the end of the book and I will be looking forward to the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for providing me with an ARC.

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3.5 stars

After enjoying the free prequel novellas in this series, I was looking forward to diving into Consumed and discovering more from all the characters we’d had glimpses of.

“It’s amazing what you can live through and come out stronger on the other side.”

I motored through the prequel novellas but this took me 5 days to read. That wasn’t through dislike—J.R Ward took this down a couple of paths that impressed me hugely—but she’s clearly setting things up for the long haul and there is a lot to ingest with the story bouncing between the couple in question and the secondary characters and their side stories; it’s one of those reads that you have to be fully-focussed on.

“He wanted memorable that lasted a lifetime.”

Ward has paired a strong, stubborn alpha man with an equally strong, stubborn woman to bring a romance that brings fight and passion, heartache and determination, trauma and twists. It wasn’t perfect, but with a feeling akin to one of my favourite films of all time, Backdraft, I’ll be back to see what the next in the series brings before making a decision if I’m in it for the long term.

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4 - She seemed to want to leave everything behind… Him included. Stars.

The first book in J. R. Ward’s new Firefighters series is also the first full length book I have actually read by this prolific author. Having read the two novella’s; The Rehearsal Dinner & The Reception directly beforehand, I would absolutely recommend you read them before tackling Consumed as they give some much needed depth to the connection between Anne and Danny the main, but not only pivotal characters in the book.

"Don’t let that fire we went into willingly a year ago kill you by default. You made it out alive, don’t give that blessing up."

I’m not going to write a massively long review for this one, there are plenty of others that go more ‘in-depth’ if you are looking for that sort of insight. I will say this was a book that started at a five, dropped to a three, and then clawed its way back up to a four with its ending. You need to pay attention to what you are reading, there are a large number of characters introduced, a massive amount of side plots playing out, and what becomes more apparent as the book progresses an author with a lot of her own opinions that she likes to express through the thoughts, actions and words of her characters. Sometimes it worked, sometimes I just rolled my eyes.

He missed that connection… That day-to-day contact. That sense that he didn’t have to say things to her; she just knew.

If you have seen the film Backdraft this book reminded me a lot of that, the familial feel you get from all of the men and women associated with New Brunswick’s Fire Department, and their trials and tribulations in both their personal and work lives. Anne and Danny’s relationship drastically changes as the story progresses, as do the dynamics between them and a lot of the other characters involved in its telling. I have to say the first eight chapters were one of the most captivating and surprising openings to a book I have read in a long time. The story then picks up ten months on from that and branches out in numerous directions. This is definitely a book setting up a series, one that is likely to have many, many additions to it as it progresses.

There were crimes to solve here… There was still something worth fighting to protect… And in this case it was justice…

I gave this book a four, for the most part I did enjoy it, I read it in a day and it held my interest, but for all that I am not 100% sure I would read more from this author. Her books require a certain level of commitment, and an investment in concentration, that a lot of the time I don’t really have the energy for in my reading anymore, there was so, so much going on in Consumed, POVs came from several directions, not just the lead two, and if you aren’t on the ball when you are reading I fear it may lead to an awful lot of confusion. I’m on the fence at the moment, I’ll wait and see who is next to the fore before I make my ultimate decision as to whether I want to pursue a longer term relationship with this author and series.

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Consumed

Consumed is a great title for this book as that’s what it did as soon as I started reading it, it consumed me!
I had read the 2 free prequel novellas so I was already invested in the characters, then came the wild ride that was consumed, I didn’t see the twists and turns coming and the story kept me wanting to know more the whole way through. Anne and Danny were a complex but relatable pair and having chapters from both points of view made the story that much more rich, I was rooting for them the whole way. The secondary characters were also intriguing and there were questions as yet unanswered so I’m really hoping for more books in this new, firefighter, world.

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I am a avid reader of the Black Dagger brotherhood series and this story keeps the flag raised to that exceptional high standard. It is written with so much heart. The story starts on a firefighters shout with Anne Ashburn and partner Danny McGuire. It quickly becomes a show of the real love and strength a partner can show to save a life but leave behind a life changing injury. All the love and emotion bottled up but shown through other actions for the people you love and that love you. “There comes a time to let go of old lives. Strength only exists if tested and you become stronger than you know”. Friends, family, colleagues are not just the usual extras in this story. They have a real gritty story of their own to tell. This story really will pull at your emotions not just showing what real heroes the firefighters community is but showing love and courage from all sides can help you survive. I would definitely recommend you read this book immediately (you even get l was not expecting that moment) to show you how reading can really get you engaged in a story.
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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