Title: Slow Burn
Series: Driven #5
Author: K. Bromberg
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: February 24, 2015
ONE NIGHT. THAT'S ALL IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.
Reeling from the sudden loss of her sister, Haddie Montgomery has sworn off relationships. All she wanted from Beckett Daniels was a sexy distraction to help her escape her pain for just a little while....There weren’t supposed to be any strings attached—so why can’t she shake the memory of that unforgettable night from her thoughts? Or the taste of his kiss from her lips?
No matter how hard Haddie tries to forget about him, Becks relentlessly tries to prove that she should start living for today. But she is determined to avoid romantic commitment, and she can always use her ex-boyfriend’s reappearance to help snuff out the slow burn within her that Becks has sparked....
Or will fate force her to realize that this kind of connection doesn’t come along very often and a chance at love is worth the risk?
Okay, this book has totally f--ked me up. Why you ask? Well, for one thing, the subject matter. Everyone has their hard limits in a book. A subject for some reason or other you don't want to read about. This was a hard limit for me, but come on, it's K Bromberg. She brought us Colton for crying out loud, so I knew the book was going to be amazing. Once I realized what the story contained I sat for a long time trying to decide what to do...read it or don't read it. Here is the conclusion I came up with, one that I thought I could live with.
I admit this is probably a bad thing to do, but it's the ONLY way I could read this book. I needed to know that there was a happily ever after. That's it, that's the only way. So, (I can't believe I am telling you this), I skipped to the back of the book and read the ending. It . Was. The. Only. Way.
(Deep breath) Okay, so now that that is over I will say that Ms. Bromberg has outdone herself. She wrote an amazing book. This doesn't surprise me though.
Slow Burn was more on the serious side, with life events that no one wants to experience. She did it with grace and dignity. Anyone who knows me knows I have a cry rating. This one was a 3 for me. Snot not just on the sleeve, but all over my shirt, story induced stuffed up nose and headache. Yep, it was a tear jerker for me but I am a sap anyway.
‘It was a onetime thing. Sex without strings.’
Does it ever really work out that way? No. Those strings get you every f--king time.
'No strings, my a**. I feel like she threw a g*ddamn lasso around me and pulled it tight. No strings, yeah. . . but rope? She didn't say a f--king thing about any rope.'
And Beckett Daniels, holy sh*t, this man will light your freaking fire. I love his analogy on …. Well, just take a look.
'This is the problem with pu--y: When you want it you can't get it, and when you don't want it, you get it and then you can't get it out of your f--king head.'
I loved the back and forth between Beckett and Haddie. How he put up with her feistiness is beyond me.
'When it comes to men, there are only three moods to be had: f--k you, f--k off, and f--k me.'
I give Slow Burn 5 stars. It was everything you would expect from K Bromberg. Actually, I wasn't expecting this subject matter but because I am a HUGE fan, I read it and I'm glad I did. It will make you laugh, cry, blush and then cry some more. But for all you readers that are like me and have to have that HEA, keep reading! Congrats on an amazing book!
~ Review by Stacey
F--k ‘em and chuck ‘em—Beckett “Becks” Daniels’ motto. Haddie Montgomery is drop dead gorgeous but off limits since meeting in Vegas. She’s Rylee’s best friend, Beck’s best friend, Colton’s wife. Off limits until one night. One night when he just can’t resist anymore.
Haddie Montgomery is just trying to get through life. Still crippled by grief from her sister’s death, Haddie is only interested in one night stands—no strings. Strings mean relationships and she’s not willing to open herself to a relationship.
“I remind myself I took my batteries out of my biological clock and put them in my vibrator for a reason.”
Until Becks. Maybe Becks can show her that love is worth it, worth fighting for, worth getting into the ring.
I met Becks and Haddie in the Driven series. And fell in love with them in Slow Burn. Becks is the consummate playboy—until the voodoo pu--y takes over. And Becks just doesn’t know what to do with himself. I loved his interactions with Colton. Colton's been down this path with his love, Rylee, and Colton giving Becks advice on love and understanding women is just too hilarious. Their friendship is true and real—just what Becks needs when trying to win Haddie’s heart.
Haddie feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders and doesn’t want to add to anyone’s burden—not her niece, Maddie, her brother-in-law, Danny, or her best friend, Rylee. She’s independent to a fault and you can’t help but want to hug her and slap her to make her realize “time is precious, waste it wisely.”
~ Review by Missy
“Yeah. That’s one way to put it. Is there
something else you called for besides trying to stick your nose in where it
doesn’t belong?”
I open my mouth and then shut it, unsure how calling him
because I just needed to hear his voice has devolved so quickly into this. Into
me scrambling for words I can’t find to fix shit that doesn’t need fixing.
Because I don’t want this. Don’t want him.
“Well then, if you want to actually talk instead of pull
this ridiculous bullshit, I’m here for you…but Had…? Whatever this is here…this
passive aggressive crap? I don’t do too well with that. We had our one night.
You made it quite clear you didn’t want anything more than that so you don’t
get to call me up and question what I might or might not be doing with anybody
else. You want no strings? Then cut the ties…but frankly I don’t think you know
what the fuck you want so until you figure your shit out, I think it’s best
that we say good night before we make a bad situation even worse.”
“Wait!” Desperation
rings in my voice in the single word. And I hate myself for sounding like this
but I’m so lonely, so scared and just want the comfort I know he can bring me
right now.
I wait for the sound of the dial tone to assault my ears.
Wait for the incessant beep that reaffirms why I have barbed wire wrapped
around my heart – painful but necessary. But there is nothing for a few moments
until I hear the phone scrape against the stubble on his face.
And I wait…my throat burning with the tears I want to shed
but am so sick of. The ones that no longer bring me comfort.
“I’m here, Haddie. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” The
timbre of his voice carries his concern and sympathy to me through the line.
The incoherent sound I make is all I can offer in thank
you to him for not hanging up on me. For not giving up on me.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author K. Bromberg is that reserved woman sitting in the corner who has you all fooled about the wild child inside of her—the one she lets out every time her fingertips touch the computer keyboard.
K. lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her on the treadmill or with Kindle in hand, devouring the pages of a good, saucy book.
On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Her debut novels, Driven, Fueled, and Crashed of The Driven Trilogy were well received and went on to become multi-platform bestsellers as well as landing on the New York Times and USA Today lists. Her other works include a short story, UnRaveled, and a companion piece to The Driven Trilogy titled Raced. She is currently working on three stand alone Driven novels, Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, and Hard Beat. She also plans to release a novel addressing the 10 year gap at the ending of Crashed in late fall 2015.
