pjkerrison's review against another edition
3.0
Great Submission by Amazon
Amazon gives Prime members a few books to choose from each month to read for free. This is a book they offered in the month of January, 2015. I am not one who reads a lot of thriller books but I have found them to be something of a guilty pleasure. This book did not let me down. A good story, it keeps on going , for this slow reader I finished it in just over a day. I really liked it and I would totally recommend it to anybody who wants to read a quick and entertaining thriller. I will not lie, the fact that I got it for free didn't hurt but there are a lot of books out there that are free or priced so low that they seem like a bargain. I almost feel like I stole something getting this book for free, which means I really liked it.
Amazon gives Prime members a few books to choose from each month to read for free. This is a book they offered in the month of January, 2015. I am not one who reads a lot of thriller books but I have found them to be something of a guilty pleasure. This book did not let me down. A good story, it keeps on going , for this slow reader I finished it in just over a day. I really liked it and I would totally recommend it to anybody who wants to read a quick and entertaining thriller. I will not lie, the fact that I got it for free didn't hurt but there are a lot of books out there that are free or priced so low that they seem like a bargain. I almost feel like I stole something getting this book for free, which means I really liked it.
libraphile's review against another edition
2.0
I read thrillers for their shear page-turning excitement. A successful thriller for me can be driven by any combination of action, psychology or suspense. Some clichés and roughly sketched characters are forgivable, as long as it keeps me engrossed in the story and has me flipping pages quickly all the way through. By these criteria, Everything Burns partially delivers.
Through much of the book, I was rapidly flipping pages to see what would happen next. However, at a few critical moments, the story turned so unbelievable that I was unable to suspend my disbelief any longer. I felt like I was suddenly ripped out of the novel and unceremoniously dumped back in the reality of home. It is akin to reading a biography on a real person and then learning that it is fiction only when the character is threatened by a horde of zombies, or maybe a squadron of man-eating snapping turtles swimming in formation. Some of the disbelief comes from the crazy decisions that the protagonist makes. These should be explained by the psychological aspects of the novel since the protagonist is a certifiable pyromaniac who does not think normally. Unfortunately, his character is not developed enough to make those moments believable either.
If you can somehow get past these reality jarring episodes, the book offers some original ideas, good pacing, and a nice blend of psychological suspense and action scenes. For me, the promise of immersion an engrossing story started well but was cut short.
Through much of the book, I was rapidly flipping pages to see what would happen next. However, at a few critical moments, the story turned so unbelievable that I was unable to suspend my disbelief any longer. I felt like I was suddenly ripped out of the novel and unceremoniously dumped back in the reality of home. It is akin to reading a biography on a real person and then learning that it is fiction only when the character is threatened by a horde of zombies, or maybe a squadron of man-eating snapping turtles swimming in formation. Some of the disbelief comes from the crazy decisions that the protagonist makes. These should be explained by the psychological aspects of the novel since the protagonist is a certifiable pyromaniac who does not think normally. Unfortunately, his character is not developed enough to make those moments believable either.
If you can somehow get past these reality jarring episodes, the book offers some original ideas, good pacing, and a nice blend of psychological suspense and action scenes. For me, the promise of immersion an engrossing story started well but was cut short.
booknerd_therapist's review against another edition
2.0
Just in case you didn't get it from the title, the author will constantly remind you about things burning. The protagonist is a pyromaniac... we get it. "Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice..." "Douse the flame of our love..." References to fire are constant, at least one per page. Even better, the antagonist's last name, Bourenhem, sounds like "burn him" if you say it fast enough. Maybe these things were supposed to come across as clever, but to me they were annoying.
The romance part of the story was incredibly, incredibly awkward to read, much less to try to get into the characters' heads. Ex-wife-is-now-girlfriend, ex-wife/girlfriend has creepy stalker, finding awkward mementos in her panty drawer, and even unbelievably awkward dialogue like, "Try not to rummage through my underwear, big boy" and father-in-law saying something like, "What are you doing, Fire Starter?" Even if you have to DO weird, awkward things, do you have to have weird, awkward nicknames for each other?
Character growth was basically nil... A couple of them had some interesting things going on, but for the most part they stayed predictable throughout the story.
Lots of action, but other than that, not a whole lot going for it.
