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kmparsons's review against another edition
2.0
I did not like the ending. The plot needed more substance to it.
yreads7's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Cute and quick read! Great book to read on vacation.
amanda1793's review against another edition
3.0
I'm hoping that in the next story, there are more questions answered then revealed... I'm not sure that I'm completely fond of this story, very reminiscent of the Crossfire series. I'll read the next one at some point, but I don't feel the rush to do it now...
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
First in the Afterburn & Aftershock erotic romance duology.
You may want to wait until the second book, Aftershock (or the combined duology, Afterburn & Aftershock), comes out on March 11, 2014 because it will make you nuts having to wait to find out what happens next! The first story reads like the first half of a story---hence the "4".
My Take
This was a unique take: a woman who wants to make it in the restaurant business, but as a realizer of dreams. It's cooking. It's advertising. It's business. All rolled into one story. It's incredible how much story Day packs into 99 pages. But it's irritating how she leaves us at the end of those 99 pages. It feels like a tease to extort us into buying, which irritates me.
I love the sense of family amongst the Rossis. That they all pitched in to put Gianna through college. How much they love and support her.
There's a freshness to this---yeah, yeah, think celery! Oh, wait, this is Italian food, think parsley! And it's fun to watch the pair of ladies finagle and figure as they work to salvage the sabotage. I do like that idea of dueling kitchens; it could be fun.
Then there's Jax. His very alpha-ness, his demands, the sex! He's very upfront with what he wants and what Gianna can expect. Enough that you want to find a bottle to hit him over the head. Although part of me wants to whack Gianna over the head as well! Talk about a glutton for punishment. Then again, I do love her sense of fair play. She's honest and upright with people; she wants them to be happy. It's part, I think, of why Jax angers me so much.
Oh, I want that loft apartment!
I love that comment Gianna makes: "If you feel that your identity as the Williams twins has more potential than being Stacy Williams, you should absolutely go with your gut. It's got you this far, after all." Nice call, LOL.
There's a definite suggestion that there's something more between Lei and Ian. And it could go in several directions, hmmm.
WTF? Why would Gianna want to be with someone who betrays her over and over and over again? I don't care how good the sex is. Someone behaves this way to me, and I am not going to be attracted to him. And Jax certainly isn't hiding what a jerk he is. He's proud of it. He tells her how he'll screw her over, and she still falls for it, er, him.
I am dying to read the second in this—if only to see that Stacy Williams gets hers! Yeah, I want to see Jax get his as well... Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea of how it'll end, but the fun is in the journey, LOL.
The Story
It starts with an impassioned interview that fizzles and builds. A partnership that soars as they feed off each other's energy until that moment of almost-triumph.
A stumble from which the ladies need to recover. If Gianna can get past her own past with Jax and thwart Ian Pembry.
The Characters
Gianna Rossi has food and cooking in her blood, but she doesn't want to cook. Not food anyway. Instead she wants to realize dreams. She has three brothers—Nico is the prankster and oldest, Angelo, and Vincent, but only one can take over Rossi's, the Italian restaurant that's been in the family for three generations. Denise is Angelo's wife and five months pregnant, and she has her own beauty salon business. Mona Rossi is their sexy mother. Lei Yeung is Gianna's boss at Savor, Inc. where chefs are turned into name brands. LaConnie is the receptionist.
Jackson "Jax" Rutledge is a jerk. Gorgeous and hardworking with a huge sense of entitlement harkening back to the days of droit du seigneur. He manages Rutledge Capital, a venture capital firm. His brother is Senator Rutledge. Parker is his father; Regina is his father's second wife. Allison Kelsey is Jax's bitchy cousin-in-law married to Ted.
Chad and Stacy Williams are twins, chefs, who hate each other. Isabelle specializes in regional Italian, Inez specializes in regional French, and David Lee's specialty is Asian.
Ian Pembry was Lei Yeung's partner who betrayed her and continues to.
The Cover
The cover is a range of blues in the background ending with a splash into someone's martini glass.
The title is what Gianna gets all the time, the Afterburn from the end of an affair and the many betrayals.
You may want to wait until the second book, Aftershock (or the combined duology, Afterburn & Aftershock), comes out on March 11, 2014 because it will make you nuts having to wait to find out what happens next! The first story reads like the first half of a story---hence the "4".
My Take
This was a unique take: a woman who wants to make it in the restaurant business, but as a realizer of dreams. It's cooking. It's advertising. It's business. All rolled into one story. It's incredible how much story Day packs into 99 pages. But it's irritating how she leaves us at the end of those 99 pages. It feels like a tease to extort us into buying, which irritates me.
