Burn (Dark In You #1) - Suzanne Wright [Review]

Book: Burn (Dark In You #1)

Author: Suzanne Wright

Published: 1st November 2016 (new edition)

Publisher: Piatkus

Pages: 384
Source: eArc provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Going into this book, I was unsure of what to expect - I had not heard of the series previously, however a quick check of popular opinion indicated that others really enjoyed this book. Therefore, I set myself modest expectations and hoped to be pleasantly surprised. As expected, this is definitely a fun read, and although it would not be what I would usually turn to - I may have to explore other books by this author!

Okay, so let's get into details. This book follows tattooist Harper Wallis, who resides in Las Vegas, and details the consequential events that occur once she finds out that her psychic mate or 'anchor' is a guy who's rumored to be the most powerful demon in existence. Intriguing, right? Although this is a story centering round demons and the paranormal, and there's definitely a subtly creepy atmosphere, it's scattered with occasional wit and humor, and the characters are a bit cheeky, so it feels like a more light-hearted and less dramatic read, which for me, is a good thing.

Usually, I tend to not be drawn to the more paranormal demon-centric reads, however, this was a welcome change. Harper, the main female protagonist, is full of energy and sass. She's not your typical damsel in distress/please help me type, which is perfect for me as I prefer my heroines to be a bit more proactive. Her thoughts and actions are realistic and not over the top, and she reacts to the news of her new psychic mate about as well as any of us would take it, which I actually liked. Moving on to the aforementioned mate - Knox - he's absolutely brimming with sass and initially exudes your typical dominant, alpha-male vibe, which at first turned me off a bit. Yeah, he's sexy, but I'm looking for a bit more than that, you know? This was relatively corrected throughout the novel as we get a bit more insight into his character, however I could do with a little bit more in this regard as he still comes across as a bit overbearing and possessive throughout the novel, when Harper is just trying to do her own thing. She's a person, not a piece of furniture, you know?

The setting is great; Las Vegas is always bound to be exciting, and although we don't necessarily get to explore a lot of it, there is a good amount of detail, and the setting serves its purpose - it's not referenced overwhelmingly, but it provides a nice backdrop for the story, which is really about Harper and Knox. 

There is definitely a lot of romance and a bit of mature content in this book (so not one for the younger reader), however, in most cases I prefer this as I like my books to be a bit more realistic and mature, particularly in terms of relationships. There is excellent chemistry between Harper and Knox, and this really helps to drive the book through the slightly more meandering passages. In terms of supporting characters, there's not really a great deal of noteworthy ones, however Isla is definitely an interesting character which has a lot of potential throughout the novel, even though she could have featured more prominently. In terms of related characters to Harper, she has relatively little friends to start off with, and although I did enjoy Khloe, I wish she would have featured a bit more. As for Knox, a lot of his security detail and surrounding demons all kind of mesh into one for me, there's a lot of dudes and names, and I ended up losing track of who is who (Tanner? Levi? Keenan?). 

However, ultimately, the novel is a fairly light-hearted and engaging read, which would definitely attract most readers who are fans of the genre, despite its shortcomings. There's enough action to drive the narrative, and the two main characters are strong, and enthralling, which should satisfy most readers who prefer more dynamic protagonists.