The romance part of the story was incredibly, incredibly awkward to read, much less to try to get into the characters' heads. Ex-wife-is-now-girlfriend, ex-wife/girlfriend has creepy stalker, finding awkward mementos in her panty drawer, and even unbelievably awkward dialogue like, "Try not to rummage through my underwear, big boy" and father-in-law saying something like, "What are you doing, Fire Starter?" Even if you have to DO weird, awkward things, do you have to have weird, awkward nicknames for each other?
Character growth was basically nil... A couple of them had some interesting things going on, but for the most part they stayed predictable throughout the story.
Lots of action, but other than that, not a whole lot going for it.
bjt1977's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly well written and an interesting enough story, but the characters are underdeveloped and the events too predictable for my taste. I found it hard to like any of the characters, but that may have been the point.
the pace and tone kept me until the end, but I'm unlikely to try more with by this author
the pace and tone kept me until the end, but I'm unlikely to try more with by this author
sarahelisewrites's review against another edition
2.0
While the writing itself didn't suffer from any major flaws, the plot and characterizations in the novel felt unstable. The narrator rehashes the backstory in far too many chapters and spends quite a lot of time clarifying the relationships between the three main characters (i.e., himself, Lisa, and David). Furthermore, characters often make decisions that seem senseless or not driven by anything other than the writing trap of "adding plot" when instead, motivation should lead to behaviors.
It was, however, a fast and easy read, thanks in part to the flow of language. It felt more like I was reading something in need of structural revision, rather than a completed novel. Improvement of character behaviors and more firmly establishing why the events occurred as they did (and when they did... why did the villain pick that day to do what he did?) would vastly improve this work. However, since it's already published, I imagine this novel will remain as is.
It was, however, a fast and easy read, thanks in part to the flow of language. It felt more like I was reading something in need of structural revision, rather than a completed novel. Improvement of character behaviors and more firmly establishing why the events occurred as they did (and when they did... why did the villain pick that day to do what he did?) would vastly improve this work. However, since it's already published, I imagine this novel will remain as is.
danilatrice87's review against another edition
4.0
This story definitely didn't end the way I thought it would. Although this book was longer than one felt it needed to be, it was still a great read overall. It makes me wonder if there are other severe pyromanic cases like Reese's in the world. Because of the ending I would recommend this book to others just be prepared for a long read.
abchavers's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book!! Every chapter made you want to start a new one :) Great read!!!
beckic's review against another edition
1.0
No. Just no. I got this book through Kindle First. That is its only redeeming quality. The only reason I finished it was because I didn't have another book yet as I was waiting for my turn to come up on the library holds. I HATED that he "spoke" for the dog. I hated that the other characters called him "Reecey Pieces". I hated that there were so many words and nothing was said. It was actually so forgettable that before I wrote this review, I had to go back and see what the book was about. I didn't even remember.
urlphantomhive's review
2.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
There are only two things in life Reece, the main character of Everything Burns, likes: himself and fire, not necessarily in that order though. While the fire part is easily understandable, as he was in a fire as a child which killed his mother and brothers, it is told to you so many times that it was annoying. Overall, Reece was a very annoying character to read about.
Strange things are happening and Reece is sure that his girlfriend's (who is also his ex-wife) ex-boyfriend is behind everything. This goes from bad to worse, as people get casually burned to death on the sidewalk without so much as a shriek. Reece wrote a popular novel, which is one of the reasons why he believes said ex-boyfriend is after him, and literally every single person he meets has at least one copy of his book and has actually read it (by far the most unbelievable part of the novel).
The writing was a bit clunky but my biggest problem was just that I really didn't like to read it. I was actively rooting for Reece to be put away. I don't think I will read more of this author in the future.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
There are only two things in life Reece, the main character of Everything Burns, likes: himself and fire, not necessarily in that order though. While the fire part is easily understandable, as he was in a fire as a child which killed his mother and brothers, it is told to you so many times that it was annoying. Overall, Reece was a very annoying character to read about.
Strange things are happening and Reece is sure that his girlfriend's (who is also his ex-wife) ex-boyfriend is behind everything. This goes from bad to worse, as people get casually burned to death on the sidewalk without so much as a shriek. Reece wrote a popular novel, which is one of the reasons why he believes said ex-boyfriend is after him, and literally every single person he meets has at least one copy of his book and has actually read it (by far the most unbelievable part of the novel).
The writing was a bit clunky but my biggest problem was just that I really didn't like to read it. I was actively rooting for Reece to be put away. I don't think I will read more of this author in the future.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!