I love the sense of family amongst the Rossis. That they all pitched in to put Gianna through college. How much they love and support her.
There's a freshness to this---yeah, yeah, think celery! Oh, wait, this is Italian food, think parsley! And it's fun to watch the pair of ladies finagle and figure as they work to salvage the sabotage. I do like that idea of dueling kitchens; it could be fun.
Then there's Jax. His very alpha-ness, his demands, the sex! He's very upfront with what he wants and what Gianna can expect. Enough that you want to find a bottle to hit him over the head. Although part of me wants to whack Gianna over the head as well! Talk about a glutton for punishment. Then again, I do love her sense of fair play. She's honest and upright with people; she wants them to be happy. It's part, I think, of why Jax angers me so much.
Oh, I want that loft apartment!
I love that comment Gianna makes: "If you feel that your identity as the Williams twins has more potential than being Stacy Williams, you should absolutely go with your gut. It's got you this far, after all." Nice call, LOL.
There's a definite suggestion that there's something more between Lei and Ian. And it could go in several directions, hmmm.
WTF? Why would Gianna want to be with someone who betrays her over and over and over again? I don't care how good the sex is. Someone behaves this way to me, and I am not going to be attracted to him. And Jax certainly isn't hiding what a jerk he is. He's proud of it. He tells her how he'll screw her over, and she still falls for it, er, him.
I am dying to read the second in this—if only to see that Stacy Williams gets hers! Yeah, I want to see Jax get his as well... Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea of how it'll end, but the fun is in the journey, LOL.
The Story
It starts with an impassioned interview that fizzles and builds. A partnership that soars as they feed off each other's energy until that moment of almost-triumph.
A stumble from which the ladies need to recover. If Gianna can get past her own past with Jax and thwart Ian Pembry.
The Characters
Gianna Rossi has food and cooking in her blood, but she doesn't want to cook. Not food anyway. Instead she wants to realize dreams. She has three brothers—Nico is the prankster and oldest, Angelo, and Vincent, but only one can take over Rossi's, the Italian restaurant that's been in the family for three generations. Denise is Angelo's wife and five months pregnant, and she has her own beauty salon business. Mona Rossi is their sexy mother. Lei Yeung is Gianna's boss at Savor, Inc. where chefs are turned into name brands. LaConnie is the receptionist.
Jackson "Jax" Rutledge is a jerk. Gorgeous and hardworking with a huge sense of entitlement harkening back to the days of droit du seigneur. He manages Rutledge Capital, a venture capital firm. His brother is Senator Rutledge. Parker is his father; Regina is his father's second wife. Allison Kelsey is Jax's bitchy cousin-in-law married to Ted.
Chad and Stacy Williams are twins, chefs, who hate each other. Isabelle specializes in regional Italian, Inez specializes in regional French, and David Lee's specialty is Asian.
Ian Pembry was Lei Yeung's partner who betrayed her and continues to.
The Cover
The cover is a range of blues in the background ending with a splash into someone's martini glass.
The title is what Gianna gets all the time, the Afterburn from the end of an affair and the many betrayals.
undercoverreads's review against another edition
2.0
Waste of money! Although I've enjoyed other books by this author, sadly this was not the case with this one. Would not recommend it to anyone and did not inspire me to read the next in the series.
texcare1's review against another edition
4.0
Well written sylvia day, it was a hot read. Can't wait for after shock to come out because like normal you left me hanging. But I loved it :)
ankysbookbubble's review against another edition
4.0
I've already read and loved Sylvia's Crossfire Series, and if I like an author, I try to read all of their books. So I had to read this one, of course.
My first and probably only complain about Afterburn is that it was too short. And it ended with a cliffhanger. Thank goodness I had already borrowed the book two, or I'd have been cursing the author right about now.
Afterburn was steamy, heartbreaking and hooking. I did not want to stop reading once I started.
I loved the characters, I loved the setting, and I'm glad I decided to read it.
On to the next book now! Aftershock, here I come!
My first and probably only complain about Afterburn is that it was too short. And it ended with a cliffhanger. Thank goodness I had already borrowed the book two, or I'd have been cursing the author right about now.
Afterburn was steamy, heartbreaking and hooking. I did not want to stop reading once I started.
I loved the characters, I loved the setting, and I'm glad I decided to read it.
On to the next book now! Aftershock, here I come!
rosanarainhart's review against another edition
4.0
First book of 2024, and it's a quick comfort re-read